EARTH WELL: IVY ©
by Tira Brandon-Evans, CH


AN EIDHEANN-MU-CHRANN

BUAINIDH mis an eidheann-mu-chrann,
Mar a bhuain Moire le a leth-laimh,
Mar a dh’ orduich Righ nan dul,
Bainne chur an uth ’s an ar,
Le laoigh bhreaca, bhoirionn, bhailgneach,
Mar a thubhradh anns an dailgneachd,
Air an laraich seo gu ceann la ’s bliadhna,
A uchd Dia nan dul’s nan cursa comhla.



(The Tree Entwining Ivy Carmina Gadelica, Volume 2, by Alexander Carmicheal, [1900], at Sacred Texts.com) 		Hedera helix - Common Ivy          THE TREE-ENTWINING IVY

I WILL pluck the tree-entwining ivy,
As Mary plucked with her one hand,
As the King of life has ordained,
To put milk in udder and gland,
With speckled fair female calves,
As was spoken in the prophecy,
On this foundation for a year and a day,
Through the bosom of the God of life,
   and of all the powers.


(The Tree Entwining Ivy Carmina Gadelica, Volume 2, by Alexander Carmicheal, [1900], at Sacred Texts.com)





For a very old head ache ; take salt and rue, and a bunch of ivy berries, pound all at once, add honey, and therewith smear the temples, and the forehead, and the top of the head.

[Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England, Vol II., Collected and Editied by Rev. Oswald Cockayne; Longman, Green; 1865; London]


Hedera helix or Common Ivy is a native to most of Europe and is found growing in Ireland, southern Scandinavia, Spain, the Ukraine, northern Turkey and southwestern Asia. It is also common in North America where it is generally called English Ivy. The Hedera helix vine is found in many gardens throughout the temperate zones. Ivy is an invasive species and, if not controlled through pruning, can overwhelm other plants and smother trees.

The vines may grow up to 30 metres long (about 90 feet) and makes an excellent ground cover. It is also able to grow on vertical surfaces such as walls and tree trunks by means of aerial rootlets. These rootlets do not provide food or water to the vine and are solely the means by which the ivy attaches itself to the surface.

Millsiu feraib, sweeter than grasses, that is gort, ivy, g, with him owing to the identity of the name with the cornfield. When it is in the blade, sweeter than any grass is that grass, to wit, the cornfield. Hence for that letter in Ogham owing to the complete identity of the name between them. [The Word Ogham of Morann Mac Main]


The dark-green, glossy leaves of the ivy alternate on the stem. In a mature vine the lobed leaves are between 2-4 inches long and around 1.5-2 inches wide. From late summer to late autumn Ivy produces small umbrella like flower heads with tiny white, yellowish, or pale green petals. Bees and other pollinators love Ivy nectar and this late season bounty helps some species survive after the showier flowers of the garden have withered away.

The fresh leaves, boiled in vinegar, and applied warm to the sides of those that are troubled with the spleen, ache, or stich in the sides, do give much ease ... fresh leaves boiled in wine, and old filthy ulcers hard to be cured washed therewith, do wonderfully help to cleanse them. It also quicly heals green wounds, and is effectual to heal all burnings and scaldings... . [The Complete Herbal & English Physician, Culpeper, 1653]


The berries, which range in colour from blackish purple to yellowish orange, ripen in late winter. Though the berries are toxic to humans many birds eat Ivy berries. Birds nest in mature vines and a very large Ivy vine may provide shelter for hundreds of song birds.

The Greek priests presented a wreath of Ivy to newly-married persons, and the Ivy has throughout the ages been regarded as the emblem of fidelity. The custom of decorating houses and churches with Ivy at Christmas was forbidden by one of the early Councils of the Church, on account of its pagan associations, but the custom still remains. [A Modern Herbal, Mrs. Grieve]


CAUTION: Ivy should never be taken internally. Although the leaves, wood, and berries are not highly poisonous, they are toxic and Ivy should never be taken internally.



Tira Brandon-Evans is a Chartered Herbalist, the Founder and Moderator of the Society of Celtic Shamans, editor of Earthsongs: Journal of the Society of Celtic Shamans, and a Faery Shaman. Her books, The Green and Burning Tree: A Faery Shaman's Handbook, Portals of the Seasons: A Celtic Wheel of the Year, Through the Unremembered Gate: Journeys of Initiation, The Labyrinthine Way: Walking Ancient Paths in a Modern World, and Healing Waters, are all published by Elder Grove Press. She is presently writing a book about the Ogham. You may contact Tira by email at info@faeryshaman.org.



Earth Well: Ivy copyright © 2009 by Tira Brandon-Evans, all rights reserved. Used with permission. Top of Page



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