Secrets of the Elder Tree
The Elder Tree (Sambucus nigra)
Volume 15 of 31
Bruce Clifton
Elder Tree – (Ruis)
The Elder is the tree of eternal rebirth, infinite wisdom and the continual cycle of life after life. She does not simply represent an ending, nor does she stand as the final tree of the Ogham cycle. Instead, she belongs to the mystery of the 13th Moon within the Metonic cycle, appearing only when the rhythm of time creates space for her wisdom to be recognised.
This makes the Elder a rare and deeply significant presence. Her knowledge is not the quick wisdom of youth or the first bright promise of spring. It is grandmother wisdom, gathered slowly through patience, loss, love, endurance and renewal. Like the Crone, the Elder carries the understanding of one who has lived beyond the urgency of beginnings and now sees the whole pattern of life more clearly.
She grows quietly beside humanity, along hedgerows, cottages, ancient ruins and forgotten paths, offering blossom, berries and healing to those who approach with respect. Every part of the tree has purpose, and little should ever be wasted. The Elder gives generously, but her gifts must not be taken carelessly. To take without permission is to misunderstand her completely.
The Elder’s power lies in her ability to return. Even when cut back or broken, she often sends out new growth, becoming a living symbol of rebirth and life after life. On the Isle of Anglesey, remembered as the mother of Wales and the last sanctuary of the Druids, the Elder stands as a fitting reminder of their belief that life is never truly extinguished. Every ending carries the seed of another beginning.
To stand beside the Elder is to feel time moving in circles rather than straight lines. Blossom becomes fruit, fruit returns to the earth, and from decay new life rises again. She is the Crone, the grandmother, the keeper of rare wisdom, and the tree that appears when the soul is ready to understand.
Elder Tree – Ogham Tree Profile
Bruce Clifton
Name: Elder Tree
Ogham: Ruis >>> Roo ish >>> Roo ich >>> Ru eesh
Letter: R
Lunar: 13th Moon (Samhain)
Season: Autumn
Moon Phase: New Moon / Full Moon
Moon Name: Dark / Snow / Tree Moon
Influence: Feminine
Title: Shrub
Age: 1 Generation
Element: Wind
Aura: Green / Pink
Healing: Arthritis – Colds – Fevers – Hay Fever – Kidney – Water Retention
Animal Spirit: Badger – Hare – Turtle/Tortoise – White Fawn
Totems – Entities: Arianrhod – Crone – Druantia – Moirai
Gods – Deities: Bran – Branwen – Cailleach – Gwennefoedd
Secret Harmony: Akashic Records – Death – Elysium
Festival: N/A
Key Words: Patience –
Essence of the Elder Tree
Bruce Clifton
When to Call on Elder
When life is drawing one chapter to a peaceful close
When wisdom is needed more than knowledge
When grief seeks understanding rather than escape
When the soul is ready to embrace renewal
When patience must replace urgency
Signs of Elder Presence
A quiet acceptance of life’s changing seasons
The feeling that an ending is preparing a new beginning
Greater reverence for age, ancestry and inherited wisdom
An instinct to protect rather than possess
The sense that time itself is slowing
Elder in the Inner Landscape
Elder does not rush forward. She waits until experience has softened certainty into wisdom. Like the rare thirteenth moon of the Metonic cycle, her gifts are not revealed every year, nor are they recognised by everyone. They arrive only when the soul has matured enough to understand them.
Within her lives the Crone, not as a figure of fear but as the grandmother whose love is strengthened by experience and whose guidance comes without judgement. She reminds us that every ending nourishes another beginning, and that nothing given by nature should ever be wasted.
Healing Lore of the Elder Tree
Bruce Clifton
The Elder is the tree of wisdom, renewal and the quiet understanding that comes only with time. Unlike the youthful energy of the Birch or the protective strength of the Blackthorn, the Elder heals through patience, reflection and experience. She reminds us that many ailments are not simply conditions of the body but burdens carried by the mind and spirit, and that true healing often begins long before the first remedy is prepared.
The old Druids understood that every tree possessed its own character, and that this character formed part of the healing itself. They did not gather simply flowers, berries or bark. They gathered from a living tree whose roots, companions, surroundings and seasons all influenced its gifts. An Elder growing beside a quiet stream would not be regarded in quite the same way as one standing alone upon an exposed hillside. Every grove, every meadow and every woodland edge carried its own wisdom, and the healer learned to recognise these subtle differences.
The Elder teaches us to slow down. To sit beneath her branches. To observe rather than hurry. It is in these quieter moments that tension begins to ease, breathing becomes gentler and the body is given the opportunity to restore its own natural rhythm. Her blossoms, berries and bark have long held an honoured place within traditional remedies, yet the greatest gift of the Elder may simply be the calm she brings to those willing to spend time in her company.
The wise healer understands that no tree exists in isolation. Mosses, lichens, fungi, birds, insects and the wildflowers growing beneath the Elder all become part of its living community. Together they form the grove, each contributing something to the greater harmony of the landscape. The Druid did not separate these relationships but understood them as parts of one complete living system, where the tree and its companions worked together to support both the land and the people who lived upon it.
The healing traditions recorded here reflect that older understanding. They are not intended to replace modern medicine but to preserve the country wisdom passed quietly from one generation to the next. They remind us that healing is found not only within the remedy itself, but within our relationship with the tree, the land and the seasons that shape our lives.
Scope & Notice
The information contained herein is for educational and entertainment purposes only. All efforts have been made to present accurate, up-to-date, reliable and complete information; however, no warranties of any kind are stated or implied. As readers, please acknowledge the author is not engaging in the rendering of medical or professional advice. The content herein should not be perceived as a substitute for professional or personal guidance. If in doubt, consult a professional before attempting any techniques outlined herein.
The appropriate dosage is contingent upon various factors, including the user’s age, health status, and additional conditions. It is important to remember that natural products are not necessarily safe, and dosages may be critical. It is always best practice to start with a lower dose and increase as necessary. Another important element is the time of day when the remedies are taken.
About the Healing List
This list of ailments is not complete in its entirety; it has been limited to the most popular, with the remedies coming firstly from the tree and then vegetation dependent upon the tree. Every tree exists within its own living community, where mosses, lichens, fungi, insects, birds and companion plants contribute to the greater harmony of the grove. It is worthy of note that there is more than one way to prepare many traditional remedies, and many of the ingredients may also be purchased online.
