A brief note before one of the tree stories I promised: I just today learned of the phrase “black moon” which, according to yourtango.com, can refer to either:
1. The second new moon in a month
2. The third new moon in a season (3 months) with four new moons
3. No new moon in February.
Is anyone on this page familiar with the energy of a black moon? I would guess it’s similar to the energy of a blue moon, simply amplifying the energy of the moon phase. I’ll do some digging, too.
On to one story of working with tree energy…
On our first trip to Cuba, in 2010, Dudley and I went on a meandering hike with a friendly and knowledgeable local guide in Viñales, a small, picturesque community known for its tobacco farms. The hike lasted for a few hours. We stopped to visit local tobacco farmers and buy some cigars; we saw baby pigs, horses, and lots of free-range chickens; we explored a cave; and we learned about Cuba’s history and local farming practices.
Near the end of our tour we approached a massive and interesting old tree (a ceiba tree, I later learned) that had caught my eye from the very beginning of our tour. (We had started and ended our tour near the field where the tree was, so it had been visible from a distance the entire time.)
I was smoking one of our newly purchased cigars as we eventually approached the tree. I told Dudley I wanted to sit on one of its giant roots to meditate. I mentioned to him that I was planning to ask the tree’s permission to do so. The words were barely out of my mouth when I tripped and dropped my cigar, which rolled up to one of the tree’s roots and stopped.
I laughed and told Dudley, “It wants my cigar!” I totally understood that my cigar was being requisitioned in exchange for permission to share in the tree’s amazing energy for my meditation.
I stubbed out my cigar and laid it down again at the base of the tree. I sat on one of her roots and reflected on our adventure and how fortunate we were. I expressed gratitude, and also thanked the ceiba tree. Then I got up to rejoin Dudley and our guide.
As I came around the tree, Dudley smiled and said, “You’re going to like this.”
On the other side of the ceiba were dozens and dozens of offerings ~ cigars, tiny bottles of rum, ribbons, photographs, small pieces of faded paper. The ceiba tree was a sacred tree to the community. I had felt the tree’s powerful energy as soon as I saw her, although I didn’t understand it until we got up close.
(To get an idea how truly massive this powerful healing tree was, note the size of the man and the cow in the picture below.)
I’ll be posting again with a new theme on February 1, Imbolc, but will come back to to my other tree stories in February.
