Willow Tree Cycle | January 24 - February 20

Wanderer, Weaver, Guide & Spirit Keeper of Willow

Tree Cycle: Willow

Ogham: Saille

Willow Tree Cycle Dates: January 24 - February 20

Key Words For Willow: Receptive, Feminine, Depth, Liminal, Awareness, Aliveness, Grounded, Wisdom, Dreams, Values, Spiral, Elders, Healing Well, Nurture, Acceptance, Adaptability.

Lunation: 4th

Souls Evolution Stage: Womb

The Council of Trees - Hidden Tree Cycles: Vine & Ivy

The Council of Trees - Hidden Tree Cycles Date: July 24th - August 20

Key Words of the Council of Trees:

Vine - Improvement, Fullness, Fruition, Abundance, Relief, Harvest, Attentiveness, Indulgence, Play, Destiny, Wildness, Beauty, Artistry, Blood, Development, Transformation, Abandon, Ecstasy, The Uncovering.

Ivy - Spiral-Dance, Listen, Spiritual Path, Whole-Body, Nourishment, Richness, Slow & Steady, Balance, Joy, Unwind, Entwined, Doorways, Labyrinth, Protection, Camouflage, Erase.

Spiritual Weather: False-starts, Melancholy, Remoteness, Self-deprecation.

Celebration: Imbolc

Reflected Celebration: Lughnasadh

Animal Guide: Hare

---

Wanderer of Willow

week 1

East-Air-Spring-Birth-Sunrise-Swords

Passage of the Rising Personal Ecosystem

The Wanderer of the Willow Tribe meets us as we step onto the path of the Willow Tree Cycle and speaks to us of adaptability to life's changing circumstances and asks us how ready are we, really? And also reminds us that ready doesn't always mean ready to act now. Readiness during Willow season is about preparation for the forth coming growth cycle. The Wanderer of Willow is an avatar of evolving times and is here to amplify our own efforts to stay connected and relevant to a fast changing outer environment. The Wanderer of Willow speaks to us of remoteness and of preservation as a prerequisite to transformation. Two paths have diverted away from each other, moving in different directions. Each moving towards a different destiny. The Wanderer of the Willow Tribe asks us have we chosen our path and wants us to consider the ecosystem of our world. What qualities do we allow to be present in our own personal environment.

The Wanderer of Willow's seat is in the East, the dwelling of the Spirits of Sunrise. The Spirits of Sunrise shine light on the the dawning day of our new world. In this moment we are a given an offering of something beginning again. We have an opportunity to consider what we have brought into our ecosystem and to plan for the change of creating a more harmonious balance in our lives. The Wanderer of Willow asks us to give gentle though to each part of our day to day lives and to assess how we are spending our time and how we are feeding ourselves through our living environment. What are we including in our spaces that excite us or bringing us joy, what offers us creative expression or intellectual stimulation, are we giving time to our spiritual being, are we receiving rewarding and comforting relationships through our connections with others. Where does aliveness flow from in our world?

As Willow Wanderers we are the sun rising over our own personal ecosystem. We want to find the right balance of elements so that we are receiving the best nourishment from our time spent. Whether it's home life or work life or our spiritual path or our personal relationships, we want to be not only sustained, but thriving, infused with life force by them. And we want our ecosystem to flow from one habitat to another in a cyclic feed back loop. Where each sub environment has a positive effect on the next and so on. As Willow Wanderers we are on the path of adventure, exploration of a yet undiscovered world. This is never more truer than if we are limited in how and where we can move to physically. We may have limitations within our health, mobility, finances, transport or a lack of social, educational or cultural opportunity. We are reminded that the Wanderer of Willow has damp roots, and these roots hold dreams in their liminal waterways. As Willow Wanderers we are encouraged to dream of our world and to allow our imagination to flow in beautiful ways.

Journal prompt or something to contemplate:

The different ways we choose to spend our time, especially those which are habitual or instinctive create our personal ecosystem. Each investment providing us with something we need, something that for us creates harmony and balance in some way. Now is a natural time to consider our personal ecosystem and explore the areas that may need adjustments to provide for us in better ways, or need a little more awareness focused on them so that the energy is just right. Some habitats may even need phased out gently.

