Teachings From The Trees – The Silver Birch

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Across many cultures  and over many periods of time, trees have been held in high regard for the wisdom and teachings they hold. You will feel it also I am sure when you are deep in the forest or at the foot of a Major Oak.  Trees tell you their stories through the whispers on the breeze.

My connection to the trees started when I was very young. We had a weeping willow at the bottom of our garden and I would spend hours with her, she really felt like a true friend. From this point forward I have adored trees and began to journey with them to a deeper level of understanding.

There are many different beliefs about the spiritual and magical significance of the trees, I feel I connect most deeply to the lore of the Celts who held the deepest of respect for certain trees across Europe, Britain and Ireland.

Records show the Celts used a set of Sigils to represent the trees that held significance to them. This mysterious set of symbols is known as The Ogham (oh~am) and is often referred to as the Ogham alphabet. The order of the trees can be used as a guide for the lunar year – each tree holding influence for a period of time.

The first tree of the Ogham is the Silver Birch – one of the most beautiful trees visually. The Birch tree is known as a Pioneer tree , along with the Pine and Juniper , they claimed the British Isles after the last Ice Age had melted. Birch is a fast growing deciduous tree with a very distinctive bark.  A self sacrificing tree, by which she is relatively short lived because she tends to provide nutrients for other more slower growing tree varieties.

The Silver Birch is associated with light, moonlight and sunlight – her bark glows under the moons beams and it is said that this provides light during the darkness of hours.  Birch twigs are also used to make witches besoms and in past times were gathered and tied together to be used to beat the bounds of a village – this was thought to remove negative influences and offer protection to the villagers.

The Silver Birch tree holds a gentle feminine energy , often known as ‘The lady of the Woods’ or the ‘White tree of purity’. Do not let her gentle vibration place you in any doubt of her strength and power though! The Birch is a powerful initiator in change, she encourages forward movement and cleanses away stagnant energies.

Medicinal properties of the Silver Birch include

* astringent properties

* diuretic properties

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* good to use for skin related problems

* as a steam inhalant for sore throats and chest congestion

* as a tonic to be used in the spring time to boost your vitality.

Magical properties of the Silver Birch include

* burning her bark to provide an energetic and auric cleanse

* using leaves and dried bark as an incense or incorporating them into magical work for cleansing, purification and love spells.

As a healer who works with the energies of the earth, the spiritual healing and teachings of the Silver Birch are important. This trees period of influence is 31.12 – 16.1 so she starts the year for us, therefore representing new beginnings, hope and a trailblazing attitude.  Giving us the inner authority to cleanse away those blockages and stuck energies whilst providing us with the clarity and the courage to move forward to new beginnings.

As a collective we find ourselves once more in a period of transition, perhaps a move back to life more as we have previously known it. For many though this will bring about challenges as we face new situations or tackle what was previously known to us being presented to us in a different way. Coming out of lockdown brings a roller coaster of emotions, anxieties, hope and change. Connecting with the essence of the Silver Birch will enable us to push forward , to remove any blockages held within. She will gently provide us with the courage and willingness to endure the difficulties in order to experience the new in our lives.

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