For this post, I will be talking about lore of Pine across cultures, with a focus on my local species here in Florida, the Slash Pine (Pinus elliottii). I highly recommend researching the species native to your area, and forming a relationship with those trees.
Ecology:
Slash Pines are known to grow very tall and quickly, and thrive in the Scrub and Flatwoods. They have an avg. lifespan of about 150 years. They reach up and chase the Sun, and call down Lightning. This Lightning starts Fires that prevent Hardwood Hammock Species from moving in and dominating the scrub effectively protecting the biome. It is an evergreen and a conifer.
Pine as a Healer and Protector:
Pines are a common symbol of pushing through the winter, and its never fading needles remind us of the Sunny days to come. In my experience, Pine can have a very Solar nature when approached in matters of cleansing and healing is a very fiery cleansing energy, swords come to mind. Pine has been burned used in crosses and strung about the home to dispel melancholy it has also been used as medicine by Indigenous People in FL for centuries. This is where I draw my associations to healing from. This Solar energy can also cause it to come off a bit posh, but you just have to pay appropriately.
Slash Pine is known for its hard, dense wood. Also, as its role as protector through bringing fires to fend off the encroaching Oaks and Palms, clearly has the virtues of a Fighter and Protector. Once you have established a connection with a few dices, call on them to gaud you or to burn up any hexes with the next fire the call! Burning some needles or bark is also a great way to call the spirit into your space for workings and
communication.
Pine and the Otherworld
Pine being associated with the Otherworld is a mix of UPG and Tradition. In some places, Pines are considered Saturian and Connected to the Dead. Personally, I do consider Pine an Ancestral Ally as my family are Pineros from Isla de Pinos Cuba. I find Pine helps to be an intermediary between a practitioner and Spirits Ancestors and Others. The Seminole and Miccosukee tribes have belief regarding Pine as it relates to some of their Land Spirits. The type of spirit who live in the Pine are called 'Este Lopocke' and are 'little people' similar to the Fair Folk in the mischief and connection to the Plant world. This further shows its quality as an Otherworldly plant.
Offerings T have made to Pine Spirits:
-Tobacco, Loose or burned
-Alcohol, on an altar or sprinked on the plant
-Copper Coins
-Water from a Local River
-Prayer and Song
-Blood, your water
-Devoted and dedicated time
It can't go unsaid when talking about Florida Pines that many people, mainly poor black folks, unjustly lost their lives or became disabled from working in Turpentine plants in the 19th and 20th Centuries. This tragic history is intrinsically linked to the Tree now. You can read some of the recorded folklore from these Florida Turpentine Farms in the book ‘Of Mules and Men’ by Zora Neale Hurston. Pine is a great ally to have in your spiritual court and I love working with it as a protective, healing and cleansing force, but it is just as much a force of burning, destroying and harming.
Comments