Cutting a live tree...?

[RubyRose]

I've heard it said that if you take a branch from a live tree then you have to ask permission. As I found the branch for my wand on the ground, I'm wondering how exactly to go about this. As I'd like to make another wand.

[Shanti]

I personally don't think 'have to' is accurate.
But the way I look at it, if someone wanted a lock of my hair, I'd be mad if they just took it. If they were to ask and I have enough to spare, I sure wouldn't mind.
Since I believe plants have feelings, even if they are not like our feelings, I prefer to ask and say thank you. I don't want to be the cause of bad feelings between myself my plant kin.

[RubyRose]

So ... if I were to cut a branch and then say "Thank you". Perhaps leave some sort of offering. That would be more than fine?

[Wolfpoet]

Does the Hawk ask the Rabbit for permission to kill and feed?

Does the Wolf ask permission to hunt the Deer?

Does the Stag ask permission to eat the leaves of a bush?

The world is in an eternal cycle of life, death and rebirth. Nature accepts this as a reality of existence, we live, then we die and from our deaths a new use is found for our flesh and our bones. it is no different for a tree branch.

[RubyRose]

I wouldn't put it quite like that, but okay.

[childofbast]

I agree that nature is full of give and take. Perhaps foxes do not ask for the permission of a rabbit before it kills it...but why shouldn't we be thankful for what we take anyway? It helps us build a better relationship with nature if with openly and, even, ritualistically thank it. Although one doesn't have to, I'd certainly say it doesn't hurt. ;)

In regards to finding a wand-worthy stick on the ground - if it called to you, then why not use it? Good luck!

~Melanie

[-Sky-]

So ... if I were to cut a branch and then say "Thank you". Perhaps leave some sort of offering. That would be more than fine?

I think that it would be fine RubyRose.This is what i usually do,i cut a branch or a flower but then offer my thanks.I'm showing that i at least appreciate what i am taking.

Does the Wolf ask permission to hunt the Deer?

h.

No.But the Native Americans apologised over the dead body of the deer they hunted down.They gave thanks for the bounty.

[Windsmith]

Know who else you should ask? The owner of the tree (if it's not yours). :foopsies: I once got in a heap of trouble with a neighbor because my landlord had misinformed me about where our building's property line was. I got quite a shock when the next-door neighbor came barrelling out of his house and demanded to know what I was doing to his tree! "Taking a few blossoms for my altar" really didn't seem like the proper response at that point.

Oh, magical law and human law, why can't you just get along?

[RubyRose]

Well the trees are definitely on our property. Actually the ones out the back need pruning...

[LostSheep]

I think the purpose is the thing ... if you're doing something for a reason, to get something useful from it, then I don't think nature would really mind; after all, nature provides the things that we use (wood, crops, animals for food), and the way i look at it personally is that that's all part of the way it works, things provide what other things need.

[Enlightenment1]

When I made my Wand I left a libation of red wine at the Tree's stump to say 'thank you!'

[Wolfpoet]

No.But the Native Americans apologised over the dead body of the deer they hunted down.They gave thanks for the bounty.

Nordic philosophy is a tad more direct, brutal and less animistic than Native American traditions.

The Norse worldview is at times harsh, brutal and yet strangely beutiful. Like a hurricane that will destroy your home, your crops, take the life of your loved ones. Yet at the heart, within the storm, it is calm, peaceful and tranquil, possessing a serene beuty that is at odds with the destructive forces around you.

This worldview leaves one rather quizzical of the concept of asking a tree for permission to use a branch. That same hurricane would uproot and destroy the tree without so much as a by-your-leave which makes asking permission to take a mere branch a, in this worldview, pointless gesture.

I was merely answering the question based on my worldview and by the ethics taught by my path. I understand other animistic or shamanic traditions are into giving thanks, mine isn't.

The nature of paganism is that there are many interpretations, many paths and is not one dogmatic collection of law and scripture akin to the abrahamic religions.

When someone asks a question on a pagan website, you are bound to get different answers, not all of them match any one reader's path or morality.

[RubyRose]

Thanks all.

[Antitrust Superstar]

Why do u have to ask permission?

[RubyRose]

I always assumed that it was the way it was done. Sorta like giving offerings to the Gods.

[Antitrust Superstar]

I wonder if that means that trees are on the same level as gods.

[RubyRose]

I wouldn't say that. But then I'm not exactly fully into Animism. I just think respect should be given were its due. Not only just to the Gods. That's why I posed the question. To see others views.

[Willow Rosette]

I dont see it as putting them on the same level as Gods but I do see it as a sign of respect. I would not ask a friend to use something they have with out asking. I wouldnt just walk up and take that tire jack cause I needed to use it. I would say please first, if they said yes then I could take it if they said no well then I would go else where for what I needed. Respect is how I want to be treated so thats how I try to treat others.

[Antitrust Superstar]

I suppose it depends on how you view stuff. Like someone might thanks the tree or they could thank whatever being they believe created the tree.

[Willow Rosette]

I suppose it depends on how you view stuff. Like someone might thanks the tree or they could thank whatever being they believe created the tree.

I think that would work as well. The important part is to give thanks. I think the thanks its self would get to where ever it is needed.

[Enlightenment1]

I suppose it depends on how you view stuff. Like someone might thanks the tree or they could thank whatever being they believe created the tree.

Exactly! At the end of the day it's like everything - down to personal preference, ya know!

Some think it's wrong to take without asking, others think there is no need to ask. Whichever we think is right, we're bound to think the other way is wrong, obviously. This is why I like to leave a libation at the Tree's stump, it's just a nice gesture and it's giving something back to Mother Earth that you've just taken away, so to speak. Well that's how I look at it anyway.
Sometimes I ask first, I listen for the answer but can't hear, see, feel, sense anything, so I take anyway (if it didn't want me to take from it I'm damn sure I would of sensed, felt, heard something, it would of let me know some way lol) but seeing as I didn't get a definate "sign" saying "yes, I can take" from it then I will pour red wine at its stump so it knows I am greatful. This goes for anything I take from, not just Trees!

[Jolantru]

Perhaps, a simple heartfelt "thank you" would suffice?


Jolantru

[RubyRose]

Thanks.

[Windsmith]

Well the trees are definitely on our property. Actually the ones out the back need pruning...There you go, then. Magic and yardwork in one fell swoop.

I've also known some people to tie a ribbon or piece of cloth to the place where they cut, as a way of showing the tree they're not just going to cut and run, so to speak.

I wonder if that means that trees are on the same level as gods.In some traditions, trees are gods, so for some people, it might mean just that.

[Willow Rosette]

I've also known some people to tie a ribbon or piece of cloth to the place where they cut, as a way of showing the tree they're not just going to cut and run, so to speak.

I think that is a very cool idea!

[RubyRose]

Ooh, I like that idea Windsmith. I think I'll use it.