(Warning! This is one of those off-the-wall, weird posts…)
I’m a tree person. I’m drawn, especially, to clusters of trees. They hold a deep fascination and spiritual resonance for me. I sometimes fancy if I could stand silently in a grove of oak trees and close my eyes I’d realize I was a Druid in a previous life! Did you know there were actually THREE orders of Druids?
There were the Bards, who were the Keepers of the Past. Their words were considered to be magical. They were the journalists, historians, critics, and performing artists of the ancient Celtic world. They used their skills with words to weave a spell of enchantment around their listeners. Their ultimate goal was to foster spiritual transformation, to help others in their quests for spiritual growth. (Plato at Plato’s Groove is a Bard!)
The Ovates (Seers) were the Keepers of the Future. The word “ovate” is related to the Indo-European word for mental agitation and prophecy, implying that this skill is related to entering altered states of consciousness through which spiritual information may be received. They were similar to Native American Shamans. They were the ones who presided over life processes (birth and death), rites of passage, and rituals of transformation. They were also healers. (I’m pretty sure Fimnora Westcaw at Quantum Hermit, who is on hiatus at the moment, is a Seer, and I believe Mary at Walking My Path is a Healer.)
And finally there were the Druids themselves who were Keepers of the Present. A lot of people think they were just tree huggers, the first New Agers, but historical evidence says the Druids were the intellectuals of Celtic society. Scientists, philosophers, lawyers, judges, mediators, psychologists, and theologians. Just as warriors were the muscles of Celtic society, Druids were the brains, both spiritual and political. (Hm… I’d say Safar Fiertze at Blisters, Bunions & Blarney AND Opher at Opher’s World may just be Druids!. 😉 )
And this is one of the Druid symbols…
This beautiful Triscele pin was sent to me by the lovely Ms. Anna at Anna Cottage this past Christmas. That was such a surprise to receive. Anna, you’re a sweetheart!. 😀 (And she knows I have a Celtic heart…) I’ve also read that the Triscele represents the flow of nature: birth, death, rebirth. I thought that is beautiful.
And also, did you know that trees have their own voices? (I’ve probably mentioned this before…like more than once!) If you listen carefully to the sound oak leaves make in the breeze as compared to a maple or an aspen, you’ll realize they really do sound different. (General Mapleon in our front yard has a fairly deep voice.. 😉 )
I find it interesting that trees play such an important part in historical lore of all kinds of cultures. The Native American Shamans believe trees are endowed with magical, life-giving powers. I just read this excerpt from Soul Journey by John A. Sanford. It made me really sad. I wanted to share it with you…
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When the Apache woman gave birth to her child she did so under a tree. The placenta was placed in the tree, for it was regarded as the child’s double. Whenever the tree’s leaves were renewed in the spring the life of the person born there would also be renewed. If the individual at some point in his or her life felt the need for renewed strength and purpose, that person could make a pilgrimage back to the birth spot and there perform a ceremony; this would renew his or her strength. The Apache Chief Geronimo said of the Apaches who were dying on the reservations that they died because they were not allowed to visit the spot where they were born to be renewed.
I realize that’s a strange custom, and I’ve no idea if it’s still practiced, but it resonated with me none the less. I’m not a big nature lover (ten minutes in the sun and I’m burned to a crisp), which is why it’s so weird that I’m crazy about trees. But I feel a real kinship to them. I think having grown up running around Mohican forest in Ohio must have made me a blood brother at sometime or other! Lord knows I left the blood of skinned knees from climbing on many, many trees!
What about you? Is there something particular in nature that you are drawn to? If so, why does it resonate with you?
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Picture Credits:
Triskele — moi
Chief Geronimo — www.history.com
Impromptu Promptlings 
I always often seem to find myself in the rainforest with a running brook when I do guided meditations.
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That sounds wonderful. But how do you do your own guided meditations?
