The Heart of the Forest Paintings

This painting series is dedicated to forests and trees. 

The ancient Celts held a revered respect for forests, viewing trees as sacred entities with their own spirits.

Māori also have deep spiritual and cultural connection to ngahere / forests, trees are integral to identity and well-being.

As an artist I've painted many trees.  My favourite tree painting lives in The Kingdom of Alba and it's called The last wishing tree of Scotland.  Tradition was that folk would push a coin into the tree bark and make a wish.  But this practice would soon poison and kill the tree.  My painting celebrated the life of the tree - and death of the 'wishing tree' custom.

The ancient Celtic people used a lunar calendar, closely tied with nature - in which each month was represented by a moon. Each month started when the moon was full and it was further divided into fortnights, or two-week periods. A dark fortnight followed a bright fortnight.

The Celtic tree calendar is based on a concept of letters in the ancient Celtic Ogham alphabet, and trees in season at a particular time of year. Each lunar month is ruled by its very own Celtic native tree. Celtic tree astrology offers a reminder that the wisdom we seek isn't always just found in the stars above - but in the trees around us.

The Celtic Lunar Moon Chart / calendar is for the Northern Hemisphere. Being in New Zealand and Southern Hemisphere - we reverse the chart & seasons.  Which aligns in beautifully with Matariki - the beginning of the new year in the Māori lunar calendar. Matariki is the Pleiades star cluster and celebration of its first rising in late June or early July.

The Celtic tree zodiac (or tree calendar) assigns a specific tree to each lunar month, with each tree embodying personality traits and qualities rooted in the Celtic Druidic tradition of revering nature.  

Birch: Dec 24th - Jan 20th

Rowan: Jan 21st - Feb 17th

Ash: Feb 18th - Mar 17th

Alder: Mar 18th - Apr 14th

Willow: Apr 15th - May 12th

Hawthorn: May 13th - June 9th

Oak: Jun 10th - Jul 7th

Holly: Jul 8th - Aug 4th

Hazel: Aug 5th - Sept 1st

Vine: Sept 2nd - Sept 29th

Ivy: Sept 30th - Oct 27th

Reed: Oct 28th - Nov 23rd

Elder: Nov 24th Dec 23rd

Paired this painting series with this track called Magical Forest by DeepActive Sound listen on Youtube or on Spotify