The Mythologies and Legends of Trees.

You know, we see a lot of threads talking about the mythologies and legends of creatures and such, but I don't think I have ever seen a thread that deals with the mythologies and legends of trees.

So to start it off, how about a nice anecdote. We have a banyan tree on our property, and I have always felt energy from it, even as a kid. I always knew it was special. I would climb way up to the higher branches, find a nice cozy spot, and close my eyes and meditate.

Yesterday I did a little bit of research and found out that banyan trees have all kinds of mythology and legends surrounding them. It is said that Buddha attained enlightenment while meditating under one of these trees. Also in some other cultures, spirits are said to dwell within the Banyan tree and act as guardians.

Regarding my Banyan tree, I have definitely sensed these spirits dwelling within it my entire life. I remember this one time when I was a kid I invited a friend over to my house. It was always just my family and I who would climb the tree, never anyone else. So my friend comes over and I want to go climb the Banyan, so I invite my friend to climb it with me. He climbs the tree for about 30 seconds, and then quickly climbs down and runs away. I catch up to him and asked him what happened, and he said, "that tree doesn't like me." My friend and I still bring up that story in conversation today.

I feel like because the Banyan tree is on our property, it is protective of our family. Because my friend was an outsider to my property, the spirits of the tree did not approve of him in my opinion.

So my question to you. Do you have any cool supernatural experiences dealing with trees? Then did you later find out that that specific species of tree had rich mythology and legends surrounding it?

Almost every culture I can think of has some mythology surrounding at least one species of tree, usually one that is of great economic importance to them. Every Christian has heard of the cedars of Lebanon because of it's fine grained wood and insect-repellent properties.
In the Eastern US native tribes placed great value on the Chestnut and Oak trees for their food value to the tribe and to the wildlife they depended on. Thinking that a tree that never loses it's needles is a quality for long life they also held the evergreen trees in high spiritual regard.
I have had deep connections with several trees and have received messages from them. Not that I can just go talk to any tree and get a message or that they "Speak" to you in audible language but it has happened and it was a magical experience. For those wondering, No, I was not "high" on anything at the time.
Anyone can do it, it is a matter of spending time observing and mentally reaching out. It has to do with the quality of the attention that you are giving just as in any other relationship. For a great meditation spend one day watching just a single big oak and see how many animals, birds and insects rely on it for food and shelter. See how the other plants grow in it's shadow and how it affects the area around it. You will be astounded by what takes place in one spot during a day if you have the patience to try it.
Interesting idea for a thread. I will be curious to see if others will relate any similar experiences to mine.

reply to post by SolarE-Souljah


I have no special stories to tell, unfortunatly, though you make me want to go out and find this tree and plant it in the front yard!


S&F!


Mod.. About the Oak.. Since you mention it, and being from south west lousiana, we are surrounded by oak trees all the way to the lakes and rivers. Ya know, I dont think Ive really relt the kinda relaxing, serine feeling that comes from being around Oak Trees. I always chalked it up to just being a "homely" calm feeling. But now that you mention Oaks, their strength and endurance and girth makes them all the more beautiful. But yes.. I can say that I feel an ease when I kick back on one the trunk of the tree and laze the day away for a while, more so than just being lazy.

reply to post by SolarE-Souljah


Never tell a secret under a willow tree or its leaves will share it out to the world...

reply to post by SolarE-Souljah

I was with my family out having a picnic when i got up and began talking with the poplar trees the only had eyes but i could hear them. my family was horrified and screamed "el diablo!" and we packed up and left in a hurry. Later they told me that what i had done frightened them and musta made a big deal i was only 3 years old lol

Very cool post OP. I think many people forget that trees are in fact living enitities and I believe do possess some semblance of self awareness. All cultures have a wide array of myths regardign trees. The ancient Greeks had the dryads, a form of nymph, and I know England has an enormous amount of tree-lore, often to do with faeries and spirits who live in certain types of trees.

The Banyan is definately one of my favourite trees however. For the benefit of those readers unfamiliar with how cool a banyan tree really is I thought I'd just post one or two pics below.....











What part of the world do you live in Solar? Im guessing it's niether Europe or the States if you're lucky enough to have these babies in your back yard

reply to post by SolarE-Souljah


That's very cool. As a kid I can remember spending a lot of time climbing in and sitting under the boughs of a big pine tree in our front yard. I felt a very special attachment to it and had many days where I spent hours either sitting high up cradled in the branches or in the needles on the ground under the boughs. I was invisible to the outside world because of the way the boughs reached out and draped down to touch the ground. It was my little room with vaulted ceiling. I liked to think there and had some of the most inspired ideas while spending time there. Thanks for making me remember that.