Elder Tree – Healing Remedies Oracle
We have alphabetised this list of healing qualities of the elder tree solely for ease of reference, they include but are not limited to:
1) Arthritis
2) Colds
3) Fevers
4) Hay Fever
5) Kidney
6) Water Retention
Arthritis / Elder Tree
Ingredients:
Elderflower
Elder Berry
Elder Leaf (external traditional use only)
Elder Oil
Key Properties:
Flavonoids – Anthocyanins – Polyphenols – Antioxidant compounds – Natural anti-inflammatory constituents
Traditional Actions:
Easing joint stiffness, supporting circulation, reducing inflammatory discomfort, encouraging mobility, supporting natural recovery
Preparation:
Elderflowers may be infused in hot water to produce a fragrant herbal tea, while ripe elderberries are traditionally cooked before being prepared as a syrup, cordial or warming decoction. Elderflower-infused oil may be blended with a suitable carrier oil and gently massaged into stiff or aching joints.
For external use, cooled elderflower infusions or carefully prepared traditional elder leaf preparations have historically been applied as warm compresses to areas of discomfort. (Modern herbal practice generally advises caution with elder leaves because of their naturally occurring constituents.)
Traditional Use:
Elder has long been valued where joints have become stiff, swollen or less responsive through age, wear or long-standing discomfort. Rather than acting quickly, the Elder has traditionally been regarded as a tree of gentle restoration, encouraging the body to recover its natural ease of movement over time.
Its blossoms were often associated with cooling and comfort, while the berries were valued for their nourishing qualities during periods of recovery and seasonal weakness. Together they reflect the Elder’s enduring character: not forcing change, but patiently supporting the body’s own rhythms of renewal.
Within the flow of Bnwyfre, breath of life, the Elder encourages resilience rather than resistance. Like the tree itself, which returns season after season despite hardship, it has traditionally been seen as supporting flexibility, endurance and the quiet restoration of balance.
(See: Holistic Healing Remedies / Arthritis)
Colds / Elder Tree
Ingredients:
Elderflower
Elder Berry
Key Properties:
Flavonoids – Anthocyanins – Polyphenols – Antioxidants – Natural Plant Compounds
Traditional Actions:
Supporting The Immune System – Encouraging Perspiration – Easing Congestion – Soothing The Respiratory System – Supporting Natural Recovery
Preparation:
Elderflower may be infused in hot water to produce a fragrant herbal tea, often sweetened with a little honey. Ripe Elder berries are traditionally cooked before being made into a syrup, cordial or warming drink. Taken warm, these preparations have long been enjoyed during the colder months of the year when coughs, colds and winter chills begin to appear.
The rising steam from a freshly prepared infusion was also valued, allowing the warmth and aroma of the Elder to gently comfort the airways while the body settled into rest.
Traditional Use:
For countless generations, the Elder has been one of the countryside’s best-loved winter remedies. As autumn gives way to winter and the nights grow longer, the Elder quietly offers her berries and blossoms to help the body through the darker months. Rather than forcing the body to recover, she has traditionally been regarded as encouraging the body’s own natural healing, gently supporting warmth, comfort and renewal.
The Elder carries the quiet wisdom of the Crone. She does not hurry the process, nor promise instant relief. Instead, she reminds us that healing often comes through rest, warmth and allowing nature to follow its own course. Like the Elder herself, recovery unfolds in its own time.
Within the flow of Bnwyfre, Breath Of Life, the Elder has long been associated with renewal after illness, helping the body regain its strength as winter slowly gives way to spring.
(See: Holistic Healing Remedies / Colds)
Fevers / Elder Tree
Ingredients:
Elderflower
Elder Berry
Key Properties:
Flavonoids – Anthocyanins – Polyphenols – Antioxidants – Natural Plant Compounds
Traditional Actions:
Encouraging Perspiration – Supporting The Body’s Natural Cooling – Easing Restlessness – Supporting Natural Recovery – Restoring Balance
Preparation:
Elderflower has traditionally been infused in hot water to produce a light, fragrant tea, usually taken warm and in small amounts throughout the day. The flowers were often gathered during early summer and carefully dried so they would be available during the winter months when fevers were more common.
Ripe Elder berries were cooked before use and prepared as a warming syrup or cordial, offering gentle nourishment as strength gradually returned. Together, the flowers and berries were valued as companions through periods of illness, bringing comfort while the body found its own rhythm once more.
Traditional Use:
For generations, Elder has been one of the countryside’s trusted companions whenever fever accompanied coughs, colds and winter ailments. Rather than being valued for suppressing the body’s natural response, Elder was traditionally used to support it, encouraging gentle perspiration while helping the body settle into its own process of recovery.
There is a quiet patience about the Elder. Like the Crone, she understands that healing cannot be hurried. Warmth, rest and time have always been part of her medicine, allowing the body to release what no longer serves it before gradually returning to strength.
Within the flow of Bnwyfre, Breath Of Life, the Elder has long been associated with renewal. As the fever passes and vitality slowly returns, the Elder reminds us that recovery is not a battle to be won, but a natural cycle to be honoured, just as winter quietly yields to the first signs of spring.
(See: Holistic Healing Remedies / Fevers)
Hay Fever / Elder Tree
Ingredients:
Elderflower
Elder Berry
Key Properties:
Flavonoids – Polyphenols – Antioxidants – Aromatic Plant Compounds – Natural Bioactive Constituents
Traditional Actions:
Easing Seasonal Discomfort – Soothing Irritated Airways – Supporting The Respiratory System – Encouraging Comfort During Pollen Season – Restoring Seasonal Harmony
Preparation:
Elderflower is gathered when the blossom is fully open, usually on a warm, dry day during early summer. The flower heads are carefully dried and stored until needed, then steeped in hot water to produce a delicate infusion. Fully ripe Elder berries are gathered later in the season, always cooked before use, and traditionally prepared as a syrup or cordial to be enjoyed throughout the winter months.
Traditional Use:
For as long as people have gathered from the hedgerow, the Elder has been one of the countryside’s trusted companions during the changing seasons. When the grasses flowered, the pollen drifted on the breeze and the eyes and nose began to suffer, many country people naturally turned to the Elder growing close to home.
