The Christian Wheel of the Year: On the Christmas Tree

The Meaning of the Christmas Tree

The Tree is the best known symbol of the Christmas season. These days, most Americans, from what I can tell, put up their tree as soon after Thanksgiving as they can manage, and light and decorate it that day. Traditionally this was not done; the tree would be put up near Christmas and not lit or decorated until after Mass on Christmas Eve. Certainly that was the custom in my family, but especially if you have young children, you may find it hard to buck the trend. (I'll be getting my tree this Sunday and decorating it that evening.)

As with the Advent Wreath, the Tree can be understood on many different levels. Let's discuss a few of them now.

The Tree is the mightiest creature in the plant kingdom; it stands in relation to herbs and vegetables as humans do to animals. In the forest, every tree becomes a kind of world unto itself, providing a living space for hundreds of creatures, from insects to birds and mammals. As such, it is a symbol of the entire world of Nature which has been created by God, and even of the cosmos beyond our world. In many traditional cosmologies, our world is one of many, all of which hang from a single great Tree; the Christmas Tree thus symbolizes the power which unites all the worlds, drawn into the smaller world of our own homes. And in Western Esotericism, it symbolizes the Tree of Life, the great symbol of the unfolding process of creation that is at the heart of the Cabala.

Like all green plants, trees turn sunlight into energy. In this way they literally turn sunlight into their bodies. As we eat of their fruits, or of the flesh of animals who have eaten of them, we then turn that sunlight into our own bodies. The Sun Himself is an icon of the Hidden Sun of Spirit, which is Christ. As the body of Christ nourishes our spirits, the body of sunlight, which is all plant and animal food, nourishes our bodies. 

The Christmas Tree is always an evergreen, usually a fir or a spruce. As its leaves stay green even in the darkest months, we are reminded of the eternal reality of God, and of the eternal presence of God which can guide us even in the darkest times.

You can and should use the practice of meditation to go deeper with any of these ideas and explore new ones, whether from traditional sources or your own personal inspiration. 

How to Use Real Trees Responsibly

Our world needs more trees in it, not fewer, and so many people prefer an artificial tree to a real one. If that's the case for you, you can still use the material in here. The artificial tree still expresses the symbolic ideas, and it can still be ritually blessed, as described below. 

I personally prefer real trees, though; it's quite simply the case that a living tree has power, as in magical power, that an artificial tree does not and cannot have. But a tree is a living being. Apart from any environmental concerns, that means it must be treated respectfully, just as an animal must be treated respectfully. Let's talk about how to do that. 

Cut Down Your Own Tree

If at all possible, find a farm in your area that allows you to cut down your own tree. This has a great number of advantages. First, you're supporting local agriculture, and putting your money and time into your local economy and the land where you live. Second, it allows you to put your energy into the tree from the very beginning. You find the tree yourself, and you do the work of cutting it down and hauling it to the barn to pay for it. By doing this, you mix your energy, which is the very substance of your body, with that of the tree. That's very important on an esoteric level, as we'll discuss presently.

Understand You Are Working Alchemy

One of the great secrets of magic is that we are all doing magic all the time. Now, that branch of magic by which physical things are transformed and led to express their hidden spiritual nature is known as Alchemy. Usually when we hear that word, we picture medieval wizards working in secret laboratories in high towers under the moon. But Alchemy, like magic as a whole, is something we practice all the time. Every act of cooking is a work of alchemy, and every cook is an alchemist. This is a secret that good cooks as well as good psychics know-- every meal contains a trace of the person who prepared it. Eat a meal cooked in a filthy kitchen by someone who hates you and doesn't want to be doing the work, and you'll feel it, if you have the least bit of sensitivity; eat a meal made with love in a clean and happy kitchen by a cook who cares about their work, and you'll feel that too.

In just the same way, the process of taking a tree from nature and transforming it into a living symbol of the Christmas season is a great work of alchemy. As such, it must be undertaken with the greatest care. Before you even leave the house, take a few minutes to still your mind and say a prayer. You can ask Saint Francis, as patron of ecology, or the archangel Uriel, as the archangel who governs the Earth element, to guide you in your day's work. Play Christmas music in the car on the way to the farm-- good Christmas music, the kind that inspires you and invokes the Spirit of the Season. (For me, in an ideal world, that would mean something like Adrian Willaert's Christmas Vespers. Since my wife and kids have to share the car with me, Frank Sinatra's 1948 Christmas album works well enough!)

Now, don't stress about maintaining the right mood or the right attitude-- that's the best way to make sure you won't! Just do the work to the best of your ability and aim to enjoy yourself, but also to act in the energy of the Christmas season, and to invoke the divine to guide your actions.

