The Wisdom Keepers

The Year of the Wood Dragon is asking us to commune with the world-- and wisdom-- of trees.

The other night, I had a very curious dream.

In it, my front door kept opening. I would close and lock it again, only to turn around and discover it wide open. I realized that it was fairies getting in, unseen, unheard and somehow unfettered by the deadbolt lock. I felt frustrated about their blatant disregard for my boundaries, and a bit concerned about the casual nature of their breaking and entering.

Then, I looked down and saw neat little bundles of crab apple tree branches stacked neatly on the floor, tied off with a twine bow. “These must be gifts from the fairies”, I thought, confused.

In the hours after I woke up, I reflected on the dream, realizing that many of my smaller belongings, like my lip balm, earrings and AirPods, had been disappearing around the house for about a week. Why were the fairies acting up?

Just then, as I was sipping my morning coffee, my husband asked me if I wanted to move our little trees from the garage back to the Flower Essence Garden. You see, we had experienced a bit of a lengthy cold snap here in central Texas and, to protect our various trees and tropical plants, we had brought them all inside to warm themselves under grow lights in our garage.

This question sparked a crucial insight, and suddenly I could see the whole picture— just like that scene in The Usual Suspects, but with fairies instead of Kaiser Soze:

I finally put together the fact that the fairy mischief had started exactly when we brought the trees inside.

And I know better than most that many nature spirits, fairies included, often make trees their personal residences. In fact, we wrote about these tree fauns, fairies and nature elementals in this previous Substack post.

Somehow, this subject matter “expertise” made me just smart enough to miss the clues right in front of my face. Typical.

On two separate occasions in the previous week, my very normal, non-shaman husband and I both heard the pitter patter of tiny feet on our roof in the middle of the night, as well as some vague, strange talking in hushed tones around the back of our house (where the garden is located). I was also enduring painful technology disruptions, with cameras going in and out and Zoom exploding on a regular basis.

Altogether, the phenomenon was a bit like the behavior of a naughty child trying to get my attention, escalating as I continued to ignore their attempts.

So, we promptly brought the trees back outside, talking to the fairies about how we were sorry to disrupt their habitat. We also explained why we did it— to save their beloved trees from a prolonged, deep freeze and the damage (or death) that comes along with it. To put a button on it, we poured them some booze in fancy little mezcal glasses from CB2, and I gifted them a fairy cross: a rare, naturally occurring “crystal” believed to be a product of fairy portals and interdimensional traffic.

Immediately, all of my missing stuff reappeared as though by magic. There were no more dreams or problems with technology. And, one afternoon, we even saw the shadow outline of a roughly two foot tall, bipedal being seemingly bouncing happily as it walked to the backyard through the closed curtain of our bedroom window.

So f*cking weird.

The significance of crab apple

Now that there was relative peace in the kingdom, I started researching the potential significance of Crab Apple trees and why the fairies may have shown them to me in my dream. According to Bach’s website, crab apple flower essence, “promotes a positive self-image by embracing your body and mind as it is, and accepting your imperfections. The positive potential of crab apple is acceptance of yourself.”

Were the fairies trying to be my supportive, affirming life coach or something?

Doesn’t seem likely. You see, I love the fairies, but they’re a bit self-centered and generally put their own needs first. Perhaps they want a Crab Apple tree in the backyard? Or they want me to work out less and come outside for an evening glass of wine with them more often?

Wait— are fairies my enablers? The plot thickens.

Whatever the case, I’m going to continue exploring the topic and will, most likely, add a Crab Apple sapling to the mix in our TOTEM Flower Essence garden.

A year of tree energy

Besides: it’s a great year to double down on trees!

As we’ve written about on Substack HERE, this coming Lunar New Year is ruled by the Wood Dragon. This New Year combines the energy of the dragon's characteristics with the nurturing wood element, generally represented together in Feng Shui by a tall redwood tree. In Feng Shui (and the I Ching), this wood element dominates the earth element, just as the large, imposing tree looms over the earth below.

When considering we’ve entered a tree-themed Lunar New Year, I don’t think my recent tree-themed fairy dream was an accident. To the contrary, I think we’re all going to reconnect to the spiritually expansive insights from these woody wisdom keepers. From the Kabbalistic Tree of Life to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil to the Norse Yggdrasil to the Celtic Tree Calendar of Paganism and Witchcraft, trees have always loomed large in our collective spiritual psyches.

