The Malachite

The Ring-Yew is an ‘old and fecund’ Hour of the Wood, whose domains includes desire, restlessness, and whimsy. She is one of the primary Hours worshipped by the Sisterhood of the Knot, along with the Red Grail and the Horned Axe, who sealed their pact with the sacrifice of the Thunderskin. She is known to have a forbidden relationship with one of the gods-from-Nowhere, the Mare-in-the-Tree.[2][3] Her aspects are Moth, Grail, Heart.[4] Her hour is 3 a.m.

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Events

The Flaying of the Thunderskin: The Ring-Yew was one of the three Hours involved in the sacrifice of the Thunderskin. The Thunderskin was in love with the Yew, and was destroyed by the Red Grail as restitution for the death of the Horned Axe’s siblings, the other gods-from-Stone.[2]

The Timurid Invasion: The Ring-Yew was one of the Wood Hours that the Great Hooded Princes turned to to stop the invasion of a Timurid Army. While she initially refused, the Velvet helped the Princes blackmail the Wood Hours, and so the Ring-Yew destroyed a quarter of the army’s forces, who are devoured by bees”.[5]

The War of the Roads (1450-1580): The Sisterhood of the Knot and the Church of the Unconquered Sun both venerated the Ring-Yew, so she probably was involved.

The Intercalate (1582): The Grail-priestesses of the Sisterhood of the Knot prophesied the union of the Forge of Days and the Sun-in-Splendour, though the servants of the Ring-Yew and the Horned Axe both include their own warnings and laments about this event.[6]

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Servants

• Burgeoning Risen: A type of risen corpse who are renewed by the Ring-Yew and sustained by the growths of the Wood.[7]

  The Sisterhood of the Knot: An occult order originating in Phrygia which existed in all the Histories and venerated the Ring-Yew, the Horned Axe and the Red Grail, as well as the Thunderskin. They were a powerful force in several Histories, though they were severely weakened after the War of the Roads.

Relationships

• The Velvet: A fellow Hour of the Wood, who helped the Great Hooded Princes blackmail the Ring-Yew and the other Wood Hours into helping defeat the Timurids.[5]
• The Thunderskin: The Hour whose sacrifice while a Name of the Grail was used to seal the pact between the Ring-Yew, Red Grail, and Horned Axe. He was said to love the Ring-Yew, though it is unclear if she returned his affections.[2]
• The Red Grail: One of the other Hours revered by the Sisterhood of the Knot, who presided over the sacrifice of the Thunderskin. The Grail had her own motives for the flaying of the Thunderskin, as a way to gain some power over the aspect of Heart through him and challenge the Twins.[2][8]
• The Horned Axe: One of the other Hours revered by the Sisterhood of the Knot, the last god-from-Stone the Hours sought to placate after the Lithomachy with the sacrifice of the Thunderskin.[2][6]
• The Mare-in-the-Tree: A god-from-Nowhere, which the Ring-Yew has secret liaisons with. Her Tarot card includes a beehive in the background, a reference to their relationship.[3]

Other Notes

• The Congregation of St. Felix appears to hold a shrine to the Sisterhood of the Knot, with an altar of yew-wood in honor of the Ring-Yew alongside symbols of the other Hours they worship.[9]
• The Ring-Yew plays a role in both paths of the Change ascension, teaching the first lesson, “Garments: Surrendered”.[10]
• There is a common assumption that hand sticking out of a hollow on her tarot image belongs to the Mare - literally depicting "the Mare-in-the-Yew". However, it should be noted that there are six fingers on the hand, while the Mare appears to have only five, judging by her tarot. There is, though, a Hour that has six-fingers on her image - it's the long-haired Twin (presumably, the Witch) - and the Mare is said to be "the Witch's sister".

Real World References

• The Ring-Yew takes the place of the Empress in the Tarot of the Hours. The Empress can represent fertility, beauty, and action, and takes the role of a mother and a nurturer. The Ring-Yew’s place as the Empress may also reflect her relationship with the Thunderskin, who’s own card is the Emperor.
• The Sisterhood of the Knot reflects elements of triple deity worship, which appears in a variety of religious practices in history. The three Hours that the Sisterhood venerate can specifically be read as representations for the standard female archetypes of the maiden, mother, and crone, with the Ring-Yew as the maiden, fitting into her themes of renewal, rebirth, and vitality.
• In Ancient Egypt, malachite represented joyfulness and was closely associated with the goddess Hathor. Hathor was closely connected with the Sinai Peninsula, which was not considered part of Egypt proper but was the site of Egyptian mines for copper, turquoise, and malachite during the Middle and New Kingdoms. One of Hathor's epithets, "Lady of Mefkat", may have referred specifically to turquoise or to all blue-green minerals.

Theories and Questions

• The Ring-Yew is one of several Hours (excluding the gods-from-Nowhere and the gods-from-Stone) who do not have an origin story for their origin, along with the Beachcomber and the Elegiast. We know that she once was a mortal, and that she became an Hour sometime between the Lithomachy and the sacrifice of the Thunderskin. She is said to be an “old” Hour, which might suggest she became an Hour closer to the former event rather than the latter, though no record of her being involved in the overthrow of the gods-from-Stone exists.[11]
• The text that appears when progressing in the Change ascension with the Ring-Yew’s lesson includes references to the moon, which might suggest a connection to the Twins and/or the Meniscate, and perhaps to the story told in the description of he Dappled Mask.[10][12]
• The Grail might have been jealous of the Thunderskin for loving the Ring-Yew after ascending under her power, which could be an additional reason why she flayed him.[2][13]

In-Game Sources

1. We call upon the Ring-Yew, who is succulent We call upon the Ring-Yew, who encompasses We call upon the Ring-Yew, renewed 2. Read 'The Morphy Codex' 3. Mare-in-the-Yew 4. All those aspects are depicted on her Tarot image, written with honey on the right. Moth: 'Mare-in-the-Yew' and Burgeoning Risen aspects. Heart: Evocation by Heart followers. Direct Grail association comes solely from the Tarot. 5. Read 'The Fire-Circle Tantra' 6. Read 'The Vinzant Inscriptions' 7. Burgeoning Risen 8. Read 'Those Who Do Not Sleep' 9. Secret Devotions 10. Heart's Garments, Surrendered, Moth's Garments, Surrendered 11. Inquisitions for the Demiurge 12. "Is the Ring-Yew a God-from-Blood or God-from-Light? And is she single? She is actually a god-who-was-flesh, and as her powers are primarily deirse, restlessness and whimsy, you’re in with a good chance" Dappled Mask 13. The Velshorn Inscriptions

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