The willow tree is for me such a delight to know and more so each time as her energies shift and change. She teaches us elegant transformation and change with ease and grace. I love all the names: weeping willow, pussy willow and yet words are so helpful sometimes I find language structures can stutter at such a flowing wonderous creature. The gentle undulations of the leaves and flowing structure are so etheric yet earthly. Immediately soft whispers of roots appear in the wet cut ends to ground and seek home. The resilience is incredible, although it is recommended coppicing only in November when the sap is dried, I find the willow surpasses rules and can lay on the ground for months almost dried then re-root from the stem to form a self-made hedge.
She has come through so much for me recently and she has a delicate wisdom for us to share for this time. We can call on her as an ally of heart wisdom, transformation and letting go.
She bends herself to structures and forms yet is so easily unshackled and freed back to her natural form. We are learning now at this time that what may be right for a moment in time is not for the next. That great structures made to stand tall for hundreds of years is now not the way. That more softer approaches, gentler structures and ways are being asked of us. The pause, unravelling with ease is so graceful and unbinding. Working with willow in my hands, I at once feel timeless, creative and inspired, co-creating with the bends and elegance of her structures. Willow arches are so celebratory, creating transition between a moment and another. They form the boundary of entry into sacred space. A watery space of feeling and knowing, softening and shedding.
The spirit of willow is of the watery element of the heart; anti-inflammatory and soothing, the flow of emotion, gently cleansing and purifying. Water systems benefit so much from willow’s filtering, flowing with the water, hungrily drinking the excesses from boggy land and cleansing waterways with arching branches and leaves.
Willow is a plant of release, letting go and she bends her branches to the water, carrying tears, words and wishes. Letting go of the moment and embracing the ever changing stream flowing. We don’t know now where this stream is taking us, but we know that with lighter hearts and flexible approaches we will meet the future with more ease. If you feel yourself moved in the presence of a willow tree, know this, she is an invitation for your tears, your ancestral grief and transformation. She is inviting you to bend and release so you don’t break. The heart is a wise witness. Release and feel all that flows, for the flowing will open wider the door to your love and your feeling heart will desire happiness and peace.
I’d love to know your thoughts and encounters with willow.
I hope you meet one another well.
With love
Emily