![]() ![]() I'd like to get your collective thoughts on how to best make use of this combination. I love the flavor of the Swarmkeeper (I've already played one as a bow Ranger) and I'd like to combine PAM and Gathered Swarm, but my brain is swirling with pros and cons of the different ways to go about this. And then we have the Swarmkeeper Ranger, whose Gathered Swarm allows a variety off effects without costing an action, bonus action or reaction. The Blackthorn does not seem to have any ancient European mythology connected to it aside from that of Ireland and Britain which is unusual as the tree is also native to Continental Europe and Western Asia.It's been pretty well established how well Polearm Master works within the 5e action economy. Witches and heretics were said to be burned on blackthorn pyres to cleanse their evil.Īnother Christian belief was that the Devil chose his victims or disciples by pricking them with a blackthorn thorn, the blood from the wound sealing a deal with the Devil. In 1670, Major Thomas Weir of Edinburgh was garrotted and burned for witchcraft along with his blackthorn walking stick. It was said that witches used thorny blackthorn wands to curse people and had magic walking sticks of blackthorn wood with which to cause trouble. The old relationship with the crone led the Christians to link the blackthorn with witches and dark magic. Witches were said to use blackthorn wands Of course, it could also be due to its dark and twisted form. Perhaps it is due to this association that the blackthorn is sometimes known as the dark crone of the woods. In Scottish-Gaelic the word Cailleach literally means ‘veiled one’ or ‘old woman’. One portrayal of the Cailleach, of which there are many, is of a blue veiled old woman with a raven perched on one shoulder and a blackthorn staff in hand which she uses to create mountains, lakes and valleys and also bring about snow storms and rough weather. In Celtic folklore, the Cailleach emerges at Samhain to take over the year from the summer goddess Brighid. Cailleach – the goddess of winterīlackthorn is also often associated with the Cailleach, the goddess and ruler of winter. The logo of the Boston Celtics, for example, portrays a leprechaun leaning on a shillelagh. The wood of the blackthorn is traditionally used in Ireland to make shillelaghs, a walking stick-shaped club, originally used as a weapon to settle a score and now a symbol of heritage among many people of Irish descent throughout the world. So this may be the safest time to pick sloes or cut the wood. The Lunantisidhe only leave the tree at Esbats (on a full moon) in order to pay homage to the moon goddess. They are not friendly towards humans on the best of days but should you try to cut wood from the blackthorn on the festivals of Samhain or Beltane they will surely curse you. In Irish folklore, the blackthorn is guarded by the spiky fairy-folk known as the Lunantisidhe, literally meaning moon fairy. ![]() Its closest modern equivalent would be the letter z. Ss Straif, is the 14th letter in the ogham alphabet. ![]() So, why does the blackthorn have such a dark reputation? Blackthorn guarded by unfriendly fairies The berries, leaves and bark of the tree are said to stimulate metabolism, clean the blood, heal stomach upsets and disperse toxins from the body. Sloe berries can be very carefully picked during October, after a frost, and used to make sloe gin, a mixture of sloes, sugar and gin left to mature for nearly three months to be enjoyed as a yule tide treat. It is a haven for birds such as the, now rare, nightingale who find protection amongst the tree’s long thorns. The Story of Brigid’s Cross – from folklore to Christianity ![]()
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