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

Trees of The Sun and The Moon
The Tree
Assessing the Natural Resources

We have seen that each genus and species of plant comes under the central influence of either the sun or the moon. We have also looked at how this central influence determines the way in which the plant may be used, who uses it (to best effect), how and when the plant must be harvested, upon whom the plant is most likely to have the best effect, and what other plants may work with or against the plant’s own energies and attributes.

In this section we are looking at the use of trees in Druidic plant lore, so we should initially note that trees provide complexes that are more suited to some applications than others. Their complexes reflect the more powerful and sturdy use of plants, often in magical work where mature people, as opposed to children, are the main focus. They are used most often in rituals concerned with wisdom, maturity, knowledge, decision making, community values and issues, and self-esteem. They are used in a powerful, forceful way and as a means of controlling events and circumstances.

We must remember also that certain genera and species of trees have individual male and female plants, and in these cases their gender overrides the central attributes of the genus and itself bestows the central attribute of the individual plant concerned.

These symbolic uses relate to the longevity of most trees and the experience and wisdom gained through such a long life span, to their massive size, to their raggedness, and to their domination of the habitat in which they live. Their essences are not without subtlety, however; and they are frequently used in love potions and the more physical aspects of relationships.

Trees of the Sun

The trees that obtain their central influence from the sun are imbued with the same characteristics as the flowers we looked at earlier in the section “Flowers of the Sun”—namely, their influence over the functions of control, organization, and planning and their characteristics of generosity and giving in their role as universal provider. I refer the reader to the section “Plants of the Sun” for a more detailed discussion on these characteristics and their origins.

Trees of the Moon

The female influences imbued to trees by the moon are the same as those given to the flowers of the moon. Fertility, conception, and the entire reproductive process are all aspects of the moon’s influence.