Transcripts
Trees have been at the center of our
spiritual practice as land-based people
Speaker:since time immemorial. Trees are
our elders. They are our ancients.
Speaker:They're often the source
point for our rituals.
Speaker:So much magic can be rediscovered
just by connecting to the tree realm.
Speaker:Hello and welcome back to
Remember Why You're Here,
Speaker:a podcast for seekers and sensitives
where you can relax, receive,
Speaker:reconnect to yourself and remember the
most important thing of all why you're
Speaker:here. I'm Asia Suler, author,
earth intuitive teacher.
Speaker:And in this episode today,
Speaker:I wanted to respond to a voice
message that I got over on my website
Speaker:at asiasuler.com/remember.
Speaker:And in the voice message I was asked to
speak specifically to the medicine of
Speaker:trees to do an episode
about the medicine of trees.
Speaker:So that is what we're doing here today.
Speaker:And I wanted to share as well a
recording that I made several years ago
Speaker:about three tree rituals for a rich life.
These are three
Speaker:rituals that I do with the trees
and that continue to just bring so
Speaker:much depth and magic into my life,
Speaker:even though I've been practicing
them for many years now.
Speaker:So we're going to get into
that recording in a little bit,
Speaker:but first I just wanted to talk
some about the magic of trees.
Speaker:So I've been really kind of having a
psychedelic experience lately with the
Speaker:trees.
Speaker:We are in the part of the wheel of
the year right now where the trees all
Speaker:have their leaves, their big,
beautiful, floppy, tender, green leaves.
Speaker:And it really is a bit of a
psychedelic experience to go from
Speaker:having the mountains here be so open
to the view of just the blue mountains
Speaker:and the curves of the mountains everywhere
you look to suddenly being in this
Speaker:cocoon of green upon green, upon green.
Speaker:And I find myself often just laying on
my back or even looking out the window of
Speaker:my car at the bodies of
the trees and thinking,
Speaker:what a wonder. What a wonder that our
earth decided to evolve these beings,
Speaker:that trees exist at all.
Speaker:I just think that they are so
interesting and magnificent.
Speaker:I often find my brain
kind of wandering back to
Speaker:the time when there were these
primeval forests that covered
Speaker:so much of the world. And I
think a lot of our memories,
Speaker:our deep human memories,
Speaker:our ancestral memories are still
connected to those times. I think about,
Speaker:or I look at pictures of ancient
force and it stirs something really
Speaker:deep in me to see these very
old thousand year old or even
Speaker:older trees,
Speaker:these bodies of trees that are more
like landscapes unto themselves.
Speaker:And so there's this love in which the
medicine of trees really is the medicine
Speaker:of humanity,
Speaker:even though we haven't always lived
with trees that we've lived in areas of
Speaker:the world and continue to live in areas
of the world where there necessarily are
Speaker:not trees,
Speaker:but trees themselves are
a huge part of the earth,
Speaker:a huge part of the unique
environment here on this planet. So
Speaker:trees and the true first true
forests appeared about 385
Speaker:million years ago. And what's really
interesting to me about these early,
Speaker:early trees is that they were pretty
different than our modern trees that we
Speaker:think of. A lot of them were more
like giant ferns, giant horsetails,
Speaker:things that we wouldn't
necessarily call trees now.
Speaker:Some other interesting tree facts is
that there was a time before wood could
Speaker:rot. So when trees first evolved, lignin,
Speaker:the tough material that
makes wood really rigid,
Speaker:noth on our earth knew how to decompose
it yet. So for millions of years,
Speaker:these dead trees just piled up
faster than they could decay.
Speaker:And these ancient forests are what
became coal beds and fossil fuels.
Speaker:So in a very literal sense,
Speaker:a lot of industrial
civilization runs on these
Speaker:ancient prehistoric trees.
Speaker:So they really are like at the
bedrock and in the deepest,
Speaker:most hidden places of our world,
including our current society. We know,
Speaker:of course, that trees help create
the atmosphere that we breathe.
Speaker:So we very literally are
breathing with the trees and trees
Speaker:as we know of now,
Speaker:they're diverse in their form. So
there's different kinds of trees.
