“The pines watch humanity come and go, while they live on. Among them, below them, we inhale their powerful fragrance, which shoots through our spirit and ends in an inner explosion of understanding. In doing so, we are brought within the large embrace of nature and can inhale its presence, acceptance, and wisdom.” Valerie Ann Worwood, Aromatherapy for the Soul (New World Library, 1999).
There is a grove of ample boughed pine trees on a path I frequently walk. Occasionally, 
I’ll accept the quiet invitation to wander inside their inner sanctum. As I kneel on countless dried pine needles and roll my fingers over their sappy cones, I’m comforted by the overwhelming, crisp, yet grounding scent offered by the warmed pine needles. I hear birds singing in the distance while the wind blows through the needles on the bough as if to whisper, “hush.” Like the wise grandmothers I imagine this specific grove to be, they offer me a gentle space and the encouragement to access my own wisdom. They do not sweep my cares and sorrows away, nor do they underscore my joys…they just watch. And in their silent vigil, I understand what it means to bear witness to becoming.
Pine revives, restores, cleanses, fortifies and is a tonic for the mind, body, and soul. It helps address upper respiratory complaints, sore and achy muscles and joints, and encourages lymphatic processes. Revered by indigenous cultures in North American and elsewhere, pine is considered a sacred botanical. Explore pine as you would a forest, with care, reverence, awe, and gratitude for all that it offers.
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