Trees, Nature & Druidry

@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.

Posted by: @moonbeam

 

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.

@moonbeam

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?

@dannyboy  Could you have an arborist or someone from your county extension agency come look at the trees?  Or if you are near a state university, someone from their extension program?

@lowtide I don't know if we have one of those, but that's a great idea!  Nearest college to me is 45 minutes and they're a little small.  More known for pharmacy and education programs.  Worth checking!  Thank you!

@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?;-)

https://www.arborday.org/

My heart is broken.  https://kcbsradio.radio.com/articles/californias-oldest-state-park-home-to-redwoods-is-gone

@journeywithme2  Oh so awful. So so sad.  I grieve with you.  The red woods are the gods of the Western forests. 

@jouerneywithme2 oh lord why:-((

I should have seen this beautiful section much sooner as I have always had a deep spiritual connection to trees, forests, and honoring our intrinsic spiritual connection to nature in all its beauty and grandeur.

I grew up in the Tongass Rainforest of southeastern Alaska, where trees not only grow in abundance but sadly gave their lives for civilization to enter when gold was discovered on both sides of the Gastineau Channel which separates our capital city of Juneau from Douglas Island my childhood home.

The natural spirit world was part of my DNA with parents and grandparents on both sides from pioneer families choosing to come to America for new lives in new lands. The same is true for my husband's family coming across the Oregon trail in the "lower 48" as we called anything south of Alaska.

I started a thread here called Panpsychism in January of 2018  after joining this site early Spring of 2017 when flowers poking their lovely little heads up were calling to me as was no doubt our cottonwood fluff as we went out to do spring pruning to prevent complete tree loss during our yearly windstorms as they wreaked  havoc and created loss and grief in our own creation of a tree kingdom by splitting off major limbs creating often massive damage to trees. First things we planted when we built our home in the 70s were lots and lots of trees. 

Panpsychism was my core without my even understanding as a very young girl that such a thing even existed.

Imagine being a child in the 50s trying to tell anyone that trees, birds, deer, or even my cats called out to me much less rocks or seashells.

https://www.jeannemayell.com/community/understanding-prediction-and-consciousness/pansychism/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panpsychism

@michele-b, that's so cool!

It's that line of thinking that is very much apart of Druidism and Shamanism (although @Coyote is more of an expert on the last one) as well. However, those were thrown on the pile of 'pagan religions', when it is indeed more in line of philosophy/way of life and a deep connective spirit. It isn't just rooted in Ancient Greece, but (imo) much older. 

Amazing that you had that connection at a young age already. You must have had a rich childhood, vibrant with calls of nature ❤️ 

Will read your thread asap! Thank you for the link.

@moonbeam

Thank you for your connection and your reverence for the innate spiritually of the natural world!

I was indeed blessed with a rich childhood. Our parents both loved the outdoors and we spent large amounts of time exploring wild forested woods, picking wild berries for jam or pies. 

Even when I was sad I was never lonely. I would go out into unsettled city blocks with ferns taller than myself and just let my imagination and energies free. I might have only been one block from home but that's all the farther i needed to go to find unspoiled wild trees, plants, and flowers! It was glorious! Thats where listening is the very best. Not just the birds and insects and small scurrying things but the quiet silent voice we all have inside. I grew up knowing i was always loved by everything everywhere. That is magical in all ways. 

@Michele-b sounds like magic. The reason why I moved to the forest, a year ago, and started all over was this. I want to create a childhood like that for my daughter.

It's inspirational to read the impact it had on you. Thank you!  ❤️ 

@journeywithme2

its to early to tell how much damage they have taken, I take hart that they are very fire resistant, and the cool sea fog keeps them very well hydrated all year long.. there is still hope. I live just across the bay from those majestic and very long lived sentinels of light. The majestic redwood has seen much, and lived threw much, don't loose hope just yet.

@deborah-carey  I wouldn't be too concerned about the old giants.  I'd be willing to bet that at their ages, they've been through this before and survived.

@tgraf66   If you all ever get the chance to visit the redwoods here on the coast, they are indeed a site to behold. you can see the scars of many past fires and injustices they have survived. Because they mostly live in protected and cherished land, aka A State Park ,and to quote our esteemed president "“We’ve got to take care of the floors, you know the floors of the forest, very important,” We in the bay area, understand forest management and treasure our great giants, I have faith they will outlive us all. The president however, I have doubts he will see the end of the week.. just saying....