The old belief was that every landscape provides what its people need. The Elder rooted in the same soil, nourished by the same rain and flowering beneath the same skies was thought to understand that place better than any remedy brought from elsewhere. An Elder growing a hundred miles away belonged to another countryside, another climate and another rhythm of the seasons. It was the local tree that had shared the same winds, the same pollen and the same summer air.
Whether gathered from the edge of a meadow, an old hedgerow or beside a village lane, the Elder became part of the yearly rhythm of country life. She was not called upon to fight the season, but to help people live comfortably alongside it, accepting that spring and summer each bring their own gifts and their own challenges.
The Elder reminds us that healing begins by knowing the land beneath our feet. The closer our relationship with the natural world around us, the more readily we recognise that nature has long provided for those who take the time to understand her quiet ways.
(See: Holistic Healing Remedies / Hay Fever)
Kidneys / Elder Tree
Ingredients:
Elderflower
Elder Berry
Elder Bark
Key Properties:
Flavonoids – Polyphenols – Mineral Salts – Natural Plant Compounds – Traditional Cleansing Constituents
Traditional Actions:
Supporting The Kidneys – Encouraging The Natural Movement Of Fluids – Easing Emotional Burden – Promoting Calm – Supporting Renewal
Preparation:
Elderflower may be gathered during the warmth of early summer and infused to produce a gentle herbal tea. Ripe Elder berries are traditionally cooked before use and prepared as a warming syrup or nourishing drink. Where a stronger preparation was required, experienced country herbalists sometimes added a small shaving of bark from the lower trunk, believing the older wood carried a deeper character than the younger branches or twigs.
Gathering was never simply about taking from the tree. Time was spent in its company, observing the season, the weather, the birds, the insects and the life that surrounded it. The remedy began long before the water reached the boil.
Traditional Use:
The Elder has long been associated with the kidneys, not simply because of the preparations made from her blossom, berries or bark, but because of the quiet wisdom she represents. In the old traditions, the kidneys were often seen as carrying the weight of life’s burdens. Long periods of worry, grief or constant pressure were thought to settle deeply within the body, gradually disturbing its natural harmony.
The Elder does not meet such burdens with force. She meets them with patience. As the Crone of the woodland, she encourages us to slow down, to breathe, to reflect and to release what no longer needs to be carried. Her healing begins with the mind and the spirit, allowing the body to follow in its own time.
For generations, people have sat beneath an Elder not only to gather her gifts but to seek her company. Her presence reminds us that wisdom grows where haste fades, and that many of life’s burdens become lighter when viewed through older, calmer eyes. As tension eases, the body itself is believed to find a gentler rhythm, supporting the kidneys as part of the whole person rather than as an isolated organ.
The Elder teaches that true healing comes from understanding the whole tree. Its blossom, berries and bark each have their place, but its greatest gift is the quiet wisdom it offers to those prepared to stop, listen and become part of the grove. In that stillness, the body, the mind and the spirit begin to find their way back to one another.
(See: Holistic Healing Remedies / Kidneys)
Water Retention / Elder Tree
Ingredients:
Elderflower
Elder Berry
Elder Bark
Key Properties:
Flavonoids – Polyphenols – Mineral Salts – Natural Plant Compounds – Traditional Cleansing Constituents
Traditional Actions:
Supporting The Natural Movement Of Fluids – Encouraging Gentle Release – Promoting Rest And Relaxation – Supporting Circulation – Easing Feelings Of Heaviness
Preparation:
Elderflower may be gathered in early summer and prepared as a gentle infusion, while ripe Elder berries are traditionally cooked before use and enjoyed as a warming syrup or cordial. Where a stronger preparation was desired, experienced country herbalists sometimes added a small shaving of bark from the lower trunk, believing the older wood carried a deeper strength than the younger growth.
As with many traditional remedies, the preparation was only part of the practice. Time was often spent sitting quietly beneath the Elder, allowing both the body and the mind to settle before the remedy was taken.
Traditional Use:
The Elder has long been associated with helping the body release what it no longer needs to carry. In country tradition, water retention was often seen as more than the gathering of excess fluid. It reflected a body that had become tired, overburdened or unable to find its natural rhythm.
The Elder offers no urgency. She teaches us to slow down. To sit quietly. To raise our feet after a day’s work. To allow the body to recover in its own time rather than constantly asking more of it.
Watch an Elder when the breeze passes through her branches. She does not tremble like the Birch, whose leaves dance with youthful energy, nor does she whisper endlessly like the Willow. The Elder moves with quiet dignity. Her branches sway gently, almost imperceptibly, as though every movement has purpose and every pause has meaning. She reminds us that strength is not always found in activity. Sometimes it is found in stillness.
For generations, people sought the Elder not only for her blossom, berries and bark, but for the peace found in her company. She became the grandmother of the grove, encouraging reflection instead of haste and wisdom instead of worry. As the mind became calmer, the body was believed to follow, gradually releasing the burdens it had quietly carried for too long.
The Elder teaches that not everything is solved by doing more. Sometimes the greatest healing begins by doing less, trusting the rhythm of nature, and allowing both body and spirit to move as gently as the branches of the Elder upon a summer breeze.
Celtic Tree Lore of the Elder Tree
Bruce Clifton
The Tree of the Thirteenth Moon
The Elder belongs to the rare Thirteenth Moon of the Metonic cycle, a moon that does not appear every year but returns only when the greater rhythm of the heavens calls it forth once more. Like the Elder herself, it asks for patience rather than haste. Some things cannot be forced into being. They arrive only when the time is right. The Druids understood that the greatest wisdom often reveals itself quietly, returning like an old friend rather than announcing itself as something new.
The Gentle Presence of the Elder
Standing beneath an Elder is unlike standing beneath any other tree. She asks for nothing except your company. Her branches do not reach skyward with urgency, nor do her leaves chatter loudly in the passing breeze. There is a gentleness about her that encourages the mind to slow until the woodland begins to reveal details that hurried footsteps never notice. The fragrance of the blossom drifts softly through warm summer air, while later in the year the heavy clusters of dark berries bow the branches towards the earth, reminding us that the richest harvest is carried with humility.
The Western Horizon
As evening approaches and the western sky begins to glow beyond Anglesey, the Elder seems to awaken in a different way. The fire of the setting sun gives itself willingly to the sea, Venus waits quietly upon the horizon and the first stars gather above the grove. Here, between daylight and darkness, the Elder feels most at home. She has no fear of endings because she has watched countless beginnings emerge from them. Every blossom becomes berry. Every berry returns to the earth. Every season leaves something behind for the one that follows.
