Regarding Trees

[[V]]

Trees are a great source of pure natural energy. Trees are ancient and sacred.
How do you/your path integrate trees in your magickal work?

I had this idea brewing in my mind shortly after watching Avatar. Perhaps you guys could help expand on this perspective.

Whenever I draw energy from a tree, I hold its trunk and 'feel' its energy. I then ask it if I may draw from its reservoir & wait for its answer. I either feel a wave of welcoming energy or slightly negative which are respective to the tree's answer.

This got me thinking. As we get to know other spirits we invite them into our book of shadows. What about dedicating a section of the your book of shadows to well known trees?

Perhaps ones you've been around for a while. Perhaps design a ritual to invite the tree to your B.O.S. Keep a leaf, small branch, etc. Of course leave something of yours behind to complete the energy exchange (or whatever you see fit).

I was thinking maybe the use of automatic drawings to create a sigil for the trees you invite.

I'd love to hear your input on this idea ;)

-V

[Toki Wartooth]

I haven't gotten to the point of actually doing magic or energy-sharing or anything with trees yet, but I plan on doing so in the near future. At some point, I'll be studying the ogham (the Celtic tree alphabet), and so I will be studying different kinds of trees.

I'll look forward to getting to know some trees and all that. :)

Also, Avatar's such an amazing movie! *Points to own icon*

[Sakurako]

Mostly I have been meditating under a beautiful Cherry Blossom tree in our backyard, which has a small private space underneith where I have been performing small rites for the seasons. I don't draw in the trees energy so much as have an exchange of energies (during meditation) or I regulary give the tree Reiki as an offering to itself/Gaia.

[Hamadryade]

I have done nothing formal with trees, but I have a good rapore with them as a general rule. Park trees (trees that deal a lot with people) can be very...well, I would suggest caution. But trees that just line a path are out in the middle of the forest are a good, soothing choice for communication. Exchanges of energy are automotic for me. The tree takes, as if drawing water from the soil and gives to me a little of itself in exchange. I have had really wonderful experiences with trees. I would never suggest taking anything from a tree. If it wants to give you something, it will. Once, as I walked along a path, a good sized branch crashed to the ground as I was even with it. I checked the branch, the break is clean, as smooth as if it were sawed through. I still have it, years later. Everytime I touch it a soft joyful peace sweeps through me and I have often considered making a wand or two from it, but I just don't have the heart to break it apart. I have a cousin who bonded to a tree and this tree has offered him leaves, each leaf acts as a peice of strength and energy. These gifts are rare and he had only been given two the last time he visited the tree and snapped one of the dried leaves to aide in his young daughter's healing. Taking something and offering a gift in exchange is not the same thing as being given a gift freely. What you take and pay for with a gift exchange will just not have the same meaning, or strength, or energy. It's never good to rush a relationship with a being that sees things in a slower way than we do. That is just my opinion. Perhaps the trees you have had dealings with are different.

[Sakurako]

Park trees (trees that deal a lot with people) can be very...well, I would suggest caution. But trees that just line a path are out in the middle of the forest are a good, soothing choice for communication.

I grew up in the country but we move around alot and I too have found that areas of high population have ah 'grumpier' trees lol, eg the city I (temporarily thankfully) live in now if full of discourteous people rushing around and the energy around here is well I can only describe it as EUGGH!! The trees have taken in all this energy in :heartbrea.

[Toki Wartooth]

Park trees (trees that deal a lot with people) can be very...well, I would suggest caution.


I too have found that areas of high population have ah 'grumpier' trees lol, eg the city I (temporarily thankfully) live in now if full of discourteous people rushing around and the energy around here is well I can only describe it as EUGGH!! The trees have taken in all this energy in :heartbrea.

I've heard similar to this. When I was at the Scottish Highland Games last month, a mentor of mine and I had a brief excursion into the trails of the park. Not all of the trees in this park were all that grumpy since this park was quite expansive and had a good chunk of it preserved simply as nature trails. But, my mentor noted a certain tree, right next to a bench, wasn't interested in contact because it had enough human contact via that bench's location. And, later on, we had this tree that was a bit by itself and closer to the open field, and my mentor said, "That tree just doesn't give a s---." :lol: But, at some point, he said the tree noticed him, and we were allowed to be closer to it. It was an interesting experience...he has such a rapport with trees and the natural world.

