image courtesy of www.thegoddesstree.com/I have been thinking about trees of late, and their meaning. All a part of looking inside myself a lot at the moment, I think. And, having trained as an academic, I also love to think about symbolism and meaning, and to decode. So it is that I have got very interested in decoding the meaning of trees, or, more precisely, of what they are said to symbolise spiritually. A great site I have come across as a result is http://www.thegoddesstree/ Reading it while working through a set of cards I bought a long time ago called "The Green Man Tree Oracle", I have learnt a lot not only about different types of trees but I have also come to appreciate them much more. Like the Moon, they're not just a backdrop to human activity. As always, I am very Eurocentric in my tastes - I have to say give me an oak over a eucalypt any day - but I would still be interested to find a good, similar source on the trees of the Southern Hemisphere.
I remember the plum tree in my grandmother's backyard was wonderful - old and gnarled but still bringing forth the most beautiful fruit every year. I would climb it as a child, and pick a plum straight off the branch. It was horrible to see it die and eventually be cut down. Do you have a favourite tree? Were you told stories, myths or legends about trees when you were a child?
9 comments:
Give me trees over flowers any day. I'm a maple person. Love the colour changes, love the leave shape...all kinds of maples. Also look horse chestnut trees....if that's what they called...early days of collecting conkers.
No stories or myths about trees.
Yes, maples are beautiful - we saw some beautiful Japanese maples while we were over there.
My favourite tree is the English oak, and I have a great reverence for the really old ones.
In Celtic mythology you have a birth tree, like a star sign or a birthday flower. This website lists them-
http://www.grahamphillips.net/News/Trees/Celtic_Tree_Signs.htm
Mine is a juniper.
Thanks for the link, Helena - an interesting site all round - I am an Ash.
There's a lot of profound thinking behind there, Feronia. =)
My partner loves trees, woods, anything woody, almost like a fanatic. I'm a lot influenced by him. I guess I love Maple, especially the fresh green sprouts, and how they color in fall. I love smell of woods.
Yes, Stardust - when I was a child, we used to visit this one particular spot quite regularly where there were all these beautiful pine trees...that wonderful wood-sy smell :)
My favorite trees are larch, oak and birch. I have never been told stories of trees, but I do appreciate them. If they could tell stories, can you imagine what they could tell those standing there 100 years or more?
Yes, I think trees would have wonderful stories to tell.
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