EsoteriaA library of sacred & hidden knowledge
Horoscopes · Systems of many cultures

Celtic tree calendar · Celtic tree month 11

Ivy

Ivy · Gort

Ivy (Gort), month 11 of the modern 'Celtic tree calendar', 30 September – 27 October.

The ivy, which spirals and binds and stays green in winter, represents persistence, connection and the inward turn of autumn in the tree calendar, leading towards Samhain.

The thirteen tree months come from Robert Graves' The White Goddess (1948), not from ancient sources. The tree associations of the Ogham letters do go back to medieval Irish scholars, but there is no evidence for an ancient Celtic tree calendar.

Personality

loyal · persistent · compassionate · resilient · charming · spiritual

In the modern 'Celtic tree calendar', a person born in the Ivy month (30 September – 27 October) is described as loyal, persistent and resilient, able to grow through adversity. The tree calendar is a modern construction by Robert Graves in The White Goddess (1948), elaborated by later Pagans; Ivy corresponds to the Ogham letter Gort.

Modern writers draw the Ivy personality from the plant that spirals and binds, clings to its support and stays green through winter. Ivy people are said to be compassionate, charming and loyal friends, with a deep spiritual sense and an ability to endure and overcome setbacks. Their challenges are described as clinginess, a tendency to depend on or bind others too closely, and difficulty letting go.

In love Ivy people are portrayed as faithful, devoted and supportive, sometimes possessive; in work, as counsellors, carers and those who hold communities together. The month leads towards Samhain, and modern writers associate it with the inward turn of autumn. As with every tree-month portrait, this is a modern contemplative reading rather than ancient Celtic tradition.

Sources and further reading