Elyse Pomeranz describes her ways of communicating with trees through heart-perception, imagination and art. 

Jen Costa, of Elder Moon School of Herbal medicine, leads us through the process of making medicine from the bark of healing trees.

Excerpts from A Druid's Herbal of Sacred Tree Medicine, by Ellen Evert Hopman. Here are remedies from three sacred trees: Birch, Oak and Willow.

When I first moved to Champlain Valley Cohousing in Charlotte Vermont, I was shown a large oak tree out in the forest land owned by the community. We walked through the thick forest of young trees and underbrush that had grown around a tree they called the Mother Oak, shading her from the sun and taking nutrients from the soil. I was stunned by her majestic presence 

Ceiba trees  are examples of what one might call “charismatic  megaflora.” Like their animal counterparts—whales and elephants—fully grown specimens capture the imagination and evoke awe among humans. Their sheer massiveness is mysterious. Bigger and older than humans, they can dwarf, and often outlast, built structures. They alter the microclimate in their vicinity and become whole ecosystems. Over the years they gather stories and legends about them.

And then I saw the Ceiba, standing alone surrounded by a field of grass, majestic and royal begging me to be embraced by ki’s buttresses.  Before I even left the van, I knew that I was in the presence of the Divine.  I could feel the fibers of my Heart stretching as my Heart was opening wide.  It was love at first sight.  I received the message, “Give your troubles to me, I will protect you.”  I walked around Ceiba entranced, amazed at ki’s form and gentle power.

Thank you for your instruction to stand strong, to be exposed and seen in all your irregularities. My strength is to be like you in these ways.

We gathered eight times in circle to drink an elixir of White Pine, prepared with prayer, gratitude and focused intention. After each drink together, we spoke of our experiences, both physical and spiritual.  Three themes that emerged repeatedly in our experiences with White Pine were strength, balance and Peace. The following are brief messages shared by participants in the Initiation.

When I first connected with the spirit of trees, I spent lots of time in tearful apology, begging begging forgiveness on behalf of all human kind but most particularly me. I love that they barely blinked. They absorbed my plea and do what trees do best - what we call in yoga Sankalpa practice (the practice of imbued being). We humans have the other side - doing - down, but being, not so much. 

We offer gratitude to the Life-giving Trees. You whose green breath sustains our breath. You who have created the atmosphere in which organic beings can thrive.  Thank you, trees for the music you make with the wind, for the way you gentle the rain into the earth, for your sheltering, protection and inspiration.

I spent my childhood summers in the north woods of Maine, where the tall white pines whispered with every breeze. My family nestled in tents with other camping families amidst these fragrant evergreens and called it home for the season. The woodlands held secrets, wild blueberries, warm sunlight, and pines~ sticky with resin that we chewed as a kind of wild gum.