Over
the past 5 years, there has been a growing number of great egrets
roosting overnight in a bunch of cottonwood trees across the lake
from our house. As the sun sets from spring to the fall, it is one
big landing strip for big white birds with long legs and a 5 foot
wingspan. One can see five to ten at a time attempting to land.
When they finally find an open spot, the flock that has already
settled for the night squawks with excitement creating a domino
effect of birds re-shuffling themselves and falling off high
branches.
The growth of
the roosting flock each year tells me that they feel very safe and
are highly successful living in this patch of trees. The birds must
come back each year to roost in the trees they were born in.
The natural
setting of this scene is a grove of old and very tall cottonwood
trees on a peninsula. Cottonwood trees grow well close to and
sometimes in water. The peninsula is not very wide but does include
a few houses. The fact that there is water on all three sides
provides additional security for these birds from their predators -
the raccoon, hawk, coyote, fox, and owl to name a few.
Is there a
spiritual correspondence that could tie in to this natural setting?
Our theology
teaches us that there is a spiritual meaning, or correspondence, to
everything natural. A tree in general signifies Man. We can see
this through the different stages of a tree’s growth. It grows from
seed which is nurtured by the earth. The earth, which corresponds
to “mother,” provides soil in which to grow and maintains nutrients
and water to feed the sapling. The sapling grows into a mature
tree, budding and flowering each year creating new growth in
branches and leaves.
Each year the
roots grow deeper in the soil, and the trunk expands and reaches
higher in the sky. The leaves multiply each year soaking in more
heat and energy from the sun which corresponds spiritually to the
love that emanates from God.
The fact that
trees go through a cycle of budding, growth and the dropping of
leaves each year corresponds to the spiritual growth of man. We see
that not only does the tree itself correspond to man, but its cycle
of rebirth represents the spiritual regeneration of man and his
journey from the natural to the spiritual.
Spiritually, we
start from a seed born in the natural world. We go through many
spiritual cycles in our
lifetime. During our spiritual growth cycle, our roots spread, we
add to our trunk,
our buds sprout
and flower,
and we soak in the sun for photosynthesis through our leaves.
As
our growing cycle comes to an end, we drop our leaves and go into
dormancy. Our
leaves fall to the ground and add nutrients to the earth. These
remnants of our growth cycle add to the nutrients of the soil we
grow in. Through the water of the next growing cycle, the nutrients
from fallen leaves are soaked in through our root system to remain
with us.
We know that all
sorts of birds and animals use trees for shelter and for food.
Birds correspond spiritually to the rational thoughts in respect to
the truths of the church - and the land animals correspond to the
affections of those rational thoughts.
Birds are able
to fly around their habitat and gain knowledge of where to find
food, water and they are generally the first to warn of any
predators. Birds can see all around them and have the advantage of
flying high and low to see what is there. This is how they have
come to correspond in heaven to rational thoughts - and this can be
of truths and falsities. Keep in mind that there are birds that are
active during the day and those that are nocturnal.
Those animals
living under trees correspond to the affections of the rational
thoughts. Let’s look at an example of this relationship. With a
bird’s ability to see far and low, they are often the first
responder to a predator. Blue jays, chickadees, and crows generally
are the loudest in my area when predators are
about.
These birds start their warning calls and then the squirrels and
chipmunks follow with theirs. The squirrels, and chipmunks are
drawn in upon hearing the warning of the birds. The squirrel may
not even see the predator, but they are drawn to the knowledge of
the bird’s warning. They have affection to the rational thought of
the bird.
Great egrets
spend most of their time during the day in water eating fish. Fish
generally corresponds to facts and water corresponds to truth. The
color white signifies genuine truths. Spiritually then because of
their need to eat or appropriate truthful facts, egrets must signify
not only genuine truths but rational thoughts about these truths.
With this
understanding, how do we see a spiritual correspondence with the
trees and the egrets?
Here’s how I put
it together.
We know that
trees represent man and his cycles of regeneration. The egrets
represent genuine truths and rational thoughts about these truths.
Putting these together provides a beautiful spiritual painting. The
egrets land to roost in the trees each night filling up the branches
with a bright whiteness. As night, or falsity, falls over the
trees, their branches become full of snowy white birds, or genuine
truths, that remain on it’s branches until daylight when the egrets
leave to search for more truthful facts. These birds provide a
knowledge of genuine truths to the trees as falsity falls over them
and leave with dawn’s safe return.
Isn’t it
wonderful how our understanding of correspondences can open up
heaven to us on earth?
