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Aspen (Populus tremula)
Aspen is one of the white poplars. It is native to Britain and was one of the pioneer trees to colonise the land when the ice retreated. The aspen is a delicate, open, upright tree that tends to be found in clusters on the edge of woodland in damp soils. Except for the Scottish Highlands it is nowhere widespread, but can be found locally throughout Britain. The tree suckers freely from its shallow roots so many thickets are probably shoots from the same tree. One of the largest organisms on the planet is said to be an aspen in Colorado that covers thousands of acres with genetically identical suckered clones. Aspen has a smooth silvery bark, marked with dark horizontal pores, that darkens and furrows with age. The leaves are regular and oval in shape with an undulating margin held on large flat stalks that allow the leaves to tremble in the slightest of breezes. Catkins appear early in March, male and female on separate trees. The male flowers are brown and the female are green turning to white, woolly seeds in May or June. Although fast growing, the aspen is short-lived and only reaches a height of sixty feet (20m) in Britain. However, as Stephen Buhner points out, the roots of aspen are ancient and can live for thousands of years sending up new trees across the landscape. The seeds of aspen germinate overnight and grows very rapidly – this and the suckering of the roots makes it unpopular with farmers. The American species of aspen “Populus tremuloides” is a sturdier tree. Both yield salicin and populin in the bark, useful in fevers as a febrifuge and tonic.
The Essence.
Keywords: “ Delight” Intuition and intellect; balances over-analysis; mind transcends the personal; fears calmed; broader perspective; clarity of humour; amusement; original humour; manifesting wisdom; enlightened laughter; communication of dreams; wise laughter.
The main energy of aspen is the protection of the soul’s wisdom and the ability to manifest wisdom in practical ways.
There is an ability with aspen to communicate in novel and completely original ways in order to express your individual uniqueness. A sense of humour relies on a broad perspective and a vision of life with limitless possibility. This essence brings that ability to place oneself in context with others and to accept that fallibility is inevitable and inescapable. The letting go of personal foibles, the ability to accept with good humour our own imperfections and bizarre habits and beliefs, comes with the absorbing of the energy of aspen.
The Large Intestine meridian can be quite affected by the negative emotional qualities of stuffiness and constipated attitudes, as well as guilt and shame. Aspen brings a sense of humour and an appreciation of one’s own failings, which is a great destroyer of fear. Any fear ultimately reduces down to fear of change, fear of letting go. Taking oneself too seriously encourages fear because it dampens down the ability to change, to flow and to modify one’s behaviour.
Aspen has an opening and balancing effect on the mind so that fears are calmed and a space is created within which one can think and organise, reconsidering options for action. Ultimately this then leads to better decision-taking.
The brow chakra is significantly affected. Firstly, there is a soothing and peaceful effect on the overactive imagination. This will take place both when the mind is dwelling on unlikely future scenarios and also when it is busy with inner visions of a more transpersonal nature. With this peace comes the ability to express ideas and concepts that are, by their very nature, difficult to categorize. Intuitive insights and imaginative creativity become a lot easier to share with others in language that can be understood by all.
At the finest spiritual levels aspen again works with the mind, opening and balancing the intellect so that it takes creative potential into its functions. This integrates intuitive insights within the intellect and prevents over-analysis of situations by the rational mind. This, in turn, greatly enhances the effectiveness of meditative states because there is a much greater coordination between different levels of the mind.
Ultimately, this can bridge the gap between abstract and particular, absolute and relative, form and void, intellect and transcendence.
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As with all the poplar family, the leaves of aspen are held on long, thin stems that allow them to vibrate in the slightest of breezes to aid cooling and water transportation. Those who are of an overly serious disposition often associate this with a trembling caused by fear or grief. Those who are amused by the beauty of constant change in life may, on the other hand, see the vibration as a continuous wide-eyed chuckling at the wonder of creation.
The real constancy of the aspen is held in the vibrant root system. Above ground the changes wrought by time and circumstance on the tree are able to be treated lightly – more suckers can replace lost trees, and a single tree can soon become a grove. When there is a deep peace and stability change can be welcomed and enjoyed for the new experiences it brings.