Speaker:We have conifers, we have
tree ferns, we have palms,
Speaker:we have flowering trees.
Speaker:And what I love about trees is what
really is defining a tree is being tall.
Speaker:This idea that being tall is like such a
successful strategy that evolution kind
Speaker:of just kept reinventing
it. So in this way,
Speaker:a tree is a litle bit more of an
architectural solution in some ways than a
Speaker:single family. And of course,
Speaker:we know that some trees are actually
entire communities like Aspen Groves that
Speaker:are really just one organism
connected underground by roots.
Speaker:We know that some of these most ancient
groves might be over 10,000 years
Speaker:old and cover more than 100 acres
and that just absolutely blows my
Speaker:mind. So there's so much to say
about the medicine of trees.
Speaker:Trees help us connect into deep time.
Speaker:They help us connect into great heights.
Speaker:They also help us connect
more deeply into our
Speaker:rootedness here on this planet.
Speaker:Tree medicine is a common
medicine in our cabinets.
Speaker:If you're an herbalist, you certainly
have taken tree medicine before.
Speaker:Tree consciousness itself is it's deep.
Speaker:It's wide. Tree consciousness
sees the big picture.
Speaker:It's why I always love going to trees
when I'm carrying heaviness in my heart,
Speaker:when a lot's going on in my
life, when I need perspective.
Speaker:They see the long line of history.
Speaker:I remember visiting a couple
ancient trees when I was in England,
Speaker:trees that were there when
my ancestors were there,
Speaker:trees that saw many, many
generations of my own ancestors.
Speaker:And I remember being so struck by just
thinking about how much that tree had
Speaker:seen,
Speaker:that tree had seen the flourishing of the
Speaker:cultures that created stone circles,
Speaker:that tree had seen the rise
of the Celtic civilization,
Speaker:that tree had seen the Roman
invasion of the British Isles,
Speaker:the series of invasions by
the Anglo-Saxons. I mean,
Speaker:it really is mind blowing to think about.
Speaker:And so there's something with the
medicine of trees around seeing the long
Speaker:perspective of life connecting
into a deep time kind of view
Speaker:of your own life and your own
existence and really having the
Speaker:patience to grow into the blueprint
that is here for you in this lifetime.
Speaker:Trees really help us recognize this
blueprint that exists within us.
Speaker:Trees are sometimes our first friends.
Speaker:The willow tree that was planted for
me when I was born was one of my first
Speaker:companions and really
one of my first teachers.
Speaker:So there's a reason
why the ancient Druids,
Speaker:this class, the society within
the ancient Celtic world,
Speaker:this class of intellectual,
Speaker:spiritual and ceremonialists who
are responsible for the wisdom
Speaker:keeping of these ancient societies,
Speaker:why they kept their
sacred temples in groves.
Speaker:For these people,
Speaker:these groves of trees were considered
to be the places in which knowledge was
Speaker:kept. And this is repeatedly described
by the Romans who witnessed this,
Speaker:who came in the Roman occupation,
Speaker:seeing druds practicing
in these sacred groves.
Speaker:And the word for this in the
Celtic languages was Nemitan.
Speaker:And so these Druids would carry out
Speaker:their rituals, their knowledge keeping,
Speaker:their practices of law
and wisdom inside of
Speaker:these groves.
Speaker:And there's evidence that the word
Druid itself derives from a proto
Speaker:Indo-European roots. Daruch means
oak or tree and wid to know or sea.
Speaker:So Druid roughly means oaknower or one
who knows who the oak or tree-wise on.
Speaker:And I got the opportunity to visit
some of these Nemotons when I was
Speaker:in the British Isles and I was really
blown away and I could feel it was like
Speaker:entering a force field
walking into these Nemetans.
Speaker:You could really feel why
these ancient societies and
Speaker:cultures revered trees.
