December 17, 2007

• Yuletide Traditions: Ivy

  Ivy

  

  Also known as: Alehoof, Cats-foot, Gill-go-by-the-hedge, Gill-go-over-the ground, Gort, Haymaids, Hedgemaids, Lizzy-run-up-the-hedge, Robin-run-in-the-hedge, Tun-hoof.

  Common ivy, Hedera helix, and ground ivy, Glechoma hederacea, are found throughout Europe and northern and central Asia. In the Druidic alphabet, ivy is known as gort (G). It’s unlikely that there are many people who do not know what ivy looks like. This well-known evergreen climber will grow on nearly any surface. Its fibrous roots, growing out of every part of the stem, are equipped with small disks at the ends which adapt to whatever surface the ivy happens to find for support. When these fibers meet with soil or a deep crevice, they become true roots. Though not a truly parasitic species, they do have the potential to tear down whatever tree or wall they happen to become attached to. When ivy grows to the summit of its tree or supporting wall, the leaves change from the familiar angular, five-lobed leaf and become ovate without margins. Ivy will only produce flowers when the branches get above their support. The flowers of ivy are uniformly small, yellowish-green clusters of globular umbels, with five broad and short petals and five stamen. They seldom open before the end of October and usually continue expanding through December. The nectar provides food for late bees when little else is available. The berries, when they mature, provide food for many small animals, but are potentially poisonous and should not be eaten by humans.

  Ground ivy was used by the Saxons to clarify their beers before hops had been introduced. It not only improved the flavor and color, but also rendered the beer clearer. It is not much used as a food otherwise and has more medicinal uses than dietary. Cups or bowls made of ivy wood were thought to cure whopping cough. Ivy is a diuretic and astringent. It was used most often as a tea for headache, cough, and as a blood purifier. The juice obtained from pressing the stem and leaves may be used for bruises and black eyes due to its astringent action. An eyewash may also be made for weak or sour eyes from ivy or it maybe used in eardrops for ringing in the ears according to Gerard. Combined with yarrow or chamomile, it is excellent as a poultice for abscesses and skin tumors.

  Ivy represents intoxication due to its association with the cult of Dionysus and Bacchus. Ivy is said to have been particularly abundant in Nyssa, the fabled home of the wine god Bacchus. An ivy crown was reserved for Bacchus and poets. It is carried by women for good luck, and a wreath of ivy was presented to the recently married as an emblem of fidelity. Dionysus is said to have once escaped pirates by filling their boat with ivy. Ivy was supposed to cure drunkenness, and for this purpose, it was bound to the forehead. Romans used ivy leaves boiled in wine as a hangover cure and to dispel the effects of alcohol. Where ever it is grown or strewn, ivy guards against negativity and disaster. Ivy and holly are a magical pair, ivy considered female and holly male, despite their association with deities of the opposite sex.

  In Egypt, Ivy was sacred to Osiris as a symbol of his place as a nature deity. Another god associated with ivy is Attis. He was a shepherd known for his sensual beauty who unmanned himself through his unrequited love of the mother goddess Cybele. His priests, who also often castrated themselves after extensive ritual preparation, could be recognized by their ivy leaf tattoos. Interestingly enough, another plant sacred to Attis was the evergreen tree, another symbol of the Yuletide season.

  Like other evergreens, ivy is seen as a symbol of eternal life and is used in Christmas decorations, though not to the extent of pine, fir, mistletoe and holly. It was considered unlucky to have it growing in the house, though cut pieces are safe decorations for the holiday. If ivy growing on the side of the house dies, someone in the house will die as well. Picking ivy off a church is said to bring sickness. Lay a green ivy leaf in a dish of clean water on New years eve and leave it there, undisturbed, till the 5th of January. If the leaf is still fine and green, then you or whoever you laid it there for will be whole and healthy for another year. If there are any black spots however, there will be sickness. Red spots could indicate death by violence unless magical measures are taken.

  Picking ivy unobserved, a young lady could try her luck at divination:

  Ivy, ivy, I do pluck thee.
  Down my bosom I do put thee.
  The first young man that speaks to me
  is my lover, sure to be,
  if he be handsome and pleaseth me.
  If his coat be brown or gray
  his love for me is far away.
  If his coat be black or blue
  His love for me’ll aye be true.

  • 6:59 pm
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