The Beginning and Ending of Trees

Trees, tall and short, grow silently in backyards, parks and hills. These beautiful, towering organisms have been around since the beginning of time. People love trees, sometimes worship them, and other times obliterate all the trees they can. What is it with trees?

As I contemplated that question, my thoughts turned to why we have such a regard for trees. I believe one reason we are fascinated with trees is that they appear to us as embodiments of time. Even today, we mark special events and peoples' lives with the planting of a tree, expecting that these living memorials will remain far longer than a single lifetime. We also use the concept of a tree in genealogies, our Family Trees.

The beginning of time has trees and the ending of time has trees. The Bible states that trees were created on the third day of creation even before lights in the heavens. Man was then placed in the Garden of Eden to tend trees but fell by eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Fast forwarding through the Bible, the end is with a tree as well in the last chapter of Revelation. It is written that the Tree of Life will be planted on both sides of the River of God, with twelve varieties of fruit and its leaves for the healing of the nations.

Trees stir emotions in people. Some have even gone so far as to chain themselves to a tree trunk in order to keep the tree from being cut down. At our core, we have a primordial respect for trees. They have sheltered us from the elements, given us warmth from burning their wood, and provided us food from their fruits. Actually, if our homes are made of wood, we are living in a tree. When that basic respect for trees breaks down, one symptom is the elimination of the rain forests. When respect escalates, veneration of trees is the result.

This veneration of trees appeared throughout history in ancient cultures. Sacred Trees are often believed to be guarded by dragons or serpents. Trees of significance included oaks which were sacred to Druids, and the tamarisk in Egypt which was often planted around temples.

In Celtic tradition, trees were looked to as a source of wisdom and hope, a link between upper and lower worlds. The grove was the center of their religion. The Celtic Tree of Life appears on Celtic crosses and in the manuscript, the Book of Kells. The Celtic Green Man joins man with tree in a kinship symbolizing the cycle of renewal and birth.

During a trip to Ireland, a friend and I drove past a curious looking tree next to one road in the countryside. A quick turnaround brought us back to inspect it. Here was one of Ireland's "rag trees." All manner of articles of clothing and personal belongings draped every bough and the trunk of the tree. Baby bonnets, men's socks, women's scarves, and every other item of clothing imaginable testified of each person's belief that this tree has spiritual powers of healing.

Hinduism, the world's oldest religion still practiced today, reveres the tree as a symbol of abundance. World Trees appear as universal symbols in many cultures representing life and credited with bringing everything into existence. The World Tree shows up in different forms of the same thing such as in the Hebrew Kabbala's Sephirothal Tree of Life, the Rosicrucian's Rose, and the Scandinavian Ash or Yggdrasil of the Eddas.

In Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, Fangorn forest stands as an important element in the plot. In the movie, Legolas, the elf, comments that the forest is old and angry and the trees are speaking to one another. The character of Treebeard is an Ent, a guardian of the forest. He and other Ents do battle against Saruman at Isengard. Ents are mythical creatures resembing trees which were invented by Tolkien.

The belief in spirits inhabiting trees, however, do appear in many religions. The ancient Chinese believed spirits of the dead and various gods resided in trees planted in the vicinity of tombs and temples. What is called the faerie triad of trees is a belief that where oak, ash and thorn grow together, faeries live. Animism is the belief that spirits inhabit animals, trees and other objects.

Some of the most well-known customs involving trees are totem poles, Maypoles and Christmas trees. Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest Coast are known for their totem poles. According to dictionary.com, a totem is "an animal, plant, or natural object serving among certain tribal or traditional peoples as the emblem of a clan or family and sometimes revered as its founder, ancestor, or guardian." A totem pole is the trunk of a tree which is carved with various totems. Totem poles fall into three categories: a central post of houses, a memorial pole, or a monument for the dead.

The Maypole was used in ancient British fertility rites which ushered in spring and was believed to ensure a good crop and increase in livestock. The Maypole may be a phallic symbol. A tree was cut from the forest and its trunk set up in a central place and decorated. Then the people danced around it. Maypoles were banned in the sixteenth century as being heathenistic.

The decorated Christmas tree came to Briton by way of the marriage of Prince Albert, a German, to Queen Victoria. Legend has it that Martin Luther of Germany started the custom of decorating evergreens, but many ancient cultures would feel right at home with the veneration of the evergreen. The ancient Egyptians worshipped it. Romans and Scandinavians all had customs involving the evergreen, comparable to the customs of Druids who regarded evergreen holly as meaning eternal life. In other superstitions, evergreen branches placed over the door kept out witches and evil spirits.

Sequoia Redwoods, the King of Trees, are the oldest living organisms on earth. They can live to be 2,000 years old. Interestingly, their reproduction depends upon fire which causes their cones to open and release the seeds. Unfortunately, other trees are under "fire" and this fire in the Rain Forests is causing their demise.

Having visited Iceland, I have seen a place where there are no large trees, only smaller shrubs. Beautiful as Iceland is, I would miss trees if I lived there. So what is it with trees? Beauty. Time. History. I've recently tried tree hugging at the risk of appearing quite mad and am astonished that it is possible to feel living energy coming from the tree. Try it sometime, especially hugging the very old ones.

Resources for this article:

Sacred Trees, Oghams & Celtic Symbolism
Ireland's OWN: Celtic Symbols, The Celtic Tree of Life
Forum on Religion & Ecology, Introduction to Hinduism
World Trees
Totem Poles
Ask Yahoo: What is the history of the Maypole?
Captain Jack's Christmas Tree Farm - Traditions - Trees & Ornaments
California Pictures - Sequoia Natonal Park