Branching out...

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Last week I had my tree read by Genie. If you draw/doodle a tree - send it to Genie and she'll tell you what it says about you. She did such a smashing job that I'm posting her reading here so I can add my own comments properly.

This person put a lot of detail into their tree. While not a stickler for details, s/he’s certainly capable of paying attention to detail and cares about how things get done. Notice also how you can see all the branches, the leaves seem only to be at the tips of the branches. This is an honest person. The more branches you can see in a tree, the more open and honest a person tends to be. This is not to say that a person who covers their branches is dishonest, just so you know.

Very true about getting things done. I like paying attention to things, but I don't get bogged down in details. Prime example is my housekeeping: it gets done, but on my terms and times - I rule the house, the house does NOT rule me! ;-)

The tree has plenty of room all around it and, except for being drawn so far to the right, it is a well balanced tree. This person probably plans well, and doesn’t run out of time for paying bills or finishing things s/he’s committed to doing.

I'm sitting laughing here! This is so true. If we have the money I pay the bills a month ahead. As for commitments... if I have doubts I'd rather say "no" than make a promise I might not be able to keep.

The tree floats on the page, it’s not planted down at the bottom of the page. This is a person who can be spontaneous, s/he can take off and do things at a moment’s notice but not without certain comforts. This is the kind of person who probably packs plenty of things in a suitcase, even for overnight. While the tree floats (spontaneity) it has also been given some lovely ground to grow in, it’s from this that I see while s/he can take off suddenly and doesn’t fear sudden change, s/he probably still must take plenty of home with him/her when s/he goes.

Well... I met my husband online and agreed to marry him within one month, then I travelled to the other side of the world to meet him and see his country. A year later we married and I moved countries. I took as many of my possessions with me as possible. I had to leave things, but I took my recipe books, my stones (I collect plain old stones, not crystals. I love river and seas stones the best), and as much "home comfort" stuff as I could.

The roots are exposed and very structured. The ground doesn’t cover them up at all. This person’s family roots are important to how s/he defines herself today. There was likely a lot of family structure in early childhood.

Oh, spot on! in fact I co-write a blog on those strong family roots - Kombai.

Lovely spiraled knots appear on the tree’s trunk. These denote two traumas in the artist’s life. What is a trauma to one person may be rather insignificant to another, so it’s difficult to define the nature of these traumas. For the artist, these traumas were significant when they happened and had a big affect on them. The first happened rather early in life, I didn’t get the artist’s age with this tree, but I would guess that it happened in the first five years. Time is difficult to judge in tree drawing and it’s possible that it happened anytime up to the age of ten, I just get the feeling it was earlier than that. Without knowing the artist’s age it’s difficult to pinpoint.

Tricky one.. at first I hadn't a clue, but then it hit me. The biggest trauma I can think of was a dog I loved being hit by a car and killed the night my parents took me to a Christmas pantomime. I'm not sure how old I was when Tammy died, but I was definitely under the age of eight. I'd say she stands out as the biggest trauma in my early childhood.

The second trauma was more recent, in the last five to ten years I would guess. My tree drawing analysis instructor once shared a story with us, relating to knot-holes and traumas, about a man whose trauma turned out to be having his bike stolen from him. This doesn’t sound very traumatic, but it happened when he was a child and it was a shock to him, having his bike stolen was a huge betrayal in his life and caused him to stop trusting people in general.

I'd say probably 1998. We were burgled and I lost loads of stuff including a few very sentimental items. It was a night we'd spent at the hospital because the doctors thought my gran was dying. Came home to find the doors open, muddy footprints through the house and so much gone. Very traumatic time.

Spirals, however, are archetypal symbols of life and continuity. To me, these spirals say, “Yeah, it sucked when that happened, but that’s life and it’s okay.” From the spirals, I feel this person is worldly enough to take the bad with the good. In fact, such a pretty, gnarled, and deeply lined trunk show this person’s ability to see the beauty in all life. The trunk is strong, thick, and well rooted. This person has a huge well of inner strength and is not easily “blown over.”

My husband always says I'm one of the strongest people he's ever known - as in inner strength, not physical! I'd like to think he, and Genie here, are right in what they see in me. :-)

The branches are many and all of them reach UP! This person likely has many interest and is definitely interested in learning from life’s experiences, including the losses.

That's exactly how I feel.

And there have been losses. I count four falling leaves, falling leaves mean loss. I don’t know that there were four major life losses, the artists is obviously a true artist and these falling leaves could just be artful touches. I would guess that there have been some losses, however. But this is no stretch, who hasn’t experienced loss? One of these falling leaves is on the left side of the tree—this is the past. The other three falling leaves are more recent. I would guess that there was one significant loss in the past and a few recent ones as well. Like life traumas, losses can span a wide range of things from the loss of things, pets, spouses, and deaths.

There have been so many losses, it's hard to say. Past losses.. I lost my homeland when I was ten. My dad's dad died when I was two and then there were three pets who died as well as Tammy before the age of ten.

There were so many family deaths during the 80s and 90s... most memorable would be my granddad in 1990 and my gran in 1999, my cousin killed in an accident in 1997 and my great uncle murdered in 1989? I think it was 89.

Then being burgled was a literal loss in 1998 and moving to Scotland was a semi-loss of leaving an entire continent, friends, family.. the Southern Hemisphere. Sounds daft, but I really deeply missed the loss of a Southern night sky. The stars are all different in the North.

Which losses count amongst the falling leaves? Not sure. Remembering how I was feeling drawing the tree I'd say those leaves are symbolic of all the losses rather than depicting any particular ones.

The placement of the tree indicates a certain identification with the father or with male peers. There may be a certain resentment or a wish to disconnect somewhat from the mother’s influence. Despite the rightward tree placement, this is a very well balanced tree, which is indicative of a very well balanced person.

I have always felt more relaxed in male company than female and I do tend to identify with my dad. I can't say I resent my mom, but I did resent my mom's mom at times. My gran was a very strong personality and strong people aren't always easy to get on with. I adored her, but I did resent her trying to control or influence my life. Added to that her family ancestral line is one of feuds, fights and tragedies that have echoed through generations of family. Just this year I had a friend do an ancestral cleansing/blessing for me to remove some of that ancient negative influence. At the moment I've been busy tracing the literal history of that maternal lineage, so it's on my mind a lot. I'd say the need to disconnect comes via this maternal line rather than being literally maternal.

The openness of the crown shows a friendly extrovert but the crown is ultimately “closed” with the addition of foliage showing that the artist feels a need to create a certain buffer zone between his/herself and others. This could be defined as a naturally friendly person who exercises discretion and a certain amount of control in how s/he allows energy to flow between self and others.

Oh wow... That last sentence is me totally: "...a naturally friendly person who exercises discretion and a certain amount of control in how s/he allows energy to flow between self and others."

Bravo Genie, you did a brilliant job. :-)