Foraged Nature Art
Spiritual Meanings of PNW Plants and Trees
Plant Allies for Grief, Trauma and Healing
Ginkgo trees survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and began growing again within days. They can live one thousand years and are considered to be living fossils, bc they have remained genetically unchanged for 200 million years.
Stingray symbolizes restraint over impulsiveness and reminds us to take a step back and weigh our decisions carefully. But, if you misstep, you can survive the minefield, your core unchanged.
Red Alder is an extremely strong tree. Their roots are so strong that when they hit rock, they don’t go around the rock, they don’t push the rock out of the way, they don’t avoid the rock, they EAT the rock. Quickly. They break down the rock, pull out the minerals, ingest it, digest it, and disperse the nutrients throughout the forest to other trees and plants through the mycelial network. Strong masculine energy to face challenges head on, aggressively break it down into manageable pieces and use it to nourish rather than block. Break through.
These adorable, tiny Western Hemlock tree pine cones, hundreds, thousands, collect in piles and over the years become duff on the forest floor: a thick, cushiony carpet, quality dirt on a trail where you must remove your shoes and walk barefoot, because it feels so good and so soft, smelling the dirt, a rest from rocks and roots. It’s strange how they transform into something so unrecognizable.
These are Ponderosa Pine tree needles that were burned in a fire. They hang like delicate icicles of ash, Christmas ornaments on otherwise bare branches. They are a ghostly silvery gray, somehow half dead and half alive, looking like they would crumble if touched, but they are in fact, intact, needles. They are long to protect the tree. When fire comes, the tips of the needles catch fire and slowly burn down the needle like a candle, delaying, reducing and weakening the flame by the time it reaches the tree. This way, the tree is burned, but not destroyed.
When fire comes into your life and burns something away, Ponderosa Pine is an ally to protect you from being devoured as the forest burns all around you. You feel like you're on fire. You can hear the crackling. You wear a coat of ashes as you recover. Grief sends you into the void of darkness, feeling the absence of that which was lost and burned away. From this void, fertilized, new things grow. You are burned, but not destroyed.
The Ponderosa Pine tree has thick layers of these bark chips. They snap off easily and accumulate in piles on the ground. They protect the tree. When fire comes, the pieces catch fire and break off, helping the tree to not be consumed by flames. Breaking apart, space created, jettison to save the ship. When fire comes into your life to burn something away, this tree is an ally to protect you. Pieces of you may be lost, piles of parts of you no longer, but your core will remain intact. Distance is not death, it is the space between things, it is protection.
