CARVED WOODEN SIGNS AND THE HEALING TREE

The Western Red Cedar has been Revered for Thousands of Years

by Thom Inman - Master Craftsman Carving Custom Wood Signs for 60 years

Not to get too corny here, but did you know the cedar tree represents life's visible and invisible forces? Western red cedar has been revered for thousands of years. Its versatility made the tree essential to the Indigenous People, prompting them to place it as a central part of their lives. They recognized the tree fed with the help of fungi from nutrients in the soil. The tree drank water from underground streams that once were oceans - which were clouds. They understood the leaves feed on sunlight. They recognized the freshness of the forest air as oxygen and water vapor. They watched quietly as birds, wind, and rain spread the tree's seeds, insects and the wind-pollinated the tree's flowers, and creatures broke down the fallen leaves into topsoil.

The great cedar tree became a metaphor for great wisdom. The cedar's giving spirit provided people with food, shelter, and medicine, literally from the wooden cradle to the wooden coffin. Working with stone, bone, or shell tools, craftsmen carved canoes, totem poles, storage boxes, and ceremonial masks from the generous wood. Mats, baskets, and water-repellent clothing were shaped and woven from the inner bark.

Perhaps most importantly, western red cedar was employed medicinally by many native North American Indian tribes. They principally utilized two fundamental techniques for extracting the cedar's elixirs. Some extracts were obtained by boiling the parts in water and straining the liquor, or parts were steeped as tea for infusion. These elixirs from powdered leaves were used externally to treat various internal pains, including rheumatism. The leaf buds have been chewed in the treatment of toothaches, while an elixir of the buds has been used as a gargle.

A weak infusion has been drunk in the treatment of painful joints caused by rheumatism or arthritis, and a poultice of the crushed bough tips and oil has been applied to the back and chest in the treatment of bronchitis, rheumatism, and stomach pains. The boiled concoction of the boughs has been used as an anti-dandruff shampoo. A poultice of the inner bark has been used as a counter-irritant for the skin, and a poultice of the inner bark has been applied to carbuncles. Even the bark, when pounded until it is as soft as cotton, can be used to rub the face to bind wounds and as a cover for wound dressings. Shredded bark can be used to cauterize sores.

Martin Luther said it best almost 500 years ago when asked what he would do on the last day of his life. He simply stated, "I would plant a tree."


May the Forest be with You!