The Medicine Trees

| Ash | Basswood | Beech | Catalpa | Cedar | Cottonwood | Elm | Hawthorn | Hemlock | Hop Hornbeam | Horse Chestnut | Larch (Tamarack) | Mulberry | Oak | Red Pine | Silver Maple | Spruce | Sumac | Sugar Maple | Walnut | White Pine | Wild Cherry | Willow | Yellow Birch |

“Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth.” – Herman Hesse

Tree Spirit Medicine

Tree Spirit Medicine provides a clear, accessible, soul-nourishing pathway through which we can receive deep healing and connect with our true selves, the Divine Natural World, the natural laws that influence and govern us, and the nature of life on our beautiful Earth Mother through the generous, wise, and loving support of the Tree People.

Over the past several years, the Tree People have gifted me their spirit medicine which I then transmit through me to others so that they may have direct experience of the profound healing, wisdom, guidance, and generosity of the Tree People.

Tree Spirit Medicine can be received in person or through distance anywhere in the world to an individual or to a group.

Every Tree Spirit Medicine transmission is a deeply rich experience that will continue to reveal wisdoms over many years. Once you receive the Tree Spirit Medicine of a Tree, it will be with you always whenever you need its medicine, guidance and support.

Tree Spirit Medicine transmissions can be done for an individual or a group in person or remotely via phone or Zoom for anyone, anywhere in the world. Transmissions run between 1 1/2 to 2 hours long. Each transmission begins with a conversation to connect and talk about the transmission process. We then run through some grounding and presencing exercises to prepare you for your transmission. This is followed by the transmission of the Tree Spirit Medicine of your chosen tree for 20 minutes. Afterwards, I will help you interpret your transmission experience and the medicine and messages you received from your tree. Please see the info page for fees and hours.

Tree Spirit Medicine Workshops

Please go to the Workshops & Events page for the latest Tree Spirit Medicine workshop.

In the Tree Spirit Medicine workshops, a Tree’s spirit medicine is transmitted directly to participants so that they may have a direct, tangible experience of its medicine and how to work with it in their lives. Participant’s experiences are shared and interpreted with the group so that we may all learn from each other the depth and breadth of a Tree’s Tree Spirit Medicine. Once you have received the Tree Spirit Medicine of a tree, it will be with you always.

Please see below for the list of the Trees and their Tree Spirit Medicine.

The Medicine Trees

| Ash | Basswood | Beech | Catalpa | Cedar | Cottonwood | Elm | Hawthorn | Hemlock | Hop Hornbeam | Horse Chestnut | Larch (Tamarack) | Mulberry | Oak | Red Pine | Silver Maple | Spruce | Sumac | Sugar Maple | Walnut | White Pine | Wild Cherry | Willow | Yellow Birch |

Ash: The Sacred Pause

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Ash is “The Sacred Pause.” The sacred pause is a temporary cessation of inner or outer movement towards any goal or outcome. It provides the necessary respite after periods of expanded growth and learning for reflection and integration, when the path ahead is unclear, or when we feel overwhelmed and confused about what to do or how to be. The sacred pause creates a space of inner quietude and expanded awareness in which to rest until we are ready and able to move forward once more. Within the sacred pause is the potential for something new to emerge, to be known, felt, sensed, opened to, and created, as well as the release from entrenched patterns of reaction, resistance, and response. Through the Tree Spirit Medicine of Ash, the sacred pause can be accessed whenever needed so that inspiration, inner-knowing, and right-action arise naturally in their own perfect timing.

Basswood: “Surrender

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Basswood is “Surrender.” Basswood gifts us the grounding energy of deep, wide roots which create a strong foundation and sense of security, stability, safety and trust. This place of deep rootedness anchors us that we may surrender wholeheartedly and courageously into the depths the Great Mother Mystery, the source of all creation, out of which everything arises and everything returns to be transmuted and reborn. In these numinous depths of infinite potentiality, we are released from the constriction and resistance of limiting beliefs, traumas and indoctrination into the natural flow of the Mysterious, emptied and receptive to the voice of our own inner knowing.

