Page 46 - September 2022 Magazine - Bumper Edition

The Vine (Muin)
2nd September - 29th September
Star Sign: The Swan
Governing Planet: Venus
Ruling Element: Air
Just so that we are clear, there are numerous sorts of vine, and we’re not referring only to the one that produces a nice glass of something best served chilled.
Now, we know you are thinking ‘well it isn’t a tree’ and we would like to agree with you but we’re not going to argue with the Druids. Whilst we love a bonfire, we don’t want to be part of it.
Anything with a woody stalk was, to the Druids, respected as a tree and thus the vine was included in the sacred Ogham trees, and if there are any Druids reading this, we agree with you, wholeheartedly, no question.
When we think of vines we do tend to associate them with grapevines, however, it’s much more likely that the vines of the blackberry would have fascinated the ancient Celts, who we know were ardent observers of Nature.
We know from experience here at the Flickering Manor that if you leave a blackberry unattended its vines will extend to amazing lengths. The Druidswould have admired the virility (because of its growth) of the blackberry and its ability to expand in any direction that best suited it.
As to the vine of the grapey sort... Whilst the fairly recent development and promotion of British wines has been slowly fermenting over the last 15 to 20 years, we know from Bronze age imagery on artefacts that grapes were grown here at that time, despite the much cooler climate than the traditionally accepted source of grapes in the warmer areas of southern Europe.
We know that grape vines are seriously ancient, and it’s possible if not probable, that wild grape vines may even predate humans.
46 | The Flickering Cauldron® Magazine - Ogham Vine