The Beauty and Symbolism of Pine Cones

Tags

Pine Cones

#1: An altar of grounding, woodsy, ripe Earth energy.
I have always had a special fondness for pine cones. I collect them whenever I travel. I have them all around my house and use them on my altars, portable and permanent, as representations of Nature. I got to wondering why I am so attracted to pine cones so I started researching the meaning attached to pine cones. This short series is a result of what I found and a tribute to the pine cone.

#2: Providing Beauty of Nature in arts & crafts.
Pine cones are used in a great variety of arts & crafts, including wreaths, holiday decorations, decorating décor, fire starters, bird feeders, and toys. I love walking into craft stores before Christmas because the cinnamon scented bags of cones drives me wild. Wanna make a natural, homemade birdfeeder? Smear peanut butter on a pine cone and hang it in a tree.

If you want to use pine cones in the house, here is a way to do so dry, bug and seed free.
1. Lay cones on foil covering a cookie sheet.
2. Bake for about 45 minutes in an oven at low temperature (about 200 degrees).
3. Let cool.

#3: A vortex of fertile forces dripping with sexuality.
The pine cone is a symbol of sexuality and fertility. The Romans associated the pine cone with Venus, the Goddess of Love. Celts gathered pine cones to use as fertility charms. A woman wanting to conceive would put them under her pillow. Dionysus (Bacchus) held a rod tipped with a pine cone that represented masculine generative forces. I find it ironic that the pine cones we see are symbols of masculine generative forces since it is the feminine version of the tree, called the seed cone. It produces pine seeds when it becomes fertilized. The male cone, called the pollen cone, are found at the ends of the lower branches. Their purpose is to release pollen and once done, they die. Pine pollen is the most potent source of testosterone from plants.

#4: Potential for growth stored in a pretty package.
The pine cone is a symbol of growth. All the parts are there to create a new life but since it has not yet taken root, it is still purely potential. That is why I like to use pines cones as an offering to sacred fire. I blow my prayers into the energy of potential and then let the flames free them into the universe.

#5: Beauty in Nature, Nature in Us.
The pineal gland is a pea-sized gland located between the cerebral hemispheres in the brain. The pineal gland was got its name because it looks like a tiny pine cone. It has several functions but most importantly is known as our spiritual center or intuitive center, called the 3rd eye.

Here is a process you can use to stimulate or activate your pineal gland:

• With your eyes closed, stare at the tip of your nose, then raise your gaze to the 3rd eye.
• Visualize the opening and clearing of your pineal gland.
• Tap your 3rd eye 3 times to inform and seal.

Ways to keep the pineal gland healthy:

• Avoid fluoride, which is believed to calcify the pineal gland.
• Avoid meat, which is believed is disruptive to the pineal gland’s abilities.
• Breathwork is important to activating the pineal gland.
• Remove all sources of light from a dark room in order for the pineal gland to effectively secrete melatonin.

#6: A symbol for the Eye of Intuition.
Since the pine cone is sensitive to light, it is a symbol for enlightenment. The pine cone as a symbol of spiritual illumination is found in many ancient cultures including Christian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, Indonesian, Mexican, and Roman cultures. It also appears in the esoteric traditions of Freemasonry, Gnosticism, and Theosophy. Modern scientists are finding that the pineal gland, the seat of our soul, is also sensitive to light. Retinal proteins have been found in the pineal gland cells, which suggests that photon flashes of light are occurring in the pineal gland. So, lightworkers, gather ye pine cones as a symbol of the soul’s light.

#7: Opening itself to us as a symbol of Spiritual Illumination.
The pine cone is a symbol for the 3rd Eye. The 3rd Eye has been called by various names throughout history, including the “Inner Eye,” “Mind’s Eye,” “Eye of the Soul,” and “Eye of Reason.” The 3rd Eye was portrayed in ancient Egypt as the Eye of Ra. Almost all Hindu gods and goddesses, as well as many humans, wear a bindi between their eyebrows, which is a physical representation of the 3rd Eye. Even the single horn of the unicorn represents the 3rd Eye and was adopted as a symbol of an illumined spiritual nature.

Kundalini, the spiritual energy that sits at the base of the spine, can awaken the 3rd Eye when it rises up to the forehead, where the 6th chakra is. The kundalina energy travels along the left (ida) and right (pingala) energetic pathways, weaving back and forth as it ascends the central pole (sushumna). This is the symbolism of the caduceus, which is the symbol of Western medicine.

To awaken the 3rd Eye, your “sight” must be turned inward. I learned how to see with my 3rd Eye quite by accident. I was attempting to put on a necklace. I kept trying to line up the two ends of the clasp behind my neck with my hands. I was sending the message to my hands to move here and move there. I absolutely had no luck. But then I pictured in my mind the two ends joining, and I connected them immediately. I was turning my sight inward to see the joining of the necklace. It works every time.

When you are able to see with the 3rd Eye, you will feel expanded perceptual abilities, increased sensitivity, increased sense of peace, and a higher consciousness.

#8: The symbolic seed to Everlasting Life.
Pine cones are a symbol of everlasting or eternal life. They are used to pollinate the Tree of Life. Pagans revere objects from Nature that represent eternal life, such as the evergreen tree and its pine cones. The seed of the pine cone gives birth to trees that in turn outlive humans by hundreds or thousands of years. In this way, a pine seed can represent the Fountain of Youth or the Fountain of Forever. The fact that the pine cone also represents spiritual enlightenment lends even more support to an everlasting life, because it is our spirituality, our energy body, our Higher selves that gives each of our souls the gift of eternal life.

#9: The male cone spreads his pollen to perpetuate life.
Since so many honors were paid to the female pine cone, the male cone needed equal acknowledgement. Without him, trees would not be. Our lives on Earth are like the male pine cone. We come, we pollinate the world with our unique gifts, and we are gone again. How are you pollinating the world?

#10: Nature teaches through metaphor.
I very rarely post someone else’s photo but this is one I saw on a Facebook post and it was so relevant to the pine cone series that I had to share it. I will close this series with this: Descartes, a French philosopher, called the pineal gland the “Seat of the Soul”. The pine cone and the pineal gland are powerful symbols of Earth energy, sexuality and fertility, spiritual illumination, and everlasting life. Will you ever look at a pine cone as simply a pine cone now?

Copyright © 2015 Drake Bear Stephen. Except where acknowledged. www.DrakeInnerprizes.com