Trees we have known

Last week, in Myth and spirit of trees, we surveyed the place of trees in folklore from around the world. This week we'll look more closely at the spiritual nature of specific trees, and I'll go on to introduce several trees that have touched my life. Then, I'll ask you the reader to tell your own stories about trees you have known. You could even win a prize!

It isn't difficult to imagine trees as having a personalities of their own. They seem to reflect moods over the passing seasons.

A Native American elder told me, "My people also see a life force in every tree equal to our own and honor this."

The ancient Greeks believed in wood nymphs called dryads. A hamadryad was a specific kind of nature spirit so closely tied to the life of her tree she would sicken and die along with it, or perish if it was cut down. They were specifically connected with oaks, a tree held in special reverence and considered sacred to Demeter, the goddess of fertility.

The Celts, on the other hand, were more democratic in their view of trees. The Ogygia was a Celtic alphabet based on tree and plant symbols, used for records and divination. In 1961, Robert Graves observed a connection between the tree-alphabet and the Celtic lunar calendar, speculating that these ancient people associated each of the thirteen months with a different species: birch, rowan, ash, alder, willow, hawthorn, oak, holly, hazel, vine, ivy, reed and elder. It's an arboreal zodiac! Whether or not the Celts measured their year in tree months, what's clear is that they saw a unique spirit and temperament in each kind of plant. For instance the alder, a tree of courage, was associated with King Arthur, while the willow, a tree of death and enchantment, was connected with his troublesome sister, Morgan le Fay.

Tree spirits were not necessarily considered benevolent or benign, as they are in much of our insipid modern folklore. In some European traditions, these mysterious beings could turn into perilous foes to anyone who violated the sanctity of their woodland haunts. It would be wise for us to consider what suffering we may bring down upon ourselves if we forget the forest's power. Nature has her own incomprehensible vengeance.