Customer Reviews

Tree Wisdom: The Definitive Guidebook to the Myth, Folklore, and Healing Power of Trees

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is one of the few books I wouldn't want to be without. I'm not tree hugger so I was a bit wary of this book, but instead I found it to be dense with information, inspiration & ideas.

I believe there is more to be learnt in this book about paganism than most of the "learn paganism in a week" books, and it has enhanced my divination with ogham no end.

I don't think anyone would be able to use this book to identify the trees, so you still need a decent tree book to go with it. However, in content I have yet to find another one book that covers the physiology, folklore, healing uses, magical applications, physical uses & inspirational qualities of trees in such detail, and in such an easy to read style.

I was amazed when I read this book that what the author had found out from her trees I had also found out from the ones I have visited in my travels. Trees have their own language that we can hear if only we listen with our soul and our heart. They can each give us information and awaken our inherrant memories with their ancient knowledge. This book will give you some of that same wisdom if you can't visit them for yourself. Also included in the book are folklore, and Ogham which are interesting too. If you are on a Spiritual path and want to learn more of the early spirituality of Britain, this is the book for you.

Wonderful collection of facts about trees we all know (plus many we may not be familiar with but are around us) plus the lengends and lore associated wit them. The author pulls from a variety of cultures - greek, english/celtic, italian, and others. Really well written. I learned a lot about the trees themselves (types of leaves, their flowes etc) as well as their lore and symbolism. Neat book.

Tree Wisdom is a wonderful book for anyone who wishes to learn more about the great and abiding wisdom the Green Folk have to offer to us today. This book is an indispensable member of my library and I recommend it highly.

The native Western European tree myth, lore, and healing practice distilled into one easy to use, eloquent little book! As someone who has apprenticed with Master Herbalists and traditional healers, I can attest that the information here presented is accurate, authentic, and very effective. Each chapter covers one species and moves through a series of information areas, including botanical, folkloric, healing, magical, inspiration, and physical attributes and uses.

This is a healer and ritualist's book; it does not explore tree alphabets or Ogham script, but the way in which trees were seen by the ancestors and how they have served humanity in the past -- and may serve again in the present. The author takes us from the historical directly into practical philosophy, uses, and methods that are accessible even to those with no prior experience. Probably the most comprehensive book of its kind and a perfect complement to Hopman's herbals. Intelligently written and accessible; an indispensible guide for the beginning Druid, herbalist, healer, and folklorist and of continuing use to the experienced practitioner. A foundation text for any esoteric, spiritual, folkloric, shamanic, and traditional healing library!

I ordered this book after noticing it was used as a resource often in essays and books. I then read the reviews on Amazon and spent the money to add this book to my collection.

The book is interesting and gives a lot of information on 17 trees that are also seen in the ogham (for those that view the ogham as a tree alphabet) and it is filled with mythological references. There are some things that she could have done better though.

My biggest dissapointment was the lack of references to researchers, translators, or citations of any sort. She seems to know what she is talking about but I am always wary of this especially after so many Llewellyn "experts" have been exposed as frauds or to have written about subjects that they clearly have little experience with (Tree Wisdom is a Thorsons/Harper Collins book).

Like many other books on the subject there seems to be a lot of filler for certain trees. Some trees have very rich Celtic associations like the apple or hawthorn while others are a little less found in documents such as pine or ash. As is often the case the author talks about what every other culture thought of the tree-such as the Greeks or Norse and leaves a gaping hole when it comes to the celts ("the druids burned fires of pine" and "pine is prolific in Britain" are all she says on pine for example). Other myths are interesting but consistency is always nice. I agree with the other review that speaks of runes as well. So many writers try to make a connection between the runes and the ogham but there are very few actual connections and they are just forced to fit.

The "recommended reading" in the back seems to lack any reason and lists Carlos Castanada, J.R.R. Tolkien and many other random books despite only being two pages long. The only relevent books are Tree Oracle, White Goddess,and a few books on mythology, a few on herbs and a couple on identifying trees but mostly irrelevent to the book itself and having read the books suggested I know much of the information came from somewhere else - not sure where.

Good book but with a little extra attention to detail it could have been much much more.

This book is absolutely terrible. The author uses the grandiose title of "Arch Druidess of the Glastonbury Tor" yet I am know there are lot more Arch Druids, Druidess' and similar titles lurking around a site that was actually pre-Celtic, thus PreDruidic. But never mind ....

The book ignores that the "runes" she uses date AFTER the Tor was founded, that they are not "Celtic" and that if one was going to go all "Celtic" about this we have the Ogham script that Robert Graves has so nicely misrepresented as Tree lore too!

I would not buy this book unless you absolutely can not live with out it. Buy Steve Blamers book on Ogham if you must, or perhaps just go learn for real!

I would have given this a zero if it let me!

Too expensive compared to retail price. This is the first time I am being charged more than retail price.