The Secrets of the Trees
We hold our Mystic Magic in the Forest weekend retreats at Rosliston, in Rosliston National Forest, near Burton upon Trent, just south of Derby in the Midlands. Our retreats are themed, but often include an appreciation of nature, walks, the significance of trees in Spiritual and Pagan history, and their myths and legends
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This blog charts the story, in instalments, of those trees, and all of those to be found at Rosliston, around forty species. Each tree is to be found at Rosliston, but may also be found more widely around Great Britain, Europe, North America and beyond.
In these blogs I describe each tree, explain where they are found, what their history is and how they have related to our history. I also explore the myths and legends surrounding the trees in different countries and from different traditions as well as how herbalists have used them to treat human conditions and how products from the trees have been used throughout history. I hope that you enjoy reading these tree blogs as much as I have enjoyed writing them for you. If you would like to come and see them in their natural habitat why not join us for one of our retreats?
Lodgepole Pine – pinus contorta
An evergreen 25m in height with brown bark, late spring flowering, with yellow cones.
Native to North America, Canada an Alaska they are found on mountain ranges on the Pacific seaboard and inland. Although good Christmas trees, their name hints at their major use, for building log cabin lodges.
The resin was believed by Native Indians to have protective magical properties, and it is associated with the return of the sun and birth. The Chines planted pines on graves in order to strengthen the souls of the dead and protect their bodies from decay.
The Pine is also known as the tree of Cybele. According to myth, Cybele discovered that her youthful lover Attis was unfaithful. In a jealous rage, she made him go mad and mutilate himself under a pine tree, where he bled to death. Regretting what she had done, Cybele mourned her loss. Zeus promised her that the pine tree would remain sacred, and evergreen, forever.