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Various ways. SOmetimes listen to ones I find on the net, sometimes follow a script (I find that quite easy to do) or just go within. And if I am doing a guided meditation for someone I also go into an altered state so I do it along with them even if I am the one doing the guiding as it were. i Have a good microphone now, so hopefully in the not too long distant future can start posting audio meditations 🙂
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That would be so cool! I wish Plato would, too.
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I’m a tree lover as well. But who isn’t really? They’re like people only better.
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Yes, and they’re never in a hurry. 😀
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Who but someone devoid of a soul could possibly not love trees? Research has shown that they are nurturing (that’s something you can feel as soon as you approach one); the mature tree puts nourishment in the path of nearby saplings. It seems Apaches knew something that present generations had to find out through scientific tests. No surprise there.
We’ve rejected our instincts, and replaced them with intellect. It’s a pity we can’t have both at the same time, but given a choice, I think I’d plump for instinct. It’s probably more reliable.
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Don’t you think there are a lot of folks in the world right now that are trying to go back to the old ways while still using what they know of the new? Perhaps they’re trying to become hybrids?
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That’s a good word for it.
I really believe that closing off the intellect would speed up the retrieval of instinct, and I wonder whether many people who want both (and let’s face it, I’m one of those) have thought about that.
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That’s a very good question. Safar might like that one…
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It’s not the same, but I planted a Cherry Tree the year my son was born and love to see it growing with him. The other thing I love in nature is the sea. I was born by the sea, have lived in other cities but I always chose to commute and live by the sea again. It feels like oxygen to me. I’m living back where I was born, next to my sea.
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That’s actually a pretty cool thing to do, planting a tree when your child is born. Better than markin’ up your walls? I hear ya about the sea. The forest and the ocean. I could be happy either place. I think it’s because I’m part Falmari Elf and part Wood Elf… 😀 (from LOTR)
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For whatever reason, I don’t find the Apache custom strange at all..it appeals to me actually….so sad for those Native Americans who couldn’t get back to their ‘birth tree’ 🌲💚
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It would be really heartbreaking for someone who truly believed in that, wouldn’t it. It’s like a parent who believes there’s something really almost “magical” about baptism then has a baby who passes at birth without being baptized. It can torment them.
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😔😔😔😔😔
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Like you Calen, I’m a tree lover all the way and know it’s because I grew up in the ‘city’. Getting out and about under the canopy of some majestic trees just renews my soul.
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There’s something about the air in a forest. The trees take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. So in the forest we tend to take deeper breaths. So I’m not surprised at all that it affects you that way. 🙂
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I knew I wouldn’t be surprising you – you’re too clever for that 🙂
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Nah… I just read a lot about weird stuff. 😀
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Love me some Ents!
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YES! My General Mapleon is an Ent! 😀
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I do love trees. Grew up with a woods as my backyard. But for me, it’s water and specifically the ocean. I grew up on an island so I guess that is where the water comes from. And it is why friends and family could not fathom why I moved to the desert. But back to trees, a scientist/chemical engineer/attorney boss that I had told me that the true color of leaves is in the Fall when the leaves change color…Chlorophyll is what makes the leaves green…when the chlorophyll is gone, the true colors emerge…a Fun Fact, right?! 🙂
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I’ve heard that, too. I also heard that one reason why the trees here in Utah tend toward the yellows in the fall is because they don’t get enough water to produce the beautiful colors (unless they’re right by a sprinkling system). So I wonder if that means the trees don’t have as much chlorophyll as they need to produce the other colors. I’m gonna read up on that one of these days.
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Thanks Cheryl. I quite fancy being a Druid! Great of you to suggest that. I know Safar is definitely one!
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Would you like a pointy hat to go with that? 😉
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It’s trees for me, too, Lady C. In my limited art endeavors, I have always painted trees. When my girls were little we would hug the trees in the yard. We had one pine and they were always coming in with sap stuck to their clothes. Couldn’t scold them though since I had taught them to hug and climb trees.
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LOL I’ve had to get sap out of my hair a time or two and off the kids’ clothes. Maybe someday one great tree will call us altogether. That’d be cool!
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