The tree’s grizzly bark seems to convey great age, possibly wisdom, or maybe sinister motive. We fall into the same pattern in everyday life. Look around any store catering to alternative religions and you will likely find artwork, either photos or drawings, that illustrates trees inhabited by gnomes or fairies who come and go through the bulbous knots and hollowed openings of trees. This brings to mind Mark Twain’s observations in Life on the Mississippi. As a young man, Twain fantasized about the Mississippi River. The sunset dancing over the lazy, smooth surface of the water and the ripples of the river’s currents drifting over a sandbar, spurring his imagination and fueling his drive to become a riverboat captain. Only after years of training did Twain learn to read those beautiful signs in a different, more practical way. A smooth surface meant deep water and a safe passage. Dainty ripples spelled danger. Twain said after his education he could never look at the river again with the same sense of mystery.
What do You think about Llewellyn's 2012 Witches' Companion?
