(^110) A Wiccan Bible
century. Think on that for just a moment and imagine half of the variety of flora gone
without any sudden or Earth-wide event. No comet, no nuclear winter—we just wake
up and they are gone. One of our duties as Wiccans is to see that folk get that wake up
call early enough to prevent that prediction from becoming manifest.
One could take the stance that plants as a whole will survive, and there will be
plenty of oxygen and food to go around. But in taking that stance, one demonstrates a
complete ignorance for the nature of medicine. You see, although modern pharma-
ceuticals are often synthetics, virtually every medicine ever developed was observed
first in its natural state in plants. So in our search for a cure for such diseases as cancer,
that is exactly where we look. Yet every day there is less of a variety of plant life to
examine. How many cures have already been lost? How many more will be lost before
we discover this mystery? What are we going to do about it?
While you might not come to the same conclusion as I have on this matter, I very
much believe we have been created to be dependent on plants for a reason. The reason
is that we were created as caretakers and caregivers of this world. In case we forget that
fact, our Lord and Lady have built in little reminders. Consider what lore tells us about
the Yew.
Yew—Feminine, Saturn, Earth
Common Yew—Taxus baccata
Japanese Yew—Taxus cuspidata
Primary astrological association: Aquarius, Capricorn
Secondary astrological association: Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo
God association: Odin, Mimir
Goddess association: Athena, Banbha, Bestla, Hecate, Saturn
Celtic tree calendar: Idho, Winter Solstice
It does seem that Yew has been considered sacred for some time. By some ac-
counts, it is from whence Odin received the inspiration for the runes. Other accounts
state that Yew provides shamanic visions, extends life, and restores youth. Modern
medicine has now shown that the drug paclitaxel may be tremendously effective in
treating breast, ovarian, and lung cancer. Now take a look at the Latin names for the
Yew and see if you can guess where one might find paclitaxel in nature.
In the words of one of my mentors, if you guessed it comes from a variety of Yew,
you are ‘smarter than the average bear.’ Paclitaxel is extracted from the bark of the
Pacific Yew tree. Unfortunately, the Yew is one of the slower growing trees. The cur-
rent supply of paclitaxel is estimated to be able to treat only about 8,000 people annu-
ally because each patient’s annual supply of the drug is made from about 60 pounds of
the bark. To generate that much bark, one needs between three and six mature trees.
What would have happened if the Yew had become extinct prior to the discovery
of paclitaxel? What would happen if it were to become extinct before there is a way to
create a synthetic version? How many people would suffer and die simply because no
one stopped and thought about the symbiotic relationship between humanity and the
m WB Chap 06.p65 110 7/11/2003, 5:51 PM
barré
(Barré)
#1