We only need to look around us to see how trees are an integral part of our everyday lives. As material for furniture or other uses in the home, wood brings warmth and beauty and is tactilely sensuous. Outside the home, as living entities, we plant trees in memory of loved ones and we use them to give shape to the landscape. They provide a sense of place and bring communities together by making streets pleasant to walk, and parks comfortable places in which to gather. Trees can define a neighborhood as fresh and new, or mature and established.

On a personal level, trees can serve as wonderful reminders of the places you have lived and events that occurred in each place. Sometimes, it’s not particular events that are remembered, but certain moods and sensations. Take a few minutes to think of the places where you have lived. What tree or trees come to mind? Go through the deck and pull out those cards. In turn, hold each (perhaps in chronological order) and think of how these trees influence your recollections of each house and various points in your life. Which ones remind you of childhood? Do any trees evoke emotion, or serve as a reminder of people who have been important to you? What trees bore witness to your development?

This exercise of remembering trees has a two-fold purpose: One is to see where trees fit at the edge of your consciousness, and the memories that can be evoked when recalling them. The second purpose is to begin to slow down in preparation for working with tree energy.

The depths of the soul can be reached only through quiet, soft moments. By exploring this depth, we learn about ourselves and where we fit within the web of existence. Trees can be our companions and guides in this exploration. Extending in two directions—one towards the dark and the other towards the light—they are great living symbols of the yin/yang principle of harmony and balance. Just as our spiritual energy needs to move inward for development and renewal, it also needs to extend outward to the light for growth. As we learn to detect the subtle levels of awareness in this flow of energy within ourselves, we begin to discover the macrocosm of sacred source and to define our unique path to its wisdom and grace.

Tree Selection Methods for Meditation
In meditation we quiet the conscious area of our brains, which allows information from deeper levels of consciousness to surface. Utilizing trees in meditation provides a way to access this deeper energy as we learn the lessons each has to share. Start by choosing a tree by any of the following methods:

• Your attraction to a tree – There may be a tree in your yard or nearby park to which you feel drawn. This attraction may hold a message or solution to something in your life, or it may indicate a path you may want to explore.

• The attributes that you want to foster – Choose a tree based on the powers and attributes associated with it. Click here for the page with tree attributes as well as information on creating Tree Cards.

• Your initial – Some trees are associated with the Celtic Ogham alphabet and some with the Norse runes in which case you may be drawn to use the letter of your first name to choose a tree.

• You may want to choose a tree that is associated with your birth day

• If you feel that you will be guided to select a tree because you have something to learn from it, pick one at random from the deck.

Don’t agonize over which selection method to use. Go with your first impulse. Over time you may want to try all of these methods.

In order to do a tree meditation (or any type of meditation) be sure to allow yourself adequate time. If you have a gazillion things to take care of, don’t try to squeeze a meditation in between other items on your agenda. It is important to allow time not only for the meditation itself, but also for reflection afterwards. Taking a few minutes to jot down your thoughts and feelings afterwards is a good way to track the effects different trees may have on you. Schedule time in a place that is quiet and private. A loud television in the next room or the kids bounding around the house would be a distraction even for those experienced in meditation.

If you keep a meditation or ritual altar, light a candle and sit in front of it. Sit with your hands cupped in front of you, holding the tree card you have selected. Close your eyes and allow your mind to shift from the everyday outer world to your interior space. Focus on your breathing and let each breath start from your belly. Slowly fill your lungs, then pause before you slowly exhale. The last air should leave from your belly. Pause again, and then start the next inhalation. When you feel that your energy is calm and grounded, slowly open your eyes and place the card on your altar or wherever you can easily gaze at it. Keep your focus soft. Allow yourself to be receptive to energy, messages, and feelings.

Taking time after meditation is important even if you do not keep track of your experiences in a journal. Having time for reflection allows information to settle. Things that may not seem obvious during the meditation may come to the surface while you sit quietly. It may also take a day or two for you to recognize information. Be patient and you will learn what you need to know.

Daily Focus
The frequent use of a symbol or object imbues it with power. Used on a daily basis, you will become familiar with a wide range of trees and develop a sense for, and deeper meaning of their unique energy. A simple way to incorporate them into your everyday life is to take a few minutes, shuffle the deck and then randomly choose one. You may find that there is enough information on the card itself, or you may want to read that tree’s entry in this booklet. Either way, whatever piece of information seems most relevant to you at that moment can be your point of focus for the day.

For example, an attribute of maple is communication. There may be a person in your life with whom you have difficulty communicating, or you may need to find new ways to express yourself. Another example is ash, which has an association with poetry. Even if you don’t write poetry or if you haven’t read it for some time, it could hold meaning for you. Perhaps it is a signal that you need to find a more “poetic” side to your life. Because we are all individuals and have our own unique view of the world, there is no generic, one-size-fits-all interpretation. Allow your intuition to guide you.

If you draw a card at the start of the day, use your morning shower or other solitary routine to think about the information. Throughout the day, come back to it. You might even want to take the card with you to place somewhere at work or on the dashboard of your car—anywhere where you will see it often and be reminded to come back to your point of focus for the day. If your mornings are too rushed, you may want to draw the card before you go to bed at night. Hold it for a few minutes and then place it on your bedside table where you will see it first thing in the morning. This can allow information to come through dreams. Try to remember anything that you may dream and write it down before it fades.

If you frequently draw the same card or draw one several times in a row, it may mean that you need to build upon the information from your first interpretation, or there may be a subtle message that you didn’t previously find. Be patient because it could be important for you.