If you have other reasons to favor Ash, it makes good sense to me to go with that here as well. It might be interesting over time to see if folks report any different "feel" based on different materials in their beads.

And agreed that making the "creed" affirmation-like makes better sense than the other ones. My own "Tree Deeming" also does this somewhat, though it's not wholly put in the present tense in order to get the feel of Wyrd, Werthende, and Sculd (the three Wyrds, matching the three Norns - Urdhr, Verdhandi, and Skuld).

Lastly, my pleasure, and thanks for sharing your updates!

Thanks,
Jeff