Chapter 10
This is an exercise to attune yourself with the energies and spirits of the trees. It is best done outdoors but can be done anywhere.
1. Face the direction of north.
2. Visualize a brilliant orb of white light above your head. Below your feet shines a blue or green orb representing the planet Earth.
3. Raise your arms up above your head until your hands come together touching palm to palm with fingers pointing up. See your hands penetrating the white sphere above your head and allow a steady flow of divine light to move down into you.
4. Slowly lower your arms until your hands are pointing to the Earth below, allowing the light of the divine to fill and cleanse each part of your being as it flows through you along the way.
5. See the white light continuously flowing down from the sphere above and into the Earth below.
6. As the flow of light continues, raise both arms up and out so that they extend horizontally and line up with your shoulders as though you are forming the shape of a cross. If you were facing the north, your arms would be pointing east and west.
7. State, “I am like the tree. The light of the divine flows within me and through me. I have everything I need and enough to give to others. I am in balance with my life, with nature, and with the divine. So mote it be!”
8. Lower your arms again and give thanks.
9. Repeat regularly.
The purpose of this simple ritual is threefold: to let the earth know of your gratitude for what we have taken, to give something back, and to lift your voice to affect the collective conscious of humanity. Based on the magickal concept of “as above so below,” the one or the few (the micro) can affect the whole (the macro) and vice versa. The spoken parts of this activity can be changed or expanded upon at will. I recommend giving offerings at each quarter when the time is appropriate, such as water, birdseed, bread, coins, fruit, flowers, crystals, or a personal vow. Let your heart guide you.
• Face the direction of north.
• Visualize a green light surrounding you and filling you with gratitude.
• Say, “I am one with the earth. From the earth I came and to the earth I shall return. I give thanks for what you have provided and in return I vow to care for you as best I can. So mote it be!”
• Face the direction of east.
• Visualize a yellow light surrounding you and filling you with clarity and new inspirations. Imagine a comforting gush of air brushing over you.
• Say, “I am who I am. I think for myself. I am a teacher and a student. I am always learning. I vow to be a voice of positive construction to all around me. So mote it be!”
• Face the south. Visualize a red light or flame engulfing you, filling you with willpower, passion, and confidence.
• Say, “I am the burning flame of passion and creation. I am a lover of life and all living creatures. I vow to be a source of love and compassion unto to all living beings as best as I am able. So mote it be!”
• Face the west. Visualize a blue light surrounding you. Imagine a steady flow of rain falling over you, cleansing you, and releasing all stress and worry.
• Say, “I am a being of water. I am the power of love and understanding. I am empathic and intuitive. The joy, the memories, and the tears of the earth flow through me and I greet them with mirth. I vow to do my best to be a vessel of understanding, compassion, and knowledge for all that thirst. So mote it be!”
• Move into the center of the space you have been working in or close your eyes and move into the center of yourself. Visualize a white light surrounding you.
• Say, “I am a being of spirit. I am part of the divine and the divine is a part of me. I am completely whole on all levels. I give you thanks for everything I have been given, for all I have now, and for all I will have. I give thanks for your blessings. I vow to give blessings back to you, to the earth, and to all living beings. Allow me to be a vessel of your light and I ask that you work through me. Please guide me and guard me along my path. Blessed Be!”
• Take a moment to think upon things that you can do to help others, yourself, and ways to give back.
Like the spoken word, music is powerful. Music can lift one’s spirit or tear it down. We all relate to music in some form or other because music is a universal language. When combining the spoken word along with music and intent, wonders can be worked. This is, after all, why we love to use chants in our celebrations and magickal workings. A long-time friend of mine and fellow high priest of Wicca once shared with me the magickal associations of each musical note, and I wrote them into my personal book of shadows. I do not know the original source of this information, but I can say that I have tested it (I learned how to read and write music from an early age due to playing violin since primary school), found it to be quite relevant, and have since found this information listed in other sources. The notes below are based on the natural tone and do not reflect flats or sharps:
A—Psychic development, vision. This note aids in opening and balancing the third eye chakra.
