November 29–December 26
Second Lunation, December
Ogham: Luis (loo-ish), L: 
Keywords: Protection against enchantment or the control of others, discrimination, astral travel, connection to ecstasy, universal unconditional love, higher consciousness, connection to the mystery
Totems: Horse, centaur, and the wounded healer Chiron (Greek)
Guides and Deities: Horse goddesses like Epona, Macha, and Rhiannon
Practical Guidance: Spiritual protection is offered to you. Trust in this.
Luis/Rowan Month Ceremony
Holiday
The Winter Solstice is December 21/22.
Purpose
To celebrate the Rowan tree portal and embrace the mystery. To encourage us to bring our light to our planet and to receive healing.
Preparation
You will need a cauldron or bowl of dirt for your altar with a large central candle and enough smaller candles for each of your participants.
Welcome and Greetings
Welcome to our Rowan month ceremony. Introduce yourself and go around the circle having each participant share their name and why they came to the circle. Have them close their eyes and share a moment of silence to prepare for the ceremony.
Call the Directions
Call in the Rowan energies (protection, ecstasy, astral travel, the mystery) and her totems (horse, centaur, and Chiron). Invite in the Great Mother. She represents all mothers who give birth and manifest the miracle of the creation of life within the womb. Call Mother Mary, Isis (Egypt), Kuan Yin (China), or any other goddess you are comfortable with as representative of the divine feminine principle. Call all the mothers of the avatars that have helped enlighten the planet. We invite winter and the wisdom of nature and the ancients who listened carefully to what nature had to say. We call in the midnight sun and the darkness. We call in the quiet and the deep silence of winter. We honor hibernation and the resting seeds and bulbs below the ground. We lastly call in the spirit of the Rowan that represents the mystery. We honor the cycle represented by maiden, mother, and crone.
Teachings
The Rowan tree and her totems are all about entering and experiencing the mystery. This is a time to celebrate ecstasy and astral travel. Rowan offers protection when you travel in other dimensions. She can connect you to unconditional love and higher consciousness. She is all about bliss. Honor the Priestess of Rowan in the form of the Welsh goddess as Rhiannon or Modron. They are shape-shifters, and when they are honored they will work with you in amazing ways. Also recognize the mother in the form of the mare/mother Epona, and the crone in the form of Cerridwen.
Sing
You may choose your own songs. I suggest using the internet to find women’s circle songs. Choose songs that go with the theme of the mystery and connecting with the ancestors.
Chant
What is the teaching of the Rowan? Ecstasy.
Our bliss comes from a flight on our spirit horse to the stars.
Behold! It is our birthright to journey within the healing
mystery of the universe.
And we are blissful knowing that we are
protected and loved as we travel in this way.
We seek higher consciousness.
What is the teaching of the Rowan? Unconditional love.
Guided Meditation
Turn off the lights and sit in the darkness. Choose to play some music that reflects the mystery or choose any music that puts you in a dreamy space.
Ground and center and breathe into your heart. Pull the energy from the earth up into your heart and breathe it out in all directions. Pull the energy from above through your crown chakra and into your heart and breathe it out in all directions. Take a few moments to experience this breath … This is an adaptation of the heart breath that I learned from my teacher, Nicki Scully.
Take a couple of deep breaths and imagine yourself walking along a path in a snowy landscape. The sun is out and the snow crystals twinkle at you. The view is beautiful, serene, and ever so quiet. The earth is covered in a blanket of snow. You are glad that you are dressed so warmly. Ahead of you is a grove of Rowan trees. You notice this beautiful grove of Rowan. You see that the landscape is filled with beautiful Rowan trees, still holding on stubbornly to their clusters of red or orange berries. They welcome you as you follow the path that leads to them.
You remember that each berry holds the sign of the pentacle at its center, the symbol for Mother Earth. As you breathe in the scent of this forest, you find that there is inspiration offered to you in this place of all possibilities. You have entered the dimension of the Priestess of Rowan. Stop for a moment to notice the sacred vibration that exists here in this magical place.
