As a tree whose possible life outspans all other trees as well as much of the course of human history to date, the yew is symbolic of the sun of all wisdom. Just as the yew contains the lessons of all the other trees, so it is said, do we contain all the experiences, knowledge, and understanding of our ancestors? The yew tree reminds us of this possibility. It emphasizes the relatively brief span of human life and the short term nature of many of our beliefs and practices. As the culmination of the spiritual journey, the ultimate lesson of the yew is the transcendence of death.
To the Irish, the yew was the tree revered above all others. It is said to guard the doorway between this life and the next.
Yews are commonly found by ancient churches. Many are at least as old as the church, others considerably older. An ancient yew in Fortingall in Perthshire, Scotland is now estimated to be around 9,000 years old.
The yew is under the rule of the planet Saturn and because of its connection to bows and arrows, it also represents the zodiacal sign of Sagittarius--the archer.
This lesson was from the book "The Wisdom of Tree by J. Gifford)
Go hug a tree,
Sherry/treehugger-peninhand.blogspot.com
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