THE HEALING PROPERTIES OF TREES & FLOWERS

Celtic Tree & Flower Medicine -

BIRCH - this tree is indicative of cleanliness & determination in
overcoming adversity. Use when wanting to make a fresh start &
ridding yourself of bad influences

ALDER - is a water-loving tree, the God linked with this tree is Bran
the blessed, is for spiritual protection & prophecy.

WILLOW - medicine stands for female & lunar rhythms of life. She is
water-seeking like the alder. Offers protection against damp diseases
&modern herbal Practioners extract salicin from the bark to be used
to ease illnesses like rheumatic fever. The gift of fertility is also
represented here.

ASH - The World Tree, it has deep penetrating roots which change the
chemistry of the soil, making undergrowth difficult for other
vegetation. Helps link the earthly and spiritual. Good medicine for
meditation.

HAWTHORN - Small tree with dense, many-branched body. Best used for
cleansing & chastity, bringing protection from the inner magical
realms.

OAK - The Oak's place in Celtic lunar calendar is seventh among
thirteen months. The Oak has protected England through the use of his
timbers for the building of ships. Oaks are used as boundary marker.
Oak medicine is best used for securing your pursuits, protecting
while attaining your goals. It is essential protection for those less
able, who require security in order to strengthen their characters.

HOLLY - a white-wooded tree with almost invisible grain, looks much
like ivory. Holly is associated with the death and rebirth symbolism
in both Pagan & Christian lore. In Arthurian legend, Gawain
(Representing the Oak King of summer) fought the Green Knight, who
was armed with a Holly club to represent winter. Holly medicine may
be used with difficulties in sleep and to ease the passage of death.

HAZEL - Hazel embodies many talents: poetry, divination, and the
powers of meditation. In Celtic tradition, the Salmon of knowledge is
said to eat the nuts dropped into its sacred pool from this tree
growing beside it. Each nut eaten by the salmon becomes a spot on its
skin. In Europe and North America
Hazel is used to gain knowledge, wisdom & poetic inspiration.

APPLE - A dense, fine grained, rosy colored wood with a sweet smell.
Apple is associated with choice. This is good medicine to use when
your are having difficulty in making decisions, whether they are work
or relationship oriented.

VINE - This is used in the development of prophetic powers, best when
used while trying to reach deeper state of consciousness and when
doing healing work.

IVY - Represents the spiral of the self and the search for self. The
maze of the labyrinth is also linked to Ivy, since it symbolized the
wondering soul, circling inward and outward, seeking nourishment from
within & without, leading you to ENLIGHTENMENT . A wonderful aid if
helping others on a spiritual journey.

REED - Helps create spiritual weapons - gives you direction. Best
when used before beginning healing work or soul retrievals.

BLACKTHORN - is a wintery tree. Fruits, known as sloes, only ripen
after the first frost. The Gaelic word "staif" has links with English
word "strife". Wood of Blackthorn is traditionally used with the
Irish shillelagh. It represents the strong action of fate or outside
influences in your life. Blackthorn should not be used by the novice.

ELDER - is linked to eternal turnings of life and death, birth and
rebirth. It represents the end/beginning and beginning/end.
Significant of creativity and renewal.. new beginnings.

SILVER FIR - is used to bring knowledge of your present and past
lives into now. The color sliver links you to your SILVER THREAD
symbolizing your awareness of the progress of your spiritual journey.
Best used when searching for gift of INSIGHT.

HEATHER - used for Solitary healing work (going within) Heather along
with mistletoe create powerful healing medicine in both spiritual and
physical aspects.

WHITE POPLAR - concerns with earthly and material aspects of Life.
Also with finding the spiritual determination to face hardship we
have to endure. This tree has the ability to resist and to shield,
also an ability with languages and speech with close relationship
with the winds.

YEW- mostly found in ancient cemeteries. In Breton Legen, the tree is
said to grow a root into the open mouth of each corpse buried in the
graveyard. This root is the symbol of rebirth. Good medicine when
used in working with past life issues and regression.

GROVE - tree of All Knowledge. The grove represents a sacred place
wehre all is linked and becomes clear. Helps you look beneath the
surface of things.. whether situations or people. Medicine works with
your hidden knowledge, helping you to manifest it at the appropriate
time.