I believe absolutely that trees have an energy that we connect with. I used to sit in our backyard and listen to the trees swaying in the wind, as if they were talking to eachother. It always put me to sleep, or in a meditative state.

I remember being very young and my father was in the back pruning trees. He made the decision to cut one down completely for one reason or another and it made me cry. I even have a "tree of life" tattoo'd on my forearm.

Trees please.

I was going to get all into celtic mythology, then I found this...

en.wikipedia.org...

That should give you some insight, and areas of research if looking into Trees and legends or mythology.

Animals are second densitiy (2D) entities, and they progress to 3D (human), by choosing a life (or many) as a Pet, by starting to develop empathy. They doesnt have a higher self like us, but rather they have a soul group for each animals species. Some animals are even special 4D entities (Dolphins and Whales)


Questioner: You said that the second density strives towards the third density which is the density of self-consciousness, or self-awareness. The striving takes place through higher second-density forms being invested by third-density beings. Could you explain what you mean by this?

Ra: I am Ra. Much as you would put on a vestment, so do your third-density beings invest or clothe some second-density beings with self-awareness. This is often done through the opportunity of what you call pets.

Applicable to Trees?

I would just like to say thank you for all the responses. I didn't think this thread would get so much attention.

I have a technique you can use to "talk" to trees.

Find a nice stick, preferably something that can also function as a walking stick. Now go up to a tree, place the end of the stick near the base of the tree. Now, with the end of the stick securely snug against the tree, knock on the wood. Knock on the wood of the stick and think of the vibrations it is making. Now think of all the insects, bugs, and birds living in the tree, and think of the tree itself too. Imagine that they can hear these vibrations and that they know you want to communicate with them.

Now place your ear up to the walking stick and listen. You might just hear something.

I always liked the Norse myth of how Odin hung himself from the world tree [Yggdrasil] to gain knowledge. Considering some trees see multiple human lifetimes it is not surprising that myth and folk lore have quite a bit about trees. When I was a younger man and dabbling heavily into the occult one of my friends had a experience with a tree supposedly communicating to him. The spot in question was near a alleged witch's grave and the details of the message I've forgotten in the twenty years since it happened. All I do recall it prompted him to leave the spot and wait for us by the cars. Don't recall what kind of tree it was and it's been two years since I have been to the grave site.

I believe that trees are resplendent beings, certainly not 'lower-order' organisms as some biologists believe. I'm amazed at the incredibly long life spans of some trees.
There are pine trees in Tasmania and Yew trees in the U.K. that have been confirmed to be 4,000 years old.
There is an "old growth" forest of pine trees in Utah, USA that has been there for 80,000 years.
The Great Spirit must've had something special in mind.
Trees are awesome.

In elementary school I got a soft needle pine tree, while my brother got like 6 , I think it was tree day or something where every student got one.

I remember riding on the bus with my tree and I was so excited to get it home and plant it. Well my tree got planted and my brothers 6.

Everyday I would go out and water all the trees but the one I had in mind was mine , its what motivated me, well as i got to mine I always would sit down beside it and talk to it and touch it.

one day a tree got hit with a lawn mower , so all the remaining trees got bricks place around them so that wouldnt happen agian, but soon all my brothers trees began dying off, till the only tree left was mine.

I never gave those trees the attention I gave to mine, and week after week I watched my tree grow , so excited it was making a spot for its self, till it was as tall as myself , always telling it I will be able to climb its branches one day.

Well that tree is still here and its HUGE 40-50ft at least (28 yrs of growth) and every once in awhile I will talk with it still , letting it know I love it and give its branches a kiss.
I never heard anything from my tree, probably because I'm to busy to listen.

But now ....
I have kids of my own now who have climbed on its branches.

Just thought I would share this story.


using mobile web, which is a pain , but love my tree that much

reply to post by SolarE-Souljah


oh great topic!

our lot are from the Oak Trees (or so they say)