B—Resolution of conflicts and inner battles. This note pertains to the crown chakra.
C—Healing, blessings, and new beginnings. This note pertains to the root chakra.
D—Willpower and discord. This note pertains to the sacral (belly) chakra.
E—Energy, creation, and tapping into the inner magickal self. This note pertains to the solar plexus chakra.
F—Emotion, empathy, love, and growth. This note pertains to the heart chakra.
G—Unity, expression, accord, listening, absorbing, and learning. This note pertains to the throat chakra.
If you are not familiar with musical notes, I suggest that you download an app on your phone or other device such as a virtual violin or a virtual piano. With apps such as these you can see and hear the correct notes and utilize them in your workings. Perhaps consider trying to hum along with each note until you are able to match it correctly.
While keeping the above possibilities in mind, below is a song about the Druidic tree triad of oak, ash, and thorn (the hawthorn tree). Joseph Rudyard Kipling wrote the original version, but I have slightly changed the words and shortened it so that it is applicable for all people regardless of time, location, and political views. This is a great song or chant, primarily for Summer Solstice rituals, but may also be enjoyed at Beltane or Lughnasadh celebrations. Please remember that all trees are sacred and magickal, not only the oak, ash, and hawthorn.
Tree song 1 (based on the work of J. R. Kipling)
(Verse 1)
Of all the trees that grow so fair short or stout or tall
greater are none beneath the sun than oak and ash and thorn
(Chorus)
Oak and ash and thorn my friends
all on a midsummer’s morning
surely we sing of no little thing
the oak and ash and thorn
(Verse 2)
All the trees in the forest grow, sacred below and above
all around may they always abound
the oak and ash and thorn
(Chorus)
Oak and ash and thorn my friends
all on a midsummer’s morning
surely we sing of no little thing
the oak and ash and thorn
(Verse 3)
All the trees and leaves without
and all of the trees within
strong and tall they someday fall
but soon will rise again
(Chorus)
Oak and ash and thorn my friends
all on a midsummer’s morning
surely we sing of no little thing, the oak and ash and thorn
(Verse 4)
Do not tell the church our plot
They may call it a sin
but we’ve been out in the woods all night
welcoming summer in
We bring you news to set the feast
good news for cattle and corn
now has the Sun come up in the east
and oak, and ash, and thorn …
(Chorus)
Oak and ash and thorn my friends
all on a midsummer’s morning
surely we sing of no little thing
the oak and ash and thorn!
This exercise is not only fun and rewarding, but also helps you learn to identify the trees, create a bond with them, and provide an on-hand supply of leaves to use whenever the need may arise. To create an herbal tree grimoire, you will need a few items:
• A photo album or journal
• An old hardcover book that you can write in
• A pen or pencil
• A very large heavy stone or two
• Possibly a camera
When you have the time, go to a local park, an arboretum, or even your own back yard and collect specimens of different leaves. Take this book along with to help correctly identify each tree. It is best to find a fresh leaf that has already fallen, but if you must take a living leaf from a tree make sure to ask permission, do it with respect, and give the tree thanks and gratitude in return.
Insert the leaf specimen between two pages of a book and write the name of the tree it came from as well as the date and location it was gathered. Trust me, it is very easy to forget which leaf is which when you gather more than three and trying to recall each leaf from memory is more difficult than it may seem. Proper identification is crucial. I recommend, at least for beginners, to visit the nearest arboretum where the trees have been tagged and labeled.
Try to collect specimens from at least fifteen different types of trees, but keep in mind that here are many varieties of each. For example, there are well over one hundred types of maple, so count maple as one. If you can, try your best to find at least one specimen from the following list of trees: alder, apple, ash, aspen, birch, elm, fir, hawthorn, hazel, holly, maple, oak, pine, rowan (European mountain ash), spruce, and willow.
