The Tree

Tree on the Hill Therapy- The Backstory

I thought about it so often that I decided to write my Masters thesis about the symbolic relationship between tree morphology and the human psyche. I was interested in exploring the idea that trees might reflect human psychological processes, with a particular focus on how observation of trees may activate archetypes in our psyche.

As I wrote my thesis, I began to notice all manner of tree forms, and how each is unique in its authentic and metaphorical expression of struggle and resilience. For instance, consider a tree living in a shopping plaza among a neat row of other trees. Its lower limbs have all been cut from its trunk in order that they do not impede passersby. Its crown is regularly trimmed to appear perfectly rounded and uniform. Its roots have little room to expand as they are trapped beneath concrete. This tree’s form―and its entire existence―has been shaped in the service of
shopping mall aesthetics. The form of this tree, when meditated upon, speaks volumes. Could such an image resonate with a human being whose life force has also been manicured, whose early growth was regularly trimmed, whose depth has been paved over, and whose very position on this earth was decided by others?

I wanted to investigate if such images could more vitally awaken us to the mythical and archetypal struggles we face in life. Could seeing patterns of tree growth imaginally invoke the development of our own psychic structures, the inner architecture of our personalities? There are no right answers to such questions; there are only questions that deepen and loosen one’s thinking.

Because a tree inherently symbolizes a steady reaching for the light, it becomes a living archetype for every person’s own innate tendency toward healing and individuation. In this way, a tree offers a hopeful orientation, a quiet assurance that the psyche, like the tree, carries within itself the ever-present possibility of change, resilience, and flourishing.