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Tree Ceremonies and Guided Meditations for Working with the Summer Season, by Sharlyn Hidalgo

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

As an introduction to my new book, Celtic Tree Rituals: Ceremonies for the Thirteen Moon Months and a Day, I invite you to think about why we do ceremonies.

Why ceremonies? They embrace our true nature and delight our imagination. They cross over the boundaries into the magical. They bring healing in unexpected ways. In my experience, ceremonies create sacred space for magic to happen. Stuff happens. Healing occurs. Connections are made with the ancestors, loved ones that have passed over, pets, deities, totems, guides, and helpers. And within the Celtic tradition, access to this healing is our birthright, and I have witnessed this over and over in my practice.

Just the other day after reading through the guided meditation for Holly in Celtic Tree Rituals, one of my participants was able to meet with her grief over a past situation with an abusive partner. Tears. Expression. And relief, as it isn't something she talks about often. This was totally unexpected. Like I said, stuff happens…

This is the reason I created a ceremony for each of the 15 trees of the Celtic Ogham as well as the high holidays that mark the turning of the Wheel. These ritual journeys takes us through the thirteen tree months and a day, which make up a year of life. I also have included stories with each tree. The reason? I wanted to share my true-life experience with the healing powers of these trees, their helpers and guides, and the reality of working with the unseen realm and what it offers. I want to encourage you to do your own ceremonies and create your own experiences with Source and spirit.

Let's focus on the Coll Hazel and the Quert Apple trees as they share this month of June: June 13 through July 10 and the ninth lunation of the calendar.

What we focus on is Summer. Bounty. Abundance. Appreciation and thanksgiving. Family. Gratitude. You may want to try my Coll Hazel ceremony, the Quert Apple ceremony, or the Summer Solstice ceremony from Celtic Tree Rituals. You can work with a group or alone.

Other ideas for joining in with the spirit of the summer:

• Leave a bit of your garden free and wild and begin to cultivate a relationship with the devas and elementals there. This is a place to give your gratitude for the fairies. Offer them a plate of food and drink. Buy some flowers especially for the bees.
• Gather some hazelnuts in a bowl. These hold wisdom and a higher perspective. Choose one and ask a question. Then, slowly chew and swallow as you say these words: "I am wise and loving. All I need to know is alive within my heart." Wait patiently for the answer.
• Hold a family gathering and have a circle in which each member holds a talking stick and offers what they are grateful for about their family. Gather pictures of family members that have passed on and make an altar. Share stories about these loved ones. Or, hold a circle that honors your friends of like minds.
• Honor the bounty. Have a potluck and have each participant give gratitude for what they bring to share before you eat. Really honor the food sources that are being presented and give gratitude for all those involved in getting that source to your table. Create a prayer of thanksgiving together. Celebrate the sun with toasts of gratitude.
• If you require inspiration for a creative endeavor, find and sit with a Hazel tree. She also strengthens your intuition and helps you to create poems, writing, stories, songs, dances, and artwork. Create something just for the pure joy of it!
• Create your own Crane Bag in the Celtic tradition. Create a little bag for your personal medicine. It can contain bits and pieces of rocks, shells, feathers, and other valuable talismans. It is symbolic of you own power. And, it can contain stories, poems, songs, dances, art, rituals, incantations, blessings, divinations, symbols, history, and anything else of significance.
• Make some time to go into nature. Sit by a river of a body of water and listen to its sound. Notice the life that the forest supports. Or go to a park and sit with a tree. Feel the total balance here.

Always in my ceremonies I include guided imagery, what is called journeying. Why? It is the fastest way to connect with the unconscious, the doorway into the magic, the heart door to the mysteries. It isn't complicated or hard to do. Try this journey from the apple ceremony. The purpose is to connect with your own bounty. What is it that you most desire? What do you want to create?

Apple Ceremony Journey
Imagine yourself on a summer day in a grove of Apple trees. The sun is bright and the sky is blue. There is a gentle breeze and you can smell the blossoms of the trees and hear the buzzing bees as they gather nectar the birds are chirping above, greeting you as you walk through the grove.

From the edge of the grove emerges the Priestess of Apples. As she walks toward you, you see that she is dressed in a golden gown and she wears a crown of fresh apple blossoms upon her head. She is full of abundance, and has rosy cheeks, lovely red lips, and flowing hair. She walks up to you and greets you with incredible warmth and affection. She holds the most beautiful apple in her hand.

Still smiling, she reaches down and withdraws a magical amethyst knife from the sash at her waist. She deftly cuts the apple in half and then places the knife back into her sash. She holds both halves in from of you and suggests the you pick a seed. She explains to you that this seed represents a choice. This choice represents your greatest dreams and desires. Without thinking too much, you simply choose a seed.

She smiles, very pleased with your choice. She also acknowledges that any choice is a good one. She asks you to dig a little hole and plant your seed into this magical ground. After you have done so, she hands you a little jug of water and suggests that you water your tree.

At the moment, your tree begins to burst through the earth and grow. You take a step back to give your tree the room it needs to grow. Right before your very eyes, your tree begins to grow until it is fully grown.

Take a moment to see your fully-grown tree. As you consider this magical apple tree, you see and understand your heart's desire. You may see this as words, or images, or visions. Or you may have a strong sense of knowing about what this tree represents for you. Based upon your choice, your magical apple tree is the symbol for your own longing. Take a moment to really take in the message of your tree.

It is time to return. Give your gratitude to your tree and to the beautiful Priestess of Apples, to her magic, and the Apple grove. Return to this room and this place and take a moment to fully ground before you open your eyes.