SPINDLE - completion of tasks. Ability to complete something to its
end, no matter how difficult. Good for progressing in certain areas
of your life which are of difficulty to you

HONEYSUCKLE - helps you to distinguish what is real from what is
false, and what is of real value on your journey. The honeysuckle
will help you tread safely - remaining true to your quest.

BEECH - Beech wood is close grained and easy t work with - smooth and
even surface. Beech medicine can tell you about yesterday and how it
is relevant today. Handling old objects or visiting a place connected
to your past will bring understanding of people, incidents, reviving
the memories within that are needed.

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Trees Can Lead Us to the Roots of Our Souls

By: Sandra Kynes

Last summer when I was stuck at an airport and whiled away the time with my nose in a magazine, one article in particular made me sit up and take notice. It said that anthropologists studying cross-cultural patterns found that all the world’s civilizations fall into tree or treeless groups. This difference apparently has a major influence on the core mindset of a culture. The article went on to mention how biodiversity was accompanied by cultural and linguistic diversity. Tree people tended to be polytheistic, less militaristic and supportive of partnership (equality between genders) societies.

This wasn’t a surprise to me because I have found that drawing close to the green world opens doors to new yet ancient forms of energy and awareness. Trees can function as gateways to different levels of being and can provide us with a better understanding of ourselves and others. A walk in the woods makes it easy to understand the awe and reverence our ancestors had for trees.

Civilization as we know it could not have developed without trees. After humans first attached sharpened stones to the ends of sticks to extend their reach as hunters, and kindled fires for warmth and cooking, they were on their way to creating a more comfortable life. Eventually trees were viewed as something more than a source of food, shelter and raw material. They became part of our spiritual and cultural traditions as well as powerful symbols that embody life and the cycle of time. Trees serve as vivid reminders of life, death and rebirth, and they seem imbued with magic because they simultaneously dwell in the three realms of heaven, earth and underworld. Trees are central in the creation stories of diverse cultures such as the Celts, Greeks, Indonesians, Scandinavians, Siberians and Japanese. Druids are perhaps the most well-known group that worshipped in sacred groves but they were not the only people to do so. The earliest sanctuaries of the Germanic tribes were also in forests. In Lithuania certain areas were designated as holy groves where information was sought from tree oracles. Similarly, the ancient Greeks consulted tree oracles in their sacred groves dedicated to Zeus.

Nowadays, people are rediscovering the majesty of trees and are appreciating with wonder these magnificent giants because in the woods you can’t help but feel part of something huge and magical. Honoring nature and living more closely with the rhythms of the green world brings us deeper meaning and spiritual satisfaction. With this comes the self-realization of returning to Source — to the Divine.

As a Druid, I feel a special affinity with trees and I am blessed to experience the energy exchange that can take place with them. Through the years I sought ways to make this energy part of my everyday consciousness because it helped me find and express who I am as well as how I want to live on this earth. The good news about working with tree energy is that you don’t have to run off and live in a secluded cottage deep in the forest (as attractive as that may seem on certain days).

The result of my sylvan exploration is the book, Whispers from the Woods, which is a guide that takes you through initial energy exercises and meditations to begin your work with trees. A range of various Celtic Oghams and the tree calendar are explored with suggestions for personalizing them to provide a link with the natural world that is uniquely yours. An approach adapted from feng shui offers a method to invite tree energy into your home for a healthy environment as well as to affect change in your life. Bringing tree energy into your rituals and spellcraft is also covered to help you tap into the subtle magic of the green world. Finally, shamanic journeying is presented as a tool for deeper exploration — it is the world tree, axis mundi, that shamans from many cultures use to access other realms. Through these varied methods, trees serve as companions and guides as we explore the balance of our inner and outer worlds. After all, trees embody the spirit of balance as they extend in two directions — one towards the dark and the other towards the light.

Whispers from the Woods is intended to open our hearts and minds to the subtleties of the green world as we explore our place in the web of life. Trees provide many pathways to tap into this web and to help us live in harmony with the power and spirit of earth’s rhythms. Like music, they speak to something deep and primal within us. With the aid of tree energy we can harvest the fruits of our spiritual journey and find the seeds of our souls.

http://herbalmusings.com/trees-roots-soul.htm