Tree Essence
Many years ago I started experimenting and making flower essences. I had already been working with trees in the context of Tree Medicine the bark, flower etc. I was actually turned on to the more advanced form of Tree Medicine my dear Green sister Robin McGee. I literally dove headfirst and have spent years focusing on trees and their benefits and my connection to them. So when I began exploring the flower essences this of course was just an natural extension of my relationship with the trees. I have been using and practicing with flower essence for MUCH longer. My love for the ‘The Tall Standing Ones,’ as Robin says runs deep and I am honored to work with them.
So little by little I would explore the trees in my area and work with each one of them in the context of flower essences. As I approached each tree, I always sought permission and work ethically (I do that in ALL aspects of my herbalism of course). I never looked up what each were good for I always connected with the Tree and connected with the Creator to help me see what I believed the Tree was trying to tell me. I also was given information in dream time (yes I am Cherokee-lol) and so I used what that came to me as the foundation for the Tree essence. And that's still how I do it to this day.
So here are some of the trees that I have worked with and the information that I have received from each of these Trees. I will try make each tree as brief as possible so that this doesn't become a huge information write up!
Dogwood. So I have a beautiful beautiful story that goes along with how I made the Dogwood flower essence and I will make a video on that to share it in the future. Dogwood is wonderful about bringing out the inner child in people. So this could be someone who is an old soul in a young body or this could be anyone who feel crickety on the outside or anybody that has aches and pains and wants to feel young again. That is what I feel like Dogwood does best! Bridges that older body (or hurting body) with the inner child that lives within you (or wants to live within you again).
Tulip Poplar. OK so this is one of my favorite trees! Anybody who knows me certainly knows how I feel about this tree. The flower essence is very, very versatile I find that is wonderful to help people who might have self-esteem issues or who may need confidence in a particular area. Tulip poplar is a general all around ‘i have your six’ types of flower essence. I've also used it in conjunction with Elecampane for grief issues.
Magnolia. Another wonderful beautiful tree that of course is related to the Tulip Poplar. Magnolia flower essence is great for people who get emotions stuck in a particular part of the body. So this person may get a stiff neck (when they should just spoke their truth) or they get their stiff in the lower back and hold anger or stress there. So this flower essence shines anywhere where their having trouble processing emotions and those emotions get stuck in the body. One lady calls it the Drama Queen cure.
Black cherry is a great tree from my experience in bringing out the creativity in people. Now in this case the the Tree specifically said to me ‘at the appropriate time.’ So the way I understood that means that when you are working on a creative work this flower essence will help you to know where to release it and when the timing is right. If you are shy about it, then I would combine Tulip Poplar with this essence to help you move forward.
Pine. This is a wonderful tree. When you feel like your whole world is just kind of falling apart and you just honestly don't know what to do or where to turn, Pine is a great essence. So I think about it like this, you can’t see the forest for the trees, then Pine is a good general essence to reach for.
Sycamore. I feel like Sycamore is really really good when the outer part of your body doesn't match the inside (think of Sycamore bark). Sycamore is really good about helping you feel more comfortable in your skin and really feeling like you are being true to yourself. I see this as a great essence to Tweens and early teenagers. Or anyone struggling to bring out who they know they are on the inside. It can bring up old issues you thought were dealt with (but just buried) and really process those. I know other people find Sycamore is really really good to help with their energy levels.
Serviceberry. I love Serviceberry essence, It is really good to help bring focus either to an issue or help you to focus more in general (like scatterbrained people like me) People who are having focus issues or maybe just need clarity on something in particular Serviceberry is great for that. I use Serviceberry and Hoya before journeying to help me focus on what I am wanting to work on in that journey session.
Red Maple. Red Maple really helps you to pull in and connect with the earth. When I was working with the Red Maple I actually saw the vision of the of the box turtle pulling into his shell. Like he was pulling in and connecting with Earth and waiting for whatever the issue was to pass so that he could come back out. So anytime I want to connect with and bring into my center I use Red Maple. It is great about balancing chakras (all of them not just the root chakra) I also find this is really really good tree essence for animals that are high strung or high stress. I do wildlife rehabilitation and I use Red Maple essence on the outside of the bunnies or baby possum’s cages (or a hawk or owl that is stressed). I put a blanket over a section of the cage or enclosure and drop a few drops on the cloth.
I hope you enjoy Trees as much as I do, and if you did enjoy this post share it with your friends and click below to see my Tree Essence.
