Larch Breath
Breathe in: through both soles of the feet, up the body to the very centre of the head.
Breathe out: down the outside of the head, along the outside edge of the arms, to the fingers.
“ Delicate touch
senses opening
warp and weft”
Few trees show such a surprising range of aspects as the larch. One of the primary mountain-side trees of Europe, it has become a common forestry tree as well. In winter few other trees look as scraggy, as unkempt as the larch does. It is a deciduous conifer and so loses its needle-like leaves so that rough bare branches thick with small cones disguise the often, graceful lines of the downswept boughs. In early spring, however, new tufts of bright green needles revitalise its appearance, and if one looks carefully, amazingly sculptural little flowers can be seen just as the green appears. Male flowers are domes of bright yellow-orange, female flowers to become the cones, are deep crimson crowns spaced along each branch. In autumn, the whole tree turns copper-orange and in the late autumnal sunlight, a burnished brass. Scruffy, bohemian, surprising to see, but perfectly adapted to shed winter snows. The energy of larch is the expression of creativity, the richness of experience, the enjoyment of contrast, a contrast of the practical and the rarified. Exploration of experiences, enjoyment of contrast, flexibility to get the best from the surroundings, relaxing into places and events. Sturdy but delicately sensitive. The wood is light, fibrous and heavily impregnated with aromatic resins that make it ideal for long-lasting telegraph poles. In the same way as those poles support and enable humans to communicate with each other, larch itself opens our consciousness to the possibilities of exploration, play and creativity. The understanding of existence is the experience of the warp and weft, the interweaving of communication and understanding/empathy, shared senses between beings. When things seem untidy, dull, lack-lustre, the spirit of larch will re-infuse experience with enlivened senses, optimism and a brightened mind bringing fresh vision.
The taste of time
Weaving through cellular senses.
Opening out, uncurling,
Delicately sensing,
Deeply feeling,
Letting go and dancing
Dancing for joy of movement,
Joy of stillness.
Mountain air
Serious and sharp
Aromatic elegance
Mind weaver;
Will spinner;
Cat’s cradle;
Ingenious genius;
Careless creator;
Weaving sensation –
Golden dancer.
*****
Tree Spirit Healing 