The There There Letter: Xylem, Xoanon, and Xylomancy
I talk to the trees, but they don't listen to me. (Alan Jay Lerner)
Three things from DAH. The There There: Where the heart is.
DAH is me, David Anthony Hance.
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First up this week: Xylem …
What is wood? A very handy thing for the planet and humankind, wouldn't you agree? And, carefully cared for, an amazing renewable resource. Xylon (or xulon), a German word from the Greek for wood, is the root of xylem: "a complex tissue in the vascular system of higher plants … functioning chiefly in conduction but also in support and storage, and typically constituting the woody element" (Merriam-Webster). This is the sort of thing my science-y parents just seemed to know, while I have to look it up. With wood so important in our lives, I'm embarrassed to realize how little I understand it.
Second up this week, Xoanon …
A new word for me, and one my parents are unlikely to have known (not a science word, but culture!). "a primitive image of wood sometimes recalling in shape the block or tree-trunk from which it was cut" (Merriam-Webster). If I understand correctly, some of the primitive xoannon were actually recreated in stone in order to preserve the image. Which made me think of Woodhenge. Two miles from Stonehenge, and some 500 years younger, Woodhenge wasn't rediscovered until 1925. Concentric rings of tall timbers, believed to have similar functions to Stonehenge.. The wood's no longer with us, but concrete markers now show where the timbers stood (we know from the postholes). That feels mildly xoanon-y. Need to visit.
Third up this week, Xylomancy …
Wood, Woodhenge, primitive cultures, and my lingering fascination with divination (candles, cards, crystals, whatever). I don't believe, but I am fascinated by the ways we try and focus our minds to understand the complexities of human cultural life. Well, xylomancy is a form of divination using pieces of wood. You may recall it from the Harry Potter books (Sybill Trelawney's twigs). Often a consideration/divination based on burning wood, or burnt wood, this has such a sacred nature feeling to it that I'm drawn in. According to Occult-World.com (I read widely): "Xylomancy is a form of divination that is practiced in Slavonia … by interpreting the shape and position of dry pieces of wood found in one's path … also drawn from the arrangement of logs in the fireplace and from the manner in which they burned … In ancient times, only branches that had fallen naturally were used. In a later system, branches were stripped of half of their bark and tossed to the ground to form random patterns that were interpreted." More DAH fascination with wood.
A book I await ...
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, by David Grann
"In his new book, David Grann tells a classic sea yarn in a new way, overthrowing an old colonial story … We make our stories, until they make us. So many of Grann’s predecessors wrote of colonial adventures in a way that glorified violence, exploitation and enslavement. But recognizing the power of story, Grann seeks to burnish nothing, instead presenting the truth. He fixes his spyglass on the ravages of empire, of racism, of bureaucratic indifference and raw greed. In doing so, he frees himself to acknowledge the valor, the curiosity and the sheer adventure of the age … The Wager is one of the finest nonfiction books I’ve ever read. I can only offer the highest praise a writer can give: endless envy, as deep and salty as the sea." (from Matthew Teague's review in The Guardian, 30 Apr 2023)
I read Grann's The Lost City of Z and I'm finally getting around to Killers of the Flower Moon currently, as I await my turn on our local library's wait list for The Wager. Mr. Grann is rather a good writer!
And a bit more:
"Oread"
by H.D.
Whirl up, sea—
whirl your pointed pines,
splash your great pines
on our rocks,
hurl your green over us,
cover us with your pools of fir.
And that's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver's "Sometimes"
This Letter is Free every Friday!
You can subscribe and browse past issues HERE
First up this week: Xylem …
What is wood? A very handy thing for the planet and humankind, wouldn't you agree? And, carefully cared for, an amazing renewable resource. Xylon (or xulon), a German word from the Greek for wood, is the root of xylem: "a complex tissue in the vascular system of higher plants … functioning chiefly in conduction but also in support and storage, and typically constituting the woody element" (Merriam-Webster). This is the sort of thing my science-y parents just seemed to know, while I have to look it up. With wood so important in our lives, I'm embarrassed to realize how little I understand it.
Second up this week, Xoanon …
A new word for me, and one my parents are unlikely to have known (not a science word, but culture!). "a primitive image of wood sometimes recalling in shape the block or tree-trunk from which it was cut" (Merriam-Webster). If I understand correctly, some of the primitive xoannon were actually recreated in stone in order to preserve the image. Which made me think of Woodhenge. Two miles from Stonehenge, and some 500 years younger, Woodhenge wasn't rediscovered until 1925. Concentric rings of tall timbers, believed to have similar functions to Stonehenge.. The wood's no longer with us, but concrete markers now show where the timbers stood (we know from the postholes). That feels mildly xoanon-y. Need to visit.
Third up this week, Xylomancy …
Wood, Woodhenge, primitive cultures, and my lingering fascination with divination (candles, cards, crystals, whatever). I don't believe, but I am fascinated by the ways we try and focus our minds to understand the complexities of human cultural life. Well, xylomancy is a form of divination using pieces of wood. You may recall it from the Harry Potter books (Sybill Trelawney's twigs). Often a consideration/divination based on burning wood, or burnt wood, this has such a sacred nature feeling to it that I'm drawn in. According to Occult-World.com (I read widely): "Xylomancy is a form of divination that is practiced in Slavonia … by interpreting the shape and position of dry pieces of wood found in one's path … also drawn from the arrangement of logs in the fireplace and from the manner in which they burned … In ancient times, only branches that had fallen naturally were used. In a later system, branches were stripped of half of their bark and tossed to the ground to form random patterns that were interpreted." More DAH fascination with wood.
A book I await ...
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, by David Grann
"In his new book, David Grann tells a classic sea yarn in a new way, overthrowing an old colonial story … We make our stories, until they make us. So many of Grann’s predecessors wrote of colonial adventures in a way that glorified violence, exploitation and enslavement. But recognizing the power of story, Grann seeks to burnish nothing, instead presenting the truth. He fixes his spyglass on the ravages of empire, of racism, of bureaucratic indifference and raw greed. In doing so, he frees himself to acknowledge the valor, the curiosity and the sheer adventure of the age … The Wager is one of the finest nonfiction books I’ve ever read. I can only offer the highest praise a writer can give: endless envy, as deep and salty as the sea." (from Matthew Teague's review in The Guardian, 30 Apr 2023)
I read Grann's The Lost City of Z and I'm finally getting around to Killers of the Flower Moon currently, as I await my turn on our local library's wait list for The Wager. Mr. Grann is rather a good writer!
And a bit more:
"Oread"
by H.D.
Whirl up, sea—
whirl your pointed pines,
splash your great pines
on our rocks,
hurl your green over us,
cover us with your pools of fir.
And that's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver's "Sometimes"
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
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