---

Weaver of Willow

week 2

South-Fire-Summer-Youth-Midday-Wands

Passage Through Impermanence

The Weaver of the Willow Tribe joins with us as we continue on our path and speaks to us of the impermanent nature of all things and asks us to what do we assign value. The Weaver of Willow is always in a state of creation, an effervescent cascade of endless unfolding, of infinite expanding fractals. This Weaver sits comfortably within the paradox, 'everything is impermanent, nothing lasts forever, yet everything does until it doesn't.' There is a point to everything that we do. Even though we can't see beyond our horizon, this doesn't mean that the beyond isn't there. The Weaver of Willow encourages us to plan for the direction of our energy. Even though, to our understanding, something may only last for a brief moment in time. The energy of it will continue to unfold in nature and what we have created will carry on beyond the horizon.

The Weaver of Willow's seat is in the South, the dwelling of the Spirits of Summer. The Spirits of Summer dance under the mid-day Sun and show us, not through words but through sound, the beauty of our life. The Spirits of Summer purify communication, burning away polluted interruptions and distractions and leave us with the raw singularity of meaning. Being a Willow Weaver in our world calls us to become more authentic in our experience and in how we spend our time. We are encouraged to turn away from artifice and instead face nature. The Weaver of Willow advises 'Be alive, for you are rare, and rarer still as the future races for you.' The Weaver of Willow sees an artisan is every human being and asks us to build the beauty that we foresee in our visions 'if you do not make it, no one else will and it will never be known, if not by the many or by the few, the greatest loss of all will be when it is never be known by you.' Listen to the music and create something real that is your own, these are the gifts bestowed upon us from the Weaver of the Willow Tribe.

As Willow Weavers we are giving value to all that has been, all that is now and all that is yet to become. How do we give value? How do we show that we care? As Willow Weavers, our most delicate touch has purpose. Our sensitivity gives value and meaning. During this time we journey through the slow and rested sensing-scapes of the season holding the months of January and February. In this time we are more sensitive to sound and to touch and so even the briefest experience or expression of these can leave an imprinted impression on us and on others. Our felt-senses receive sound and touch into our deeper layers. And so during this time we are more aware of our interactions and creating meaningful connections however brief because the energy of them shows the value that we place on the other and the energy lasts.

Journal prompt or something to contemplate:

A time well spent is the pathos of the Willow Tree season. For there to be beauty in the now the sorrow of tomorrow must follow. But to feel the sorrow is to know that we once held close something real, something deeply felt of value. Now is the time to think about all that we value and hold dear and reflect on the ways in which we show our sensitivity and give meaning. Are there some areas we could show a little more care and attention to or do we need to pull a little back somewhere to allow something to have more space to breath? There is a fine balance here for us to discover, more action is not always better.

---

Guide of Willow

week 3

West-Water-Autumn-Maturity-Sunset-Cups

Passage Through Vernal Pools

The Guide of the Willow Tribe meets us as we step onto the path of the Willow Tree Cycle and beckons us into natures sensing-scapes with the promise of truly finding the magic that lies there. For so long, we have walked through our inner landscapes haunted by a growing remoteness. Time has shifted for us. We are reminded by the Guide of Willow that we are sensing beings, and our emotions not only serve to allow us to connect with all life, but also allow us to understand the transient nature of life itself. The Guide of Willow asks us to make the crossing and embark on a new path.

The Guide of Willow's seat is in the West, the dwelling of the Spirits of Water. The Spirits of Water know the dance of time, the cycle of transference of energy between states of spirit into states of matter. For there to be a new experience in our physical life, something connected to us has to be left behind. The Guide of Willow asks us to gently let go and allow ourselves to be moved forward into a new experience. The Guide of Willow speaks to us of Vernal Pools. These are physical ephemeral pools of water in nature's wild places, but are also like the psychic caves of our mind and inhabit the deepest reaches of our watery being. We are asked to consider that all births journey through the vernal pools of spirit before becoming physical matter. These transient waterways are portals between experiences. This is also true of any passage we make in our daily life between a thought and action. The Guide of Willow asks us to think about how we are bringing spirit into each day. What is it that we are bringing through, how are we giving life to our dreams. How healthy are our inner dimensional vernal waterways?

As Willow Guides we are moved to recognise that we have traversed into another level of experiencing our lives and as we journey through our life path. Our life path may even have come to completion and ended and a new one is beginning. Are we aware of this possibility? This new iteration of ourself we must now get to know. We must honour the beauty of this fresh new space we embody and approach each day with a sense of wonder. As Willow Guides we honour the slow and restful nature of the season and we open our sensual being to receive feminine wisdom from watery depths. The wisdom we receive we will hold with great care as though we hold the very nature of a sky reflection on the water itself. We are in a great time of our dreams crossing dimensions. What was for a long time an un-tangible vision, crosses the barrier and becomes grounded in matter in its most simple form.