Gathering with Permission
The old people seldom hurried when gathering from the Elder. They paused first. A hand rested gently upon the trunk. Permission was always sought before blossom, berry or bark was taken, for the tree was never regarded as a possession but as a generous neighbour whose gifts deserved gratitude rather than entitlement. To gather without asking was to forget that every remedy begins with relationship rather than ownership.
The Living Grove
Around the Elder gathers an entire community. Starlings, ravens, insects and woodland creatures all share in her abundance. Bluebells emerge beneath her canopy, while moss softens the shaded northern side of her trunk where moisture lingers through the changing seasons. Nothing lives beside the Elder by accident. Every bird, flower, fungus and creature becomes another thread within the living tapestry of the grove.
The Wisdom of Years
The Elder reminds us that growing old is not decline but fulfilment. She has watched children become parents and parents become grandparents. She has stood through storms, harsh winters and quiet summers, asking for no recognition while continuing to offer blossom in one season and nourishment in the next. The years do not diminish her. They deepen her presence, teaching that wisdom ripens as naturally as the berries hanging from her branches.
Samhain and Eternal Continuity
At Samhain, when the harvest has been gathered and the western horizon glows beneath the last warmth of the setting sun, the Elder becomes a place of quiet remembrance. The grove grows still, yet nothing feels empty. The living, the ancestors and those yet to come seem to share the same breath beneath her branches. It is not a place of sorrow but of continuity, where every ending folds gently into another beginning, like the turning of the heavens themselves. Here the Elder whispers her oldest lesson: life is never measured by how long we remain, but by what we leave growing after we have gone.
Folklore of the Elder Tree
Bruce Clifton
The Elder Mother and Permission
Few trees have inspired as much respect as the Elder. Throughout Britain and much of northern Europe, country people believed the tree was home to an ancient feminine presence, often known as the Elder Mother or Hylde-Moer. Before taking blossom, berries or wood, it was customary to pause and ask permission. This was not born from fear alone, but from the understanding that the Elder was a living neighbour whose generosity should never be taken for granted. To gather with gratitude was to enter into partnership with the tree; to take carelessly was to forget one’s place within the natural world.
The Medicine Chest of the Hedgerow
Country folklore regarded the Elder as the village medicine chest. From the first fragrant blossoms of early summer to the dark berries of autumn, every part of the tree found its purpose. Flowers were gathered and dried for the winter months, berries became syrups, wines and preserves, while bark, leaves and hollow stems all found their place within traditional country remedies. Nothing was wasted. The Elder taught that nature prepares tomorrow’s healing long before it is needed, asking only that we observe the seasons and gather wisely.
The Tree Beside the Cottage
For centuries the Elder was planted beside cottages, farmhouses and village boundaries, where it was believed to offer protection to the home and family. Its blossom welcomed the warmth of summer, while its berries fed birds preparing for the colder months ahead. Starlings, thrushes and blackbirds became familiar visitors, carrying Elder seeds across the countryside and quietly establishing new trees wherever they settled. In this way, the Elder spread not through cultivation alone, but through the shared life of the woodland and hedgerow.
Samhain and the Quiet Returning
As the berries ripened and the evenings drew shorter, the Elder naturally became associated with Samhain, remembrance and the thinning of the veil. Families gathered the final fruits of the year before winter settled upon the land, while stories of ancestors were shared around the hearth. The Elder came to symbolise continuity rather than loss, reminding each generation that those who had gone before remained part of the landscape through memory, love and the lives they had shaped.
The Wisdom of the Elder
Perhaps the greatest piece of folklore surrounding the Elder is not found in any single legend but in the quiet way people approached her. They rested beneath her branches, sought her remedies, listened to the birds she attracted and measured the passing years by blossom and berry. The Elder became a companion through every stage of life, from childhood to old age, teaching that wisdom is gathered slowly, shared generously and carried forward by each generation. Like the rare Thirteenth Moon that returns only in its own perfect time, the Elder reminds us that the richest gifts are often those that cannot be hurried.
Animal Spirit of the Elder Tree
Bruce Clifton
Animal Spirits and Recognition
Animal spirits are recognised through relationship rather than imagination. They appear naturally within the grove, each carrying qualities that harmonise with the character of the tree they accompany. Their presence is neither coincidence nor command, but a quiet invitation to observe more deeply. They reveal themselves through instinct, behaviour and the timeless rhythms of the natural world, reminding us that wisdom is often found by watching rather than searching.
The Elder as Keeper of Wisdom
The Elder stands as the tree of the Crone, the wise grandmother whose knowledge has been gathered through countless seasons. She offers sanctuary to those seeking understanding rather than certainty, encouraging reflection before action and patience before judgement. The animals drawn to her are not the swiftest nor the strongest. They are those that carry memory, endurance, awareness and the quiet confidence that comes from living in harmony with the land.
The Grove of Quiet Understanding
The Badger, Hare, Turtle and White Fawn each reveal a different aspect of the Elder’s wisdom. The Badger teaches belonging and the value of home. The Hare reminds us that every ending prepares another beginning. The Turtle carries the eternal rhythm of time, while the White Fawn walks unseen between the worlds, preserving ancestral memory and the voice of the land itself. Together they form a living community, each contributing its own understanding to the sacred ruis grove.
Aether and Shared Essence
The aether, or quintessence, of the Elder Tree draws to it those beings whose spirit reflects its own gentle wisdom. Within its quiet presence, memory is preserved, experience is honoured and the continuity of life is gently revealed. The Elder reminds us that every creature has its place within the grove and that harmony is found not through dominance, but through understanding the relationships that bind all living things together.
Elder Tree – Animal Spirit Oracle
Bruce Clifton
We have alphabetised this list of animal spirit that harmonise with the elder tree solely for ease of reference no sense of hierarchy or entitlement is intended or implied:
1) Badger
2) Hare
3) Turtle/Tortoise
4) White Fawn
Badger / Elder Tree
Badger is the wise one, the calming influence, the constant that does not change. Slow and steady and keeping pace, a sense of duty and always hospitable to all that are respectful. Badger rests beneath the Elder and becomes the sentinel recognised by all that harmony is maintained and this is a place of calm.