Speaker:Why their temples themselves were the
trees because trees are record keepers,
Speaker:they're record holders,
Speaker:they're wisdom keepers and we can
connect into trees to connect into the
Speaker:long line of wisdom that
is inherent to humanity,
Speaker:that is inherent to our own ancestors
and that is living within the earth. So
Speaker:there's so much that I could say about
trees and tree medicine. But with that,
Speaker:let's hop into this recording where
I talk about three tree rituals for a
Speaker:rich life because these three
rituals really are still rituals
Speaker:that nourish and feed me and that I
think are really rituals that are at the
Speaker:heart of human practice.
Speaker:So let's jump into that now and learn
about these three rituals to create a
Speaker:rich life.
Speaker:Why have trees been at the center
of our worship as human beings?
Speaker:Well, they are really at
the center of our life.
Speaker:Trees provide essential food.
Speaker:Back when animal protein wasn't a given,
Speaker:the mast years in which trees
would drop a whole load of nuts
Speaker:were things that fed the community
for a harsh winter or even for
Speaker:years to come.
Speaker:Trees have also provided us the
fuel that has literally grown our
Speaker:brains. Scientists hypothesize
that human beings discovery of
Speaker:fire is a huge part of what
actually helped our brains
become the size that they
Speaker:now currently are and the capacity
that they now currently have.
Speaker:If it wasn't for wood and fire, we
really wouldn't be who we are today.
Speaker:Trees also give us the most essential
building blocks of existence,
Speaker:including shelter.
Speaker:Anyone who's taken shelter underneath
the tree in the midst of a storm knows
Speaker:this intimately and the
very air we breathe.
Speaker:Trees inhale carbon
dioxide and exhale oxygen,
Speaker:literally giving us the
air that we breathe.
Speaker:Trees can also help to anchor and
bring water into an ecosystem,
Speaker:not only by anchoring the soil,
Speaker:but also through their
process of transpiration.
Speaker:They actually release water
vapor into the environment,
Speaker:creating clouds of moisture
and calling in the rain.
Speaker:When I first moved here to the
Southern Appalachian Mountains,
Speaker:I knew that the smoky mountains were
called the smoky mountains because there
Speaker:was beautiful clouds that
floated among the forest,
Speaker:but what I didn't know is that the
forests themselves were creating those
Speaker:clouds. Trees have also been part
of our medicine cabinet since
Speaker:time immemorial. Probably most of
us, whether we realize it or not,
Speaker:have actually taken medicine that
has come from a tree. Aspirin,
Speaker:as we know it, was originally derived
from the salicylic acid in Willows.
Speaker:And this is just one example.
Speaker:Trees and their medicine have become a
part of our daily existence and they've
Speaker:kept us alive for eons.
On a more spiritual level,
Speaker:the concept of a world tree sits at
the center of many different belief
Speaker:systems throughout the world.
Speaker:As someone of European descent connecting
to the concept of the world tree that
Speaker:is really central to many different
Indo-European tribes and cultures
Speaker:has really helped me understand my
relationship to trees and why they feel
Speaker:so profound to me. In this
cross-cultural concept of the world tree,
Speaker:the tree is seen as a primordial
connection between the realms,
Speaker:the underworld, the middle world,
Speaker:and the upper world.
Through engaging with the world tree,
Speaker:we can not only connect to the realms
of the gods and the goddesses and the
Speaker:spirit realm,
Speaker:but also connect into the souls of
those who've passed and the beings who
Speaker:live here in the unseen on earth.
Speaker:Trees were thought to be an
antenna for divine energies,
Speaker:a way to interact with
the unseen and a map for
Speaker:the universe,
Speaker:both what we can see and what
lies just beyond our perception.
Speaker:So I have a few key rituals that I
do to interact with trees and tree
Speaker:medicine.
Speaker:The first ritual is to find
and honor your local guardian
Speaker:tree. You'll probably notice
that there is a tree around you,
Speaker:perhaps around your house or in your
ecosystem that really stands out.
Speaker:I think a lot of us look to our heritage
or cultures that we admire to find
Speaker:out about which trees they esteemed
and then we have a tendency to enshrine
Speaker:those trees as well and
that can be beautiful,
Speaker:but what I found is that your
local ecology, your backyard,
Speaker:the place where you live has a very
particular energy and there will be
Speaker:one tree there that is what I
call the guardian tree. Guardian
Speaker:trees are often visually prominent
in the area where you live.