In Feng Shui specifically, it’s a great year to add a jade tree or bamboo plant to your home. Both of these plants are believed to support rapid growth in your career, business, and spiritual development, so place them in fancy looking planters in strategic areas of your home: office, front entryway, or even your bathrooms. Just don’t organize them in groups of four: in Feng Shui, four represents death and stagnation, so opting for iterations of threes instead is recommended.

From an herbalism perspective, trees are power-packed superheroes. Herbal teas made of tree roots, bark, leaves and flowers work to reduce inflammation, offer pain relief, balance hormones, and promote brain function. In flower essence form, trees provide the energetic power of ancient alchemy, and serve as the foundational flower essences for the famous German flower essence pioneers at Bach. Some trees are psychedelic. Some are portals to other dimensions. And, as I was recently reminded, some even house dynamic, mischievous little nature spirits.

Tree-based flower essences

At TOTEM, we make a few tree-based flower essences with dynamic energetic capabilities, including:

Sacred Temple, made of Tea Olive

I first encountered Devil’s Wood, otherwise known as Tea Olive and Osmanthus, courtesy of clairsalient contact with a ghost. Don’t worry: he was a good ghost, and when he came to comfort me during a particularly challenging time, the room would fill with the pleasant, orange blossom-adjacent scent of this flowering tree.

I later discovered that Tea Olive is famous for acting as a protective plant (and energy) for our homes and our bodies, kind of like a tree version of a temple guardian or Foo Dog. Because of this, I named the TOTEM Flower Essence we make from this exotic plant Sacred Temple.

Sacred Temple energetically supports the physical "temple" that houses our spirit, clearing the sacral chakra and eliminating blockages around power, autonomy, abundance, and manifestation. This is a great flower essence if you’re looking to clear energetic cords and remove connections to unwanted spiritual entities, making it an optimal tool for psychic practitioners.

Learn more or take advantage of our 50% off sale by purchasing HERE.

Phoenix, made of Acacia

When I bought our little Acacia sapling, I remember staring at it in the backyard, curious as to why I kept intuitively getting the word “fire” over and over again. After all, the tree doesn’t look particularly fiery and, in fact, kind of resembles a Weeping Willow— a tree that I associate with wet, watery areas.

After about a month or so, I figured it out. When digging into the flower essence properties Acacia offers, I noticed a reference to the “burning bush” and, as it turns out, an Acacia tree is believed to be the literal burning bush from the Bible.

I know. This Woo stuff can be creepy as hell.

Funnily enough, the Acacia is believed to be slightly psychedelic, and there are many scholars that hypothesize that Moses’ vision may have been, in part, a product of a plant medicine “trip”. Of course, the TOTEM Flower Essence we make from Acacia cuttings is diluted to the hilt, so you won’t be tripping from our little tincture anytime soon (sorry, guys!).

We named this TOTEM Flower Essence Phoenix in part because of the fiery clairsentient message I received when first hanging out with this tree. The other reason? Acacia Flower Essence supports intense cycles of spiritual death and rebirth, enabling accelerated transmutation and integration of dramatic lifestyle changes across career, location, and relationship status. This makes Phoenix Flower Essence a great option for anyone experiencing their astrological Saturn Return, or finding themselves recently laid off or getting served divorce papers.

After all, the Phoenix always rises from the ashes!

Learn more or take advantage of our 50% off sale by purchasing HERE.

Garden of Eden, made of Pomegranate

If you’re familiar at all with our TOTEM Tarot Deck, you’ll surely recognize the pomegranate as the symbol for our version of the Hermit card: Persephone. While others may see Hermit energy as being cut of from society, I see it as a crucial retreat to reconnect to the life-giving, restorative energy of creation— just like Persephone’s seasonal vacation to the Underworld.

In this same way, our Garden of Eden TOTEM Flower Essence— made of Pomegranate flowers— is designed to energetically support you in receiving the abundance that comes with and from creative inspiration, innovation, and insight from the other realms.

Are you an artist? Writer? Business owner? Innovation professional? Are you seeking the next great, abundant idea? Are you hoping to grow a lush garden or bring new children into the world? Whatever it is you seek to create, our Garden of Eden Flower Essence can help support your intentions and efforts. This flower essence is OLD magic, so strap in and get ready to count your blessings!

Learn more or take advantage of our 50% off sale by purchasing HERE.