When the Badger appears alongside the Elder, he reminds us that healing often begins by returning to the simple things we have neglected. Rest when the body is weary. Reflect before making important decisions. Honour the wisdom of those who came before, and leave something of value for those who will follow. Like the Elder herself, the Badger teaches that life is not a race but a journey best travelled with patience, resilience and quiet confidence.
Both understand the importance of home. The Badger returns faithfully to the same sett, maintaining and extending it over many years until it becomes a living inheritance for future generations. The Elder, too, often remains where she first takes root, quietly watching families come and go while continuing to offer blossom, berries and shelter to all who live around her. Neither measures wealth by possessions. Their richness is found in belonging.
Together they become guardians of the old ways, showing us that true wisdom grows slowly, rooted deeply within the land, nurtured by time, and shared generously with those willing to listen.
(See: Badger / Animal Spirit Oracle)
Hare / Elder Tree
The Hare and the Elder meet where the old ways and the changing seasons quietly touch. Both are creatures of transition, appearing when one chapter of life gently gives way to another. Neither forces change. Instead, they remind us that every ending carries within it the promise of renewal.
The Hare has long been recognised as one of the countryside’s most watchful animals. Alert to the slightest movement, she pauses before every decision, listening to the land before choosing her next path. Her wisdom is found not in strength but in awareness, knowing when to remain still and when the moment has come to move.
The Elder carries that same quiet understanding. Like the Crone, she teaches that there is no need to rush through life. Experience brings perspective, and perspective brings peace. Together, the Hare and the Elder encourage us to trust the natural rhythm of our own journey rather than measuring ourselves against the pace of others.
Both belong to the open edges of the grove, where meadow meets hedgerow and the familiar world gives way to the unknown. The Hare knows every track across the fields, while the Elder stands patiently beside the ancient paths, watching the seasons return again and again. Each understands that the land remembers those who walk it with respect.
When the Hare appears beside the Elder, she reminds us that renewal often begins with a single quiet step. We cannot return to yesterday, but neither should we fear tomorrow. Like the rare Thirteenth Moon, some moments arrive only when the time is right, bringing opportunities that cannot be hurried or repeated.
Together, the Hare and the Elder teach that wisdom is not found by standing still forever, nor by racing endlessly ahead. It grows through knowing when to pause, when to reflect and when to continue the journey. They invite us to walk gently through the landscape, trusting that every season, every path and every ending has its rightful place within the greater cycle of life.
(See: Hare / Animal Spirit Oracle)
Turtle – Tortoise / Elder Tree
The turtle represents the impermanence of everything and how the ever-changing tides of life are to be appreciated. As it moves across the sand it leaves behind a network of footprints, impressions, mandalas, with every one as unique as the last. A fingerprint of what was will never be again.
With a foot in each direction, just as the spirit world has no time, the tortoise teaches us that there is only now, the present and it is this moment that counts. The tortoise moves from the dark into the light, on its left is the East with sunrise each morning. Ahead and above is the South and midday with the glory that each day brings. On its right is the West and sunset bringing the calm serenity of nightfall. The North is the night and where tortoise travels from.
Look for a fresh perspective to a current situation, a new beginning, a realisation that as time turns with each season life moves on, new life, this life and life after life. Appreciate the divine feminine, the females around you. Every emotion, every sense, every sensual feeling is there to be explored.
The Elder Tree with the Crone, is a woman beyond child bearing years who has accumulated the wisdom of life. Just as the Crone will reveal the future through tea leaves, the Elder Tree will cast her flowers to the ground for all to see, the turtle will create a mandala in the path it leaves behind, its shell is a mandala revealed to those that can see.
(See: Turtle – Tortoise / Animal Spirit Oracle)
White Fawn / Elder Tree
The White Fawn teaches us that true sight belongs not to the eyes alone but to the heart. Those who seek her through haste will never find her. Those who sit quietly beneath the Elder, listening without expectation, may one day discover that she has been walking beside them all along, carrying the memory of the ancestors, the wisdom of the Crone and the eternal song of the land.
There are moments, in the twilight hour in the stillness of dawn or the quiet of evening, when the woodland holds its breath. A leaf falls without sound. A branch stirs though no wind is felt. In those moments, many have sensed a quiet voice that seems to rise from the land itself. It is heard by all, yet recognised by only a few. The Ancient Druids understood this as the voice of the grove, carried gently upon the presence of the Elder Tree and whispered with the White Fawn.
The old ones believed that memory is woven into the landscape itself. Every tree, every stream, every standing stone carries echoes of those who have walked before. The White Fawn moves effortlessly through these unseen pathways, touching what some have called the Akashic Records, where ancestral memory, present understanding and future possibility exist together. To encounter her is not to receive answers, but to remember what the soul has always known.
Totems and Entities of the Elder Tree
Bruce Clifton
The Elder as Keeper of Memory
The Elder does not gather totems and entities through power alone, but through memory. Standing quietly at woodland edge, village boundary and ancient pathway, she has watched generations come and go, preserving within her presence the accumulated wisdom of the land itself. Those intelligences drawn to the Elder are rarely restless or impulsive. They are guardians of continuity, ancestral remembrance, transformation and the quiet understanding that every ending becomes the beginning of another cycle.
The Living Grove and the Unseen World
Within the Druid’s grove, the Elder stands where the visible and invisible worlds draw closest together. Here, memory is carried not only by people, but by the trees, the soil, the birds, the creatures beneath the earth and the turning heavens above. The totems and entities that gather around the Elder do not exist apart from nature. They belong to it, each expressing a different aspect of the grove’s living consciousness. Together they reveal that wisdom is never possessed by one being alone, but shared throughout the whole community of life.
Bnwyfre and the Turning Wheel
The Elder carries Bnwyfre with quiet certainty, moving not as sudden inspiration but as experience ripened through time. Around her gather the Crone, Druantia, Arianrhod, the White Fawn and other ancient presences whose purpose is not to command, but to preserve harmony within the eternal turning of the Wheel. Like the rare Thirteenth Moon within the Metonic cycle, they remind us that some truths reveal themselves only to those prepared to wait, observe and recognise the deeper rhythms moving through both the heavens and the grove.
