Tree Sign - Egyptian Sign for Tree
The Tree of Life or the World Tree is described by Fred Hageneder in "The Spirit of Trees" as the original source of fertility and all life and as one of the oldest symbols of the unity of man and nature. It’s part of the mythology of many peoples. The Tree of Life is a manifestation of the divine powers and represents the totality of the universe. It supports the sky with its crown and its roots reach deep into the underworld. Inside him dwells the primordial mother and her son. The World Tree thus connects heaven, earth and the underworld. This energy, the sacredness of trees, which is somewhat forgotten nowadays, is also felt by Nature Lover Nedim Bitic on his forays through the forests of Arosa. The logo for "Nedim Wood Art" therefore contains an ancient Egyptian sign for tree.
The Power of Trees
The tree has always been a symbol of growth, strength and the eternal renewal of life. Trees are considered to be wise, since they have been around for many years before us. Even in the past, people took advice from the trees. They prayed, meditated and absorbed the power of the trees. They danced around them and the tree served the dreamers and the lovers. Trees play an important role in a many legends and fairy tales. Their healing substances are generally known in medicine. So our big brothers and sisters not only provide shade, but also comfort. They can favor our development and heal us.
The evidence of the veneration of trees as something sacred, goes back 6000 years and more. Everywhere on earth, trees were respected and loved by mankind. The tree was used as a place for healing, meditation, and encounters with the supernatural. Even today, forests attract life-giving rain, regulate the climate, create biotopes for many species of plants and animals, and protect the soil from erosion. Unlike the trees, we humans are only brief guests on earth.
Natur Arosa
The imposing mountain landscape of Arosa, the closeness to nature and the harsh climate, have already captivated many. Those who find their way here once usually stay for many years or even forever. Maybe it is like this because there exists no through road and the only way out, is the road you took to come her. Perhaps it is also due to the unique mountain basin, which willingly reveals its beauty to all those who are drawn to it. Always surrounded by the mountains and spoiled by the sun, you quickly feel at home in the mountain village. The magic of the place can be felt everywhere. No wonder Arosa is also full of legends and old stories that are still told today. Whether you hike to one of the 10 lakes, climb a mountain and enjoy the unique view, venture deep into the forest to see deer and foxes or simply listen to the cowbells, in Arosa you will be richly gifted by nature everywhere.
In winter, Arosa changes its dress from the lush green of the meadows, the bright red rowan berries and the orange deciduous trees to white snow covered mountains, transforming the village into a fairytale landscape of ice and snow. In summer, many dream of how they can finally wade up the snow covered peaks again, to be the first to leave their mark in the fresh snow slope. In winter, on the other hand, others dream of climbing the Schiesshorn on a moonlit night and soaking up the peace and power that this sight spreads out before you. Nature is the artist," says Nedim, "because something so beautiful cannot be created by man.
Wood Species
The Swiss Stone Pine grows mainly in high mountain areas (from 1300-2400 m above sea level), so it is also common in Arosa. The Swiss Stone Pine is usually full of knotholes, it is furrowed and often appears combative. No wonder, because in the harsh climate, at the top of the timberline, it defies many forces. Avalanches force them to lay down under the snow but then they rise again in spring. Violent thunderstorms rage over it at any time of the year. It has to make do with few summer days, because there are nowhere as few as in the Swiss Stone Pine forest. The Stone Pine has endurance and patience. And even if the winter seems endless up there and the storms still roar wildly, the Stone Pine never loses sight of its goal. Its wood and its fighting appearance tell the secret of survival in the mountains and also the unmistakable smell of its essential oils which lingers for decades, tells about it.
Health
Sleeping in a room built out of this precious wood calms the human heart down, so that in a single night we save the heart work of one hour and have more energy and concentration capacity during the following day. Living with wood brings health, strength, vital energy and blessings. The aroma of pine wood in chests or cupboards also helps to keep away worms and moths from grain, food and clothes, because they don’t like the taste of pine.
The soft, velvety wood of the Swiss Stone Pine is well suited for carving and in a house it is mainly used for furniture and wall coverings. It is also good for building toys or masks. An all-rounder!
The olive tree has been cultivated as a useful plant since the 4th millennium BC and thrives in the Mediterranean regions. It forms egg-shaped, oil-rich stone fruits. The small, gnarled trees have strongly fluted trunks and are usually hollow when old. They reach a height of up to 24 m. They grow slowly and live up to 1000 years. Olive trees are extremely frugal, grow on stony soils and adapt to heat, drought, but also large amounts of water. They provide deep support and stability through their strength and robustness. Olives and olive oil have a strengthening effect.
Olive wood is very fine and even, extremely hard, dense and durable. The slightly flamed and very decorative wood has a caoutchouc-like smell when freshly cut. It is oily, has antiseptic ingredients and hardly swells in water. Olive wood is easy to work by hand and machine, especially turning and carving. The durable wood is suitable for instrument making, but is also used in the manufacture of everyday objects. Selected logs are sliced into veneers. In interior design it is used as exclusive parquet wood.
Health and mythology
The tree, which was already known in ancient times, is often mentioned in legends, myths and religions as well as in art. According to legend, the great Greek goddess Pallas Athena gave the tree to the Athenians. In Greece, an olive branch was the highest award for a citizen and was presented as a symbol of victory at the Olympic Games. Olive branches were used by messengers to bring peace. The healing powers of olive oil were also recognized early on and used for stomach ailments or bleeding gums, as well as a beauty remedy.
