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On the Isle of Man, the phrase 'fairy tree' often refers to the elder tree. [1] The medieval Welsh poem Cad Goddeu (The Battle of the Trees) is believed to contain Celtic tree lore, possibly relating to the crann ogham, the branch of the ogham alphabet where tree names are used as mnemonic devices. "The Druid Grove" (1845)
The druids – that is what they call their magicians – hold nothing more sacred than the mistletoe and a tree on which it is growing, provided it is a hard-timbered oak [robur] [4] [5].... Mistletoe is rare and when found it is gathered with great ceremony, and particularly on the sixth day of the moon ....
[citation needed] The term druid itself possibly derives from the Celtic word for oak. The Egyptian Book of the Dead mentions sycamores as part of the scenery where the soul of the deceased finds blissful repose. [4] The presence of trees in myth sometimes occurs in connection to the concept of the sacred tree and the sacred grove.
A druid oak is a large oak tree found in many ancient forests in Britain. Many such forests have named druid oaks. There are also rare examples at Salcey Forest, in Northamptonshire. Typically such trees will be hundreds of years old. The name relates to the ancient druids who met in forests' oak groves and in particular beneath the old oak ...
Tree deities were common in ancient Northern European lore. In Charlemagne's time, following the Capitulatio de partibus Saxoniae in 782 offerings to sacred trees or any other form of worship of the spirits of trees and springs were outlawed. Even as late as 1227 the Synod of Trier decreed that the worship of trees and sources was forbidden. [5]
Based on all available forms, the hypothetical proto-Celtic word may be reconstructed as *dru-wid-s (pl. *druwides), whose original meaning is traditionally taken to be "oak-knower", based upon the association of druids' beliefs with oak trees, which was made by Pliny the Elder, who also suggested that the word is borrowed from the Greek word ...
Trees hold a particular role in Germanic paganism and Germanic mythology, both as individuals (sacred trees) and in groups (sacred groves). The central role of trees in Germanic religion is noted in the earliest written reports about the Germanic peoples , with the Roman historian Tacitus stating that Germanic cult practices took place ...
A central prayer in modern Druidic traditions is "The Druid's Prayer", which was written in the 18th century by Druid Iolo Morganwg and originally addressed to a monotheistic god. In modern times, with the increase in polytheistic Druidry, and the widespread acceptance of goddess-worship, the word "Goddess" has largely replaced the word "God ...