BIRCH, SACRED TREE

I love his thin body,his white skin and the dark spots all over her body.Love to see him while he is quietly in the forest,in the snow,enduring frosts and strong winds, clinging to the ground.The birch is a sacred tree in many cultures such as the Nordic and Celtic.He is one of the trees of the Scandinavian forests,the contrast of his white bark with the dark naked forest of leaves is something shocking,I could be eternally looking into his dark eyes...In Norse folklore he corresponds to the Uruz and Berkan runes,health and physical strength,protection,strength,purification, regeneration,new beginnings.He represents the union between heaven and earth,and in Russia there is an ancient ritual in which people bend a birch tree trunk and bury it in the ground as a symbol of strength and endurance.In Russia too,red ribbons are hung from a birch tree trunk to ward off the evil eye.From the birch tree,the kuksa (guksi in Finnish) is made,which is the wooden cup that originated from the Sámi people.Our ancestors used birch branches to stir up people,animals,their homes...everything they wanted to purify and rid themselves of evil spirits.Babies' cots were made of birch wood to protect them from any evil.Shamans used the Amanita Muscaria wich grows under birch to help them in their trances and flights.In the Scottish Highlands birch wood is widely used,for example his branches are the fuel for distilling whisky and smoking ham,the bark is used to tan leather and he is also wound around a rope to be used as a sail.Even today,in the highlands,birch sap is collected in spring and fermented to make birch wine.The dark spots on his bark help him breathe.He has so many medicinal, magical properties,so much power,so much strength that I cannot help but get lost in the birch woods,in their silence,in their calm,I feel their embrace in the middle of the cold winter,and as I close my eyes they tell me stories from the past,of how they clung to their roots in this land...#seidr#seiðr#volva#völva#wildwitch#wildwomansisterhood#pagansofinstagram#witch#highlands#norsefolklore#amanitamuscaria#ancientroots#shamanism#animism#birchtree#kuksa#magictree#tgao6