Beech: Endurance

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Beech is “Endurance.” Beech acts as a guyline that provides you with the guidance, stability and support you need to move forward with steadfast endurance and fortitude on your soul path. The gentle guiding and anchoring presence of Beech assists you in moving with open trust and clarity of purpose in the flow of your life’s journey. If confusions or obstacles arise that cause you to go off course, Beech quickly brings you back to your right path. With quiet courage and centred presence, you calmly move forth into the ambiguity and uncertainty of what lays ahead assured by the enduring voice of your heart which says, “This is who I am and I go this way…this way.”

Catalpa: Claiming the Ancestors

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Catalpa is “Claiming the Ancestors”. Catalpa’s medicine gives us a direct, tangible experience of the realm of the ancestors and access to their traditions, knowledge, and wisdom. Whether known or unknown, acknowledged or ignored, the ancestors are an indelible part of who we are and profoundly influence our sense of self and place in the world. When we claim the ancestors, we feel their support and connection through an energetic thread that binds us. We feel more rooted, more connected to self, the living world, and spirit. Through claiming the ancestors, we claim the whole of us, and remember that we are part of something continuous, boundless, and sacred.

Cedar: “Protection, Safety, Purification”

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Cedar is “Spiritual protection, Safety and Purification.” Cedar medicine protects us from unwanted or negative influences and energy and purifies our spirit and emotions. This protective and cleansing influence of Cedar stills our mind and opens our hearts so that we may connect to the deeper mysteries of life in safety, openness, trust, presence and wonder.

Cottonwood: Courage”

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Cottonwood is “Courage.” Courage is that essential energetic quality arising from the heart-center that enables you to move with right-action in your life despite fear or doubt. Courage transforms the fearful mind into cleverness and willfulness into restful presence, releasing us from the stagnation and frustration of baseless fears and limiting beliefs. A courageous heart allows you to stand with self-possession, perseverance and conviction at your ‘growing edge’, that place within you where you face into the seeming chaos of the mysterious unknown. Courage brings a sense of order and stability out of that chaos so that you can move freely with the graceful flow of your own life-stream, fully present, fully engaged, fully alive.

Elm:Illumination from Above”

The Tree Spirit Medicine of American Elm is Illumination from Above.” Elm connects us to our Higher Self, our higher power – that loving, all-knowing, wise and liberated aspect of our spiritual being that provides guidance about our higher path and purpose. Our Higher Self is our true expression beyond ego, conditioning, limiting beliefs, fears and trauma; beyond the illusion of dualism. It is that divine aspect of ourselves that holds the blueprint of our life purpose, our passion and joy. Having conscious connection with our Higher Self enables us to remember that we are a divine spark, interconnected and one with all of Creation. It also helps us to remember that the Earth is a living spiritual being and we have an important part to play in this divine mystery.

Hawthorn: Following the Flow of Your Heart”

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Hawthorn is about “Following the Flow of Your Heart“. Following our heart-flow aligns us with the intelligence of the natural world of which we are an integral part. This alignment helps us regain the sense of wonder that we had as children and connects us to the aliveness and deep mystery of the world around and within us. When we flow where our heart goes, we attune to the magic of life. We move in ease, love, deep connection, pure joy, adventurousness and trust, fearlessly open to whatever comes and with greater understanding of our place in the world.

Hemlock: Emergence”

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Hemlock is “Emergence.” Emergence is an illuminative and revolutionary process of revealing who you truly are to yourself and to others. Liberated from the muddle created by limiting beliefs and ways of being, you burst forth from the cocoon in which you have laid hidden while becoming a firmer sense of self. You emerge courageously and unabashedly in the wholeness of your innermost nature to shine your radiant self out into the world for all to see. 

