Originally posted April 14, 2007
In Greek mythology, wood nymphs: Dryads, Meliai, and their many variations, though a divinity, died when the tree they inhabit died. Daphne, a nymph, was transformed into a Laurel tree in an attempt to escape Apollo’s unwanted advances. Trees often appear in folklore as anthropomorphic: speaking, bleeding, and having desires. It may simply be that they resemble us with arm-like appendages, knotty eyes, and leaves instead of hair. When the mortal, Erysichthon, began to chop a tree down, the Hamadryad that lived in the tree cried out. When Demeter found out about the crime, she punished Erysichthon for killing the Hamadryad in her sacred oak grove.
I found a cool Web site depicting photographs of the human form posed artistically with a series of imposing trees. It’s called The Tree Spirit Project at: http://jackphoto.com/images/tree/Mission.html. The humans are not the focus of the images – the trees are. I found it interesting that seeing people and trees together like this, the similarities become more obvious; the humans are more, for lack of a better word, “tree-like.” We usually think of trees as having human characteristics, not the other way around – reminding us that we are nature too.
– Leslie Fox
Originally posted April 11, 2007
Trees appear in myths and legends around the world, often suggesting a point of connection between mere mortals and the divine. In the Western tradition, we are familiar with wood nymphs, primarily the story of Daphne and Apollo, however, an African tale tells a similar story about a woman turned into a tree. In Celtic myths, you’ll find the Holly King. In Buddhism, Buddha became enlightened under a Bhodi tree. India has many myths surrounding trees, originating in a deep veneration for trees and sacred forests. One of the five trees in Indra’s paradise grants abundance. The iconic image of a serpent guarding a tree appears in Sumerian art. Cherry blossoms in Japanese folktales are a significant reminder of the transient quality of life. The ash tree in Norse sagas draws knowledge from a magic spring. I found a Web site listing folktales and myths concerning trees from all over the globe: Africa, China, Europe and more. Just go to: http://www.spiritoftrees.org/folktales/featured_tales.html
– Leslie Fox
Editor
Sari Krosinsky lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her partner and two cats.
She received a B.A. in religious studies and a M.A. in creative writing from the University of New Mexico. Her poems have appeared in Poesia, Pebble Lake Review, The American Poetry Journal, Arsenic Lobster, Verse Daily, and others. Fiction Editor
Leslie Fox lived in Central America during her formative years and in New Mexico since the mid-70s – before it was cool.
She writes novels, short stories, plays, screenplays and creative nonfiction. Some of her short fiction has appeared in The Medical Muse, red. a journal of arts, Earth’s Daughters and Earthships: A New Mecca Poetry Collection. She has a M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of New Mexico.Art Editor
Dianne Schlies is a practicing artist and has taught studio art since 1986. She received her M.F.A. from SMU at Dallas, Texas in 1990. She has studied or worked with David Bates, Mel Bochner, Squeak Carnwath, Harmony Hammond, Ed Harris, Joyce Kozloff, Mary Ellen Mark, Duane Michals and Robert Rauschenberg. Schlies presently teaches Drawing and 2-D Design in Albuquerque, New Mexico.