 |
| Willow Salix vitellina (green) |
| Tree & Flower Facts: The willows are deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus Salix. Willows are dioecious with male and female flowers appearing as catkins on different plants; the catkins are produced early in the spring, often before the leaves or as the new leaves open. The fruit is a small capsule containing numerous tiny seeds embedded in white down, which assists wind dispersal of the seeds. Almost all willows take root very readily from cuttings or where broken branches lie on the ground. The bark of the willow tree has been mentioned in ancient texts from Assyria, Sumer and Egypt as a remedy for aches and fever, and the Greek physician Hippocrates wrote about its medicinal properties in the 5th century BC. Native Americans across the American continent relied on it as a staple of their medical treatments. |
 |
| Tree & Flower Meaning: Acceptance, Flexibility, Forgiveness, and Tolerance |
 |
| Bloom and Blossom - Root and Grow: If the physical body does not keep flexible, it becomes stiff and contracted. The good health of the soul also depends on its ability to be yielding, flowing, and "forgiving." The Willow flower heals bitterness and resentment; it is for those who tend to 'hold on" and become attached to negative emotions. Such persons often feel victimized by the circumstances of life - they feel that others are to blame for their misfortune; that life has been unfair to them; or they resent those who appear to have more status, prosperity, or felicity than themselves. The aging process is especially difficult for Willow types. At an energetic level, such persons are unable to flow with the streaming of their lives. Negative feelings are dammed up and then become magnified and internalized, congesting the inner being. The physical body also suffers from this stress, tending to manifest such problems as stiff joints, rheumatism, arthritis, and other aches and pains. (It is interesting to note that Willow bark is the herbal precursor of aspirin, and is used particularly for such physical conditions.) Willow restores a more "spring-like" disposition, helping the soul to respond with greater resilience and inward mobility to challenges and problems. In this way the Self takes more responsibility for its condition, and learns to flow more gently and graciously with, rather than against, the flow of life. The color that represents Willow is green. The positive qualities of Willow are: Acceptance, forgiveness, taking responsibility for one's life situation, and adaptable to changing fortunes and circumstances. |
|
|
|