Trees are not only beautiful to look at. They also have high symbolic power, provide air to breathe and enrich the medicine cabinet with their healing substances. If you are looking for peace, go to the forest. For many people, trees are an energizing refuge. Their sometimes imposing size and long lifespan contribute to the fact that they have acquired special significance in most cultures and religions since time immemorial.
Symbolic meaning of the tree
Many trees live to be hundreds of years old and outlast generations of people. Therefore, it is not surprising that the tree is considered a symbol of eternal life, wisdom, fertility and a constant source of strength.
In the songs of the Viking Age, the cosmos is explained as a mighty tree: the crown of an ash tree supports the sky, people live in the center of the tree, and its roots are anchored in the subterranean. Celtic priests of antiquity called themselves druids, which translates as oak experts, thus combining their abilities as soothsayers and judges with the symbolic power of the oak.
The Bible also refers to the power of trees. Thus, there is talk of cedar oil, which is suitable for healing wounds and relieving pain. Even today, some rituals are still with us: for the birth of a child, some parents plant a tree, and in rural areas, people put up a maypole to welcome spring.
Benefits of trees
In addition to symbolic power, people also derive very practical benefits from trees: they use the wood to build houses and furniture or to light warming fires. Trees contribute to the fact that life on planet Earth is possible at all. Green plant parts, including the leaves of trees, convert carbon dioxide into oxygen under the influence of light, which humans need to breathe.
Last but not least, parts of certain trees serve as food or are an integral part of natural medicine. For not only herbs, grasses and shrubs are used in the treatment of diseases because of their healing ingredients – also blossoms, leaves and bark of trees enrich the naturopathic pharmacy with very effective substances. Here are some examples of what power is in trees.
Eucalyptus – the expectorant.
Origin: even today, 70 percent of the trees in Australia are eucalyptus species, but these mostly hardwood trees or shrubs also grow in parts of Indonesia and other subtropical regions. One giant eucalypt species-nearly 100 meters tall and up to 20 meters trunk circumference-grows in Tasmania.
In swampy areas, the tree is often planted to drain the soil. In addition to reclaiming new land, this deprives the malaria-carrying mosquitoes of their warm swampy habitat. The tree is poisonous to most animals, but not to koala bears, which feed on it.
Effect: For medicinal purposes, an essential oil is extracted from the leaves and twigs of up to 50 different eucalyptus species, most commonly from Eucalyptus globulus. The aborigines of Australia already used the oil as an antipyretic. The main ingredient, cineole, has an expectorant effect, relaxes muscles and helps kill bacteria and fungi.
Preparations: tablets, oils, capsules, balm, bath additive, candies.
Fields of application: Colds
Caution: Not for children under six years, pregnancy, severe liver disease or inflammatory gastrointestinal and biliary diseases.
Tip: Eucalyptus inhalations loosen stuck tough mucus.