Living Tradition and Relationship
The traditions surrounding the Elder have never belonged to one culture alone. Across the Celtic lands and beyond, local stories, guardian spirits and ancestral presences have become woven into her branches, each enriching rather than replacing what came before. For this reason, the totems and entities associated with the Elder vary from place to place, yet all share one enduring quality: they honour wisdom earned through relationship with the land, with the seasons and with the living continuity of life itself.
Elder Tree – Totems and Entities Oracle
Bruce Clifton
We have alphabetised this list of totems and entities that harmonise with the elder tree solely for ease of reference, no sense of hierarchy or entitlement is intended or implied:
1) Arianrhod
2) Crone
3) Druantia
4) Moirai
Arianrhod / Elder Tree
Within the Elder Tree, Arianrhod is recognised as the Keeper of the Silver Wheel, whose endless turning brings the heavens, the seasons and the rare Thirteenth Moon into harmony. The Druids understood that the Metonic cycle was more than a method of measuring time. It revealed the greater rhythm through which the Moon returns, the Elder appears, and the wheel begins another sacred revolution. Gwennefoedd breathes warmth and harmony through this celestial order, reminding us that every turning carries both continuity and renewal.
Like the ancient Moirai, who spin, measure and eventually release the thread of every life, Arianrhod governs not the individual thread but the greater Wheel upon which all threads are woven. She does not determine destiny. She preserves the rhythm of life, death and rebirth, allowing each to return in its proper season. Beneath the Elder, these mysteries become visible not as doctrine, but as living patterns found throughout the grove and the turning heavens alike.
Even the Turtle, leaving its fleeting mandala upon the Welsh shore before the tide gently washes it away, echoes the same eternal truth. Every pattern is unique. Every life leaves its impression. Yet the Wheel continues to turn. Through Arianrhod and the Elder, we are reminded that nothing stands alone. The heavens, the seasons, the grove and the soul all move together in quiet harmony.
(See: Arianrhod / Totems and Entities)
Crone / Elder Tree
The Crone is the eternal grandmother of the grove, the keeper of memory whose wisdom has been gathered through countless seasons beneath the turning heavens. She is not the end of life but its fullest expression, where experience has ripened into understanding, compassion and quiet certainty. Throughout Europe she has been known by many names: the Wise Woman, the Hedge Mother, the Herb Keeper and, in the old northern traditions, Hylde-Moer, the protective spirit of the Elder Tree. To gather from the Elder without first asking permission was to forget that healing begins with respect, gratitude and a relationship with the living world.
No tree reflects the Crone more completely than the Elder. From the first blossom of summer to the dark berries of autumn, the Elder reminds us that everything has its season and every stage of life carries its own purpose. The Crone does not ask us to fear growing older. She teaches that wisdom is life’s greatest harvest, earned through love, loss, joy and hardship, and the quiet understanding that only time can bring. She strips away illusion, leaving only what truly matters.
Within the Bnwyfre Spiritual Order, the Crone watches over the Elder and the rare Thirteenth Moon of the Metonic cycle, where endings and beginnings meet upon the same turning wheel. She reminds us that nothing in nature is wasted, no experience is without value and no soul ever stops learning. Like the Elder herself, she stands patiently at the edge of the grove, welcoming those who arrive with open hearts and leave carrying a little more wisdom than when they first entered.
(See: Crone / Totems and Entities)
Druantia / Elder Tree
Druantia walks beside the Elder as the Druid’s year draws gently towards Samhain, where harvest has been gathered, leaves return to the earth and the veil between worlds grows thin. Here she stands not as ruler alone, but as guardian of every sacred grove, watching as one cycle quietly gives way to another. Beside the Crone, she honours all that has ripened through the passing seasons, preserving the wisdom of the old year before the first breath of the new begins.
The Elder marks the rare Thirteenth Moon within the turning of the Metonic cycle, reminding us that time moves not in straight lines but in eternal return. Like the sacred figure of eight, every ending folds naturally into another beginning. The heavens mirror this rhythm as Mars traces its great cycle through the night sky, returning again to stand in quiet relationship with the Moon. So too does the Elder return with each completed wheel, carrying memory forward rather than leaving it behind. Druantia governs this harmony, ensuring that nothing truly lived is ever lost, only transformed.
Within the Bnwyfre Spiritual Order, Druantia and the Crone stand together beneath the Elder at Samhain, one preserving the ancient wisdom of the grove, the other preparing its renewal. Around them the Dryads keep silent watch, the ancestors draw near and the woodland holds its breath between one heartbeat and the next. It is a season not of endings, but of continuity, where the living, the departed and those yet to come are united within the eternal turning of the Wheel, held in perfect balance through the quiet presence of Druantia.
(See: Druantia / Totems and Entities)
Moirai / Elder Tree
The Moirai stand quietly beside the Elder, not as judges of fate, but as weavers of life’s eternal thread. They understand that every beginning carries an ending and every ending prepares another beginning. Beneath the Elder, where blossom gives way to berry and autumn slowly yields to winter, they remind us that every season has its purpose and every soul follows its own unique path through the great tapestry of life. The Elder does not resist their weaving. She honours it, preserving the memory of every thread that has passed beneath her branches.
As evening twilight softens the landscape and Venus appears low upon the western horizon, the ancient rhythm of the Moirai becomes easier to recognise. Friday, long associated with beauty, harmony and the sacred feminine, carries their quieter influence. It is a time for reflection rather than labour, for looking back with gratitude and forward with hope. The Elder stands silently within the grove as daylight fades, witnessing the thread of one day being gently woven into the next, reminding us that every ending is simply another strand within the greater design.
Within the Bnwyfre Spiritual Order, the Moirai do not stand apart from Arianrhod or Gwennefoedd. Together they reveal different expressions of the same eternal mystery. Arianrhod turns the Silver Wheel, Gwennefoedd fills its turning with harmony and gentle radiance, while the Moirai weave each individual life into that ever-moving pattern. Beneath the Elder, where memory, ancestry and renewal meet, their work becomes visible to those who have learned to see that no thread is ever truly broken; it simply continues its journey through the endless weaving of life.
Gods and Deities of the Elder Tree
Bruce Clifton
The Elder as a Sacred Meeting Place
The Elder has long been regarded as a tree where the earthly and the heavenly draw gently together. Standing quietly at the edge of woodland, beside ancient pathways and close to places of habitation, she gathers more than blossom and berry. She gathers memory, presence and the quiet company of those intelligences who walk between the visible and unseen worlds. The gods and deities associated with the Elder are not drawn by power alone, but by wisdom, continuity and the sacred rhythm of life’s eternal return.
