What do they look like?

[Water Centaur]

This is a question for anyone who has ever seen the spirits of trees, flowers, and other plants. What do they look like? Do they live on different planes than ghosts?
Please share!

[[HangedMan]]

good question. i don't know, but i'm interesting in reading the input too.

[witch505]

I'd like to meet one. I imagine the conversation would be spectacular.

[Water Centaur]

Me too. I'd also like to meet a faerie. I hear they are not like the faeries humans make them out to be (i.e Tinker Belle). When I become better at dreaming lucidly and meeting my spirit guides through dreams, perhaps I will ask my SG to introduce me to one. Then I can draw them.

[witch505]

I'd always wanted to see a kelpie.

But, they're pretty dangerous, so I don't think that'd be a good idea.

[[cherokeewind]]

In my Native American ceremonies, which is mostly what I use now, I see the animal spirits a lot. If you are really into communicating with the spirits of nature...is a good path to learn. I do post on this site, info once in a while about that path.

Plant and tree spirits aren't so obvious...because they are still until moving somewhere else. Look like, just a silvery shape...mostly.

[Water Centaur]

oh cool cherokeewind! where have you posted about this path?

[Moon_Stone]

Ooh, Cherokee Wind- we should talk one of these days about your experiences with animal spirits! Please feel free to post your experiences in the Animals/Familiars thread!! :28:

So far as the inquiry about the little mystical things, Water Centaur- I agree with Cherokee- I believe they are fairies I've seen, and they are really like little silver bits floating (or rather flittering) quickly, all over the place. (Some are faster than others though.) They're quite impulsive little things, and seem very disorganized, really. (No offense intended to my little fairy friends!) They actually remind me of mercury, like in a thermometer, that type of color. And I've never seen them when looking directly for them, only peripherally. I think they really like to hide in the "shadows", so to speak- so try sitting outside near some nature, (especially if you have a sacred garden space), clear your mind, and stop looking. Maybe then they'll appear for you. :28:

~BB~

[Water Centaur]

[[cherokeewind]]

oh cool cherokeewind! where have you posted about this path?

I have some threads...would have to round them up. What specifically?

Animals of the 4 directions
Stone shaman circles
Pipe Ceremony-calling of the Quarters, the circle
Medicine bag/sacred bundle (what some call totem bag)

Then there are many posts on other people's thread that would be hard to find.

To a Native American, plants and minerals are considered to be living with a spiritual life.

Animals also are keepers of the 4 directions, we often call these the Four Winds. This would be like Guardians of the East, South, West, North, in Wicca.
For me, the Spotted Eagle is Spirit Keeper of the East.
South is the Coyote, West the Grizzly Bear, North the White Buffalo.

If you want to think of tree spirits as fairies...that is fine with me...they could be one and the same.

A sacred Cherokee bonfire uses 7 types of tree wood. Each of the 7 sacred clans are associated with a tree. All 7 trees, the wood of these make the bonfire more sacred.

[Water Centaur]

cherokee, could you tell me a little more about animals of the four directions

[[cherokeewind]]

cherokee, could you tell me a little more about animals of the four directions

Not all Indian tribes used animals the same direction.

I updated a post on Ojibwe or Chippewa, their system...have an old one on the forum here, but like I said it has been updated and at the Native American Cherokee message board I'm a member of...link below.

http://nativeamerican.proboards75.com/i ... thread=450

White animals generally are North...White Buffalo Calf, White Bear, White Eagle, etc. Birds are associated with internal communications, but Eagles, Hawks, Cranes, other similar birds represent outgoing communications and are messengers. East for a general direction, except many have their own direction. Example, Eagles in general East...Spotted Eagles East, Golden Eagle South, Bald Eagle West, White Eagle North. A Wolf is East for some Natives. Water animals West, but most Turtles and polar ice ones North. Bears West but Brown Bear could be South, Black Bear North.

Not really any rules for your Spirit-keeper or Guardian animal of a direction. Here are what some Plains Indians use.

East-Eagle, Wolf
South-Deer, Mouse, Buffalo
West-Raven, Bear, Orca
North-White Bear, Caribou, Elk

[Mairte]

I dont know if this was a nature spirit, but I have always tended to think so. When I was 13, I saw a being on the limb of a tree with skin almost the color of the bark.
I made the mistake of telling my parents when I returned home. My father laughed his head off and my mother yelled at me and said she didnt want to hear me mention it again.
But I know what I saw.

[emmi116]

i've never seen a plant or tree spirit...although i would like to meet one, particularly one of a tree. since they have been around for many many years i would like to know what they've seen and what they've heard.

[theSeeker]

While I have often talked to trees in the past I honestly never listened to one until I read this thread... Thank You.