The Star card of the Sacred Circle tarot features a branch of the Rowan tree; timely, because Jan 21-Feb 17 is the Rowan (Luis) month in the Celtic Tree calendar. The picture and it's description quoted here is from Novareinna:
The Rowan stands in the center of Stonehenge...
ancient gathering place of the Druids.
The location is guarded by the Green Dragon,
a powerful representation of life
during the time of year when night still ruled the day.
Symbolically, Stonehenge formed a giant candle
at the Celtic feast of Candlemas,
which marked the quickening of the year.
The Dragon's fiery breath ignites
the vital current of energy
pulsating through the stones
and regenerates the flames of eternal life.
The Green Dragon awakens. She is Earth's kundalini, the green fire that quickens the manifestation of abundant life.
The Star card in the Shapeshifter deck has four dragons, each a different colour, part of the intricate web woven by the Spider Woman. The world wide web is a dragon path of sorts, and comes in handy when one is in the unfortunate state of being homebound. To see an actual rowan tree, you need a plane or lots of time. It grows in the British Isles.
The Rowan's totem animal Green Dragon is a force that guards the great secrets and treasures of the universe and the earth's vortexes. Kildare, under the protection of Brigit (our lady of Imbolc) is considered to be one of those vortexes. There are many others, and it will take me many lifetimes to visit them all.
In Britain, the Dragon Paths are called ley lines, or the Old Straight Tracks. My namesake nature spirit muse, Elen of the Ways, is guardian of these paths, so naturally this is of great interest to me. There's a lot of good (and a lot of frou frou) about ley lines on the web, but most of what I learned about them can't be found on the internet. It must be experienced.
Here is a rite from the Asphodel Tradition to celebrate the Rowan Moon.
