How to Communicate with Trees
If you’ve been following my blog, you know I have been sharing about different types of trees, their folklore, magical properties and health benefits. But now I want to talk about how to actually connect to and communicate with the trees. And to all elemental and nature spirits.
Trees = Life
Trees give us life. They literally produce the oxygen we need to breathe, not to mention all the other ways they can help heal us, through the bark, leaves or berries in medicinal tinctures or teas and so on. Our forests are living breathing ecosystems that literally provide everything we could possibly need to live. From medicine, to food, to clothing, to shelter and more.
Not only that, but one of the main symbols in occult and esotericism, is the Tree of Life. You can find this symbol, or reference to it, in almost every belief or practice, from Kabbalah to Norse Paganism to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Our vagus nerve is the physical representation of the Tree of LIfe in our bodies, and our chakra system is the spiritual representation which correlates to the Qabalistic Tree of Life. I could write a whole book just on the symbolism of the Tree of LIfe and how it relates to actual trees and to our actual bodies. The Tree of Life is also a map of the soul. It is literally the key to creation. How the energy of Spirit travels down through the Sephiroth to become human forms and the manifest reality around us.
That being said, I feel it is way past time we begin to have a more profound respect and reverence for nature again, and for the trees especially. We have spent too many years of humanity not only disconnected from the forests, but destroying them as well, which deeply saddens me.
The trees want nothing more than to connect with us again and live in harmony together as the indigenous people all over the world once did. And it is not hard. And it is not some crazy, woo woo, out there hippy, dippy, witchy idea. Anyone, anywhere, of any belief, at any time can communicate with nature and nature spirits.
So how can you communicate with the trees?
- Get Outside! – we have to actually get off of our phones, tablets, and computers for a while. Unplug and go take a walk! Find your nearest park or hiking trail and just have some quiet time by yourself for a bit. Just look around and really open your senses and see the beauty around you.
- Bring a small offering – It is also a good idea to take some seeds, nuts, spring water, or bread, to offer a small offering to the ‘genus loci’ of the park or place you are going and offer it to them as permission to enter the lands. If this is not something you resonate with or believe in, that is fine. Just be thankful and appreciate where you are. That is ok too.
- Find a Tree – look around and see if any particular type of tree or hedge calls out to you. Don’t feel silly. Just allow yourself to feel, not think. Trust your intuition. When you see one you like, ask it if you may sit by it and talk for a while. Again here, you may want to have some seeds, nuts or water with you to offer the tree in thanks for its time.
- Bring a Journal – it’s always a good idea wherever you go out in nature to have a little journal and pen so you can write down any messages, feelings or images you may receive from the tree or tree spirits.
- Now just relax – take a few deep breaths, in through the nose, out through the mouth, and close your eyes. Then ask a question to the tree. In your mind, write it down, or say it out loud. Whatever you are comfortable with depending on where you are. Then just wait a bit to see what image may pop into your head or what you may ‘hear’ or ‘see’ in your mind’s eye. Remember, we all have psychic abilities and intuition, but some may receive these messages in different ways than others, via sounds, smells, images, or any other number of ways.
- Keep Talking – ask the tree his/her name. Ask the tree guardian spirit to make itself known to you. All trees have at least one or more guardian spirits with it. Ask any of them what message they may want to tell you. Ask them their age or what they have seen. And don’t be afraid to tell them your fears, doubts, troubles also. Just talk to them like you would talk to a friend. Trust me you will be surprised. Even if nothing ‘major’ happened the first time or two, don’t give up!! Come back and try again! Trust me it will happen.
- Say Goodbye – when you are ready to leave, leave it your offering or simply say thank you and wish it well.
- For added brownie points – always keep a bag with you to pick up any trash or litter you may see and help keep the area clean. ALL trees and nature spirits, the Fae, etc. will be more prone to talk to you and show themselves to you if they know you are a steward for Mother Gaia and/or you simply have respect for nature and your environment.
- Don’t forget the nature right in your own backyard as well! – I was always going off to hike at my local park until I realized I had a perfectly beautiful Hawthorn tree right in my own front yard!
My First Tree Spirit Encounter
So I’ll conclude with my first experience talking with a tree. Once I realized, as I said above, that I have a beautiful Hawthorn Tree right in my own front yard, I decided to try and connect with him/her. I love when they bloom with their pretty pink or white flowers! So I closed my eyes and began meditating one day, not long ago. I did not expect to connect with a tree spirit from my Hawthorn Tree on the first try. And suddenly I had the image of the tree with me standing beneath it and I saw this woman, or female ‘sprite’ or ‘being.’ I heard in my head the word ‘Dryad’ instantly. This was before I even knew that a ‘Dryad’ is what a tree spirit was called. I just wrote the word down and researched it later. And she said to me, “I am the spirit guardian of this little Hawthorn tree.” She had long white/platinum blond hair, and some kind of horns on her head, like rams horns, with a flower wreath/crown and long flowing earth colored robes on. It was very hard to tell her age from looking at her but she gave me the feeling that she had been around a long, long time but would never appear as ‘old.’
And then she introduced me to the tree spirit himself. I saw this young boy looking energy, that was very jovial and laughing. A very cute and playful energy. She said, “This is your tree.” I call him ‘Charlie’ now. I was delighted to meet both of them and could not wait to sit with them again soon. She said I could bring him fresh spring water as an offering, or just play around him or play some music under him. As a younger spirit he likes to laugh and play a lot.
I tell this story to impress upon you, the reader, that it is not hard to begin your communication with tree spirits, the Fair Folk, or Nature Spirits at all. You only have to be open and let them know you are ready. They have all been waiting a long time for us to hear them and talk with them again one day, as we did in the old religions and cultures of our ancestors.
Thank you for joining me again! As always, be good to yourself, each other and Mother Gaia! Take any small step you can towards living a Greener Life! And join me for my next blog on trees/plants/herbs. Or check out my new blog series: A deep dive into Tarot and the Major Arcana. Many fairy blessings!
-AF- The Grove Witch
P.S.
If you are ‘science’ type, or would like to know more about how trees communicate with each other underground, as a community in the forest, then I highly recommend checking out Suzanne Simard’s book, “Finding The Mother Tree,” or any of her works. You can find her videos on Youtube as well. I did not do particularly well in Science in my school years, but even so, I still found her book to be fascinating and enlightening and I loved every page of it!
“Finding the Mother Tree” by Suzanne Simard
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