You are aware that a beautiful priestess begins to approach you. She wears a crimson cape with a hood fringed with feathers, fur, and jewels. She comes and places a crown of Rowan leaves and berries on your head. Look deeply into her eyes and see the love she has for you.
She invites you to tell her what your soul yearns for. Tell her what your dreams are. Tell her now how you would like to bring light to the planet. When you seek her protection and guidance she will become a staunch ally for you. Take some time to receive her offerings … (long pause)
Show her places in your body, mind, or soul that are distressing you. She will gladly lighten your load, give you inspiration, renew your enthusiasm, and make you laugh. She will heal you. Feel the grand possibility of all miracles.
She asks you if you are willing to enlarge your belief system to include more and more of the mystery and magic of creation as you connect to these higher dimensions of love. If you are, nod your head. With this final exchange, she enfolds you in a healing embrace. Look at her, eye to eye, and thank the Priestess of Rowan for her presence in the world and for her attention and love. Begin to ground and center in this place and in this time. Stay here quietly for a moment and ponder the beauty of your experience.
Upon returning, write your experiences in your journal. Do this to ground your experiences, because, like dreams, the details are easy to forget if you wait too long to record them.
Sharing
Allow time to share the experiences of the participants on their journey.
Activity: Candle Lighting
Light a central candle within a cauldron of earth to celebrate the returning of the light. Invite each person to light a candle and share how they would like to bring more light to the planet. Then each person states something they require healing for.
Ending
In closing, thank the directions and the center. Place the names of people or situations in the center for healing. Remember that you can return to the Priestess of Rowan and to the grove anytime you like. Rowan offers protection and will connect you to miracles and the mystery. Give your gratitude and release the directions. Say, “The circle is open.”
A Rowan Story: Mystery and Magic Close to Home
When I began my tree studies, I would seek out each tree in the Celtic tree calendar and sit with it—draw it, gather its leaves and branches, and intuit its teachings. But when it came to Rowan, I didn’t know what one looked like. I looked the tree up in the library and in my encyclopedia (before the days of the internet), so I had a general idea of what I was looking for. I looked as I walked and as I drove, but I just couldn’t seem to find one. I had a clear picture of the distinct leaf pattern and the little red or orange berries with the pentacle at the puckered end. I was on the hunt, but I was frustrated. I looked and looked without success.
One day I was in the backyard wondering where I was going to find a Rowan tree. I then noticed a tree that had leaves and berries just like Rowan. Then it hit me! Here was a Rowan, right in my own backyard! This was such a lesson. One can look far and wide, but what one seeks can only be found close to home. That home is within!
Over time, the little tree in my yard shared much with me. I have had lots of talks with my Rowan. But usually she reminds me that the answers are within myself. She invites me to become quiet and meditate. The magic of finding her in my yard was so delightful and so unexpected. She has indeed charmed me and encouraged me to believe in miracles and to include the mysterious and magical in everything I do. She reminds me that astral travel is possible not only in my dreams, but when I take the time to meditate or go within.
In meditation I picture my Rowan tree and I always hail the horse of my astral travels, and the centaur Chiron. My horse is available to take me anywhere I would like to travel. And Chiron reminds me that my body is holy. He is forever providing me wisdom through my body if I just listen. If you have a bothersome body symptom, ask him for advice and information. Often when we heed the messages, the symptoms disappear. The berries of the Rowan with their little pentacles of protection remind me that it is a blessing to be in a body upon this planet.
I give great thanks for winter, for the wisdom of my body, for the wisdom of the ancients, and for the teachings of Gaia and her trees. I am ever grateful to the little Rowan tree that was right in my own backyard.
Check out the trees in your backyard and in your neighborhood. Sit with them. Talk with them. Build relationships with them through your time and attention. Collect their leaves and berries and seeds and branches that fall to the ground. (You never really have to cut these from the tree.) It is polite to ask for permission when you take them from the ground around or near the tree. Then give your gratitude.
See if you can locate a Rowan tree to make friends with. Visit your chosen trees often. And then in your quiet time, revisit them in meditation. Invite in their totems, guides, and deities; you may be surprised. They will work with you to enrich your life. When you receive messages or images it is great to write these in your journal, write a poem or song, or paint a picture to ground in your experience.