A Druid's Handbook to the Spiritual Power of Plants: Spagyrics in Magical and Sexual Rituals - Jon G. Hughes 2014

The Three Cardinals of The Tree
The Tree
Assessing the Natural Resources

In looking at the three cardinals of the tree, we must first remember that we are not, at this stage, dealing with its flower, cone, or catkin. If that were the case, the tree’s harvested flowers would be refined as the complex of the flower. Here we are considering the unique energies and attributes possessed by the tree beyond those of its flowers.

Unlike the flowering plants we’ve looked at so far, Druidic plant lore maintains that the tree is made up of three basic components, or cardinals. These are the leaves, the wood, and the bark.

The leaves are the male part of the tree and come under the associated influence of the sun, no matter what the particular central influence of the genus and species may be. As receptors of the sun’s energy, they assume the role of the male provider. The leaves of the tree are linked most closely to the elements fire and air: fire in the form of the sun’s light and heat, and air because they are the respiratory organ of the tree. These two elements are themselves considered to be male and under the influence of the sun. We therefore refine the first of the tree’s cardinal essences from its leaves.

The wood of the tree is considered its female component and thereby comes under the associated influence of the moon. It was understood by the ancient Druids to be the generative part of the tree and therefore female. The tree’s wood is linked with water and earth, the two female elements that come under the influence of the moon: water, because it is in the wood that most of the tree’s water is stored and this was apparent to the ancients, who would have regularly harvested wood in its damp, “green” state when it contains large amounts of water; and earth, because the tree’s wood penetrates below the surface of the soil and was seen to be the benefactor of its relationship with the earth. It is, therefore, from the tree’s wood that we refine its second cardinal essence.

The third component of the tree, its bark, holds a unique position within all the Druidic cardinal essences. It is considered hermaphroditic, sharing both male and female traits. Thus, it also comes under the joint associated influences of the sun and the moon. The bark is linked with the elements fire (male/sun) and earth (female/moon): fire because of its male function of physical protection, and earth because of its female functions of nourishment, nurturing, and motherly protection of the growing core within the tree. The bark, then, provides us with the third cardinal essence.

The three cardinal components of the tree were identified by the ancient Druids from their practical observation of the physical benefits they produce for the tree itself and for the humans and animals that use their various parts. They are also defined by their spiritual and magical benefits, which are linked with their association with the elements and celestial bodies that governed the everyday lives of the Celtic races.

The ancient Druid priest or priestess would have had no “scientific” understanding of the role that each of these cardinal components played in a plant’s life cycle but could, and did, observe what physical effect each had on the plant’s overall existence. Through experiment, priests and priestesses discovered how these energies and attributes could be channeled to benefit their own simple lives.

Each of the three cardinal essences of the tree is released through the same process, the complex of the tree method, which we shall look at in greater detail later (see here). This process involves each of these cardinal essences in two forms of refinement. The physical refinement, through a series of physical operations, produces a liquid containing the physical (chemical) attributes of the tree; the spiritual refinement, through a series of magic rituals, imbues these liquids with the energies and magical attributes of the tree.

In this way, as with the cardinal essences of the flower that we looked at earlier, each of the essences of the tree contains the greatest concentration of the energies and attributes that is possible.

Having refined the three cardinal essences, the remaining, almost exhausted plant matter is further refined to produce the incense of the tree. The four components derived from the tree—the three cardinal essences and the tree’s incense—are then stored separately until the time comes for their use. The four separate components are eventually taken from storage in order to play their part in the ritual for which they were crafted.

It is during the ritual that the three cardinal essences of the tree are reunited in the act of amalgamation. It is only when the three cardinal essences are brought together to form the tree’s complex that the full potential of the tree becomes available.

As with the complex of the flower, before the tree’s complex is used, a small amount is poured onto the ground in the symbolic act of returning part of what has been given. In most cases, the remainder of the complex is mixed with moon-cleansed water to form a libation. In this way we acknowledge the authority of the elements of earth and water. This is the part of the ritual that invokes the influence of the moon on our Gathering.

The incense is then placed on the charcoal brazier. As it has been thoroughly dried as part of its refinement process, part of the incense matter ignites in flame, but the whole quickly subdues and releases the remaining potential of the flower into the air. This acknowledges the authority of the remaining two elements, fire and air. This part of the ritual invokes the influence of the sun on the work of our Gathering. As with the flower, the tree’s incense is sometimes used in the crafting of the ritual teisen iâr, or hen’s cake, that is placed on the brazier instead of the incense. This is a matter of personal choice of the priest or priestess concerned.