Speaker:It could be that they have a particular
formation or they're quite large or
Speaker:they're in an important place within
your backyard or in your community.
Speaker:You might even be surprised
about who this guardian tree is.
Speaker:I know here where I live in Appalachia,
Speaker:there are certain trees that have been
esteemed in the past as these powerful
Speaker:emblems of place, including the hemloc,
the chestnut and the oak. But for me,
Speaker:the true guardian tree around
these parts is Tulapoplar.
Speaker:Tulapoplar is a relatively young tree.
Speaker:It moves into ecosystems pretty
quickly after a system's been
Speaker:destabilized or after a clear
cut and it grows very fast,
Speaker:very tall, very quickly. And so over time,
Speaker:these tulip poplars after these great
forests of Appalachia were cut down have
Speaker:become the elders here.
Speaker:I like to approach the tulip poplars
around my home as the guardian
Speaker:trees here.
Now,
Speaker:I think it's a good practice to find one
particular tree to approach in this way
Speaker:and then honor in this way because why
I call these guardian trees is that I
Speaker:often find they kind of work like
gatekeepers for the ecosystem as a whole.
Speaker:If you want to connect to a place, even
if it's not the place where you live,
Speaker:any place you go on the earth,
Speaker:if you find that one tree that feels
like the guardian of that place and you
Speaker:communicate with that tree, you say,
"I love you. I'm here to connect.
Speaker:I'm here to listen," then that tree will
really help open the gateway between
Speaker:you and all of the unseen energies
that are there in that ecosystem.
Speaker:So try finding your local guardian
tree and leave an offering this spring
Speaker:or go and sing a song,
Speaker:perhaps water the roots and notice how
your relationship to the environment
Speaker:changes.
The next ritual is a logical continuation.
Speaker:Once you've found your guardian tree,
Speaker:you can ask that tree to
become a prayer tree for you.
Speaker:We are right in the midst of Beltane
season. In the Celtic wheel of the year,
Speaker:Beltane was when spring
really hit its fullest flush.
Speaker:It's when the trees started to leaf out
and we began that tip into summertime.
Speaker:Beltane was also the time where the
veils between the worlds were felt to be
Speaker:quite thin.
Speaker:One traditional practice of honoring
Beltane was to have a may tree.
Speaker:Oftentimes these trees were Hawthorne
trees, but any tree can be a maytree.
Speaker:In certain maytree rituals, ribbons were
tied to this tree, offerings were left,
Speaker:weddings took place underneath the tree,
Speaker:but the tree itself became a
place where prayers could be left
Speaker:and prayers could be answered.
Speaker:If we go back to the concept of a tree
as this antenna to the divine and an
Speaker:ability to travel between the realms,
Speaker:then it makes sense that we would leave
our prayers with a tree and that they
Speaker:could be heard. To this day, there are
still prayer trees around the world,
Speaker:trees where people leave
offerings, ribbons, coins.
Speaker:Find a tree in your local
environment that wants to be
Speaker:a part of your ritual.
Speaker:Go ahead and ask this tree if
you can enshrine its being and
Speaker:you can honor it by turning
it into a prayer tree,
Speaker:a place where you go and you leave
prayers and you trust that they are being
Speaker:heard. I have found this to be
such a beautiful experience.
Speaker:Trees love to be honored in this way
and as long as the things that you're
Speaker:leaving are biodegradable or
if you tie ribbons to the tree,
Speaker:tying them loosely so the
tree still has space to grow,
Speaker:then the tree absolutely loves it.
Speaker:Trees love being bedacked
with honor and joy and
Speaker:creativity.
Speaker:So this exercise will really help bring
you closer to that particular tree and
Speaker:open you up to the magic of tree
consciousness in general. The very
Speaker:last practice and one of my favorites
is to take a journey to the world
Speaker:tree.