Spiritual Gangster, made of Palo Verde

When I first moved to Austin, I was struck by several strange, almost otherworldly twisting, bark-less trees. With a bit of online sleuthing, I discovered that these alien plants are, in fact, Palo Verde trees— famous for their ability to grow in the poorest of soil and minimal rainfall.

While reading about how hardy these incredible tress are, I realized I needed to add some Palo Verde to the TOTEM Flower Essence garden, eventually growing these bad boys slowly from seed and making our Spiritual Gangster Flower Essence out of their trimmings.

Our Spiritual Gangster Flower Essence offers the energetic imprint of these resilient and resourceful trees, supporting you as you navigate challenging situations with limited resources. Palo Verde flower essence serves as an energetic reminder that you have everything you need right now, and it supports your ability to do more with less. It’s an excellent flower essence for small business owners and solopreneurs in these challenging economic conditions.

Fun fact: Palo Verde trees have some serious thorns, perhaps an indicator of their defensive magic against predation. They are, if nothing else, survivors of the highest order.

Learn more or take advantage of our 50% off sale by purchasing HERE.

AEAEA, made of Cypress

There are two novels in near-constant contention for the top spot in my ranking of the best books of all time. One is The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and the other is Circe, a masterful retelling of the Ancient Greek myth about the Goddess of witchcraft.

Circe might just edge out Michael Chabon’s masterpiece at least in part to one of the main characters of the story: the island AEAEA. AEAEA was Circe’s island “prison”, but because it was littered with plants that grew from spots where the blood of the Titans fell in their battles with the Olympians, it quickly became her witchy haven. Magical Potion experimental lab. Incubator. One of these plants is the cypress tree, and our AEAEA TOTEM Flower Essence is made from this strange and beautiful tree’s cuttings.

Our AEAEA Flower Essence captures primordial energy of the goddess of witchcraft and her island home: AEAEA; this flower essence is a crucial assistant in the study of practical magic, herbalism, witchcraft, alchemy, and more. AEAEA is an excellent essence for anyone pursuing occult studies or seeking to make medicinal remedies from items found in the garden, field or forest.

Learn more or take advantage of our 50% off sale by purchasing HERE.

Chill Pill, made of Meyer Lemon

Our garden’s Meyer Lemon sapling was a total impulse buy during an early trip to the Home Depot. As is our tradition in this house, we started making jokes about how her name would totally be “Meyer Lemunz”, of course assigning her a hilarious cartoon voice and referring to her by her proper name on a daily basis.

We were surprised by how plentiful and aromatic the blossoms from Meyer Lemunz were, and I was even more surprised when researching how high in inflammation-reducing terpenes they were. Considering that neuroscientists are now starting to understand the correlation between inflammation and negative mental health effects, it’s unsurprising that Meyer Lemon Flower essence is great for instilling a sense of deep tranquility.

Given this, we’ve named our Meyer Lemon TOTEM Flower Essence Chill Pill, a riff on how this tincture acts as a kind of energetic Xanax. And, while I can’t make health claims about my products (because the FDA is only concerned with pumping the sales of Oxycontin and similar, “trusted” products), I can tell you that I’ve taken a few drops while spiraling and was blown away by just how effective this flower essence really is. Part of that could be the energetic sensitivity of my system, or the fact that I’ve raised Meyer Lemunz, but whatever the case: it actually takes the edge off for me.

Learn more or take advantage of our 50% off sale by purchasing HERE.

Hug a tree!

Trees really are the wisdom keepers.

They offer us ancient herbal (if not downright medicinal) remedies, serve as homes for the fairies, and form the essential foundational archetype for spiritual revelation across cultures, continents and epochs.

Having these trees in the TOTEM Flower Essence garden has been a genuinely rewarding spiritual experience and, at the risk of sounding like a crystal hippy lady, I must admit: I’m kind of turning into a tree-hugger.

I know. I need help. But I’m not going to get it from the fairies. They’re just making me weirder;)

And I don’t really mind, considering the spiritual value add of this high strangeness.

In this Year of the Wood Dragon, get outside and spend some time with the trees. Read up on their healing properties. Or secure one or two strategic tree-centric flower essences. Or take some time to plant a small tree, even if just in a planter on your city balcony.

Then watch the magic as it unfurls and blooms. I promise: you won’t be disappointed.

-Rachel