Phragmites communis

12th month of Celtic Tree calendar, October 28 - November 24
12th letter of the Ogham alphabet - nGetal

Stone: Black Obsidian

Color: Crimson

Bird: Geese, Kingfisher

Deity: Coventina, Morrigan, Rhiannon, Manannan Mac Lir, Poseidon, Pwyll

Folk Names: Sweet flag, myrtle grass, norfolk reed

Reed has served as a floor covering, roofing, and room deodorizer. The powdered root was used as an insecticide against fleas. Soaked in fat the stalks made a cheap alternative to candles. Other uses include arrow shafts and writing pens. Reed flutes were a subject of legend; it is rumored that the Pied Piper's magical flute was made of reed, and Pan's flute may also have been made from reed. Today reed is used in wood-wind instruments. Medicinally the plant was used to treat eye problems.

Dreaming of Reed means not all your friends are true. Handling them in dreams mean that you may be deceived in business.

"Watchers of the Wetlands"
by Scott B. Stewart 

The family of reeds
watch over the wetlands.
Standing-tall sentries of rivers, lakes and ponds
blessed by the omnipresent hands
of our dear Goddess, who cares for them all:
her reeds, rushes and cattails
which thrive along swamps.

The Celts have long-honored
these most unique of plants
which make music in the wind
and most gracefully bend.

Use reed with your favorite spell for balance and harmony. Reed is used to make flutes, and a small piece from the reed can be used symbolically to invite sweet harmony into your life. Sing your incantation to it and then place it where you will see it often.

Whispers from the Woods, by Sandra Kynes

Call to Reed - nGetal

Reed, Mother Protector
Lead my conscious awareness
Help me to see my whole self
The sight of the world in change
and the door of the inner consciousness
That guides my transformation
And heals my soul.

Faces of WomanSpirit

THE CELTIC TREE ORACLE 

by Liz and Colin Murray

Thin and slender is the Reed. He stands in clumps at the edge of the river and between his feet hides the swift pike awaiting an unsuspecting minnow to come his way. In his thin-ness the reed resembles arrows that fly, silver-tipped, up into the unknown air to land at the very source that one had searched for all these years. Firing arrows off into the unknown is an expression of the desire to search out basic truths. If you loose off without direction, the place of landing will be random. If the firing off is carried out with the correct conviction, determination and sense of purpose, then the act becomes secondary to the event that comes both before and after the moment.

Choosing this card indicates that you are aware of the great outside that surrounds us all. You are capable of finding order where others find only chaos. Your results are as sure as the intentions with which you started. You progress by continually keeping your aim in sight. Choosing the Reed gives you the capacity to make spiritual weapons, just as the bowman has first to make and find his bow, then he has to make the arrows and tip them with a point. The flights, or feathers, at the base of the arrow give direction and prevent the arrow twisting and changing direction in flight.

In the same way, with the Reed you are able to find direction and to give meaning and purpose to your journey that started at the beginning of the year in November, according to the old calendar. Once the journey has been entered upon, then surprise encounters and upsets are only to be expected. The skills to overcome these short-lived troubles are as important and essential as making the journey in the first place.

The reed gives you that all-important skill and direction. If chosen reversed, it shows that you still have some way to go before your sight and skill is polished enough to embark upon the journey, the results of which may be as yet unknown.

The Great Goddess

Rhiannon

Goddess of the Night

As a Celtic Goddess of the underworld and the dead, she possessed the gift of shape shifting. She also knew every plant and every tree and was often found dancing with the branches and playing with butterflies. She is closely interwoven with all life on earth. Rhiannon teaches us to accept what is ours, and trust that our deepest desires will come to us without much effort. Just shift your attention and change the shape of your image of the world. You can see yourself mirrored in every life-form just like the Goddess. This is the great art of life.

Image from The Oracle of the Goddess

Celtic Moon sign - Reed Moon

The roots of the reed go deeply into the water from which it takes its nourishment. These roots are the strongest part of the reed, in fact - so its true strength is doubly hidden, both beneath the water and the floor of the pond or lake where it grows. If you were born under this sign, you, too, have secret strength, and perhaps secret motivations, as well. Your challenge is to use your "detective abilities" wisely, not to undermine others or find their weaknesses, but to evolve into a deeply perceptive individual whose wisdom can be used to teach others.

Written by Kim Rogers-Gallagher, and Llewellyn's Witches' Datebook 2000

Pray Peace