Hop Hornbeam (Ironwood): Deep Peace”

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Hop Hornbeam is “Deep Peace“. Hop Hornbeam brings you to the implacable peace at the centre of your being that remains forever untouched by the tumultuousness of outer life and the tyranny of an insatiable ego. Enfolded within this beautiful, soothing peace is a wellspring of deep stillness and tranquility where all desire, expectation and striving fall away. In the purifying and healing energy of deep peace, you expand into the sacred mystery of life with the receptivity and openness of the unconditioned self.

Horse Chestnut: Support”

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Horse Chestnut is “Support.” Horse Chestnut provides a reassuring “hand at your back” and shores you up. It helps you tap into the inner strength at the core of your being, so you move forward in your life with openness and confidence. Bolstered by the supportive energy of Horse Chestnut, you trust in your capacity to move with and through whatever challenges and opportunities that arise along your life’s path.

Larch (Tamarack): Patience”

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Larch (Tamarack) is “Patience.” Patience is the state of being that grants us calm perseverance in the space between awareness and action. It is the antidote to the confusion and shapeless fear that arises when we attempt to force some understanding or control outcomes. Patience creates an expansive inner space that widens and deepens our view and gives us the capacity to await the ripening of a moment in which knowing and right action arise in their own perfect timing. With patience, we cease struggling against the flow of life and rest peacefully in the vast mystery of existence accepting where we are as the natural unfolding of our life’s journey.  

Mulberry: Soul Nourishment

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Mulberry is “Soul Nourishment.” Just as our physical bodies require food and water, our souls too need a regular influx of sustenance so that we may flourish and thrive in our lives. When our soul is undernourished, we can feel anxious, fearful, overwhelmed, dissatisfied, stuck, uninspired, lonely, confused, hopeless, and exhausted. Mulberry’s Tree Spirit Medicine nourishes and rejuvenates a depleted soul. With the infusion of Mulberry’s gentle medicine, you experience a profound relaxation and unwinding at the core of your being. You remember your true nature and feel your place in the world. With renewed vitality, you attune more easily to the supportive and sustaining universal energies that move all around you and feel ready to meet whatever challenges and opportunities life brings you.

Oak: Resilience and Adaptation

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Oak is “Resilience and Adaptation.” Healthy resilience and adaptation are essential to withstand and navigate adversity and hardship. They support our innate capacity to extract from these experiences the potential blessings they contain so that they may be enfolded into our spirit as wisdom. Just as the Mighty Oak is shaped by years and weather, we too are shaped by our interactions with the world and the unique circumstances of our lives. Knowing we will not be toppled by storms, but will emerge instead hardier, wiser and more capable at their passing, engenders deep self-trust and nourishes that indomitable seed of potential within each of us to grow into our truest expression of self.

Red Pine: Inner Unity

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Red Pine is “Inner Unity.” Red Pine helps weave together all the seemingly contradictory and conflictual parts within you – the exalted and the reviled, the claimed and the orphaned, the nourished and the starved – into a unified whole. When all the discordant parts are coalesced within, you become attuned with the resonant signature of your heart-truth and your inherent gifts and capacities are clearly revealed. Liberated from the suffering caused by inner disunity, life becomes more joy-filled, and in the peaceful sanctuary of your inmost nature you are no longer a stranger to yourself.

Silver Maple: “Quiet Mind

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Silver Maple is “Quiet Mind.” With a quiet mind, you are able to observe your thoughts, emotions, habits and experiences in restful awareness without becoming swept away and lost in reflexive response patterns. Like the calm in the eye of a storm, a quiet mind allows you to peacefully watch the turmoil that whips and whirls around while listening to the voice of your heart so that you may discern what is for you from what is not and respond in a way that honours your true essence.