[Newbieoffractals]

I do believe trees have spirits inside of them. Nymphs, if you will, though I'm quite divided as to if all trees are female or mixed gender on the inside. I was friends with one as a child, or some sort of nature spirit.(I'd say nymph, some would say Fay, some would say demigod, some would say imaginary friend! All are equally likely depending on one's point of view.) She's quite nice and I've seen her once since moving to my new home. I also have a Laurel tree in my room(baby sapling) that I do think is quite like a baby in many ways personality wise. It reminds me a lot of some of my ancestors, which isn't surprising since laurels are a major part of one of my family's crests(way back when, when we had crests and titles. Now, we're in America, so it doesn't matter as much). Of course, this is imposing a personality onto trees, but I see them as having personalities just like humans do. I prefer not to draw energy from trees, but occasionally if I'm walking and feel tired, I'll lean against a tree and feel better. I personally think that it depends on the Nymph in the tree as to how much human contact they like. Some like a lot, and like attention ALL the time, and will seek out humans, and others will just grow.

[Shawn Blackwolf]

I have found , as did Viktor , ( see link ) ,
some trees are more in sync with magnetics ,
some are more electric in their "nature"...

Depending on the working , or desired effect ,
will determine the tree energy utilized...

As well , the Ogham , is utilized in my practice...

As door handles , into the realm of the Otherworld...

http://www.amazon.com/Living-Energies-Exposition-Concepts-Schauberger/dp/0717133079

[Louisvillian]

;4141869']How do you/your path integrate trees in your magickal work?
1. Magical. The k shouldn't be there. Blame Crowley.
2. I see the trees as, like all living beings, inherently possessing a soul or spirit. They symbolise wild growth and unrestrained nature, and are particularly sacred to gods of nature, forestry, and wilderness.


I had this idea brewing in my mind shortly after watching Avatar.
Yes, because fantasy sci-fi remakes of Pocahontas certainly reflect real life. :smileroll


Also, Avatar's such an amazing movie! *Points to own icon*
No, it is not. It is an awful, cliche-driven hack movie.

[Ivy Artemisia]

Yes, because fantasy sci-fi remakes of Pocahontas certainly reflect real life. :smileroll


Any kind of movie might inspire a spiritual idea. Just because you thought the movie was awful, doesn't mean that it doesn't have its inspirational worth.

[[V]]

Lol Avatar isnt even remotely comparable to Pocahontas..

Magick is spelt with a 'k' to differentiate between Stage magic and real magick. Thank Crowley.

[Newbieoffractals]

LouisVillan- Isn't the extra K added because it apparently makes the word more powerful for some religious groups with magic used in them?(I've heard this, but I forget where. Seeing as I don't practice magic, with a k or a c, other than prayers with requests in them to my Gods, I might be wrong here. If I am wrong, please do correct me!) I think it has something to do with the number of letters being magick as 6 as opposed to 5 with magic?

Also, although fiction is fiction, it can be interesting with the similarities to real life! How many of us read myths to learn more about our religions? It's only if you start taking everything literally that we have problems, and even then, if you place them in the idea of "Well this happened a long time ago" it's less troublesome than expecting things to happen all the time now. Avatar is amazing for the technical effects, regardless of plot. (I don't disagree with you about the plot though. It is a cheesy remake. Borderlines on racist as well, per many Native Americans I know, and they aren't even that PC about their culture. I mean, they call themselves Indians... But that's a whole other topic.) We all do have different tastes in films, and if a person gains a lot of worthwhile ideas out of Disney movies, it's good. Twilight could easily be made into a serious topic of vampire lore and such if seriously discussed.

[Doodlebug]

I've never really considered implementing trees into my magickal work before but I am going to consider it from this point on. I am not sure how I would do it though and so I could use some examples as to how to do this. Perhaps I will find some examples as I read further on this thread. :)

I have a great deal of respect for trees. They are a symbol of life since they are living.

