The Healing Power of Trees - Birch

Good Day Wonderful People!!

This post is going to be about the healing power of trees!

My connection with trees has been quite a long standing one. As a child I was never afraid to climb trees, seeing how high I could get without falling out and breaking my neck. Luckily I never fell out of a tree and hurt myself, nor did either of my siblings. Whenever we went someplace new it was always one of the challenges, could we find a tree to climb and could we actually get up the tree without the aid of a ladder. This was particularly fun at my grandparents house. It didn't matter which set of grandparent's house we were at, my grandparents were always worried that we were going to fall and break our necks. Prerogative of a grandparent I suppose to worry. As we got older we were told that climbing the tress was not appropriate for us and we were to find more 'suitable' activities for our age. Lame, I know.

While I heeded this request it just meant that I was going to have to find other ways to connect and be around trees. Trees never cease to amaze me. Their hardiness and resilience is something I quite admire. The way they turn such beautiful colours in the fall making the forests look like they are on fire. The way their branches can bend under the weight of a layer of ice on them and still spring back once the ice melts. The way that they know when spring has arrived and they begin to bud and bloom into the full extent of their beauty. I love the way that the leaves on the branches feel when I touch them, soft and delicate, so full energy. I love the sound they make when the wind blows through their branches causing the tree to dance. I love how the air around trees and forests feels cleaner, more pure. Trees are the homes for countless species of wildlife giving them life and protection. There is just so much I love about them.

When I seriously began delving into discovering what exactly my spirituality is I came across a set of oracle cards called The Voice of Trees by Mickie Mueller.

I was immediately drawn to them and had to buy them. They are one of the first oracle decks that I began to work with. I found the images on the cards to enchanting. I love that the cards are done in watercolour as it is an artistic medium that I use and adore.  The cards themselves generally speak to me quite well and when I come across a more difficult card or I am having a more blocked day the companion book that came with the cards is stellar. I find the energy of this deck to be very healing for myself and I always feel much better after working with them. In the back of the companion book the author gives reference materials that you could go to for further study and one reference book in particular stood out to me. This was The Healing Power of Trees by Sharlyn Hidalgo.

The Healing Power of Trees is a wonderful book full incredible information. That being said,  I have not read through the entire thing as I am going to go through it like a study book. This book is about the Celtic Tree Calendar and each chapter is about a different tree/month of the year. The Celtic Tree Calendar begins November 1 and ends on The Day: October 31. It is based on the thirteen-month lunar calendar with fifteen trees represented (a couple of the months have to share). Every tree it has its own astrological sign, rune and ogham letter.

I will give a brief overview of the Birch Tree, however, I would encourage you if you are interested in learning more about the Celtic Tree Calendar that you seek out the couple of resources I have mentioned in this post to further your study.

The first tree in the lunar cycle is the Birch tree.

It is from November 1 - 28. The Ogham is Beith ("beh") and some keywords for this Ogham are: beginnings, endings, cleansing, re-establishing boundaries, releasing old patterns and the shedding unhelpful influences. The rune is Berkana and for those of you unfamiliar with runes and their meanings here are a few keywords for Berkana: growth, new life, nourishment and gestation. Astrologically the sign for the month of Birch is Scorpio. Scorpios keywords are: resourceful, passionate, intense, secretive, power and investigation.
The Healing Power of Trees beautiful ties all this information together as well as includes an incredible guided meditation for each tree.
I am big into journaling so I have personal journals where I write down my experiences with meditations, card readings etc. I find them excellent sources to reflect back on.

Namaste and Much Love. 

Spiritual Wonders

Good Evening All!

Over the last number of months I have been experimenting with the metaphysical properties of tarot cards, oracle cards, crystals, runes...I have been doing research about charkras, Taoism, Buddhism, had my palms read (which was incredibly informative in and of itself) and all of it is completely and totally fascinating.

The first experience I had with tarot cards and runes came when I was in grade 10. I chose to do a project on them in my religions class. I immediately felt a strong connection to what I was studying. While doing research for the project my sister got me my first set of tarot cards. She was out with my mom yard sale shopping and found a deck. She knew I was doing a project on tarot and got the cards for me. I think the only reason she was able to get the cards while my mom was there is because I was doing research on them for school.

My mom thinks all this stuff is pretty close to devil worship. She wouldn't even let us watch the TV show Charmed when we were kids...too much evil! Charmed, by the way, is one of my all time FAVOURITE TV shows. So much love for that show.

Anyway....that is a whole another story. 

So! My Sister gifted me my first tarot deck. She gave me the Robin Wood Tarot. I don't know if she realized the impact that those cards would have on me and my spirituality. I was about 15 when I got those cards and I still have those cards. I dabbled with them off and on feeling drawn to them, drawn to their beautiful images. I would do readings for myself and for my Dad. They were the first cards that I used and I felt trouble connecting to them. That is likely because of my pretty strict Christian upbringing...you know...where anything that was not spoken of in the Bible was a gateway for satan...cause that is true. My Dad has always been receptive of my use of tarot cards and likes me to do readings for him. It was quite wonderful to have one of my parents supportive of my new endeavour and interested in what I was learning. I truly believe that my mother would flip her lid if she knew that I have been doing tarot readings for my Dad off and on for a decade.