Spruce: “Belonging”

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Spruce is “Belonging.” True belonging is being in deep communion with the whole of life. It is knowing that you are fully accepted and supported by existence and beckoned by it to share your true self and unique gifts with the world. The Tree Spirit Medicine of Spruce helps you remember your intrinsic belonging and the mutual reciprocity you have always had with life. It helps you reclaim those parts of yourself long forgotten, suppressed, or abandoned to conditional belonging in the attempt to fit in. True belonging is a welcoming home, and a remembering that you are an integral, beautiful, mysterious, and necessary part in the sacred fabric of life.

Staghorn Sumac: Lightness of Being

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Staghorn Sumac is “Lightness of Being.” Staghorn Sumac brings light into dark places within our psyche. It catches us from descending into the darkness, depression and hopelessness that comes from not living out of our true expression. The gift of Sumac medicine is radiant lightness of being. It brings us to that luminous and transformational place of pure presence and joy with an open heart where we find truth and peace within ourselves.

Sugar Maple: Faith

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Sugar Maple is “Faith.” Faith is complete heart-trust in existence itself. It is the innate knowing that there is divinity in everything – in the trees, the animals, the oceans, the mountains, the weather, the sky, the people – everything Faith is also a deep sense of trust in the essence of who you are, and that who you are is born of Divine Consciousness. In faith, you remember the dream of your soul and your original innocence. This innocence is your inner sense of pure joy, your inherent worthiness, your belonging, your true essence. It is the heart-knowing that existence is taking care of you. In faith and innocence, you move unguarded into uncharted realms without worry and concern – open, listening, being – at home as an integral part of the wonder and beauty all around you.

Walnut: Acceptance

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Black Walnut “Acceptance”. Black Walnut helps us to acknowledge and align with what ‘is’ without resistance or denial. When we are in acceptance of the isness of the present moment, of all the unclaimed parts of ourselves, of the shadow self that lurks in our subconscious, we enter more fully the flow of life and shift naturally and fluidly into an expanded sense of consciousness, well-being, liberation and peace. From this peaceful and expanded place, we move with discernment and healthy boundaries, responding as life flows and moves around us, reaping the harvest of seeds planted in fertile soil. 

White Pine: Tree of Life; Wise Counsel

The Tree Spirit Medicine of White Pine is “Tree of Life; Wise Counsel.” The Tree of Life connects heaven and earth and reminds us of the illusion of separateness we feel and the reality of unity, interconnectedness and sacredness of ourselves and everything around us. White Pine connects us to the divine source and provides us with wise counsel to whatever questions, difficulties or concerns we have so that we may evolve and awaken into wholeness and our true selves.

Wild Cherry: Rewilding Your Heart

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Wild Cherry is “Rewilding Your Heart.” Rewilding literally means to make wild once again. The rewilding of your heart through the Tree Spirit Medicine of Wild Cherry brings you to the place of knowing and living through your Heart Voice. Our heart is the core of our self: our innate wisdom and inner knowing, our connection to all there is, and the ultimate embodiment of all that we are and all that we become in our life. The guidance from our Heart is our primary connection to Divine. To live from our heart allows us to connect to and have a deeper, richer sense of self and the wonderful mystery of life.

Willow: Clarity – Knowing Your Path and Purpose

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Willow is “Clarity – Knowing Your Path and Purpose.” Each of us has an inherent purpose and path that we are meant to live. To not do so is the cause of much confusion and suffering. The yearning to live our vision and truth may be postponed, avoided or stifled, but it does not and will not go away. It must be acknowledged and expressed for us to live a joyful, fulfilling life. Willow medicine transforms confusion into clarity that we may come to know who we are and the path we need to walk.

Yellow Birch: “Empowered Presence

The Tree Spirit Medicine of Yellow Birch is “Empowered Presence.” Yellow Birch helps us to shed what is not needed so that we can enter into a place of Empowered Presence. This presence brings us to that liminal space, that threshold, between what has been and the Great Mystery where something incredible is waiting to be known.