The Spruce is accustomed to a cool climate and grows at higher altitudes, from about 1400 to over 2200 meters above sea level. The giants can grow up to 50 meters high and can even stand side by side with the Swiss Stone Pine. It is a shallow rooter and therefore requires coexistence with other deep-rooted trees that support and enrich the soil. The Spruce embodies so many effects and possibilities as hardly any other tree in our forests. In the area of the Alps, most of the well preserved ancient wooden buildings are made of spruce wood. The spruce wood is therefore very suitable for building houses, it is light, soft and yet tough and on top of that it is available in almost unlimited quantities.
Health
The Spruce has a calm disposition and knows its goal. At every minute it strives towards the light and symbolizes life with this soaring force. The spruce trunks swell and shrink in the change of the moon. These forces and rhythms of nature can be absorbed in a house made of spruce wood. The Spruce is a tree of harmony and passes this on to man. It reflects balance on to its environment. The security between its trunks removes constraints from the outside and brings balance and presence of mind.
Among the ancient Romans, the Spruce, because of its strong growth and speed, was considered a symbol of hope in mourning and death. When deaths occurred, spruce branches were hung on the front door or the funeral pyres were furnished with spruce wood
The Larch is found in the Valais, the Ticino mountain valleys and the Grisons. More than 70% grow above 1’400 m.a.s.l., where they prove themselves again and again in the fight against avalanches, snow pressure and high mountain storms. But the Larch can also be found at lower, warm altitudes, where the grapes are already ripening. As a pioneer among conifers, the Larch is very adaptable and uncomplicated. Not without reason it is the only coniferous tree that unconcernedly sheds its dress every autumn and comes back to life in spring in a delicate light green. Its needles also grow faster than those of its siblings the Firs and Spruces. Its ravenous appetite for light favors growth, especially when young. They reach a growth up to 40 and more meters and offer the whole tree family and the people in the valleys, protection from the thunderous storms in the Alps.
Health
The otherwise rather inconspicuous Larch does not immediately reveal what it is capable of. But if the storm blows over the land, it suddenly becomes the most important support. Larch wood therefore gives us security and confidence. The Larchs is a role model in terms of insouciance carefree the letting go of fears. With larch wood in your home, you become more flexible, open-minded and get more and more confidence in yourself. Larch resin can be used as a traction ointment for inflammations. Larch oil in a fragrance lamp helps to loose, carefree breathing. For stuffy noses, a few drops of it in hot water for inhalation can bring relief.
Pine is considered the “great grandmother of all trees” and (one species) can live up to 5000 years. Just think about how many cultures and eras these trees have already experienced. We humans are only a blink of an eye in comparison, which should also prevent us from being overconfident and teach us humility.
With a growth of up to 50 meters, they are, with the Fir, the most common and species-rich conifers. The Mountain Pine has an important function in the Alps, growing even at 2500 meters above sea level and protecting the mountain from erosion and avalanches. It also doesn’t mind the cold and feels perfectly at home in the cold regions. There is only one thing that the Pine does not like – overly lush soils in the best climate. If the table is too richly laid, it loses its graceful, delicate growth habit and prefers to leave the field to its big sisters, Fir and Spruce, or to deciduous trees.
Health
The needles and twig tips of most pine species contain essential oils that are said to have a soothing effect on inflammation. The oils are popular for an infusion in a sauna or a cold bath because of their fresh, spicy aroma and their disinfectant and expectorant healing properties. Pine is a tree that grows on poor soils and often in cold and dry conditions. Despite adverse conditions it is graceful and delicate in shape. This tree transforms difficult life circumstances and brings them to a cheerful end. Therefore, Pine helps sad, melancholic people to good mood and joy of life.
The evergreen coniferous tree with about 50 different species, is the most powerful and durable representative of the coniferous trees in Europe. 500 years of age and more is not uncommon for the Fir. She is a dignified queen that never hurries. Young Fir trees grow slower than other trees, but they can manage with much less light. Patiently and steadily, they grow into giants (up to 60 meters) higher than most other trees. It ensures that the soil at its feet always remains nutrient-rich, as the needles rot more easily than those of its tree sisters and generate valuable humus. Unlike Spruce needles and Pine needles, its needles are not pointed but flat shaped. The relatively soft, flexible and resin-free fir wood belongs to the softwood and can be easily processed. It can be easily painted, split or glued. Because of its high load-bearing capacity, fir wood is often used as construction timber for houses and roofs. Especially for wooden buildings in water Fir wood is predestined, because it is very resistant under water.
Health
In tree symbolism, fir cones are considered a symbol of fertility, eternal vitality, strength and growth because of their evergreen branches. Fir tips, as well as fir needles and resin, contain essential oils, vitamins and enzymes that are used for colds, coughs or rheumatism. The Fir exerts a calming and strengthening effect on the entire nervous system. Its magical powers protect against mischief, as Hildegard of Bingen already new: “Spirits hate fir wood and avoid places where such is”.
The Yew is the oldest tree species in Europe and can reach a very old age. The genus dates back to dinosaur times and is therefore called the Primeval Tree by botanists. Except for the red flesh of the berry-like fruits, all parts of the tree are poisonous.
The wood of the evergreen conifer has always been prized for its exceptional hardness and toughness due to its slow growth. After a few centuries, the yew trunks begin to become hollow, but this is not a sign of the last stage of life. So-called inner roots are then formed, which grow down from the upper part of the hollowing trunk through it, anchor themselves in the ground and eventually become inner trunks, which gradually take over the green crown of the old tree. Centuries later, when the fragile shell of the original trunk has completely broken away, there stands a renewed tree that looks only a few centuries old and that one cannot see its millennia. An ancient being in a new body!
The Yew is therefore considered as a symbol of the self-renewing power of nature, the rebirth of life. It is associated with the goddesses of birth and transformation, for example, Kybele, Artemis/Diana, Aphrodite/Venus, Persephone and Demeter.
Its wood has a warm, reddish-brown color with rosé inclusions.
