THE MYTHICAL WONDER OF TREES

Haven't you ever wondered what stories lie within the trees?
I've started doing a little research on tree mythology which I thought might be nice to pass on to you.

The Redwood/Sequoia (Thor)

The giant redwood is the most magnificent of all conifers and its Elvish name, Thor, draws an association with the Norse god of that name, spirit of thunder, storm, and lightning. As an evergreen, Redwood is the embodiment of life and the assertive phallic striving upward to the sky. Its rune in the Alferic Ogham looks like a doubling of Tinne (see Holly above), a twin spearhead, barbed perhaps, and also resembling the stately conifer form itself. It is associated with the constellation Sagittarius, the Archer, and the Centaurs. It is also associated with the Stag-god Orion, who in Greek tradition is the archetypal Hunter. Ambash, the God of Beasts is the Hunter in the Alferic tradition, but his counterpart, from whom he is inseparable, is Orion, the hunted Stag of Summer. The Stag or White hart is the magical animal of the deep forest whose appearance invariably leads the heroic hunter into some adventure in the Otherworld. Orion is in fact regarded as a spirit most closely linked to the planet Uranus and the Greek Titan Prometheus, bringer of fire and teacher of all arts to humankind, a spirit, as the poet Shelley argued, of rebellion and revolution. In Celtic tradition, the redwood itself does not appear, but Pine does and is attributed to Dionysus, another iteration of the Wildman. Magically, Redwood is excellent for drawing down power from Heaven to Earth, spells of religious seeking and discipline, spells of mystical union with nature and wild animals, hunting magick, the martial arts as spiritual discipline, and spells for innovation and sudden revelation. We usually use milled redwood for wands, which has a very broad and beautiful grain, is quite lightweight and soft, and which has a dark red color without the need of any stain. The wood tears easily as so is not well-suited to detailed carving.

Alferian Gwydion MacLir

Ted Andrews says

The redwood tree is one of the oldest and largest of the tree spirits on the planet. They are direct descendents from the time known as lemuria. They are homes to faires and elves. The redwood spirit can open great spiritual vision and contact with them will bring extended growth periods that will touch the soul on many levels, They can help one clarify their own personal vision of life.