Writing
From time to time I prepare a piece for publication. I’ll keep you posted on my doings.
Spirit of the Seasons
astrology, illustration, diary, calendar, Diaries, visual art, writing, graphics
astrology, illustration, diary, calendar, Diaries, visual art, writing, graphics
From time to time I prepare a piece for publication. I’ll keep you posted on my doings.
SPELLCRAFT MAGAZINE SUBMISSION: This may be published in the Winter Editon 18: Greenwitch
TREES FOR YOUR DRUID GARDEN
We acknowledge the beauty of trees and their value to us as sacred beings that possess a consciousness nourishing us with inspiration, energy and deep communion. As Pagan lore has been transported from the northern hemisphere along with European style cities and exotic trees it is inevitable that some of us have lost touch with the spirit of this Great South Land. Much indigenous wisdom is held in unavailable repositories or guarded by tribal elders (for good reason).
Trees are especially poignant reminders of the seen and unseen worlds working together to create life on earth. Our indigenous brothers and sisters unearthed trees and turned them upside down in sacred places for use as teaching tools – the mystery of life revealed in a tangible and unambiguous way. What is above, is so below – what is seen above in branches and leaves, is supported and nourished by the roots and what is below. It was, and still is, a valuable lesson to us all.
Trees of relevance in our lives are our family tree, our community tree and our cultural tree. By this I mean, our connection with family/ancestors, our local commerce and recreational networks and our cultural/national identity of common law, religion and land use.
Druidry in particular fascinates us because of its strong connection with trees. As part of Druid training, mnemomic devices were used to trap associations between disparate items and create vast storehouses of knowledge in the mind. Science describes our neurological brains, made up of synapses and dendrites, as branches like a tree and that our psychological development from birth to death consists of developing associations between sensory information to, in effect, grow this mental tree in our brains.
Much of the pagan practice is to create associations. We assign concepts such as wind, east, starry night or courage for example, to one arbitrary group or another in the development of our craft. The content isn’t as important as the process. We are developing our human potential in this activity – growing our mind tree if you will. No wonder we are fascinated with trees.
One particular method for growing mind trees for Druids was known as the Ogham (pronounced o’um) – a system of twenty-five strokes on or branching off a central line. Strokes were inscribed on staves of wood or stones as grave markers or memorials. Whether Celtic or pre-Celtic, it was Robert Graves and his 1948 book The White Goddess which brought the Ogham into public awareness. Each stroke of the Ogham corresponds to the first letter of the tree allocated to it and ancient inscriptions involving spells and sacred charms have been translated accordingly. Today, many people seek out the sacred trees to create a set of Ogham sticks for their own divinitary use. However, in Australia, these alphabet trees of oak, birch, rowan and ash are hard to find outside a botanical garden.
Whether the Ogham was used as a calendar by linking each tree and letter to a moon month is less certain. The Ogham provides a glyph system as rich in symbolism as the Qabalists’ Tree of life. Where the Qabalist uses one tree, the Druids use a grove filled with many woodland plants and trees. By using this grove and glyph system as nourishment for our own mental tree, we can retain far more information by using association – assigning a number, star, human quality, god/goddess, animal, bird, colour, mineral into groupings. This forms the stored data from which cross fertilization and recombination begin to work of their own accord (often during sleep). Free association, so familiar in psychoanalysis, allows both the unconscious and conscious selves to feed from it and nourish itself. Such a mental construct also allows transpersonal energies to enter the psychic system in a safe way because the reception channels have already been built as the mind tree.
Much of our urban landscape is planted out with exotic trees which struggle to find their place in an alien climate or alternatively flourish into weed proportion. Many indigenous plants are poisonous and need processing before they can be ingested. Early settlers named trees using European sensibility rather than its scientific family or genus. A reliable reference book, bushwalking, training and growing our own mind tree with experience seems essential.
Place has its own spirit of interests and concerns so take time to learn its seasons, its mood and its wisdom. Some of our European traditions may be entirely inappropriate for some trees or areas. For example, although the banksia needs smoke to germinate, it may be bushfire season and your gentle fire ceremony may be out of synch with its seasonal cycle. Coming to understand your rituals in direct relationship to the local environment is a rich and rewarding experience. Environmentally friendly sacrifices (such as leaving exotic herbs or flowers) may have different impacts in different landscapes and as you practice your devotion you will learn the sacred pathways and hidden secrets of your particular area.
My study of tree lore has found structure through the Order of Bards, Ovate and Druids correspondence course. My beekeeper father taught me to recognize trees and I tasted the different honey that their blossoms provided. As a child I encountered many indigenous plants as I played deep in the tall eucalypt forests along wild bush tracks in the State forests where the hives were kept. Now I live close to the world heritage listed Tweed Valley and have a responsibility to clear my land of camphor laurel trees known as a weed in this rainforest area. My property is a sanctuary for snakes, birds and wallabies (to name a few) and I have held Druid ceremonies beneath the open skies in the circle on the hill.
Druidry for me has to be local and I spent time working with the concepts to translate them to my part of the world. I studied star lore to transcribe the celtic festivals and determine the moon dates from year to year. I am currently selling astrological diaries which disseminates this southern hemisphere knowledge into practice for those who live down under.
Wherever you are in Australia, your landscape is sure to be quite different to that on the other side of our island. What works for you may be quite inappropriate for others. That’s what I like about Australia. We have to find our own way, using the skills and knowledge of those who came before us, but translating that into our own particular experience. We have to be especially perceptive, sensitive and careful here. Our land has a very old spirit. It is an amazing survivor and its wisdom of the Earth is enormous. Living here in the south brings with it a responsibility to balance out the energies of the heavily populated north by paying attention to our wild places, our natural environments and building strong associations and mental mind trees which can help to counterbalance the energies of the north.
There is no special requirement for communing with the spirit of trees except willingness and patience. As with any new relationship, introduce yourself and allow time and space for it to develop in its own way. What we are seeking is from a deep soul level, spirit to spirit, giving as much as we are receiving. We are building our mind trees with associations which have deep meaning for us.
Study the tree’s shape – its leaves, blossoms or seed pods for relevant associations. For example the black wattle has a long leaf shaped like the Tarot’s spear or lance and the eucalypts often have seed pods shaped like a cauldron or cup. The mangrove sends its aerial roots into tidal rivers invoking the element water and the Strangler fig is parasitic invoking Pluto’s transformative powers. The Banksia’s seed pods, when open, resemble laughing mouths suggesting Gemini or Sagittarius. Some wattles have circular blossoms resembling the sun or moon and the Tea-tree or Melaleuca is widely used as an antiseptic.
seed pods and blossoms
Building up associations in this way, strengthens our mind tree and hence our ability to think creatively. Strong creative minds are needed to address the environmental concerns of current times and our deep communion, our reverence and our willingness to draw on local energies to inform our practice will yield rich rewards for the future.
copyright Jessica Blythe 2010