The Western Threshold
As the Druid’s year approaches Samhain, the Elder becomes a tree of the western horizon, where the fire of the setting sun meets the sea beyond Anglesey and the first stars awaken in the evening sky. It is here that many of the older presences are recognised; guardians of memory, keepers of the turning Wheel and companions of the Blessed Realm. Their stories differ across Celtic lands, yet each reflects the same enduring truth: that life, death and renewal are not separate journeys, but different movements within the same eternal cycle.
Living Tradition and Sacred Continuity
The deities gathered beneath the Elder come from many strands of Celtic tradition and from the living cosmology of the Bnwyfre Spiritual Order. Some are remembered through Welsh legend, others through older Gaelic tradition, while others have emerged naturally from the continuing relationship between the grove, the heavens and the land itself. They are united not by geography but by resonance, each expressing an aspect of the Elder’s character: wisdom, remembrance, transformation, harmony and the quiet assurance that nothing of true value is ever lost.
The Elder and the Turning Heavens
The Elder reminds us that the heavens move with the same rhythm as the grove below. The rare Thirteenth Moon of the Metonic cycle, the gentle appearance of Venus at evening twilight, the western glow beyond the mountains of Snowdonia and the sacred stillness of Samhain all speak the same language. Together they reveal that the gods are not distant rulers, but living presences recognised through the land, the seasons and the eternal turning of the Wheel.
Elder Tree – Gods and Deities Oracle
Bruce Clifton
We have alphabetised this list of Gods and Deities that harmonise with the elder tree solely for ease of reference, no sense of hierarchy or entitlement is intended or implied:
1) Bran
2) Branwen
3) Cailleach
4) Gwennefoedd
Bran the Blessed / Elder Tree
Bran the Blessed stands beside the Elder where the western sky meets the sea at the close of day, where Samhain draws the living and the departed into quiet remembrance. Here he is recognised not as the warrior crossing rivers, but as the guardian of memory, watching over the ancestors and preserving the wisdom gathered by each passing generation. Like the Elder herself, Bran reminds us that death is not an ending, but a doorway through which knowledge continues its journey.
The Raven has long been Bran’s faithful companion, moving effortlessly between earth and sky, battlefield and woodland, carrying messages from one world to the next. As the Elder berries darken beneath the shortening days of autumn, the ravens return to feast among her branches, scattering seed across the landscape and ensuring that new Elders will rise long after the old have fallen. In this simple act, Bran reveals one of nature’s oldest truths: remembrance itself becomes renewal.
At twilight, as the sun sinks beyond Anglesey and the western horizon burns with the last fire of the day, Bran watches over the sacred threshold where earth, sea and sky become one. Here, beneath the Elder and beside the turning wheel of Arianrhod, he stands as guardian of continuity, ensuring that nothing truly loved, nothing truly learned and nothing freely given is ever lost. Like the Raven circling home before nightfall, all things eventually return to the grove from which they first began.
(See: Bran the Blessed / Gods and Deities)
Branwen / Elder Tree
Branwen walks quietly beneath the Elder where the western sea meets the land of Anglesey and the last light of day softens into twilight. She is no longer remembered for the sorrow she endured, but for the compassion it awakened within her. Having known loneliness, separation and loss, she offers sanctuary to those carrying burdens too heavy to speak aloud. Like the Elder herself, she teaches that healing begins not by forgetting the past, but by allowing it to become wisdom.
The Elder flowers with quiet beauty before offering her dark autumn berries, reminding us that sweetness and sorrow often belong to the same journey. Branwen understands this rhythm better than most. Her faithful Starling, once carrying a message of desperate hope across the sea to Bran the Blessed, becomes a symbol of remembrance, proving that even the smallest voice may bridge the greatest distance. Around the Elder gather birds, ancestors and gentle memories, each carrying something of the love that time itself cannot diminish.
At Samhain, when the western horizon glows with the last fire of the setting sun and the veil grows thin, Branwen is recognised as a gentle presence among the Elder’s branches. She comforts the grieving, restores hope to the weary and reminds us that kindness leaves a longer memory than suffering. Beneath the Elder, where earth, sea and sky meet upon the edge of the Blessed Realm, Branwen teaches that the heart, once broken, may become the strongest sanctuary of all.
(See: Branwen / Gods and Deities)
Cailleach / Elder Tree
Cailleach walks naturally beneath the Elder as Samhain draws the Druid’s year towards its quiet conclusion. She is the ancient grandmother of mountain, stone and winter sky, carrying the stillness that follows harvest when the last Elder berries hang dark against the fading light. Here, upon the western edge of the land, where Anglesey meets the sea and the fire of the setting sun yields gently to evening twilight, she keeps watch over the sacred threshold between one turning of the Wheel and the next.
Like the Elder herself, Cailleach understands that age is not decline but fulfilment. Every season has added to her wisdom, every winter to her endurance and every farewell to her compassion. Beneath her gaze the woodland grows quiet, the birds seek shelter and the grove gathers itself inward, not in sorrow but in preparation. She teaches that nature never fears rest. It withdraws only to return renewed when the time is right. The Elder, standing patiently beside her, bears witness to this eternal rhythm through the rare Thirteenth Moon of the Metonic cycle, reminding us that time is measured not by endings but by return.
Within the Bnwyfre Spiritual Order, Cailleach and the Elder honour the sacred mystery of remembrance. They invite us to give thanks for the harvest of another year, to cherish the wisdom gained through experience and to release with grace all that has completed its purpose. As Venus shines gently above the western horizon and the first stars awaken beyond the twilight, the old grandmother turns once more towards the mountains, leaving the grove wrapped in quiet knowing until the Wheel calls another season into being.
(See: Cailleach / Gods and Deities)
Gwennefoedd / Elder Tree
As the Elder draws the Druid’s year towards Samhain, Gwennefoedd walks quietly across the western horizon, where the mountains of Snowdon give way to the sea surrounding Anglesey and the last fire of the setting sun lingers upon the waters. Here, between earth, sea and sky, she reveals the Blessed Realm, not as a distant heaven, but as a living presence resting gently upon the land. In the hush of evening twilight, when Venus begins to shine and the first stars awaken, the Elder becomes one of her sacred companions, standing peacefully where the seen and unseen worlds meet.