[Lupabitch]

Meh. Magic(k). There. Have some parentheses to further complicate the matter.

As to trees--most of the discussion I see involves how to siphon energy off of trees, and very little about how to give back to them. Just asking isn't enough. How many people who do this to trees go around cleaning up the watersheds the trees are in, or removing litter and invasive species, or otherwise doing things that *actually* benefit the trees?

[Shawn Blackwolf]

Should we go around waving our hands , Lupabitch ?

Do we have to ?

...Just asking , if you really want people to...:thumbsup:

You ever hear of the Hoedads ?

http://www.westbynorthwest.org/summerlate01/roshoedad.shtml




Meh. Magic(k). There. Have some parentheses to further complicate the matter.

As to trees--most of the discussion I see involves how to siphon energy off of trees, and very little about how to give back to them. Just asking isn't enough. How many people who do this to trees go around cleaning up the watersheds the trees are in, or removing litter and invasive species, or otherwise doing things that *actually* benefit the trees?

[Sequoia]

Oh for Pete's sake, can we NOT argue about the silly "k" some people add to "magic"? We all know it looks silly, but some people just can't figure out by context that we aren't talking about stage magic, so let them use it if it helps their level of understanding.

:p

Oh. And Avatar was a cliche, campy, goofball thrill ride that I thoroughly enjoyed, and shame on anyone for taking "spiritual" ideas from it, as it pretty much rips off Fern Gully. So if you're going to get your spirituality from mass media, get it from the original source!

***
On to the serious portion of my post.
***

I have a deep, low, resonating connection with certain trees... especially with Sequoia sempervirens, the Coastal Redwood. These trees can be thousands of years old. When you stand in a grove of nearly all redwoods, the energy is something rumbling so silently deep in your root, like the hum of a bass so low you can't hear it... I can't even begin to describe accurately the experience. These trees are my loves. You can feel their attention; it's slow, pure, sometimes intense. The smell of the air is earthy, the trees themselves have this primordial fragrance to them...

I digress.

Trees, in my opinion, are links down into the Earth. The Earth is one of our greatest sources of "magical" energy. The Earth is the most ultimate creation of God that I have access to; it is the cradle of human existence, the cradle of all life (that we know of, that we are near enough to). Thus, having such a direct link into this most primeval of energy sources is truly powerful.

Trees are living beings. Just because their physical bodies are different from ours doesn't mean that their spirits are incapable of communicating with us.

But the energy of most trees, or at least, of the trees that I deal with, is slow. It is deep. It resonates, and is powerful, but it's not the fastest moving stuff in the universe. I'd imagine that the energy of a tree varies by the tree type itself, AND by that tree's individual experience as a living being. As most of you have noted previously.

I've not felt a need to draw "sigils," use auto-writing, or otherwise create symbols of my beloved redwoods. I am, most fortunately, close enough that I can "reach out" and feel them at any time. I can draw upon their energy, meditate and touch them, breathe in their scent even though I am in my home. It's a sort of communion, I suppose. :)

Living in Arizona was one heck of an experience. NO TREES! I was a bit un-grounded there. I'm happy here in my element.

[Louisvillian]

;4144008']Lol Avatar isnt even remotely comparable to Pocahontas..
White dude comes with colonists; white dude joins the natives; white dude falls for native chick; white dude leads natives, nominally now "one of them", to victory in a battle with the colonists.
It's the same plot, with big, lanky smurfs instead of Indians. And it is just as retarded. An awful, awful movie.


LouisVillan- Isn't the extra K added because it apparently makes the word more powerful for some religious groups with magic used in them?
Not really. In public, Crowley vacillated between that explanation, and the one V gave in the post above yours. In reality, given Crowley's personality, he was probably just doing to be peculiar, different, and an attention whore.

[Newbieoffractals]

Ah, ok, thanks LouisVillan. I knew Crowley said a lot of strange things, so that's interesting to know that it was created by the same guy.

