Decluttering a clootie tree
This post is not a gold star/pat on the back type post. It is one that I hope inspires others to be mindful of the offerings they make when out in the natural world and to take action in their local area when needed.
There is a natural spring in an area that I regularly walk which has a tree standing over it. Every time I come to this sacred space, I was utterly baffled and even upset by the amount of items tied and left in the tree.
Clootie trees are a fairly well-established practice in many parts of the UK whereby, usually around a festival such as Beltane or May Day, someone will dip a piece of fabric in a sacred well before tying it to a nearby tree in the hope that someone dear to them will be healed from a particular ailment.