Which of the 5 Ogham Tree Characters are you?

The Elm symbolically represents fluidity, or the ability to “go with the flow.” Hence, if you’re a person who is like Elm you will be yielding, flexible, and easy-going. You may also be timid, fearful and “wishy-washy” at times. This is why an excess of fear is thought to be harmful to the kidneys and bladder, the organs logically associated with the Elm tree in Celtic medicine.

The kidneys do more than eliminate waste Elm, however. They also regulate pH in the blood and maintain fluid and mineral balance. This helps explain to how the kidneys also came to be associated with the bones. Weak kidneys create weak bones. This is because waste acids can’t be flushed efficiently from the body causing mineral loss from the bones.

When excess Elm and Elm-like personality tendencies (timidity, fearfulness and indecision) are too strong in the body, edema, scant or clear urine, heavy sluggish feelings, bladder infections and burning urination can manifest.

When there is a loss of Elm – quality in the body, this can create brittleness and stiffness, spinal misalignment, chronic backache (especially in the low back), weak knees and ankles, arthritis and osteoporosis. Elm people may lack “backbone” or have become so hardened, inflexible and rigid in their thought processes that they can no longer flow with the changes in their lives.

The Elm Constitutional Essence will bring this type of person back into balance from within.

Gorse is symbolic of life and the process of renewing life. In Celtic philosophy, it is associated with assertiveness, aggressiveness, strong drives and anger. When the Gorse element is weak, that drive is diminished, making a person feel discouraged or depressed, If you are a Gorse person, you are prone to these types of emotional responses.

Gorse relates to the organs of the liver and gallbladder. The liver is the biochemical mastermind of the body. It is the major center for neutralizing environmental toxins and the primary organ for preparing nutrients for transport though the bloodstream, this is why they say the liver builds the blood. The gallbladder helps digest fats, which are essential to healthy skin, nerves and glands. It also serves as an avenue for eliminating certain types of toxins.

When the liver is stressed and overworked, a Gorse person will tend to feel irritable and cranky. They may be restless and unable to get to sleep at night, but feel groggy and “hung over” in the morning. Hypoglycemia, migraine headaches, PMS symptoms, allergies, abdominal pain and skin conditions can all occur when the liver is thus burdened. The Gorse excess type needs support in reducing excess Gorse energy, and support of the liver and gallbladder in reducing the toxic load in the body.

People who are deficient in Gorse energy experience weakness in the liver and gallbladder. This results in an inability to move forward in a constructive manner and possible feeling of discouragement and depression. Physically, this chronic weakness of the liver and gallbladder energy would result in fatigue, vague health problems (that doctors say are “all in their head”), menstrual problems in women, intestinal inflammation, abdominal pain, chronic liver problems, anxiety, low mood, low energy and digestive problems.

It’s pretty easy to relate to what the element of Heather symbolizes in the body. We talk about an excited person as being “all fired up” or a passionate person as being “hot” or “on Fire.” Heather is the element of enthusiasm, drive, desire, and passion. If you are a person who is full of Heather you will be lively, dynamic, outgoing and enthusiastic. When that Heather is deficient, you’ll feel “burned out.”

In Celtic medicine, Heather relates to the heart and circulatory system. It’s pretty easy to understand that an excess of “Heather” in Celtic medicine refers to a high-strung, highly stressed person.

A person with excess Heather might experience anxiety, insomnia, absent-mindedness, extremes of emotion, nervousness and tension, dizziness, light-headedness, mania or even heart palpitations.

A person who has lost their Heather would feel “burned-out.” This manifests as fatigue with restless and disturbed sleep patterns. The person feels overwhelmed, tired, nervous but exhausted, and may suffer from emotional sensitivity, muddled thinking, mental confusion, loss of short term memory, loss of sexual desire, and sensations of pressure and pain in the chest that make them feel like something is wrong with their heart.

Maybe you’re not the “fired-up” kind. Maybe you’re more “down to Earth.” Aspen symbolizes the nurturing mother energy, sympathetic, prone to worry and fret and maybe over-motherly to the point point it’s smothering sometimes. Aspen people tend to try to do too much for others and wind up stressed as a result.

Considering the associations of Aspen with mothering, it’s very easy to understand how this Aspen energy could be associated with our digestive system, the stomach and pancreas (or spleen in Chinese medicine). The stomach receives our food and initiates the digestive process required to nourish us. The pancreas secretes enzymes to finish the process.

However, the Celtic concept doesn’t stop with digestion. In Traditional medicine, the spleen was thought to be the organ that transforms the food we eat into flesh of muscle mass. So, the entire process of metabolizing food, and protein in particular, is associated with the Traditional concept of spleen.

We all recognize that worry and stress create stomach upset. “Don’t worry too much, it will give you an ulcer.” It’s not a good idea to eat when we feel rushed and stressed, but in today’s face-paced, fast-food world, many of us do it anyway. As a result we often wind up with a sour stomach, bloating, gas, and other signs of digestive upset.

The Aspen Type may experience occasional acute indigestion (acid stomach, acid reflux, gas, bloating, foul belching, etc.). This type usually has a “do it all” kind of attitude where they take on too much trying to help other people. As a result they wind up with worry, stress and the frequent digestive upset that accompanies it.

The Aspen person often has weakened digestion and poor metabolic efficiency, so they are not assimilating nutrients – especially protein. They tend to be thin, pale and unable to gain muscle mass and have a difficult time transforming food into energy. ​

Yew is the stuff that swords and shields are made of, so it should be of little surprise that the guarded, aloof, socially-correct person has a lot of “Yew” in them. If you’re a Yew person, you may have a lot of unacknowledged grief and sadness inside, so you may have shielded yourself to avoid experiencing more emotional pain.

The Celts associate the Yew element with the lungs and colon, but it might be more correct to say that Yew element is related to the mucus membranes which line both of these systems. These mucus membrane linings in the digestive tract, lungs, and sinuses are the body’s first line of immune defense. Most infections will enter through this route. So, Yew is also symbolic of our immune response – swords and shields, again.

Yew invokes ideas of substance, structure and strength. The Yew element is associated with autumn because this is the time of year when all things begin to consolidate within themselves. A Yew person would begin to pull all reserves and store up for the coming winter. Although life appears to fade on the surface, it is still present, deep within things.

Yew Types have a tendency toward acute respiratory congestion, bronchitis, asthma, wheezing, coughing, allergies, sinus headaches, etc… and often need help opening up congested respiratory passages.

Yew Types may also experience chronic weakness of the lungs, prolonged grieving, chronic deep coughs, tightness of the chest and other conditions which suggest chronic weakness of the Yew energy in the body, so supporting Yew strengthens this primary line of immune defense. This can also help deeply repressed grief and sadness and the inability to express this emotional pain for those tend to be aloof and emotionally distant.