Rowan

The Rowan tree is an elegant tree with delicate green leaves bearing clusters of creamy white flowers in spring and bright red berries in autumn, loved by birds. Suitable for most gardens. Fully hardy, it likes sun or semi-shade and most soils.

The Lady of the Mountain, the Rowan is a welcome sight on the mountains of the British Isles and Ireland. The Ancients regarded it as the Tree of Life.

In May the Rowan produces a mass of creamy white blossom, the tiny flower has 5 petals and 5 sepals. The green fruit ripens to a deep orange-red in autumn. Each berry has a tiny 5-pointed star – the pentagram, an ancient symbol of magical protection. The number 5 is one of the numbers associated with the White goddess and to the Celts, this fivefold division marked the rowan as one of her sacred trees. Sorbus is the symbol of the hidden mysteries of nature and the quickening of the life force.

A sacred and magical tree, the Rowan offered many kinds of protection against enchantment and illness, and it was considered most unlucky to fall one. It was associated with visions and portents, with vitality, reawakening and spiritual strength. Serpents and dragons were part of the myth especially in the protection of the earth’s energies, in ley lines and standing stones. The Druids often planted Rowans at places of worship and they used the smoke from rowan fires to call up spirit guides and warriors. The smoke was also traditionally used to foretell the future of lovers. It is said that wherever druidic remains are found so also are Rowan trees.