Gifts from the Sentient Forest
Communication & Collaboration Between People & Trees in Northern Finland

Here is an excerpt from Francis Joy's essay 'Dragon Powers, Sacred Landscapes, and Sentience'. To download the complete essay, please click here.

 

Dragons of fire are consuming forests as a response to what human beings are doing. The dragon is a personification of the natural fire elements within nature and can cause catastrophe if unleashed as a response to being disturbed and, thus, unbridling their powers upon the land because of a loss of balance and natural or cosmic order. Cosmologies relate to different dragons, which are often personified as landscapes, rivers, forests, and pathways.

Being able to comprehend the dragon powers as a central part of forest sentience can provide a foundation for developing resilience through embodiment of knowledge and practices in relation to communication with trees and forests through local folklore and traditions. Otherwise stated, dragons and serpents are doorkeepers to the realms of knowledge and wisdom, which are often invisible.

The role of imagination in comprehending and engaging with dragon powers means that trees can reveal knowledge which is hidden but manifests in our world through imagination. For example, Rowan trees in the Celtic traditions are considered to have dragons coiled around their bases (earth dragons). In Yemen, the Socotra dragon tree produces a red sap-resin that is like blood and, therefore, used as an incense (air and fire dragons). The dragon trees have an intricate network of roots beneath them.

However, the power of dragons is not only personified through the fire element. They are also commonly encountered through trees that are governed by the elements of air, earth, and water, especially willow trees. Thus, a study of trees can help deepen and strengthen sensitivity, which increases resilience and courage while providing a sense of responsibility towards the natural world and her kingdoms.