Ogham Tuesday: Elder/Ruis

I have to admit: the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Elder is Monty Python. “Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!" Perhaps not the most spiritual of references, but give me a minute to spin that here. 

Elder is an ogham that calls bullshit, which can often be uncomfortable. But we all need that friend who will tell us the truth, especially when we aren’t facing it ourselves. Elder can be that friend. The trick is to avoid falling into the spiral of shame. 

The elderberry shrubs in my yard are an unexpected delight. Their lacy white flowers are perfumed umbrellas that attract tiny bees and butterflies, and the berries feed birds and other wildlife late into the fall, when other berries have already died away. ? I know this because the berries stain bird poop a very distinctive purple. (One of these days, I’ll remember to protect some to harvest for myself.) 

The stems go dormant every winter, with the hollow structure serving as a nesting spot for insects that will emerge in spring. Fresh shoots come up every year and spread easily in areas where a lot of other things won’t grow, like under black walnut trees. They don’t compete really well with things like honeysuckle but, as soon as I cut back those invasive shrubs, Elder returns like nothing has happened. It dies back, so fresh growth can happen. Right? RIGHT.

When Elder comes up in a reading, it’s time to check my motivations…especially if the context triggers some awful, unhelpful trauma responses. I need to take a breath, consider where I might have made a misstep, and plot the course correction that moves me in the direction of my purpose again. 

Ruis is the base word for rue, or shame, but I don’t see Elder as causing shame. The omen simply identifies a burden weighing down my spirit. 

Those taunts in The Holy Grail were ridiculous; likewise, most ridicule (and shame) only carries the weight we give it. We are challenged to set that burden down, resolve the dissonance it identifies, and return to alignment.. 

Keywords include: trauma, shame, regret, embarrassment, clarity, revenge, accountability, raw, dissonance, complexity, pain, consciousness, questions, undermining, misaligned, fear, self-sabotage, unlucky, amends, blush, susceptibility, honesty

Guidance might be: 

• Be careful not to rise to the bait of bullies, even if the bullies live in your own head.

• Take accountability for the role you may have played in a current circumstance, and seek to repair the damage. 

• Identify who is served by you perpetuating behaviors and thought patterns that burden your spirit or cause you pain. 

Cautions and questions might be:

• Are you reacting or responding in this moment? 

• Is there some way you are not (yet) acting in congruence with your values or your best interest? 

• Who is served by your self-sabotage? What underlying need do you think it meets? Can you meet that need in a less harmful way?

What connections do you see? 

Blessings,

Nicole

~ Nicole (Nikki, sometimes Saffron Hare) is founder and general manager at Nine Fires Press. Her Druidic practice has included solitary, small-group, and congregational worship, with a focus on liturgy and seership. She is studying for her Master Gardener certification, rehabbing an underground home in the Midwestern US, and loves to fall in love with bad ideas.