This is the oracular tree of the longest night. Thule, the old name for the winter solstice, is the pinnacle of power for the Old King. This is the power of cold nature, the age and strength of stones, the compression of deep water, the solidity of frozen earth. Thule is translated as the turning point, the place one must turn back from and cannot go beyond. Rather than seeing this as giving up or as a barrier that must not be crossed we should remember the folk saying, "Down so low, no place to go from here but up." The night after the longest night is shorter, and we are on the way back up the circle. All cultures and religions from the oldest to the youngest celebrate the return of the sun at this point on the calendar, and the belief that troubles will always lessen with time.

Yews are slow growing, multi-trunked trees that live to be ancient, complex, and unique. Parts will die off, but the whole will survive. In recognition of their longevity they have been planted on barrows, tombs, and in churchyards for centuries, and symbolize the endless cycle of death and rebirth. Life and Death nest one inside the other, two halves of the whole. In the life cycle, death is the last Thule that we go beyond to rebirth or up the spiral to the next cycle. The ancient Ogham poem says, "I am the tomb to every hope."

The meaning of the ogham is that life has its inevitable turnings and dangerous times, and there is no reversal to this message. Both the ogham Ioho and the rune Eoh are the yew tree. Yew is a warning but also a defense. It is the long bow, one of the magical weapons. Like the other magical weapons, yew bows were used as mundane weapons at one time. The long bow was a revolutionary innovation in the warfare of its time, and was a decisive factor in political power. Magically, it is a weapon of potent defense meant to be employed when times are blackest and most threatening.

The bird connected to this ogham is the eaglet. Like the unstrung bow, the eaglet is a symbol of power held in reserve. The bow, when employed, will send an arrow through a knight's armor. The eaglet, when grown, will be the strongest of raptors.

All of the archtypical personas are different faces of God. These, the Old King and the Sorceress, are the oldest and farthest removed from human nature and loving-kindness. They are never fooled, or charmed, or bamboozled by our make-believe. On the other hand, they are not disappointed or downhearted when events turn against them. The Holly King and the Old King are close-the Holly King's reign ends just before Thule-and the Holly King is the warrior persona of the Old King who rules. The Sorceress is the dark face of the Crone Goddess, turned away from humanity.

The message of Ioho is a grim one but it also says, "Be brave."