LMHRH 10/27/2006 Trees and Tree Spirits

[Leah Rivera]

I listened to your radio show last night and enjoyed it a great
deal. Thank you to everyone for putting this together, it is very
much appreciated.

Until recently I had almost no involvement or experience in any formal
system of magical practice. However, the discussion of the trees
brings to mind a very strong experience that I would like to share and
possibly gain some insight on, concerning how to connect
with a lost tree friend.

When I was in fourth grade we moved to a 200 year old colonial farm
house in Boonton, NJ, a historical mining town. In the back yard of
this home was a lovely little creek and a giant Black Willowtree.
She was at least 4-5 adult arm spans around with three large branches
shooting off at about 10 feet up, forming what I can only call a
seat. I spent incredible amounts of time there, mostly reading and
day dreaming. She was my constant companion.

It was about this time that my love of Grecian mythology began, and I
began to believe that I was a dryad and that she was my tree. I have
a very distinctive birthmark that resembles bark on most of 1/4 of my
body. We lived there until I went to high school, yet I visited her
often.

She began to die when I was about 17-18 and finally was cut down when
I was in my mid twenties. When Coyote started teaching me to shield,
it was finally her image that became the strongest and easiest for me
to shield with.

I have been reading on the ancestor altars and was wondering if there
is anything I can do to reconnect with her and perhaps she will again
have some words of wisdom for me. Unfortunately, I no longer am in
NJ and can not even get dirt from where she once stood, which logic
dictates would be the most likely course of action.

On a last note, and please forgive me, I feel very strange discussing
this in public. As a matter of fact I have only told 4 people in the
course of my life. If such things are possible, I may still be
carrying with me, or being followed by some spirit of her. Her name
is Amber, and she often has answers for me that I can not claim to
have knowledge of. I have done nothing to interact with her in over
a decade, putting it aside as childishness and the answers simply
being a result of intuition garnered from research. If such a think
is possible, I would like to begin to thank her and ask her help as I
venture down this path.

Now I am going to sit here and debate posting this ….

Lara
*guess I decided to post*

ps. I hope this isn't terribly off topic, I would not have mentioned
it if it had not be mentioned on the radio show.

(Well, it sounds like you already have contact with this tree spirit, despite not having any of her dirt. I don't know where you live or in what circumstances, but if i were you, i would seriously consider planting another tree of this same species in Amber's honour and see if you cannot establish a similar bond. If you have no room where you live, ask around and see if a frieend has a place for such a tree that you can plant and visit. --cat)

[Rebecca]

Lara thank you for posting your story about your beloved tree. I have a connection with them myself and I really enjoyed reading about your experience.





Rebecca Bordes
Student #512

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