Swiss stone pine
The keeper of the heights
Nature of the tree
The Swiss stone pine grows where other trees give up: at the tree line of the Alps, in cold, wind and snow. It grows very slowly and can live for many hundreds of years. Its soft needles grow in bundles of five, its cones shimmer violet. The nutcracker carries off its seeds and so plants new stone pines. Its wood is fragrant; since time immemorial, parlours and chests have been made from it. It stands for steadfastness, calm and the strength of the heights.
Inner attitude
The Swiss stone pine is tough and yet soft. It bends to the storm without breaking and rests serenely above the valleys.
The essential qualities
- steadfast
- frugal
- serene
- enduring
- fragrant
It grows slowly and stays long.
Meaning
The Swiss stone pine calls when life becomes rough and you are looking for calm support. It teaches you to hold your ground in difficult heights, to make do with little and to stay soft and fragrant all the while.
Voice of the tree
«Even up here, life is possible. Grow slowly and stay.»
Encounter & working together
You meet her at the tree line. Sit beside an old stone pine, smell her wood and gaze over the valleys with her until your breath grows calm.
Pay attention to
- where life is rough
- where little is enough for you
- where you stay soft despite the storm
The Swiss stone pine works when you are ready to grow slowly.
Essence
I stand calmly in the heights and stay soft.
