On my walks in the woods I come across many places where people have carved the names into the tree bark. I have been collecting photos of these for a long time. I like to think about the people who made the marks, what they are doing now, if they are still together and what happened to them. Some of the marks are really old and some are very recent. Once you start to notice them it becomes easier and easier to spot as if my eyes have learned to spot what might be a human made mark in the bark rather than another wrinkle from quite far away. The carvings are almost all in ancient beech trees. The beech tree is a symbol of wisdom, reflection and clarity. Often linked with ancient learning, the beech tree represents the written word, deep thought and ancestral wisdom which is interesting to learn when thinking about words carved into them. Beech trees have been associated with knowledge and femininity. In Britain, the Beech is sometimes called “the queen of the woods”. Romans had sacred beech groves, some dedicated to Jupiter, and some to Diana, Goddess of animals and the hunt. In Westphalia, in Germany, up until the 18th century there was a tale that babies weren’t brought by the stork, but found in the hollows of Beech trees. I was really intrigued to read that the Beech was used in thin slices to write upon and formed the very first books. This is corroborated by the fact that Beeches were called ‘Boc’ by the Anglo-Saxons, which later became book. Even today the Swedish word ‘Bok’ means both book and beech and in German ‘Buch’ means book and ‘Buche’ means Beech. In ancient times it was believed that whatever words were inscribed, took on the power and magic of the gods which is why the Beech tree was held in such awe. Writing made knowledge manifest into the physical world and therefore allowed that wisdom to be passed onto future generations. It is said that Beech can help us make wishes, by scratching your wish upon a piece of Beech and then burying it. Say a simple spell or prayer as you are giving it back to the earth and then it will begin to manifest in your life. I wonder if the people knew this when they carved their initials, I doubt it but it doesn’t matter.
