I have finally installed the wood spirit that I purchased from wood carver, Steven Kenzora. When I wrote about the purchase in an earlier post, I said that it would be put in a place of honour.
Since picking it up I gave quite some thought to where this would be. I decided, finally, to secure it in the arms of an ironwood tree and is facing the entry door of the house. The tree is due North-West of THO which marks the line between black and white, earth and air and is directionally the mark of the winter solstice with respect to THO itself. What is interesting, at least to me, is that the tree, an ironwood (considered to be magical by those who practice Wicca) seems to have grown in the specific location and shape to hold this carving. Ironwood is a slow growing tree with a 7.0 growth factor; so this tree, with a ten inch diameter is about 75-85 years old. I guess this tree is a sister to Twerp (so named for Tolkein) who is due South-West to THO and perhaps 20-30 years older than what is now named, Wood Spirit Tree. Interesting too, I think, THO has ironwood trees that are at all four directional cusps and each is within a couple of hundred feet of the house at each of the cusp directions.
What I did not notice until I joined the two is that there is a howling wolf that was carved by nature into the wood which Steven carved into. Like the Wood Spirit the wolf is a symbol of community and communication, but the wolf is also a loyal guardian.
A lot of symbolic meaning hidden in plain sight. If you know about these things than you may have guessed that I have been recently influenced by a viking.
Can you see any other symbolism that I failed to mention here?
Tiny House Ontario 
The carving looks wonderful! Well placed. x
Your wood spirit is amazing, enjoy its beauty. I find the placement of your trees to be very interesting, I wonder if they were planted with this in mind, or just happened as a result of nature itself.
The trees were not planted by anything but the wind. It is a 100% natural wood lot which has had no human intervention until I built THO there. This lot was part of the hunting grounds of my native ancestors, then it went to my Irish ancestors but was lost in the great depression. Our neighbours purchased it and when these neighbours decided to sell they were happy to put it back into family hands. Neither this family or mine used it for anything until I built there. Ironically, when I originally purchased the land I had intended on building the house back another 400 feet or so from the road; however, my grandmother came to me in a dream and told me to build where I did. I had wanted to be deeper in the land and very far away from the road, and did not understand at the time. Even so, as superstitious as it may be, I took the advice grandma gave me. With time, I understand her wisdom more clearly… though I still wish I was back at the ridge to peek through the forest at the views of the Rideau Canal and the distance that the ridge gives, even though it is nice to walk back there where nothing but the natural world and I visit.
xo
L
I had no idea your land was previously owned by your ancestors, that makes your home there even more special. You must feel great being able to return it to the family.
Ah yes Lois. It is one thing in life that gives me a great sense of accomplishment. I was very heavily influenced by a book called The Embers and the Stars while I was in university. It is not an easy read – but it is poetic and thought provoking – Kohak discusses how we connect with the land on a cellular level. It is a very tangible thing, this connection to the place and to the ancestors that walked there before me… When I am away from there, I always feel… not quite myself; while I am there, I have a strong feeling of being exactly where I belong.
xo L
I will have to check that one out as I am the same way. I grew up spending my entire summer school vacations camping. I would sneak out to sleep outside where nature would lull me to sleep. Any time I am not close to nature I get depressed and need a connection in someway.