Trees of every description have carved themselves into our mythologies in an enduring way. I have been looking for something “different” to symbolize my marriage and total commitment to my beloved Eugene and thought “wooden rings” made by some fantastic artisans at www.touchwoodrings.com would be a wonderful idea if I can incorporate a Mobius Strip engraved with “Forever and a Day”.
Native American teachings speak of trees as 'The Standing People'.
These Native teachings speak of the special lessons and gifts each Standing Person has to give humankind.
Birch gives the essence of truth. It is considered the 'giving tree'.
Walnut teaches us clarity and focus, using our mental gifts wisely and how to best use our intelligence.
Oak teaches us strength of character and how to keep our bodies strong and healthy.
Cherry teaches us the lessons of clearing the pain of the heart and relating to others in a compassionate manner. Cherry is the tree of the heart.
Pine is the tree of peace.
Ash is peace of mind and promotes good health.
Maple is the tree of offering, giving of one's self so that others may benefit.
In Druid and Celtic mythologies Birch is valued as the tree of inception and beginnings. Birch is also a wood with great powers to purify and discipline. Birch is about new beginnings, fresh starts, creativity, procreation renewal and rebirth, purification and service. Birch is associated with the element of water. It is a tree of the sun and the planet Venus. It's herbal gender is feminine. Birch is considered to be a Goddess tree, the symbol of summer ever-returning.
Walnut holds the powers of the breath, teleportation, astral travel, and inspiration. Symbolic of confidence and mental wisdom. Black Walnut wood has medicinal properties that are useful in the prevention and treatment of disease.
Juniper (and Juniper Heart Wood - which is simply the heart wood of the juniper tree) holds powers of protection, strength, healing, health, peace and love. Juniper is connected to good health and banishing anything injurious to health. Juniper is associated with Jupiter and the element of fire. Juniper is a symbol of longevity. In the language of flowers Juniper symbolizes perfect loveliness. In Ireland, the Juniper is called IUBHAR CREIGE "Yew of the rocks". The fine-grained, pinkish red to brownish red heartwood is fragrant, very light and very durable, even in contact with soil.
Maple is somewhat rebellious and tough. It holds the qualities of creation, communication, binding, revolution, rebirth, healing, beauty, art, and abundance. Full of imagination and originality. Maple is a traveler's wood. Those who are always on the move and changing will feel right at home with this type of energy. It enhances intellectual pursuits and learning.
Oak is one of the most sacred trees. It carries the energy of kingship and wise rule, personal sovereignty, authority, power, protection, sealing or opening doors, endurance, and invocation of wisdom, fertility, and abundance.
Cherry is imbued with the powers of making and doing, achievement, and self-assertion over obstacles and critics. It is the pure energy of will and desire. The cherry fruit is magically linked to the root chakra and so to sex and birth: the life force of attraction and renewal.
Ash carries the qualities of ambition, trustworthiness, faithfulness.
Beech holds the power of the creative. It is also about leadership and companionship.
Olive offers insight, inspiration, and aids communication.
Willow is a tree of emotion, love, intuition, and poetic inspiration.
Blue Spruce The spirit of the spruce tree holds great knowledge about healing, especially in relation to the metaphysical causes of disease. Its spirit is gentle. It is not unusual for those who attune to the spirit of spruce to find that there follows an increase in animals within that environment.
Hawaiian Koa is a sacred wood used for centuries to build canoes, ceremonial bowls, musical instruments, tools and utensils. It has come to represent integrity and strength, sensitivity and protection. The energy associated with the masculine aspects of this wood are duality and balance. Koa in its feminine aspect brings a fiery energy with creativity, beauty, and wisdom and strength.
Rosewood has compassionate and lovingheart qualities. The energy of rosewood is primarily feminine, and focused on spiritual, intuitive health and beauty. It is spiritual and nourishing. Rosewood is especially effective in spiritual healing. In matters dealing with beauty, rosewood can be very effective. Carried or worn as a charm, this wood will enhance female beauty and feminine grace. Frivolous energies will not be enhanced by this wood.
Purpleheart is a spiritual wood. It enhances energy dealing with creativity and knowledge. One of the best woods when dealing with spiritual healing and health issues, purpleheart would be especially useful in eradicating the negative energies that create strife in the home.
Eucalyptus is one of the strongest healing woods known. It has been used for medicines for centuries as well as for ritual items pertaining to healing. The energy of this wood is good and pure, clean like the earth from which it is born. This wood is highly recommended for any purpose combating illness or promoting good health.
Grenadilla or African Blackwood is often mistaken for ebony, since it is such a uniform black color. However, African Blackwood is not part of the ebony family. Rather, it is a part of the rosewood family, and the black color is actually an extremely deep purple. This wood is strongly aligned with the energy of Saturn. It acts as a conduit between the physical and spiritual realms. African Blackwood is useful for exacting creative and intellectual changes in life and removing communication barriers.
Mahogany Spiritual growth and guidance are Mahogany's primary properties. It is an excellent wood for emotional and spiritual healing though since it is a brittle wood is best used as a band on a ring rather than as a main wood.
Zebrawood The primary associations of this wood are the moon, love, luck, wisdom, creativity, and beauty.
Birch Bark . . . since the dawn of human kind, birch bark has been highly valued and utilized for all manner of things of benefit to us 'two legged's'.... It is after all, the bark of the giving tree. The birch bark we use is lovingly collected from the ground around where we live. Rings with birch bark bands or braids are beautiful and striking but are not recommended for everyday wear. By it's nature, birch bark remains forever soft so it's easier to scratch and mark than wood bands. Birch wood on the other hand, is extremely hard and durable.
"Birch wood is a very important commercial tree for the paper industry, however, birch bark is currently a waste product. Nearly 50 tons of birch bark are burned daily in the average paper mill." (source 'Birch and Birch Bark' by Pavel Krasutsky, Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota-Duluth
