THE CULT OF TREES - Alessandra Elisa Russo

Once all people were spiritually connected to Mother Earth and the sacredness of trees was part of this intimate relationship. Trees were silent masters who taught us to develop the highest abilities of human beings. They were not only venerated, but were placed at the center of social and economic life: they were a symbol of beauty and usefulness, of cohesion and identity. Even today we preserve the memory of sacred sylvan rituals coming from various cultures, both distant in time and mysteriously close to modern sensibility. Know theancient traditionslinked to the various species of trees means embarking on a journey into the millenary spirituality of every latitude, reconnecting with the symbols, beliefs and rites that have been handed down to us, ideally immersing ourselves in the inner life of our ancestors.

This study recalls thetree worshipfrom ancient Greece to the Celtic and Norse world, from the Egypt of the pharaohs to the most remote East, without neglecting the Americas, where the forest heritage still has a very special relevance.Alessandra Russoanalyzes in particular thetwenty species of trees and plants− from ash to birch, from blackthorn to sambuca, from ivy to hawthorn, to aspen, to name just a few − connected toOgham alphabet, the arboreal writing of thedruids, identifying the corresponding letters, traditions, cults and their meaning inCeltic horoscope.

Author:Alessandra Elisa Russo

Publisher:Editions The Age of Aquarius

Pages 176