The Celtic Tree Calendar: Your Tree Sign and You

by Michael Vescoli

Among the rich legacies of the Celtic civilization is the tree calendar, an ancient form of horoscope. The ancient Celts revered and respected trees, seeing them as living beings symbolic of the cycle of life, death, and renewal. Each tree ruled over specific groups of days during the year, and people born during those days possess the characteristics of their guardian tree. Twenty-two trees—including the oak, chestnut, poplar, lime, and yew—make up the calendar. Readers will discover which tree influences and governs their lives and how its personality affects them. Illustrated with charming drawings of the trees, and with endpapers showing the full circular calendar, this book also includes information about the ancient Celts—their history, how they viewed the world and the passing seasons, and their wise men, the druids.

Genres: Nonfiction

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Vescoli was born during the days of the cypress, the tree of resurrection. He grew up in Paris, Switzerland and South America and went on to study languages and psychoanalysis. in order to broaden his knowledge of different cultures and religious beliefs he has travelled extensively, taking on a variety of jobs as he went from place to place.

Today he works as an interpreter and translator for the Swiss courts and police, practices as a dream therapist and gives lectures on body langues, face reading, chiromancy , astrology and comparative mythology.

Reviews

[Kim Daly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Convincing rhetoric, but lacks substance to sustain its argument.
The very short bibliography does not support any of the claims made, and even though it quotes Graves' 'The White Goddess', the calendar it describes is nothing like its reference.
Moreover, the book claims this 'tree sign' calendar was a belief held by Celts, when we know it was developed by Graves himself in the post-war era.
Therefore it is an intriguing idea, but needs a much more seriously development.

[Ilze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now-a-days we flip open a magazine to see our "horoscope". The ancient Celts had beliefs about trees and divided the year accordingly. So you weren't born under a star, but a tree, that determined who you are. I have to say that I really did this for a bit of fun and don't believe in at all! At some level you do need to understand symbols if you want to write symbolically.

Before even looking at the division of the trees, one needs to be aware of the Beth-Luis-Nion calendar that Robert Graves came up with. He also divided the trees according to calendar months, but his division is incorrect. Graves confused Almanac with Zodiac - the one being solar and the other lunar. His tree order starts on December 24, which is impossible as archeological evidence points to the fact that the Celts' lunar-solar year started around October-November. So, Graves is way wrong.

All the theory aside: Vescoli's tree calendar does not follow Graves, which is the main reason for me reading it. Besides all the Celtic lore, Vescoli also looks at the trees themselves, what they are used for, what they look like, etc. Makes for an interesting read.

Oh, and me? I's a Poplar Tree!
_______________________________

Here's an article I wrote about it in 2021: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/talk-t...

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 3 out of 5]

While my inner sceptic and my inner cynic were out debating the real translation of ‘Cogito ergo sum’, my inner mystic chose to explore the link between my personality and my native tree as explained in this little book.
My tree is, apparently, the willow: ‘a many-sided citizen of the world.’ Alas, the weeping willow is an unwelcome, introduced species in my part of the world. What an unfortunate selection: perhaps I don’t belong here either. Still, I will take solace from Lao Tse who, having spent some time sleeping under a willow tree, opined ‘Who knows whether we dream during our life or live in a dream?’ While I am considering this, I will be mindful that my motto is ‘While we are living one life, we are already dreaming of the next.’ Uncomfortably true, in my case.
I’ll dedicate this review to those whose tree is the chestnut (especially those born between 12 and 21 November): ‘Everything we think we know is just supposition.’
Now if I could just be sure whether the Celtic Tree Calendar has been adjusted for the move from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar I’d be more comfortable about which tree has adopted me.
Whether one embraces or rejects the contents of this delightful little book, it is an interesting addition to the myth, magic and mystery collection.

[Maxime Daher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it in French. Nothing really too original here, considering that I've had the time to read about Celtic Mythology before – and that, for the most part, only the basic stuff. A good book for beginners; but the better you're already familiar with Celtic culture, the more disappointing this book will appear to be. Bottomline: wouldn't write home about it; which is why I'm sufficing myself with this review…

[Sally]

Ok, so it's more like tree-strology, and less like nature, but the descriptions and sketches are helpful for identification. And I had no idea that was a tree calendar! I could get behind that! Every tree has a several-page description which ends with people born under its influence, its matching gem (I know) and medicinal uses (the part that interests me most).

[Jiri Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

That all trees around us are living creatures, the truth I have almost forgotten.