The Sacred Pines.

Having been raised in the alpine region of Colorado, USA and spending countless hours camping or backpacking within the vast pine forests here, I have grown very fond of those trees. In European nature based spirituality, the pine trees are symbols of immortality. This makes sense given they survive year round. They never experience the mass loss of leaves like deciduous tree leaves that shrivel up and blow away, which is otherwise quite the visual portrayal of death.

Years of backpacking have taught me how to live as close to nature as possible living my the principle of "Leave the land how you found it." The sacred pine tree offers the initiate an infinite number of useful tools in the wilderness. The most essential thing to accomplish when first backpacking in the deep wilderness is to get your shelter up. You might be hungry but the weather can turn from 78 degrees to 45 degrees really quick at high altitude. Or you can easily be enjoying the blissful rays of the sun god before minutes later the rain gods empty the sky as though someone tore a gash in the sky. Besides, most tent shelters these days come with a small vestibule to cook under with a backpacking stove when Mother Nature decides to storm about in unpredictable turmoil. The last thing you want up in the alpine is to caught out in a chilling storm without shelter.

In preparing my shelter I often sweep the ground area to be used with a pine branch--the bunches of needles splitting off from the branch are great for using as a broom. Then I discover in my researching of old, dusty, websites online that pine was often used to sanctify outdoor ritual areas by sweeping the ground clean. Interesting. Yeah, I always had a feeling when I swept the ground clear for a camp site that I was making a grounding, spiritual gesture with the Earth. Especially with the strong, fresh, cold, cleansing smell it emits, like an incense offering wafting through a contemplative spiritual gathering. I'm going to remember this the next time I go backpacking. It will mean even more after learning additional information about the sacred connections.Whole, dense, forest of pine trees sway in patterns at times like waves. An ocean of eternal green. At other times the vast stands of trees seem like a city of green skyscrapers. Yet always, a stoic and often silent army of the animal and plant communities of the labyrinth style forest floor. Haunted by the grey ghost that is the mysterious and elusive lynx--my favorite species of cat with whom I feel a strong connection to. If I could morph into cat form it would be the lynx. The pine forest is a netherworld of secrets, wisdom and mystery--and the lynx is the recluse of that world.May the scared pines remain dense and strong, so that they will reveal their secrets of life to the next generation, and further still down the rabbit hole of the future. Hail the great pines!! Respect.