I used the cards fairly regularly when I was doing that religions class project but when it was over the cards got put away. Every few months though I would pull them out and play with them. Something just kept pulling me back towards them.  I still have those cards in my collection though I do not always use them. I use a different tarot deck right now. I find the images in the new tarot deck to speak to me more. Since my study of the tarot has been so completely sporadic I do not do readings for people other than myself and my Dad right now. One day though I would love to do readings for others. I think that the knowledge and wisdom that can be gained from the cards is something that should be shared with world. If you have the chance to bring people clarity, joy, happiness, wonder and help then I think that it is something you absolutely should do.

Alas that is all for tonight. 

Namaste and Much Love.

Spiritual Journey: Part 2

Welcome to the second part of the introduction to my spiritual journey thus far.

And so I left the Presbyterian church. At this time the whole of my spiritual foundation had been shaken to the point where I could not even look at a church without feeling queasy. I refused to go to any services including Christmas services and Easter services. It was not that I didn't believe, I just could not stomach going into a church. This created one of the many rifts between my Mom and I. She didn't (and still doesn't) understand my need for space from the church.

It was years before I could even consider religion again and in that time I began to do research on other forms of spirituality, ones that could be practiced alone and where my interaction with the Divine was one on one. I dabbled in a variety of things with no real vested interest until my life got turned upside down when my Dad was diagnosed with cancer last January. 

My dad is one of the most important people in my life and his diagnosis scared me. A LOT. The main way I was able to cope with this new world of doctors appointments, chemotherapy and the myriad of symptoms it causes was to dive into research. Yup, research. I guess the logic and reasoning aspect of my head was trying to quell the emotions running rampant in my heart. Research on my dad's type of cancer, it's causes, effects, lifestyle and environmental factors on our health, toxins in our food and personal care products, green health and beauty...the list goes on. 

Through this research I came across a variety of amazing people who I have found to be incredibly inspiring. One of the major things that linked them together was their spirtituality, their belief in something more. Many of these incredible people I came across talked about the importance of spirituality in their lives and as a cornerstone to their health. They practiced meditation, art, worked with the healing energies of crystals, chakras and oracle/tarot cards. They took walks in nature and were able to connect to the world in a way that was beautiful. I saw their happiness, their peace and I knew that they had uncovered something wonderful. I felt myself being called to explore these avenues of spirituality in order to connect to with the Divine and it felt as if a lost piece of me was falling into place. 

Well, I believe I have rambled enough for tonight. :-) 

Namaste and Much Love. 

Spiritual Journey : Part 1

Welcome everyone!! 

I have decided to keep a blog about my spiritual journey and adventures. 

I want to give a brief history of my spirituality so you understand where I am coming from. 

I grew up Christian, particularly the denomination Presbyterian. My whole family was involved in the church. My mom dressed us all up and we went every Sunday. My dad used to help do the care taking of the church and he would often bring my sister and I along. We had free range of the church and explored every nook and cranny. At no point while attending this church did I not feel the loving presence of God around me. I often felt like he was laughing at the shenanigans my sister and I got into. 

Then when I was 10 we moved and I had to say goodbye to that wonderful place where I had spent countless hours playing. We immediately began attending another Presbyterian church in this new town. This also happened to be the church in which my parents were married in. This new church did not have the same feeling to it. We began attending Logos, I made new friends and my Christian upbringing continued. Although over the next 8 years I also spent countless hours playing in this church, becoming familiar with every nook and cranny it never had the warmth that my old church did. I felt as if something was missing. 

My first major internal conflict with the church, not with God but the church, occurred during my confirmation classes when I was 16. My minister was going over the people who would be allowed into heaven and blatantly stated that those who did not accept Jesus as their lord and savior would not be going to heaven. I couldn't accept that. I proposed the following statement to her: you are telling me that a serial killer who has taken the lives of multiple people and caused so much pain, at any point could accept Jesus as his lord and savior would be allowed in heaven. But a doctor who finds a cure for aids, saves millions of lives, gives people hope, and does not accept Jesus as his lord and savior would go to hell? The minister simply said yes and ended the discussion. 

I had such fundamental issues with the ministers response to me. The God she was talking about was not the same one I had come to know. In my heart I knew that God would never turn away a person who dedicates their life to the betterment of others. I knew that he would not turn away anyone who lived their lives full of peace and love. And thus cracks began to form in my foundation of organized religion, in the church. My belief in God and his love were as strong as ever but I felt like he was calling me away from the church. 

I struggled with this uneasiness for a couple of years and it was not until the church I was attending decided that they wanted a new church building that I became aware of how much I did not belong there anymore. The sermons became about politics and money, they were so focused on these that they lost sight of who they were loosing. The only opinions that began to matter were those of the wealthy in the congregation, catering to them so they would help donate to the cause. It made me feel sick and I could hear God telling me that I needed to get out of there, that it was no longer the place for my spiritual nourishment. So I left. I have not set foot back there since. 

Since then it has been a matter of trial and error to discover my spiritual path. I am still on path of discovery and likely will be the rest of my life. 

I will share in part 2 what I have discovered since leaving the church. 

Namaste and much love.