Romans would carry branches of cypress as a sign of respect, and bodies of the respected were placed upon cypress branches before burial. The tree would be planted by a grave, in front of the house or vestibule as a warning against outsiders entering a place corrupted by a dead body. Known as the ‘mournful tree’ by the Greeks and the Romans, the cypress tree was sacred to the Fates and Furies, as well as the rulers of the underworld. The cypress tree, despite its association with water - typically the element of Slytherin - also does well in warm, temperate climates. However, interestingly enough, cypress wands are most prevalent among Gryffindors, whose House represents the element of fire. In America, cypress trees are also prevalent in hotter, swampy areas, and make up the grand majority of the woods in the Southeastern United States. The Greeks and Romans also held that Cupid’s darts, Jove’s sceptre, the club of Hercules, and the pillars of Solomon’s temple were all made from cypress wood. Unlike the pine tree, whose needles possess a degree of positioning or autotropism in relation to the movement of the sun across the sky, the stem-clasping leaves of the cypress are rigid, and do not move.Īssociated primarily with the element of water, the cypress tree was also said to have been the wood that, in the Bible, God directed Noah to build the ark from. These trees are indigenous to North America, Southern Europe and Asia, although outside their native climates, they have often proved to be strongly adaptable. It is also symbolic of freedom, and more specifically, leaving behind all earthly attachments, settling in new areas, making new connections, and experiencing freedom of the mind and soul.Īn evergreen belonging to the coniferous family, the cypress tree has distinctive, intricate leaves, which look like fish scales.
Of cypress, with Psyche, my soul.” - Edgar Allan PoeĬypress, as both a wand wood and a tree, is symbolic of faithfulness, strength, adaptability, hope, sacrifice, and death. Wand Analysis: Cypress with Unicorn Hair, 11 1/2″, “rigid”, Gryffindor
0 kommentar(er)