When you have done your best, each leaf needs to be pressed and dried for a minimum of seven days. Press and dry the leaves between paper sheets, such as in the book that you used to collect them, or place them between paper towels, but do not press them between wax paper! Wax paper will not absorb the moisture and the leaves will eventually rot. Next, you need to apply pressure to the leaves and a simple way of doing this is to pile a few books on top of the leaves and/or place a large rock on top. Be patient and let them dry and press for at least a full week. Finally, when the leaves are ready, carefully mount and store each leaf into an album and make sure to label each one correctly. Remember that you can always add more specimens later and there is no need to limit this to trees. My own herbal grimoire includes close to two hundred tree specimens alone.
Ritual Burning of Thirteen Sacred Woods
In the common twenty-six–lined version of the Wiccan Rede can be found the line: “Nine woods in the cauldron go, burn them fast and burn them slow.” The nine woods referred to here are often thought to be birch, ash, oak, hawthorn, willow, hazel, grape, apple, and fir but there has been some debate. These nine woods have been taken from the Celtic tree calendar; however, all trees and plants are sacred and there is no reason to claim a mere nine. Below I have expanded upon this portion of the Rede and have written it as a chant unto itself to include thirteen types of woody plants rather than nine. I base my reasoning for choosing thirteen on the fact that it is impossible to include all woody plants, but nine is not enough and gives the impression that there are only nine. The number thirteen is also representative of witchcraft (thirteen full moons per year). The activity below is great for Beltane, Summer Solstice, Lughnasadh, Mabon, Samhain, and full moon celebrations.
Begin by collecting a small branch, twig, or even a leaf from each of the trees listed below. Once you have gathered a sample of each, read out loud the following as one by one each specimen is dropped into the flames:
Birch in the fire brings sight and intuition. New beginnings shall come to fruition.
Apple gives health, love, beauty, and youth, forgotten knowledge, and esoteric truth.
Hawthorn in the spring blooms sweet guarded flowers; burn to protect, release, and to empower.
Grape that grows upon the vine is delicious and divine, bringing laughter, knowledge, health, and wine.
Aspen quakes, shakes, and whispers of growth, confidence, guidance, and unconditional love.
Hazel finds the witch’s heart. Magick, medicine, and blessings in them are.
Ash is mighty, magickal, and strong. In the fire, we hear an ancient song.
Alder serves to shield and protect. In the fire it grants an honest request.
Rowan is a tree of ancient knowledge and tale. Protection and magick make the fires prevail.
Oak is the king of wisdom and might, to fear, to laugh, and dance with delight.
Willow eases pain and sways in the wind, as we journey to other realms and back again.
Fir, spruce, and evergreens teach the greatest of mysteries.
Holly means jolly granting protection and love.
All trees are sacred below and above!
A spirit walk is a magickal way of referring to a hike through the woods. By taking a spirit walk, one can attempt to identify as many trees as possible and perhaps even find a gift from nature such as a piece of wood to use for making a wand, a staff, a stone that beckons you, a feather, or a leaf or branch that resembles a rune. A walk through the woods is also a great time to perform one of the previously mentioned meditations or other activities. To turn a hike through the woods into a spirit walk simply consider the following:
• Enter the woods with a reverent heart.
• Perhaps say a prayer and ask to see the beauty of nature in a way that you have never seen before.
• Try to identify as many trees, plants, flowers, birds, and other forms of life that you can.
• Take a few minutes to sit quietly near a tree and listen to the sounds of nature around you.
• Breathe the energy of nature in through the nose while allowing it to fill you with health, youth, and energy. Exhale out the mouth to release all the stresses, worries, and burdens of daily life while simultaneously sending blessings of gratitude back to the earth.
• On your journey, consider picking up any garbage or litter you may encounter to recycle or dispose of later.
• If you are blessed with a token gift from nature you will know it. For example, perhaps you will encounter a stone or a fallen branch that just seems to say, “pick me up and take me home.” Even if you don’t want it personally, maybe someone you know does, so take it and pass it along.
• During your walk consider stopping near a tree and try to listen to what it has to say. You may be surprised.
• Most importantly enjoy the beauty of nature around you.