(blossoms of cherry plum, usually the first petalled blossoms in the English countryside, though not a native)
Tree Truth (part 2)
There are about 40 native trees in the British Isles. The figure varies because some authorities do not include some small trees that they consider to be shrubs ( such as hazel, elder, juniper, dwarf willow, the buckthorns). But it seemed to be a logical place to start an exploration of tree energies using the flower essences of those trees. It is something that most people do not think about or consider: all trees have flowers. Not just the blossoming trees, like cherry and apple. Ask someone to describe the flowers of holly or oak, and even though they would probably be able to identify the tree from its leaf, few would be so sure about the flowers. Tree flowers often are small and the drama of their opening, flowering and fruiting go on way above our heads most of the time. Only the showiest tree flowers are more familiar to us because those are the ones we often choose to put in our parks and gardens.
And this was the next conundrum that faced me. Those forty trees ( really less than thirty if one was not to get too fussy about minutiae of very closely related species, like willows), nowadays play much less a role in our everyday environments than species of trees that we have intentionally and consciously chosen to have around us. Naturalised trees are those from elsewhere that have settled down and are quite happy flowering, seeding and self-propagating. Some naturalised trees have been in our landscapes so long, it seems almost churlish to exclude them, segregsting them from those that ‘belong’. Environments change. In Britain, monkey puzzle ( Chile pine) was a native for millions of years longer than the eight thousand or so the ‘natives’ have been around. So too were firs, now only seen in the mountains of mainland Europe. There are ecological reasons why the natives are important. Each ecosystem has developed its flora and fauna as an interactive web of synergistic support. But a horticultural division into natives, naturalised and specimen/park/garden species, though valid at some levels, makes little sense from an energetic and holistic perspective. If we are to explore and understand the spiritual qualities of trees then it would seem to be vital to consider those relationships as they now are. Otherwise there is great danger of becoming historically exclusive, to become zenophobic, even racist, in our attitudes to trees in the same way as we habitually are to ‘foreigners’ and ‘strangers’.
So when I was out collecting tree essences, though I was seeking initially to study the most common natives and naturalised species, if something else came along and grabbed my attention, that was also included. If people understand the energies that they bring into their cities, towns and gardens, then that relationship becomes consciously powerful and sustaining. Humans are also integral with the ecology. To think otherwise is devisive, and more than a little arrogant. Just because one crazy plant collector ( an awful lots of Scots, for some reason), roams the wilds and brings home an interesting/ beautiful/useful tree, that doesn’t make the end result any different than a wind-blown seed or a fruit passing through a bird’s gut. Trees need ( it could be argued, indeed, that they invented), animals in order to get around the planet. The relationship we have with a tree species has always relied upon usefulness and aesthetics. Both these require us to understand the physical and energetic uniqueness of a tree species. The tree presents us with qualities that attract us, we move that tree to other lands, where if the conditions are right, it will thrive. Win win. ( of course, there do seem to be disasters with this sometimes when one introduced species outmanouvres an established species. But this too, is a narrow, short term, anthropecentric view of matters, and introduces value judgements about one living entity over another, a slippery slope!)
Human interactions, our history with trees is a fascinating thing when looked at from a spiritual or energetic perspective. So many serendipitous events, coincidences, unlikely paths have introduced us to some of our most familiar tree neighbours that one would not be blamed for believing that something very peculiar is going on…..
(flowers of elm, hardly noticed as they flower in February or early March. The seeds, if fertilised are much more obvious – a vivid green before most other trees are in full leaf)
Tree Spirit Healing 