IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER
1 avatar: the last airbender , banyan-foggy tree
banyan is considered sacred in hindu traditions, and also that’s where buddha sat and achieved enlightenment. and a waterbender named, Huu. love that mystical toph dream sequence. It’s not just a premonition but good old narrative foreshadowing. Has themes of all trees in the swamp being connected as one.
banyan-foggy rating: mystical af
special mention:
NO NONONONONO DONT MAKE ME CRY LETS NOT TALK ABOUT IT
2 avatar’s (THE BLUE ONE), tree of souls Vitraya Ramunong
ok this movie’s got nature porn written all over it. It’s even got the save the earth narrative so ofcourse it’s gotta have a badass power tree, closest connection to Eywa! And her neural network with all the living beings on pandora. O di nga. Continuing the interconnectedness themes that’s pervasive in most ‘World tree myths; (google that) and apparently capable of transferring your soul into another receptacle. also can fit in a night rave
tree of souls rating: stellar
special mention: tree of voices, has your ancestors in it
3 that tree in pocohontas, grandmother willow
cmon. oh cmon look at that face , tell me you don’t want to be cradled by it and be singing colors of the wind. just stare at that gif
this one has the mother gaia meme still going on- earth being portrayed as a mother, giving birth to the world and nursing all her young. very caring but also old and wise
grandma willow rating: huggable
4 great deku tree from legend of zelda
– OKAY this got me hit in the childhood feels okay? met this guy in ocarina of time when i was seven? and basically you meet him sick when you were a kid and you gotta lift his curse, and even if you defeat the giant bug in him HE STILL DIES before he sends you off on a quest. goodness mio. this is a recurring character in the whole legend of zelda series and it warmed my heart seeing him again in breath of the wild. This one has a male characterization that leans on the wise old man trope – showing how even without being a Gaia incarnation, tree characters can still be wise af
great deku rating: old time classic
5 cherry blossoms in every damn anime
not exactly badass per se, but in terms of cultural pervasiveness and being magical with a capital M? hwell. you’ve got these guys in every supernatural fantasy slice of life, from shojo to shonen story arcs, connoting everything from youth , love and damn rebirth aka spring. Also closely associated to one of my fave characters Rin from Free! so it’s going on my list. here’s some proof of the butter:
Now I know plant and flower language should just go on another post but hear me out. I wanted to balance out the list with a tree as character example that had a widely different symbology from the ones above. More youthful, a symbol of transience with how fast the flowers fall but also about a spontaneous blooming of love.
rating: A+ gay
conclusion:
trees are these wonderful beings, that have been part of our collective experience such that in this day and age, we still got some really badass magic trees in our mainstream narratives/media. find out how you could access the same character development as your main characters and read on my upcoming blog post: how to talk+meditate with trees
i love you hon,
maālia
Maria Mison 