Speaker:I first went to the world tree
in a journey before I even
Speaker:knew what the concept of the world tree
was or the fact that it was central to
Speaker:my Germanic ancestors. I remember
showing up in the journey,
Speaker:I started drumming and all of a sudden
I saw myself with this gigantic tree,
Speaker:the biggest tree I'd ever seen in my
life with roots that looked like tree
Speaker:trunks and branches that went so far up
in the sky I couldn't even see how high
Speaker:they went. Now through my studies,
Speaker:I understand that this was actually a
traditional way that Norse and Germanic
Speaker:shamans would move through the realms,
through interacting with the world tree.
Speaker:I truly believe that this concept of the
world tree is something that is innate
Speaker:to all of our human psyches and
no matter what your background,
Speaker:you can connect to the world
tree as a way to move between the
Speaker:realms. Traditionally, if you went
down into the roots of the tree,
Speaker:you'd be going into the
underworld or the lower world,
Speaker:the place where you could talk
to the souls of the plants,
Speaker:the souls of the animals, and
perhaps even your own ancestors.
Speaker:If you stayed with the trunk of the tree
and you explored right around the tree,
Speaker:perhaps it's branches
that touched the ground,
Speaker:you'd be exploring the hidden world that
is right here with us on the planet,
Speaker:including the realms of
the dwarves or the fairies.
Speaker:If you climbed the tree and went all
the way up into the topmost branches,
Speaker:this was the way to reach the upper world,
Speaker:the place where you commune with
spirit guides, gods, goddesses,
Speaker:and your own wider self.
Speaker:My experiences of working with the World
Tree through my shamanic journeys has
Speaker:been incredibly profound.
Speaker:No matter what time of the year or what
time of my life I'm moving through,
Speaker:every time I go back into a
journey with the world tree,
Speaker:I receive something essential.
So if you're new to shamanic journeying
Speaker:or you're not sure how to undertake
this, head on over to my website.
Speaker:On my blog,
Speaker:I have an article about how to undertake
a shamanic journey and I will walk
Speaker:you through step by step
how to go into the journey,
Speaker:how to interact with the
elements that come through,
Speaker:some tips on troubleshooting and
how to come back home. At its heart,
Speaker:shamanic journey is not leaving our body.
Speaker:It's actually going deeper
into our awareness and all
of us know how to do this.
Speaker:Shamanic journeying is just like
entering into a kind of trance state or a
Speaker:focused meditation. So even if
you've never tried this before,
Speaker:I guarantee you that the ability to
journey is part of your skillset.
Speaker:Sometimes all it takes is a little bit
of perseverance and a whole lot of heart.
Speaker:So if you want more information like this,
Speaker:definitely make sure to check out my
catalog of online classes. I have both
Speaker:shorter programs and more in depth
programs to really learn how to use these
Speaker:intuitive tools and connect to the
consciousness of the living world.
Speaker:On my website,
Speaker:I also have a totally free quiz
to help you understand what your
Speaker:earth healer archetype is.
Speaker:All of us are meant to bring healing
to this planet and you have a really
Speaker:special gift to give.
Speaker:This quiz and free class will help
you understand that gift in a much
Speaker:deeper way. So if you
practice any of these rituals,
Speaker:if you gave them a try, I
would love to hear about it.
Speaker:You can leave me a voice message over
on my website at asiasular.com/remember.
Speaker:And if you would like to go
deeper into the community here,
Speaker:then remember why you are here
community and receive more on each
Speaker:episode essays, expanded posts,
Speaker:poetry,
Speaker:revisiting of the intuitive readings.
I expand the intuitive readings and
Speaker:definitely head on over to my
Substack. Remember Why You Are Here.
Speaker:I just started this space last month and
it's been really magical and special to
Speaker:connect with you all there. So
I'll leave the link for that here,
Speaker:but you can also just look up,
Remember Why You Are Here on Substack.
Speaker:So as we move into at least
where I live, these green months,
Speaker:these months of the tree
beings really taking the stage
Speaker:once more, may you find the
rituals that nourish you in life?
Speaker:May you have those moments of looking
around you and getting that long view on
Speaker:your own existence and may you remember
that most important thing of all,
Speaker:why you're here.