[Lunacie]

Oh for Pete's sake, can we NOT argue about the silly "k" some people add to "magic"? We all know it looks silly, but some people just can't figure out by context that we aren't talking about stage magic, so let them use it if it helps their level of understanding.

:p

Oh. And Avatar was a cliche, campy, goofball thrill ride that I thoroughly enjoyed, and shame on anyone for taking "spiritual" ideas from it, as it pretty much rips off Fern Gully. So if you're going to get your spirituality from mass media, get it from the original source!

***
On to the serious portion of my post.
***

I have a deep, low, resonating connection with certain trees... especially with Sequoia sempervirens, the Coastal Redwood. These trees can be thousands of years old. When you stand in a grove of nearly all redwoods, the energy is something rumbling so silently deep in your root, like the hum of a bass so low you can't hear it... I can't even begin to describe accurately the experience. These trees are my loves. You can feel their attention; it's slow, pure, sometimes intense. The smell of the air is earthy, the trees themselves have this primordial fragrance to them...

I digress.

Trees, in my opinion, are links down into the Earth. The Earth is one of our greatest sources of "magical" energy. The Earth is the most ultimate creation of God that I have access to; it is the cradle of human existence, the cradle of all life (that we know of, that we are near enough to). Thus, having such a direct link into this most primeval of energy sources is truly powerful.

Trees are living beings. Just because their physical bodies are different from ours doesn't mean that their spirits are incapable of communicating with us.

But the energy of most trees, or at least, of the trees that I deal with, is slow. It is deep. It resonates, and is powerful, but it's not the fastest moving stuff in the universe. I'd imagine that the energy of a tree varies by the tree type itself, AND by that tree's individual experience as a living being. As most of you have noted previously.

I've not felt a need to draw "sigils," use auto-writing, or otherwise create symbols of my beloved redwoods. I am, most fortunately, close enough that I can "reach out" and feel them at any time. I can draw upon their energy, meditate and touch them, breathe in their scent even though I am in my home. It's a sort of communion, I suppose. :)

Living in Arizona was one heck of an experience. NO TREES! I was a bit un-grounded there. I'm happy here in my element.

It's been quite a while since I actually had a conversation with a tree. It was a wake-up call though. What is important to trees is so different from what is important to people that I had to wonder - what is important to the gods? Is it that much different than what is important to people as well?

Trees do have a very deep connection with the earth, and they can help one learn to reach deep into the earth and connect with her, she supports us all and I'm grateful for that. But again, the earth is so different than the people who live on her, and so we find different things important to each of us.

And yes, the energy of a tree can vary depending on genus, as well as the age of the tree, as well as the location of the tree. Any tree is going to communicate much more slowly than we do, and the older the tree, the slower the communication seems to be.

Want to know what the weather was like for the last 25 winters? Ask a tree. Want to know whether a particular path is going to fulfilling for you spiritually? The tree doesn't really care.

Sitting on the roots of a tree is a good place to ground excess energy, and also a good place to draw fresh new energy from the earth - there's already a flow taking place there. But I draw the energy from the earth and return energy to the earth, I don't take energy from the trees any more than I take energy from other people ~ unless they offer to send me some.

[David19]

If anyone wants to work with trees, or anything of the plant or tree variety, they should really check out 'Viridarium Umbris' by Daniel Schulke, and other works of his. It's definitely, IMO, essential if you want to develop a relationship with them, and work, magically, with them too.

[Shawn Blackwolf]

An awful , awful post...

But what should I expect ?

I know they used the Mason's Code , and gematria ,
to write the script...not a ripoff , unless the other movies
were...

As far as Magick , and Crowley...purposeful gematria...

But those who do not understand the significance of
magick , and gematria , will , of course , attempt to
criticize those who do...peons , and ignorati...


White dude comes with colonists; white dude joins the natives; white dude falls for native chick; white dude leads natives, nominally now "one of them", to victory in a battle with the colonists.
It's the same plot, with big, lanky smurfs instead of Indians. And it is just as retarded. An awful, awful movie.


Not really. In public, Crowley vacillated between that explanation, and the one V gave in the post above yours. In reality, given Crowley's personality, he was probably just doing to be peculiar, different, and an attention whore.