January 5 - The Twelfth Holy Night - The Need for a Tree Image

I went to bed with a topic planned for the Twelfth Message. Not surprisingly, I woke in the morning with a quite different inspiration - a tree.

Our souls need an image of a Tree. A trunk, simple, straight and solid. Branches and roots, twisted, reaching deep and high, weaving, feeding and nourishing, budding, leafing and fruiting. Sanctuary to birds, bugs, serpents, squirrels, spirits and sleeping possums. Source of great myths and mysteries. The tree of knowledge and the tree of life. The Bodhi Tree of Buddha. Your Soul’s Tree.

Jen Delyth©1990

I googled for tree images and found these two beautiful drawings by Jen Delyth, Welsh artist. Her website, www.kelticdesigns.com is filled with amazing Celtic Art.

Jen Delyth©1990/2002

What thrilled me, and I hope thrills you, is the way the branches and the roots weave together. In our souls, spirit weaves into matter and matter weaves into spirit, especially when your core, your I am I, is strong like a tree trunk.

The Tree has been an archetypal image through the ages. Now it is an archetypal image for the individual. Imagine your own soul's tree image.

Is your tree like an oak, a willow, a cedar, a gingko, a cherry, a walnut, a birch, a dogwood? Why? Or is your tree something fantastic - your own special tree. How deep do the roots go? How high do the branches reach? Do the roots and branches spread out wide? What lives in your tree? Does your tree tell a story, a myth or offer certain gifts? Does it bring life? Does it bring knowledge? Does it set you free? or provide an embrace of compassion?

Tonight, imagine your Soul’s Tree. It is the source of the growth of your wonder and your wisdom. Tend to your tree with love. Feed it with freedom. Burrow into the roots and build nests in the branches.