Journal prompt or something to contemplate:

Something has been a very long time held within our dreams. A vision we once had, a new experience we desired, a different expression of us in this life we wanted, our destiny yet to be made real. Now is a good time to reflect on how we have wanted to change, evolve and grow into a new presence in this world. It is time to recognise what is trying to come through us and make room for this to grow. In what ways can we support ourselves to anchor this dream in this life, how can we ground ourself into this new timeline?

---

Spirit Keeper of Willow

week 4

North-Earth-Winter-Death-Night-Pentacles

Passage Through Winter's Well Spring

At the end of the path we enter into the realm of the Spirit Keeper of Willow. The Spirit Keeper of Willow lives far into the damp forest meadows of the Northern lands. In these forest meadows you see many of the trees lifted high above the water's surface by giant arching root limbs that are partially submerged in shallow pools of winter water. Some roots are so high you could float a row boat under them. A root bridge merges with the end of our path and we cross over and sit comfortably on the willow tree's giant root flare. The Spirit Keeper of Willow speaks to us of the laws of nature and shares with us that whatever we are propelling energy into, we will always receive a push back from it. It may feel like we are striving for something that seems harder and harder to reach. Willow suggests we consider less direct routes.

The Spirit Keeper of Willow's seat is in the North, the dwelling of the Spirits of Winter. The Spirits of Winter share with us that dormancy through winter time is essential for vernalization. The Spirit Keeper of Willow supports us through our own core need for dormancy through winter and reminds us to align with a slower way of living during winter months. Conserving our energy ensures that when spring arrives, we will have stronger roots to ground and support us through the unfolding spring. The Spirit Keeper of Willow speaks to us of Winter's eternal Well Spring, and of the Queen of Winter as The Healing Well Spring of the yearly cycle. The sun is low, the rays are a cool and a nourishing blue tone, the cold creates dormancy within us and our subtle energy spiral for a time is directed inwards and downwards into the damp earthiness of our own being.

As Willow Spirit Keepers we are enjoying our most preparative cycle of our year. We are reminded that January is not a time to be busy or to be implementing new routines and goals and that engaging in this goes against the grain of nature. January and February are restful winter months and this is why trying to propelling ourselves forward will only serve to create a greater push back later in the coming seasons. The Spirit Keeper of Willow's domain is a liminal space, elementally earth over water. We are heavy during willow season, held between two distinct gravitational entities. We are naturally deeply grounded as our subtle energy spirals inwards and downwards. Yet we are also watery and this makes us highly intuitive with our many reflections revealing much to our awareness.

Journal Prompts or things to contemplate:

Noticing restless energy at this time is important. This is not natural restless energy but is generated from cultural conditioning to be busy at the start of a new year. In reality this is a false-start. This is the most essential time to sit in grounded and present awareness and to notice when, where and how the restless energy may be manifesting and accumulating in the body, emotions and psyche. False-starts at this time of year will slow our growth during spring. Where we find these restless felt-senses, eager to get busy we can sit in company with them, in an attunment with ourselves and create a dialogue, so that we may understand our impulses better. And we can reach into Winter's Well Spring which is cool and will soothe us and bring us back into alignment with ourselves and the season's fundamental rhythm of nature.

---

Please Read

Wanderer, Weaver Guide and Spirit Keeper are storytellers and are laid out into four weeks of guidance through each tree cycle. These four sections while acting as weekly guidance can also be experienced in any order. These weeks 1-4 are meant as a guideline only. We must trust in how the energies of the Willow Tree Cycle manifests for each of us individually along the path of the tree cycle timeline.

Disclaimer

In my writing I explore themes of other realms, dimensions and of moving through or between them into other realities or worlds. These are metaphors for the normal transitions we experience through lived experiences that require us to move from one experience to another. This in no way represents real interdimensional travel or speaks of real portals through which we can travel through.

• For further reading on the Willow tree cycle, please see blog post The Wild Wisdom of Willow which focuses on Willow and the Council of Trees.

• For Further reading on The Council of Trees in general follow the link to my website.

• For all links to all The Wild Wisdom of Celtic Trees please see this blog post.

• For Tarot of the Tree Whisperer please follow the link to my website.

Earthy Rooty and Leafy Blessings.