The mighty deciduous hardwood of the oak has played a prominent role in the Celtic imagination from ancient to modern times. The English word ‘druid’ (from the Latin plural druidae) derives in part from the root dru- ‘oak;’ Celtic words for oak, e.g. Old Irish and Modern Irish. dair, Welsh derwen, share the same root. The ancient geographer Strabo (1st cent. AD) reported that the important sacred grove and meeting-place of the Galatian Celts of Asia Minor, Drunemeton, was filled with oaks. In an often-cited passage from Historia Naturalis (1st cent. AD), Pliny the Elder describes a festival on the sixth day of the moon where the druids climbed an oak tree, cut a bough of mistletoe, and sacrificed two white bulls as part of a fertility rite. Elsewhere druids made their wands from only three woods: yew, oak, and apple. In Mediterranean culture the oak was sacred to both Zeus and Jupiter, some aspects of which were no doubt transferred to the worship of Gaulish Jupiter. Britons under Roman occupation worshipped a goddess of the oak tree, Daron, whose name is commemorated in a rivulet in Gwynedd. According to the pseudo-history Lebor Gabála ‘Book of Invasions,’ the sacred oak of early Ireland was that of Mugna, probably located at or near Dunmanogoe, south Co. Kildare. Sacred associations of oaks survived Christianization, so that St Brigit's monastic foundation was at Cill Dara, ‘church of (the) oak,’ i.e. Kildare, and St Colum Cille favoured Doire Calgaich ‘Calgach's oak grove,’ i.e. Derry; see also Durrow, darú, from dair magh, ‘oak plain.’ In Welsh tradition Gwydion and Math use the flower of oak with broom to fashion the beautiful Blodeuwedd. When Lleu Llaw Gyffes is about to be killed by Gronw Pebyr, his wife's lover, he escapes in eagle form onto a magic oak tree. A sacred oak tree protects the Breton city of Ys until the feckless boy Kristof removes it, allowing Ys to be engulfed. The Arthurian figure Merlin is imprisoned in an oak tree in the Breton forest of Brocéliande by Viviane/Nimiane (the Lady of the Lake). In both British and Irish fairy lore, the oak is one of three magical woods, along with ash and thorn. Old Irish and Modern Irish is dair; Scots Gaelic, darach; Manx, daragh; Welsh, derwen, dâr; Cornish derowen; Breton, dervenn.[2]

ikiw

S & F from me... I love all kind of stuff

In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil was the world tree where two humans survived Ginnungagap (doomsday) by seeking refuge in its roots.

And of course there's the Garden of Eden of Genesis. The "Tree of Knowledge" bore the fruit that, when eaten, broke the spell of immortality (in other words, enlightened us of our ignorance to the concept of death, allowing us humans to achieve whatever we seek out to do with the only condition being the fact that we are mortal). The "Tree of Life" is a description of the Kabbalah.

Thank you for all the stars and flags everyone.

I knew I wasn't the only one who had an appreciation for trees. They are definitely amazing creatures who are on the same or most likely higher spiritual level than us.

Does anyone have any more personal cool stories they have had with trees?

There are many traditions passed down about the power imbued in cedar trees. I'm surprised no one's referenced Anastasia and The Ringing Cedars books by Vladimir Megre. As one of the above posters mentioned, the cedar trees are referenced quite a bit in the bible. Apparently cedar tree oil has special properties. Vladimir Megre references Grigori Rasputin as one of many examples of an individual with supernatural traits who grew up in a densely populated cedar area in Siberia.

Originally posted by SolarE-Souljah
Thank you for all the stars and flags everyone.

I knew I wasn't the only one who had an appreciation for trees. They are definitely amazing creatures who are on the same or most likely higher spiritual level than us.

Does anyone have any more personal cool stories they have had with trees?

A personal story...it's not paranormal or anything like that. Quite mundane actually. I like to take walks in a local cemetery. I love the peaceful, solemn feeling. It's so thick you can 'cut it with a knife', as it were.

There is a huge old oak tree on top of a hill that overlooks the town. Sometimes I'll sit on the ground with my back against that tree. I get the feeling that tree is a wise old sentinel who guards the cemetery. One morning recently I was sitting there hanging out with the tree. A gust of wind came up and plop...an acorn fell and very gently bounced off my head and landed in the grass in front of me. I just had to laugh.

reply to post by SolarE-Souljah


Yes I know exactly what you mean about 'feelings' from trees. There are times I swear I can see an 'aura' around the canopy, but can never really tell if its just my eyes playing. I recently moved to the west coast and the trees here have blown me away. There is such a vibe out here and I think the trees are a big part of that. To see these Redwood stands hundreds of feet above, arranged in beautiful circles, fairy rings they call them. I love to sit in the middle of them and meditate. I feel like Im at a Council Meeting of the Ancients when im out there. Ive just moved to a spot where there are 2 rings and standing old growth within a 5 min walk. I love to visit and think about the time that all those trees have shared and the stories that they tell if you know how to listen...

I think whats really cool about the rings is the fact that they are usually all the same genetic individual, they form new growth at the base from a special type of wood called burl. The grove near by was harvested back in the day, leaving huge stumps strewn about the forest floor. Most of them are still alive today, as a new tree grew right out of the old rootstock right next to the cut stump.

I wanted to post as pic but i can't find my camera right now and a lot of what showed up in a google image seemed to be copyrighted so ill post a pic of the ones I know when I can.

~In Light, Tend