Bless Your Tree

When you find your tree, talk to it. Tell it your intention-- "I'm cutting you down to place you in my house. You will be covered in lights, and be a symbol of joy and an icon of the Great World Tree itself."

I like to carry a water bottle with me, filled with water or something else-- wine is traditional, but coffee will do, and hot chocolate might be even more appropriate-- so that I can surreptitiously pour out an offering to the spirit of the land. Actually I do this anywhere I go hiking.

When you get the tree home, bless it. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops provides a functional blessing ceremony, which you can use as is or modify. I personally prefer to use the methods of ceremonial magic to invoke divine light into the tree. Here is another option:

A Simple Blessing Ceremony

For this ritual, all you need is yourself and your tree. If you want, you can provide yourself with holy water and incense. 

Before the tree, make the sign of the Cross, and then pray the Our Father, Three Hail Marys, and Glory Be, as we've discussed.

If you have holy water, hold it aloft and say the words, "Cleanse me with hyssop, oh Lord, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow; have mercy on me, oh God, according to thy great mercy." Then sprinkle holy water in the four corners of the room, 3 times each.

If you have incense, hold it aloft and say the words, "Let my prayer be directed, O Lord, as incense in thy sight, the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice." Wave the incense three times to each quarter of the room.

(If you have two participants, they should alternate the following section, with the person leading the rite as the reader. If you only have one person, they can do all the reading. When you see a +, make the sign of the cross over the tree, visualizing it in the form of brilliant white light descending from Heaven above.)

Reader: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Response: Who hath made the Heavens and the Earth.
Reader: Let us pray.

Reader: Oh God, who made the Heavens, and who made the Earth to bring forth vegetation, and the tree to bring forth the fruit of its kind, we pray for your blessing + be upon this Christmas Tree. Let your divine light fill it, that it may bring light, and joy, and peace our home during this Christmas season. Let it be a visible reminder to us of the gifts of Nature and of the realty of the Life Eternal during this time of cold and darkness. Let its spirit be blessed, and may the blessing of Almighty God bring fertility to the soil and the land where it was grown and peace and prosperity to the people of that land. Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord.

Response: Amen.

The tree is sprinkled three times with holy water, and censed three  times with incense.

Reader: We thank thee, O Lord, for the gift of this tree. May thy blessing 

Response: Amen.

Close with the Sign of the Cross.

Use Your Tree!

Whatever you do, do not be one of those people that throws the tree out on the curb on the 26th of December. In the first case, it should stay up and lit through Epiphany, on January 6th. But more to the point, you should not throw it out at all. Every part of your tree can and should be used.

But how?

Many different ways. You can toss a handful of twigs and needles into a pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil; let it go all day and it will fill your house with the scent of evergreen. Or boil for a few minutes to make a tea which is both tasty and rich in Vitamin C. You can use dried-out twigs with needles as incense-- be careful with this, as the needles will burn very quickly. And at the end of the season, you can chop it into firewood. I like to burn the very last of the Christmas tree on Candlemas, which is the true finale of the Christmas season.

You can also eat your tree. A fine book written a few years ago discusses this in detail. At minimum, you should consider making at least one round of Christmas Tree Tea-- this is a way of bringing the magical energies of the tree directly into your body.

A (very, very) Simple Christmas Tree Beer

Start by boiling a gallon of water on the stove. Add one to one and a half pounds of either molasses (light is better; you can use blackstrap but it will taste salty) or maple syrup.

Add green needles from your tree. Exactly much is up to you-- not too much, and not too little. You want it to have the flavor and scent of the tree. Continue boiling for 5-10 minutes.

Take the pot off the stove, and cool it down as rapidly as you can to room temperature; the easiest way to do this is to put it in a sink full of cold water.

Now, pour into a gallon jug, and add sufficient cold water as necessary to make one total gallon of liquid.

Add one teaspoon of Fleischmann's bread yeast. Shake.

Best practice is to cap it with a plug and an airlock, like this. In a pinch, you can put a screw-on cap, fitted loosely; loosen it more once a day to release any excess gasses.

In 2-4 weeks, it will be ready to drink. Boil 1/4 cup of sugar in a cup of water, cool and add to the mix. Then siphon into bottles, and allow 1-2 weeks to carbonate. Enjoy!


Finally, a word of warning: Be very careful when consuming trees! Not every evergreen is healthy for humans. Yew trees are deadly poisonous; cedars can kill you in large amounts. Know what type of tree you have before putting it in your body.