The Healing Power of Trees: Spiritual Journeys Through the Celtic Tree Calendar

by Sharlyn Hidalgo

From the birch to the willow, Sharlyn Hidalgo invites you to walk in the footsteps of the druids and enrich your life with the sacred power of trees. This wise and inspiring book will introduce you to all fifteen revered trees of the Celtic Tree Calendar and their unique gifts of healing, guidance, and higher consciousness. Progress through the calendar in sequence or choose a particular month to cultivate a relationship with these majestic spirits of nature. Perform guided meditations and go on journeys to discover the totems, guides, and deities corresponding to each species. Travel through the Wheel of the Year and learn about each tree's astrology, ruling planets, rune symbol, and ogham―its letter of the Celtic tree alphabet. The Healing Power of Trees is your guide to living the principles of the Celtic tradition―tuning in to the rhythms of nature, respecting the land, and fulfilling your role as a steward of the earth. Includes information on all 25 ogham letters, Celtic holidays, and how to conduct a tree-honoring ceremony.

Genres: Spirituality, Witchcraft, Nonfiction, Nature, Occult, Magick, Agriculture

288 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2010

Reviews

[Merel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book looks so nice; very good quality binding and great covers. Unfortunately what's inside does not reach same quality at all. It is a sweet, positive book with many good things BUT it is so obviously out of real substance and credibility when it comes to Celtic Tree wisdom.

If you're looking for a book about Celtic tradition & tree lore this is not the book you're looking for. If you're looking for a nice, fluffy new agey pagan book that mixes myths & lore from here & there (mostly based on other new age/neo-pagan books written by American authors), and are not bothered by the fact that it does not have any academic research about Celtic lore as its reference material, then you might enjoy this book.

I did not hate this, I just found it rather naive and a bit annoying because I know people read this kind of books, interpret them as trustworthy material and in the end do not really understand or bother to study the real information on the subject.

Some of the meditations were quite nice but I found the correlations between Celtic tree calendar, runes & deities (from Egypt & Greek & native Americans) a bit strange combination. I'm an eclectic myself and I don't really mind mixing traditions and drawing inspiration from different cultures and religions but this book made me understand it may as well be a bit disrespectful to do so if it stays on such a superficial level. You call certain deities and energies without truly knowing where they are from and what cultural settings created them...

[Jax · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book relating spirituality of trees and how it connects to the Wheel of the Year in the Celtic Tradition. I also recommend reading Celtic Tree Rituals by the same author for more in depth group ritual work.

[Danni · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s no secret that Druids often share an intimate connection with the trees they encounter. Trees can hold magical wisdom, medicinal aid, or just a trusted safe space for reflection and growth. I have a few trusted tree friends myself and thoroughly enjoy learning more about the practical aspects of trees and the more magical aspects. Ogham, the celtic alphabet associated with different trees, has been a natural course of study for me. The Healing Power of Trees by Sharlyn Hidalgo is a book dedicated to studying the Ogham and the many ways these magical trees can bring more wisdom and healing into our lives.

The bulk of the book describes each tree of the Ogham in great detail. Each tree features the Name, Date on the Ogham Calendar, Description of physical tree, class, holiday, rune, totems, astrology, and a beautiful drawing of the tree. The author then goes into detail about what experiences with the tree might be like. Sometimes myth and stories featuring the tree will be used as examples of the magic of the tree. A guided meditation for each tree section and provides a gateway to developing a personal relationship with each tree even if it isn’t a tree you can physically meet. Finally, a healing section provides insight on how one might use it for emotional or physical healing.

Given the title of the book the healing section will the most interesting for many readers. Some trees feature great details and provides some unique understanding and uses for healing. Other trees are a bit more sparse. This is to be expected in a book that covers so many different plants. I had hoped for just a few more hands on uses of each tree, but generally I thought this was well researched and useful.

For the right reader this will be a delightful resource book. For any reader studying trees or Ogham it is well worth checking out from the library and enjoying. I’m not sure many readers will attempt to read it through the year as the author suggests, but that might also be a delightful way of enjoying it.

[Ashtore Ash · Rating 1 out of 5]

I will be very blunt. This was an awful book. It belongs in the bin. It serves a better purpose as tree food than reading material and even then it might still give the trees indigestion. This is likely the least informed book on the Celtic Tree Calendar that I have ever had the misfortune to read and that is even considering that the calendar was a 1940s creation by Robert Graves and not connected in the least with what we really know about the actual ancient Irish.
The bibliography is seriously lacking. The book has exactly 2 sources from before the 1970s and one of those sources is the white Goddess by Robert graves. It tries and fails miserably to combine runes, astrology, totems, Tarot and Ogham into a single cohesive system. The meanings of the Ogham, the system to which I am most familiar, regularly do not match three other sources that I have in my personal collection, all of which draw from primary sources. Robert Graves is mentioned briefly in all three as a warning of what happens when you do not check your sources or are flagrantly mistranslating what you do not understand. I would not recommend this book to anyone! It is a waste of time, money and paper.
I would recommend these books if you are looking into anything actual Irish and based in reality.
Ogham: The secret Language of the Druids by Rev. Robert Skip Ellison or Ogam: Weaving Word Wisdom by Erynn Rowan Laurie. Both of these have expansive bibliographies and are also a great read.

[Margaret Jollimore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book! Have a better understanding of the Druids and the Celtic 13 month lunar calendar. The importance and care of our trees cannot be said enough!

[Mandy Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I had it on kindle and bought a used copy so I could use it for reference. The meditations for the trees are lovely.

[Denielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for learning the Celtic tree calender. Information on each month as well as monthly guided meditations.

[Antoinette · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting book. I had no idea the Celts calendar and wiring system was so tired in with trees.

[Aitziber Madinabeitia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Me habría encantado.... Hace 17 años

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent reference for meanings of symbols and how to connect with each tree. I was disappointed by the emphasis on the unproven Celtic tree calendar, but I just ignored that aspect of the book.

[Ivy Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was there for me when I needed it

[Tracy M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each month chapter gives a description of the tree/plant, the Ogham, it's class, representing rune and astrology symbol as well as totem and guide associated. There is a guided meditation followed by a section on healing.

A nice read, though with all b/m/s category books it's a wordy read.

[stormhawk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice book of tree lore, but it's one of those books that tries to tie too much together in one package ... ogham, runes, astrology, gods and goddesses from disparate pantheons ... the meditations are nice though. A professionally produced CD would be a good addition.

[Charolette Cleveland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt it was very nice. Seeing ancient beliefs and the oghm was pretty cool and fun to learn, opening my mind to different things. I liked the tree guide in the back, and I think this book is pretty alright :). I have always been curious about Druidry, and now I know a little more info :).

[Autumn (Triquetra Reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome book! Lots of info spelled out quite clearly. I'm going to be using this book as a reference, I can tell already.

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, wonderful book!!