Image by Susanne Stöckli
In this Article:
- How do pine trees connect us with our ancestors?
- What are the healing properties of pine for mind and body?
- Cultural traditions: How is pine used in different communities?
- Can pine be used in spiritual and physical cleansing?
- Recipes and tips: Create pine-based remedies and essential oil blends.
The Pine Tree's Spiritual Uses and Remedies
by Stephanie Rose Bird.
In the past, people of African descent in the Americas, wanted trees planted on their burial sites. The tree was usually a conifer, what we call evergreen, as it serves as a reminder of the persistence of life.
Evergreens are a metaphor for the interaction between departed spirits and their living community. The trunk, branches, and leaves exist in the realm humans see, while the life force of the tree, the roots, lie beneath the earth.
According to Robert Farris Thompson in Flash of the Spirit, pine (Pinus spp.) and spruce (P. Picea) trees in particular play a key role in traditional Southern US burials, owing to their availability in the region. Historically, trees have been markers for African people. Elsewhere in the African diaspora, the symbolic tree that serves a similar purpose is the silk cottonwood.
Healing for the Mind, Body, and Spirit
To early Black Americans, the green scent of evergreen trees contained healing medicine for mind, body, and spirit. Dr. Faith Mitchell lists a variety of conditions pine was used to treat in her book Hoodoo Medicine: stuffy nose, fever, stomachache, whooping cough, bacteria, parasites, and fatigue.
The indigenous people of the southeast coast used pine tar for swelling, burns, itching, sore throat, colds, and consumption; these applications influenced African American healers as well.
A highly touted organization that quantifies and measures the chemical constituents and efficacy of herbal remedies, the German Commission E (Expanded Edition), states that, while various pines have been used medicinally, including shoots of black spruce, dwarf pine, and longleaf pine, medicinal pine needle oil is derived from steam-distilled essential oil of Pinus silvestris L., taken from fresh needles, branch tips, or a combination. The commission approves the use of pine needle oil internally for lung ailments and externally for rheumatic and neuralgic ailments.
Pine oil is also used as a fragrance in cough and cold remedies. Those with bronchial asthma or whooping cough are advised against using it. Pine can cause irritation of the skin or mucous membranes, so testing and observation periods are important before using it therapeutically.
The council recommends using conifer essential oils in aromatherapy by adding several drops of the oil to hot water and inhaling. Pine is available as a prepared product, and it is also included in various soaps (pine tar), shampoos, conditioners, baths and salt soaks, and ointment rubs.
The Pine Barrens of New Jersey
My grandfather, who was born on a plantation in Virginia in the late 1800s, used tiny portions of oil of turpentine, a by-product of pine, as an antiseptic. In fact, he swore by the stuff, claiming it could make just about anything feel better, from a cut to the common cold.
Grand Pop, as we fondly called him, came to live with us in the Pine Barrens, a place so named because it contains so many stands of pine forest. The entire lower half of New Jersey is designated as a pine plain, and conifers grow readily there. Alloway, the tiny town where Grand Pop came to live with us until his death, is one of the isolated outer areas of the Pine Barrens.
In Alloway, pine was all around, and thankfully it remains so. On our drives to the shore you could see sparse forests of pine. Sometimes they had succumbed to spontaneous fire; burnt wood springing from marshes and swamplands lends an eerie quality, reminding us that pine is most definitely a tree of the spirit realm.
Directly outdoors behind our home was a sparse forest dominated by pines and oaks. The one across the lake was a completely different biome: a lush wetland wood. Knotty pine was used as a wall covering in the log cabin we first stayed in, and for firewood to heat the cabin and to heat our bathwater, and during holidays pine decorated our living environment.
In case you make it down to that area, the main trees of the Barrens are:
- Shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata)
- Red cedar (Juniperus virginiana)
- Black oak (Quercus velutina)
- White oak (Q. alba)
- Chestnut oak (Q. prinus)
- Post oak (Q. stellata)
- Blackjack oak (Q. marilandica)
- Scarlet oak (Q. coccinea)
- Southern red oak (Q. falcata)7
Workin’ the Pine
When my mother was nesting, preparing for my youngest sister, the baby of our family, she used pine floor wash to prepare. Pine floor wash contains some antibacterial agents and makes the home feel energized and fresh. Pine cleansing is a tradition I continued with the births of my children, and I still do it whenever there is a stale feeling in the air.
Many African Americans and Latinas grew up with the smell of fresh pine-scrubbed floors, tiles, and bathrooms. Some now reach out for commercial products, but you can easily prepare your own pine-scented products.
When I am cooped up indoors in winter, my spirits grieve the lively spirit of autumn. My homemade pine floor wash has a remarkable emotional influence. These floor washes are recommended as winter tonic for grief, mild depression, and fatigue. Two updated formulas feature essential oils that are antibiotic, antiseptic, and antifungal.
Forever Green Floor Wash Formula
Clip and fill a stockpot three-quarters full of pliable shoots from spruce and pine trees. Add water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce to medium-low. Cover. Decoct (boil down) for twenty-five minutes. Cool.
Strain the liquid and drop in essential oils: 1/2 teaspoon of Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris), 1/4 teaspoon lime (Citrus auranti-folia), 1/4 teaspoon black spruce (Picea mariana).