When you are finished, write in your journal. What was the seed that you chose? What did your fully-grown tree represent? What was its message to you? Are you willing to take this journey seriously and take steps towards manifesting your own longing? The dryad of the apple supports you! You are the fulfillment of your own ancestor's dreams. Are you willing?

The ceremonies, guided meditations, and tree teachings within Celtic Tree Rituals offer you many tree doorways into your own heart. I offer these as a prayer towards holding the earth sacred and honoring all life. Working with the trees will change you. I bid you a bountiful summer and send you the message that you are a bright blessing here in the world with your own specific energy and blueprint of purpose. And so, it is!

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2019. All rights reserved.

My 12-year-old daughter has been having "dreams" that I think may be actual encounters with some sort of astral entity. In the dreams, she says that a "freaky looking" creature that resembles a fat baby with big black holes for eyes is harassing her. It doesn't "walk" - it zooms around and can travel through walls. For the most part, it just pokes at her and seems to get a kick out of getting a reaction out of her. In the first dream, after it poked her she poked it back, and it started laughing, like it was playing a game with her. She says it's like an evil little toddler. When she runs away, it chases her and moves through walls to poke her again. She wakes up panicked and really freaked out. I told her that whatever it is, it seems to want to provoke a reaction, so to get rid of it, she should try to ignore it. She said she can't control what she does in dreams, so she doesn't know how THAT will help. I am wondering if maybe this creature is something real in the astral. Any thoughts?

- Robyn

Dreamchaser:

Not everything in this world or on the Otherside is beautiful or even pleasant to look at. In fact, some things are just downright ugly. That includes spirit guides, ghosts, entities of all kinds (like this little blob thing) and even some angels.

Just like some humans are not attractive, some Otherworldly beings can be downright hideous. Just because something is ugly or scary looking does not automatically make it evil. We should have learned that lesson from the story of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I believe it is human nature to equate ugly with evil, and frightening in appearance with negativity.

This dream being is a real entity on the Otherside, and it is simply playing with your daughter. When she poked it, it laughed, and now they play a game together - or so the being thinks. Just like lots of other annoying young creatures, sometimes it does not know when to stop, or when enough is enough.

Your daughter can simply say STOP in her dream to this being, and the being will stop. Your daughter thinks she is powerless on the Otherside, but she is not. She can implant the thought or command to say STOP in her own mind while she is awake, and then she will "remember" it while she is asleep.

Another thing that you may want to tell her is that she has guides, angels, and all kinds of beings on the Otherside who are there to help her. They will hop to her every command (providing she is not asking them to harm or hurt someone).

So before she goes to bed at night, she can ask for the spiritual beings around her to please help her with this troublesome little blob that she encounters. They will help her while she is sleeping.

Anything we experience while sleeping occurs on the astral plane. Everything that is there is VERY real. We may think we are having these fantastic dreams with all these amazing imaginary creatures, but they are real adventures.

To some people, it may really come as a shock that what we dream is REAL in the astral. Granted, things look different there than they do on this plane, but it's just like life on earth: if we travel to distant lands, we will see people who look different, encounter foods that look and smell different, buildings that look different, etc.

Being on the astral plane is just like traveling to a distant land and experiencing new things. Just because there are no beings on this planet that fit the description of your daughter's newfound playmate, that doesn't mean he's not real on some other plane.

Help your daughter learn how to summon the helpful beings around her, for they won't jump to our aid without being asked first. That is a very powerful lesson for us all.

I wish your daughter peace-full dreams.

*****

Astrea:

All kinds of strange things happen to sensitive people during puberty. We're psychically more open then than we are at any other time in our lives. Anyone with any kind of psychic ability will start to experience things that are extremely hard to understand.

Since your daughter has some natural psychic talent (she probably gets that from you!) this is the time to ENCOURAGE it. This is the MOST PSYCHIC your daughter will ever be naturally, without having to work at it. She's coming into her ability, and if it isn't squelched, she'll always have it.

Remaining open is so difficult, and these creatures make it even harder. That's their JOB! They like to discourage those of us who can see them, whether we're awake or sleeping.

Sometimes as we awaken psychically, unpleasant entities hang around us. As our bodies change and our minds expand, lots of "things" such as she's described will enter into our dreamscape. Given her age, I believe sheís dealing with a real astral entity, for this sort of thing is common during puberty. Since her hormones are probably going wild, these entities are drawn to her unsettled energy.

Whether this one is demonic or angelic, it seems to be really annoying, so it's time to get RID OF IT once and for all. Fortunately, there are many things you two can do to rid her of this pesky experience.

I have lots of recipes for getting rid of nightmarish creatures. The best way for people your daughter's age is to put the shoes she's worn that day under her bed facing opposite directions, one facing north, one facing south. If she's worn several pair (as teenagers often do) do this with EVERY pair she's had on that day.

This will keep unwelcome astral entities at bay, because with her shoes facing opposite directions, they won't be able to figure out which way to go to enter her dreams.

Also, put a little lavender pillow next to her bed pillow. The scent of lavender will drive away evil entities because it smells too NICE. It will also cover up the aroma of her hormonal changes, further confusing this creature.

Since she is open to "visits," she may experience some Angelic Presence in her dreams, but it's doubtful she'll remember it. Angels come and go, but usually don't want to be "seen" or remembered. As she gets older, these impish creatures will move on to other teenagers, but it's scary at the time it's happening.

Dreams fade so quickly. If she's willing, have her record her dreams in a dream journal, so she'll have them to remember when she's older and perhaps her OWN daughter is going through something similar. Her children will probably inherit her abilities, so it may be very helpful to have a record of her experiences to refer to.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.