Serotinous: A seed that requires a catalyst or environmental trigger to be released. On a visit to Monterey Bay Area and communing with some of the most wise trees with so much character, I had the opportunity to study these Monterey Pines and plant some saplings. A Ranger shared with me how they microwave the pine cones so they release the seeds and then they grow them in the nursery for reforestation efforts, after a fungal infection decimated over 80% of the old growth, local pine population. Likewise the Lodgepole pine requires extreme heat to release its seed, like a forest fire. Sticky resin glues the cones' scales together. Perhaps it is a self regulating mechanism of the pine, so too many pines don't compete for sun and resources. Perhaps there is something beneficial in the soil, post fire, that lends a higher survival rate to saplings.... Humans too can be serotinous. We do love our stories, can stay clammed up for a lifetime and cling to them even when we know they impede our growth and evolution. Be honest... sound familiar?

Aromatherapy allows us the ability to invite in the supreme ambassadors of the plant and tree realm. As emissaries, they have the powerful ability to represent our elemental realm and catalyze transformation. Thankfully we don't all need a literal fire to motivate us to go through the ring of fire.