Talking with the Trees

Do you speak to the trees, or have you lost touch?

All ancient societies held trees in very high regard. They provide shelter, fuel, in some instances, fruit and are also home to wildlife and spirits. Many ancient communities, including the Celts, Egyptians, Indians, and Romans, believed in tree spirits. They built shrines for the trees, left offerings, and held rituals to honor trees.

There’s an Anglo-Saxon pagan tradition dating back centuries that’s still alive and well in Western England. It’s known as wassail and happens in January. Wassail is a winter ritual of blessing apple orchards so that the next harvest can be a bountiful one. Villagers gather to sing to the trees, hang toast in the branches, and pour small amounts of cider at their roots.

And then we lost touch

People mostly respected trees, and urbanized populations continued to plant all types of trees, even fruit trees, in their gardens and parks. It wasn’t until the 1950s when deforestation became a concern. By the 1960s, it became an international issue as Brazil sanctioned deforestation of vast chunks of the rainforest. The government did this to meet the ever-increasing demand for logging, agriculture, urbanization, and mining. That was when Man began to see himself as all-powerful over nature, and the onslaught has continued since.

Modern Man continues to destroy trees, their environment, and all the life they sustain at an alarming rate. The global estimate is that a staggering 2.4 million trees are cut down every day. Many city dwellers have entirely lost touch with trees, but trees never lose touch with us.

Trees have Spirits and Family and Social Networks

Apart from housing spirits, trees also have their soul. Every living thing has energy, and energy is soul, and the soul is expressed through personality. Each tree has it’s own personality. Many modern-day foresters, biologists, ecologists, and naturalists have started writing about tree-talk and trees having social networks, not unlike humans.

Trees are continually sharing fungi, and pollen carried on the breeze or by birds, bats, or insects, this is a form of communication. But it gets better: research has shown that most of the conversation happened underground. Through a complicated network of roots, trees share messages, and nutrition with their neighbors. Numerous studies have identified very old, injured, or diseased trees being fed vital nutrients by their neighbors to keep them alive. So trees also have compassion.

Researchers are also able to identify ‘mother’ trees that are connected with hundreds of trees around them through delicate root networks. These mother trees also connect with seeds under the ground, supplying them with essential nutrition to ensure that they survive and grow. Mother trees pass on life-giving sustenance, knowledge, and wisdom.

Getting back In touch

Sensitive people can feel tree energy from childhood, but if you’ve always just seen a tree as a tree, you can quickly learn to reconnect. Trees are forgiving and want to be connected with us. Every living thing thrives on acknowledgment and love.

If you have a tree in your garden or on your pavement, start there. It might feel slightly odd at first, but as soon as you explore the connection, you’ll be hooked. To begin with, spend some time around the tree. Don’t ask it for anything and don’t do anything extreme; you’re still getting to know each other. A great way to break the ice is to sit with your back up against the tree, to enjoy its shade, and familiarise yourself with its smell and texture. Also, observe all the life forms that depend on that caring tree.

Moving On

Once you’re comfortable around the tree, you can begin speaking to it. Ask the tree if it’s okay with you wanting to befriend it. Feel the energy response. How does it make you feel? Safe, welcome, loved, or uncomfortable. Not every energy resonates with us just as not everyone is going to like us. If you feel uneasy, ask the tree why. You might not get an answer right away, but it might come in the next few days.

Many garden trees are neglected. We assume that they’re doing fine on their own, but just like us, they need nurturing and some maintenance now and then. Do you water the tree regularly or cut away dead wood once in a while? Trees appreciate tender care.

If you’ve been neglecting your tree, make a point of showing it love by pouring a bucket of water over its roots, and grooming it. As you do, speak gently to it and tell it that you care about its wellbeing. You can also sing to it; trees love singing.

Learning how to Access the Energy of Trees

We can’t expect trees to help us if we only go to them when we need them, so it’s essential to build a relationship with your surrounding trees. Once you and the trees are on good terms, you can start understanding each other and sharing energy.

To begin with, find the tree’s energy field or aura. Clear your mind, do some breathwork and rub your hands together to open your palm chakras. Approach the tree with arms outstretched and palms facing the tree. Feel at what point your palms pick up the tree’s energy. Walk clockwise around the tree and feel if you can sense any change in the energy. If you do sense energy depletion, check that part of the tree to see if there’s any damage or disease.

Speak to the tree all the while and open your aura so that energy can flow freely between you. You can begin asking the tree questions about yourself, the tree, or life in general. An answer could come to mind as a sudden clear thought, or you could be planting a seed that leads to a train of thoughts over time and even in your dreams.

Bringing Trees into your Magic

Once you’ve connected with a tree or a few of them, you can bring them into your magic with their permission. Always ask first, and don’t just assume that the tree is there at your behest. Like people, trees have different personalities. For example, some trees want to heal, others wish to share joy, some are grumpy, others want to teach, and yet others enjoy life as it comes.

Identify the type of personality your trees have and work with them accordingly.

Grumpy trees are great for cord-cutting, banishing, and hexes. If you work with crystals, you can hang them on tree branches to either heal or calm a tree or to boost its natural energy. Always use a natural string that will corrode to hang anything on branches because things that don’t breakdown can strangle a branch as the tree grows. Also, don’t dig anything into the bark or between branches because that hurts trees.