Connecting with Tree Spirits

When you feel ready to connect with tree spirits (or any nature spirit), take it slow. Running to the nearest tree and expecting it to communicate isn’t going to work, but going outside is a good start. Here are a few more things to try:

1. Crack Open the Books

By knowing the stories told by our ancestors, we can begin to understand our connectedness to nature spirits. For it was our ancestors who worked with the spirits of the land, whispered their knowledge around communal fires, and passed their mysteries from one generation to the next. Remember to keep close to the folklore that weaves tales of wood wives and moss maidens who called the ancient groves their home, and seek the stories that speak of the wisdom of the Elder Mother and of the mysteries of the dryads, for there is always a bit of truth in the fantastical.

Don’t forget your study of the trees themselves. Use a guidebook when you go out on your next walk. This will help you familiarize yourself with your local flora and give you an insight to the shape and character of the nature spirit you are dealing with.

2. Get to Know Your Local Woodland

It is impossible to enter the forest and not be aware of the magic that emanates from softly swaying branches and the flickering of the sun off shady pools. Take your hands and gently hold them around and over the forest’s flora and take in its green energy. Let it gift you with healing and comfort. Spend some time with a tree or shrub that calls to you. Read or meditate under its branches. How do you feel when you’re with this tree?

3. Approach the Tree as a Child Would

Did you have a favorite tree as a child? I know I did. Most of us have memories of summer days spent in the shade of a grand tree, one that listened to whispered secrets or watched lovingly as you fell asleep in its shade. Reach back to that child tucked tightly inside you and approach the tree with that same sense of wonder that allowed you to believe that everything had a soul and that trees will whisper your name.

4. Be Patient

You can’t expect to be able to run to the first tree that you see and communicate. In fact, don’t be disappointed if you never literally talk with a nature spirit. For most practitioners, communication is done through meditation and journeying — and like anything, it takes practice.