Spiritual Niagara Insights Issue 1 July 2017 | Page 9

Cari-Lee's Recipe for Alchemy
Messages from the Wee Woods
LINDEN & IT’S MAGICAL
HEART LOVING HEALING
BY CARI-LEE MILLER
Good day from my Wee Woods dear reader!  Happy July!
 It’s warm and muggy and humid, but I’m not
complaining as the plant life is thriving and my
gardening, foraging an harvesting spirits are joyful and
excited for all that is being accomplished.
There’s so much to harvest so what shall we talk about
today?  I really don’t know where I should begin this
month so I’ll do the one thing I know in my heart will be
necessary for the months ahead that are coming, cold
and dark, dismal and grey.  On such a Sun-Filled day, let
us talk about the days that are the other side of the coin.
 The days that leave us feeling depleted and a wondrous
herbal healer that can help us combat them both.
Do you smell a certain perfume in the air that you
cannot quite put your finger on?  Something in the air
when it blows from certain directions that leaves you
feeling a sense of lifting and calm but also with a swoon-
like fell to it all?  That my friends, that would be the
lovely linden or bass wood tree and her fantastical
aroma coming off her pollen filled flowers.  
After dinner last Friday night, we went to collect linden
flowers and leaves.
This tree intoxicated me. It found me two years ago, right
before my father went into the hospital and just over a
month before he passed away. This entire time was
horrendously difficult and heart-wrenching and believe it or
not, this dear plant helper somehow helped me to get
through it, along with my beautiful partner and our family
and friends.
The aroma of this tree’s blossoms spun me on my heels. I
couldn't stand the idea of not finding its source. Like what I
imagine ambrosia to be, this tree's flowers created a
euphoria within me and soothed my hyper mind and body.
Later it would help to soothe and mend my broken heart.
A little Linden lore and lessons:
Linden is a large, and very beautiful tree with heart-shaped
leaves, small white flowers, and a strident connection with
Freyja. It s a strong symbol in Germanic folklore, but it also is
a lovely, herbal medicine too as the flowers smell lemony
and sweet, and therefore I am collecting the flowers for
Freyja incense, as well as for a nice cup of tea.
In Germany, the Linden tree is a symbol of truth and justice.
A Gerichtslinde (German for “court Linden”) “was a Linden
tree where assemblies and judicial courts were held. Rooted
in Germanic tribal law, the custom has left traces through
the Germanic language-speaking areas. This connection is
from Germanic mythology where the Linden tree is
associated with Freyja. According to German folklore, it was
not possible to lie while standing under a Linden tree.
Consequently, Germans often met under Linden trees not
only to dance and celebrate but also to hold their judicial
proceedings.” Consequently, it makes a wonderful tree to get
married beneath at Midsummer.
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