We started talking about this in other topics, so I thought to move it here...
@dannyboy. Due to Wordpress some of my links were cut;-) Much has already been said about meditation and making something beautiful out of your fallen tree (should you decide to cut it), but some tree lore will always help!
This will lead to a nice page about the subject matter. There is also no conflict with Christianity or other religions should you feel unable to look at anything connected to pagan ideas.
https://druidry.org/druid-way/teaching-and-practice/druid-tree-lore
http://monastic.ie/history/muckross-franciscan-friary/ will lead you to pictures of the abbey. It is one of many in the UK (and Europe) where trees are taking over ruins. It is a magical place. You will have to click a little to get to the picture of the tree that grew from the fallen altar.
Keep us posted about your tree journey? ?
@moonbeam Bless you moonbeam!
Someone asked in the restored crash thread why I had to remove the tree to fix my roof. This is the exact question I asked my wife :-). It's twofold.
1) Where the branches are debris is collecting and that's causing problems when snow melts or it rains hard which has lead to a leak somewhere that comes into the art room. We're that wonderful breed of middle class where we're not longer buying entry level appliances, but don't have the cash to get a major roof repair, so we're hoping a trim job would allow us to caulk things up until we can save enough. So that was what I threw my wife's way and she returned with this
2) It's very, very, very close to the foundation. We have what's known as a "Michigan Basement" (I now wonder if it's called an Indiana Basement in Indiana, and so on) whereby it's all rock down there. Now granted, the tree is in a portion of the house where it's just foundation but -- and this is the most important part -- we have no way of knowing what's over there because there's no crawlspace or anything to check out. So she's worried that it's cracking and growing into the foundation on that side of the house, which seems likely given it's proximity. There's maybe 2 feet between it and where the art room begins.
I believe the plan as it stands is to trim the top branches, get her father over here (He was a builder for years before leaving to become a kindergarten teacher -- bless him!) and caulk us up to the best of his ability to give us a year or two to save up for someone to come out and fix it properly.
Home ownership certainly is a dream, isn't it?
But that tree -- and a partner tree nearby whose base is three of me around but has a giant hole in it (but it's still alive and kicking) are both subjects of teardown discussions in this house and my gut really, really, really doesn't want that.
This will lead to a nice page about the subject matter. There is also no conflict with Christianity or other religions should you feel unable to look at anything connected to pagan ideas.
https://druidry.org/druid-way/teaching-and-practice/druid-tree-lore
Some forms of Druidry are very Christian-friendly. While we mostly think of either the ancient original Pagan Druids or the modern Neo-Pagan Druids, there is a middle grouping of Druid fraternal orders started in the late 1700s. Most of these have died out by the late 20th century but there are still a few around. Members tended to be wealthy, educated Christian gentlemen who used what they knew about the Druids at the time in their symbology. Historically, most, if not all, such fraternal orders were all male with women's auxiliaries. Modern Druids tend to be both men and women. So Druidry and Christianity can co-exist and folks can actually be both, and Druids can be male or female.
Trees were considered very sacred to the Druids - perhaps because trees traverse three realms. Their roots dig deep into the ground, their trunk exists at the human level, and their branches extend toward the heavens. The number three is a sacred number for the Druids and places where three realms connected were considered especially magical. Besides trees, this could also be places like a shoreline where land, water, and sky meet. Sometimes three types of trees growing in the same place meant something special.
The oak and mistletoe were considered especially sacred. The oak is the oldest and wisest of trees and having an oak tree present was a prerequisite to meeting in a certain place. The mistletoe grows from tree branches extending out to the heavens and not from the earth like most plants. Mistletoe was believed to have miraculous healing properties, and was a sign of peace. If two enemies met in battle beneath a bough of mistletoe, they would lay down their weapons and hold a truce until the following day.
You commented on my NDE that what I experienced seemed very druidic. To me it was shamanic and hinted at my soul origins in a shamanic lineage. I guess Druidism and shamanism are similar, but as an American whose spirit is firmly rooted in the landscape of North America, shamanism seems more "right" for me, since it relates to the spirituality of this continent's original people (although shamanism exists all over the world). To me it seems like Druidism is more formalized and Europe-centric? What do you think?
@Coyote. I think they are quite similar. Druidism isn't that formalized at all. A lot of neo-druids practice alone. There are the 'holidays', but I do think most nature religions have those. Druids, like Shamans, had (or have) an important place in society as teachers, spiritual advisors and historians. They were however typically Celtic. British Druids have been around longest (last to be massacred), but never really assimilated into the Roman empire, and thus well-known. So you are correct in saying it is European.
I do believe that Shamans use a different kind of spiritualism through trance/communication, but since there are so many types of shamanism from different continents it isn't as clear cut as drug use, plane walking, traveling to the nether world in spirit or poison-trances. Also, Shamans communicate with animals/spirits while Druids mostly use them as signs and are in touch with nature in a different manner.
Perhaps it is best to say that Druids communicate with trees/nature while Shamans use spirits and the elements?
The bases is the same though. Nature. It just developed differently. ? ❤️
To those interested, I think we could all use more positivity in our lives so I dug up some nature stuff that might help us all find peace of mind.
TREES
If you have a situation with a tree (planting one, loving to sit underneath one, having to take one down) here is a blessing written by a Bard from the US!
A nine-fold blessing of the sacred grove
Now be upon all forest of Earth:
For willow of the streams
Hazel of the rocks
Alder of the marshes
Birch of the waterfalls
Ash of the shade
Yew of resilience
Elm of the brae
Oak of the sun
And all tress that grow and live and breathe
On hill and brake and glen
No Axe, no saw, no fire shall harm you
No mind of ownership shall seize you
No hand of greed or profit claim you
But grace of the stepping deer among you
Strength of the rooting boar beneath you
Power of the gliding hawk above you
Deep peace of the running stream through your roots
Deep peace of the flowing air in you boughs
Deep peace of the shining stars on your leaves
That the harp of the woods be heard once more
Throughout the green and living Earth.
by Mara Freeman
If you love trees and wish to plant your own little haven, grove or forestry area...
There is a foundation in the US which helps people to do just that. You can get 10 saplings for free here, suitable for planting in your area. @dannyboy, perhaps a great way to make up for cutting your tree is to plant 10 more around your house in its name?;-)