Illuminations

Tree Rituals for a Rich Life

 

I was walking the perimeter of an ancient stone circle when I saw it— a dark grove of trees festooned with color. The grass ahead was flattened into a silver ribbon, a footpath made by pilgrims as they circumnavigated the ancient landscape. Curious, I followed the path straight into the grove.

The air was charged as a thunderstorm when I ducked underneath the canopy. Dark as a cathedral, with roots that rippled like water over the round of the hill, the grove of beeches felt like another world entirely.

And that’s when I noticed them— the long arms of the tree’s branches reaching towards the ground, limbs lined with colorful ties of fabric.

Polka-dotted cotton, faded pink linen, a braid of wool— each scrap of fabric was a prayer, lovingly left behind. This was a clootie tree, a place of prayer and of communion with the unseen world. Just sitting in this place of old power I felt transformed.

The practice of making a clootie, or rag, tree is older than the most ancient groves of the Celtic isles. But the concept of working with trees as prayer keepers and guardians of the Otherworld, is as old as time itself.

Trees are elders who can help us come back into relationship with the Earth and the ground of our own selves. Are you ready to work with the trees? In my new video Tree Rituals for a Rich Life I’ll show you three different practices to bring tree magic into your day-to-day life.

 

YouTube player

If you’re interested in even more earth-led rituals and pathways back into the heart of the living world, come check out the Women Working for the Earth Summit. I’m honored to be a guest speaker for this four-day summit with my talk “Looking into the Mirror of the Earth.” In the interview I’ll be answering big questions like: What can the Earth show us about who we are? What does self-compassion have to do with ecological healing? And what is one thing the Earth wants us to know? 

I’ll be speaking alongside some of my long-time personal heroes like Winona LaDuke and Rosemary Gladstar, as well as powerhouses like Leah Penniman and Linda Black Elk. The event starts April 21st and registration is totally free.

 

 

No matter where you are in the wheel of the year, or your own inner seasons, may the fresh green beginnings of spring find you and call forth deeply-rooted magic in your life.

P.S. Speaking of the exciting things budding… my first book Mirrors in the Earth: Reflections on Self-Healing from the Living World was just sent to the printers for its June 28th release date! We’re going to start pre-orders (with some truly rich bonus perks) in a few weeks. Stay tuned!