Birch

Which child does not know the birch, the only tree with white bark? White is the colour of purity, of untouchedness, of the bridal gown. It is the colour of promise, for white light can be split into the fundamental colours of the rainbow. White is not a rare colour in the plant kingdom; there are numerous beautiful white flowers.

The term "blossom white" is used as a synonym for the highest purity. In the white blossom, we encounter an image of promising young life. Otherwise, we find the colour white mainly in the inanimate natural world, such as in snow. The sight of a freshly snow-covered landscape moves us solemnly.

We sense the purity, freshness and renewal that emanate from the gentle, sunlit, sparkling snow cover. Yet it would be a premature conclusion to describe the essence of the birch – because of its white bark – as purity. Before we can interpret the meaning of the white birch bark, we must understand the nature of the usually brown bark.

If we cut open an apple and leave it exposed to the air, it turns brown; the life-decomposing oxidation processes affect the injured cells at the cut surface of the apple. Brown always accompanies decomposition in the plant kingdom. The bark is brown like the soil, the humus, and consists of decomposed plant material no longer permeated by life juices. Thus, the bark has an essential kinship with the earth.

Both are on the path from living substance to mineral substance. Does this now mean that the white birch bark is still blossomy and not earthy or decomposed? No, on the contrary. Because as the decomposition process advances, the last stage that emerges is the mineral, the pure white ash.

In the birch, we see a tree whose bark symbolises the complete dissolution of the living, death. This brings us to the other meaning of white, as recognised especially in Eastern cultures, as the colour of mourning and death. Only now do we have a complete image of this colour, for within it lies the polarity of the beginning and the end of the life cycle, the promise of life and death.

Seemingly distant opposites are in reality close together, as they are closed by the ever-ongoing movement of life into a circle. Between these poles – both symbolised by white – stretches the life force that moves us. The essence of the living circular movement is therefore what symbolically meets us in the birch bark. Life means movement, change, flexibility.

The birch is an extremely mobile tree. Especially in the silver birch – which provides the medicinally used leaves – we see a dancing grace of movement when the wind passes through its branches. The branches are fine and elastic; for this reason, they are also used to make twig brooms and rods. In spring, the birches are richly permeated by an abundance of life-awakening sap, often drunk as part of a detoxification cure. (The tapping of birches required for this purpose should only be carried out by healthcare professionals to avoid damaging the tree.) The birch leaves emit a particularly lovely, sweetish scent that imbues our soul with rejuvenating forces.