Book Review: The Healing Power of Trees by Sharlyn Hidalgo

It’s no secret that Druids often share an intimate connection with the trees they encounter. Trees can hold magical wisdom, medicinal aid, or just a trusted safe space for reflection and growth. I have a few trusted tree friends myself and thoroughly enjoy learning more about the practical aspects of trees and the more magical aspects. Ogham, the celtic alphabet associated with different trees, has been a natural course of study for me. The Healing Power of Trees by Sharlyn Hidalgo is a book dedicated to studying the Ogham and the many ways these magical trees can bring more wisdom and healing into our lives.

The bulk of the book describes each tree of the Ogham in great detail. Each tree features the Name, Date on the Ogham Calendar, Description of physical tree, class, holiday, rune, totems, astrology, and a beautiful drawing of the tree. The author then goes into detail about what experiences with the tree might be like. Sometimes myth and stories featuring the tree will be used as examples of the magic of the tree. A guided meditation for each tree section and provides a gateway to developing a personal relationship with each tree even if it isn’t a tree you can physically meet. Finally, a healing section provides insight on how one might use it for emotional or physical healing.

Given the title of the book the healing section will the most interesting for many readers. Some trees feature great details and provides some unique understanding and uses for healing. Other trees are a bit more sparse. This is to be expected in a book that covers so many different plants. I had hoped for just a few more hands on uses of each tree, but generally I thought this was well researched and useful.

For the right reader this will be a delightful resource book. For any reader studying trees or Ogham it is well worth checking out from the library and enjoying. I’m not sure many readers will attempt to read it through the year as the author suggests, but that might also be a delightful way of enjoying it.