Myth blends with science in this inspiring story of one man's crusade to preserve the ancient and revered, yet recently threatened, yew tree.

Myth blends with science in this inspiring story of one man's crusade to preserve the ancient and revered, yet recently threatened, yew tree.

As some of the oldest living organisms to be found in Europe, yew trees have become inextricably bound up in some of the oldest enduring institutions of European culture. In The Immortal Yew, Tony Hall explores the biological, cultural, and mythic significance of these imposing evergreens. Supporting a range of animals and plants, yew trees foster new life by contributing to biodiversity in their surroundings. But their common occurrence in churchyards and their evergreen leaves have given them a separate folk status as symbols of life--in the British isles, they have come to represent the resurrection and eternal life central to the Christian faith. Their enduring significance to British culture extends beyond the church, however--even the founding political document of British government, the Magna Carta, is believed to have been sealed beneath a yew tree. Despite the enduring presence and significance of the yew tree across a millennium of British history, this seemingly immortal stalwart faces new threats in the twenty-first century as elderly trees near the end of their lives and global climate change threatens the next generation. Perhaps by spending time in the generous shade of one of the yew trees Hall documents in this beautifully illustrated book, a new generation might begin to learn the importance of protecting its legacy and invest in its future.

The ancients revered this sacred tree that has existed on Earth for 200 million years - some trees, still alive today, even survived the last ice age. This immortal tree was therefore venerated as the triple goddess of life, death and rebirth, and was believed to be the guardian of our planet. With climate change threatening our existence, many are now turning to the Tree of Life, identified with the ancient yew, for answers to our predicament. Through groundbreaking research, Janis Fry answers our modern yearning to make sense of life through a god/dess of Nature that guides our lives and connects us to people and events, to which we are answerable as custodians of life on Earth. The Cult of the Yew: Tree of Life, Mystery and Magic explores the spiritual history of this iconic tree and aims to change how those who read it think and understand life in these times.

The gnarled, immutable yew tree is one of the most evocative sights in the British and Irish language, an evergreen impression of immortality, the tree that provides a living botanical link between our own landscapes and those of the distant past. This book tells the extraordinary story of the yew’s role in the landscape through the millennia, and makes a convincing case for the origins of many of the oldest trees, as markers of the holy places founded by Celtic saints in the early medieval ‘Dark Ages’. With wonderful photographic portraits of ancient yews and a gazetteer (with locations) of the oldest yew trees in Britain, the book brings together for the first time all the evidence about the dating, history, archaeology and cultural connections of the yew. Robert Bevan-Jones discusses its history, biology, the origins of its name, the yew berry and its toxicity, its distribution across Britain, means of dating examples, and their association with folklore, with churchyards, abbeys, springs, pre-Reformation wells and as landscape markers. This third edition has an updated introduction with new photographs and corrections to the main text.

Tune into the wisdom of three trees sacred to Druids—birch, oak, and yew—and use their powerful lessons and natural gifts to transform your life. Written by a Druid with more than twenty years of practical experience, The Wisdom of Birch, Oak, and Yew will guide you through a one-of-a-kind journey of magical self-discovery. Its unique invitation: change your perspective by "being as a tree" and consider yourself in light of the qualities of our arboreal friends. Engage with the spirit of each tree and explore its relationship to the stages of your life and the rhythm of your days. Experience within yourself each tree's positive attributes, gain perspective by taking on each tree's role as "witness," and find respite from the frenetic pace of modern life. Praise: "Wise, inspiring, and entertaining, this is a profoundly practical book about nature's magic and how it supports our personal development. I warmly recommend it."—Dr. William Bloom, author of The Power of Modern Spirituality "A very fine book on the deep magic of the trees. Penny Billington shows us how these trees function as guides and initiators, teachers and friends and along the way gives us a first rate introduction to working with the energies of the land to promote healing and new life."—Ian Rees, Psychotherapist, Trainer, and Program Director of the Annwn Foundation

A comprehensive and richly illustrated history, Yew will appeal to botanists and other readers interested in the history and symbolism of the natural world, now in paperback. The yew is the oldest and most common tree in the world, but it is a plant of puzzling contradictions: it is a conifer with juicy scarlet berries, but no cones; deer can feast on its poisonous foliage, but it is lethal to farm animals, and it thrives where other plants cannot because of its extraordinarily low rate of photosynthesis. Exploring this paradoxical plant in Yew, Fred Hageneder surveys its position in religious and cultural history, its role in the creation of the British Empire, and its place in modern medicine. Hageneder explains the way the yew is able to renew itself from the inside by producing interior roots and how early humans, fascinated with its regenerative powers, began to associate the tree with concepts of life and death, the afterlife, and eternity. As such, it can be found at the sacred sites of Native Americans, Buddhists, and Shinto shrines in Japan, and it has become a living symbol of the resurrection for the Christian faith. He describes how churchyards saved many yews during the Middle Ages when the trees were used for the mass production of the longbow, which laid the foundation for the British Empire. Finally, he discusses the latest scientific discoveries about the yew, including its use in cancer treatments.