The dark clusters of Elder berries ripen beneath her autumn sky, carrying the quiet harvest of another turning year. Around them gather ravens, starlings and migrating birds, each preparing for the journey ahead while the grove itself settles into reflection. Gwennefoedd asks for nothing to be hurried. She reminds us that every season has fulfilled its purpose and that the beauty of the world is found not only in its beginnings, but also in its graceful completion. Even the rare Thirteenth Moon returns in its own perfect time, moving with the great harmony that binds the heavens to the earth.
Within the Bnwyfre Spiritual Order, Gwennefoedd is recognised as the gentle radiance that embraces the Elder at the close of the old year. Her presence softens the threshold between this world and the Blessed Realm, allowing memory, love and ancestral wisdom to move quietly between them. As Venus glows above the western sea on a Friday evening and the last colours fade into the night, Gwennefoedd reminds us that nothing truly beautiful is ever lost. Like the Elder herself, it simply returns when the Wheel has completed another sacred turning.
Secret Harmonies of the Elder Tree
Bruce Clifton
The Elder reveals her harmonies slowly. Unlike the brighter energies of spring that readily announce themselves, the Elder waits for the patient observer, rewarding those who return through changing seasons, watch the berries darken, listen to the quiet of evening and recognise the subtle relationships woven throughout the grove. Her wisdom is never hidden through secrecy, only through the gentle truth that some things can be understood only when their time has come.
Around the Elder gathers a living community of relationships rather than isolated symbols. The White Fawn, the Hare and the Badger, the Crone and Druantia, Arianrhod and the turning Wheel, the western horizon beyond Anglesey, Samhain, Venus at evening twilight and the rare Thirteenth Moon each reveal a different thread within the same greater tapestry. Standing alone they are beautiful; woven together they reveal the quiet continuity that flows through the whole of creation.
Within the Bnwyfre Spiritual Order, these Secret Harmonies remind us that nothing exists in isolation. Every tree, every creature, every season, every star and every soul participates in the same living current of Bnwyfre, the Breath of Life. The Elder simply allows us to recognise these relationships more clearly, revealing that the deepest wisdom is found not in individual things, but in the harmony that quietly binds them all together.
Elder Tree – Secret Harmonies Oracle
Bruce Clifton
We have alphabetised this information purely for ease of reference no hierarchy or entitlement is intended or implied.
1) Akashic Records
2) Death
3) Elysium
Akashic Records / Elder Tree
The Elder has long stood at the edge of the known world, where the visible landscape meets the unseen. Beneath her branches, generations have gathered, departed and returned, leaving their lives woven quietly into the living fabric of the grove. The Akashic Records are not hidden within the Elder, yet her presence encourages us to recognise that every tree, every season and every life contributes to a greater field of awareness that is never truly forgotten.
As the Elder flowers in summer and her dark berries ripen towards Samhain, she reminds us that every ending enriches what follows. Her roots touch the hidden networks beneath the woodland floor, while her branches reach towards the turning heavens above. Between them flows the quiet continuity of life itself, where experience is not lost but shared, just as the mycelial web carries nourishment from tree to tree and generation to generation. The Elder becomes a living witness, standing through decades and centuries while human lives pass gently beneath her canopy.
Within the Bnwyfre Spiritual Order, the Elder is recognised as one of the quiet gateways through which the Akashic field may be contemplated. The White Fawn walks here, the Crone keeps her silent watch, and at evening twilight the western sky beyond Anglesey reminds us that every soul leaves its own pattern within the greater design. Like the rare Thirteenth Moon returning through the Metonic cycle, the Records reveal that nothing of value is ever lost. It simply waits to be recognised when the heart, the land and the turning Wheel are once again in harmony.
(See: Akashic Records / Secret Harmonies)
Death / Elder Tree
The Elder has long stood beside the threshold where one journey quietly becomes another. From the first blossom of summer to the dark berries of autumn, she reminds us that every season fulfils its purpose before yielding naturally to the next. Death, like winter, is not an ending but a continuation within a greater cycle, where nothing of value is ever lost and every life returns to the living current from which it first emerged.
As Samhain approaches and evening twilight settles across the western sea beyond Anglesey, the Elder becomes a place of quiet remembrance. Here the veil between worlds seems softer, allowing the living to reflect upon those who have gone before, not with fear or sorrow, but with gratitude for the lives they shared. The Crone waits beneath her branches, the White Fawn moves silently through the grove, and the ancestors remain part of the landscape itself, carried forward within the turning Wheel of Life. Like the rare Thirteenth Moon returning through the Metonic cycle, every soul continues its own journey, changing form while remaining part of the eternal whole.
Within the Bnwyfre Spiritual Order, the Elder teaches that death is neither darkness nor separation. It is the gentle passing of one state into another, as natural as sunset giving way to the stars and dawn returning with the morning light. Beneath the Elder there is no final farewell, only the quiet reassurance that love, wisdom and the Breath of Life continue beyond the limits of physical existence, forever moving through the sacred continuity of Bnwyfre.
(See: Death / Secret Harmonies)
Elysium / Elder Tree
As the Elder carries the Druid’s year gently towards Samhain, she invites us to look beyond endings and recognise the peace that follows a life well lived. The ancient Greeks called this place Elysium, the Blessed Realm beyond the western sea, where struggle gives way to harmony and the soul continues its journey in quiet companionship with those who have gone before. Standing beneath the Elder at evening twilight, with the sun sinking beyond Anglesey and Venus awakening in the western sky, it is easy to understand why so many traditions have looked towards the west when speaking of eternity.
The Elder does not promise immortality. She reminds us that life has always moved in cycles, where blossom becomes berry, berry returns to earth and new life quietly emerges in its own season. Elysium reflects this same understanding. It is not a distant paradise separated from the living world, but a continuation within it, where love, memory and presence remain woven into the landscape itself. The ancestors are not absent. They simply walk a little further along the path.
Within the Bnwyfre Spiritual Order, the Elder and Elysium together reveal that the Blessed Realm is never far away. It rests beyond fear, beyond separation and beyond the illusion that death is the end of the journey. Like the rare Thirteenth Moon returning with the Metonic cycle, the soul follows its own eternal rhythm, forever held within the greater harmony of Bnwyfre, where every farewell becomes another homecoming.