Stir in 3 tablespoons liquid castile soap with a large stainless steel spoon. Pour the wash into a large bucket. Sprinkle Forever Green Floor Wash on a broom. Sweep and remove debris. Dip a mop into bucket of pine floor wash to cleanse your home environment physically and spiritually.
Prepared Products
As I said, Grand Pop, born at the turn of the last century, believed in the folk ways of his times and liked turpentine as a cure-all. Today, many African Americans continue to use pine tar for skin and scalp irritation and to stimulate hair growth.
I like the scent of pine and use it in aromatherapy. Below are some products that encapsulate these ways of using pine:
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- Grandpa’s pine tar shampoo treats scalp disorders that arise from drying winter winds. Pine soap helps dry, itchy, flaky skin.
- Kneipp makes an uplifting pine bath that is useful for replenishing energy. It is designed to help ease depression, and it adds zing to the start of the day.
- When using pine medicinally as an oral medicine, use according to your naturopath or herbalist’s prescription. If you are making your own decoction, it should be at a ratio of 2 grams pine needle to 150 milliliters water. To make a tincture, use 1.5 (grams/milliliter) to 10 milliliters alcohol solution.
- An infusion of pine needles can be taken as tea to help treat cold symptoms, or used as a mouthwash for sore throat and laryngitis.
- Pine infusion also makes a fine hair rinse.
- Chewing white pine freshens the breath, and the needles contain vitamin C.
Warning: Pine is a known allergen. Wear gloves when handling pine essential oils; test skin for allergic reaction twenty-four hours before use. Pine is not advised for use on sensitive skin. Most people should use pine sparingly; other evergreens might be better tolerated.
Woodsy Essential Oils
Essential oils are the essence of volatile, aromatic oils of trees, plants, flowers, seeds, and pods. While white pine is certainly distinctive, cleansing, and cheap, there are many types of essential oils created from conifers.
Here are some of the subtler yet still invigorating conifer oils I use in handmade floor washes, hair-care products, and soapmaking. These are especially exquisite additions to Yule or Kwanzaa potpourri blends:
- Black spruce—this has a mellow, deep woods scent (multipurpose).
- Cedarwood—spiced evergreen, deep and powerful (best in bug-repellant drawer sachets).
- Fir needle—fir is somewhat brighter and sharper than pine, but not acrid (good for soap, baths, and potpourri).
- Juniper berry—deep fruit scent mixed with evergreen (good in soap, floor washes, potpourri, and other botanical crafts).
- Ocean pine—a very mellow, almost sweet pine that is rich enough to resonate makes a welcome addition to the home (multipurpose).
- Scotch pine—a familiar though softer-scented pine scent (good for floor washes).
What goes with evergreen essential oils, you may ask? Well, all of this family of essential oils mixes well with pure French lavender. They can be sweetened with the addition of tangerine or lime essential oil, and toned down with a touch of oakmoss, vetiver, or patchouli.
To heighten and brighten the wood scents in your homemade blends, use frankincense or lemongrass essential oil. To keep the integrity of the evergreen’s outdoorsy scent, use three parts conifer essential oil of your choice with one part from another essential oil suggested.
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BOOK: The Healing Tree
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by Stephanie Rose Bird.
Reclaiming traditional botanical and herbal practices has never been more important than it is today. So much of our future depends on our ability to use ancient earth knowledge. In this crucially important book, author Stephanie Rose Bird recounts the story of the sacred wood: how to live in it, learn from it, and derive spiritual enrichment from it, as well as how to preserve and protect it.
The Healing Tree offers functional, accessible recipes, remedies, and rituals derived from a variety of African and African American traditions to serve mind, body, soul, and spirit. It celebrates the forest: its powers, spirits, magic, medicine, and mysteries. Stephanie Rose Bird.shares how trees have provided her with personal healing, then allows us to share in that process for our own benefit.
Previously published as A Healing Grove, this updated edition includes a new preface by the author and a source guide for the botanicals discussed within.
Click here for more info and/or to order this paperback book. Also available as an Audiobook, Audio CD and as a Kindle edition.
About the Author
Stephanie Rose Bird, is the author of over eight books. She holds a BFA cum laude from Temple University, Tyler School of Art and a MFA from University of California at San Diego where she was a San Diego Opportunity Fellow. She was a professor of fine art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for many years. She has also taught at the Illinois Institute of Art, Chicago Botanic Gardens and Garfield Conservatory. Stephanie Rose works as an artist, herbalist, aromatherapist and sole proprietor of Almost Edible Natural Products. Her product line features herbal soap, incense, potpourri, bath salts, sachets and dream pillows.
As a Fulbright Senior Scholar, she studied the art, rituals and ceremonies of Australian Aborigines in the outback of the Northern Territory, as a field researchers. her fine art is held in several important national and international art collections, and she has exhibited in numerous galleries, museums, universities and public spaces.
Stephanie Bird is a hereditary intuitive and healer specializing in positive energy work and spiritual cleansing using African plant wisdom.
Website: www.stephanierosebird.com
Article Recap:
Pine trees have long served as spiritual symbols and healing agents in communities, connecting the living with their ancestors. Recognized for their evergreen persistence, pine trees offer remedies for various ailments and emotional well-being, from pine tar for skin to floor washes for spiritual cleansing. Essential oils from pine and other conifers blend well with complementary scents to create versatile products. Pine’s cultural and medicinal relevance transcends generations, grounding us in tradition and healing.
