The forest- sacred journey

Is there a more profound place that invites us to take a journey that is always meant to reveal the true nature of our soul than the forest? The literature abounds in legends and tales where the characters have an initiatic journey into the forest, find who they are, and put to the test everything they were taught. The forests were considered to be holy grounds, places that were pure. Therefore a good soul would be embraced and protected by the holiness of the area. Meanwhile a mean person would discover the cruel fate his actions force upon him when present into a place that cannot stand harm. The Romanian traditions depicted in our literature present the forest as a symbiotic place where our legendary heroes could find shelter, a refuge and even a mystical path in finding themselves. Needless to say that the forest was therefore considered a holy land and the imagination of our great storytellers added numerous mythical, characters that were either helping the heroes and punishing the villains, or having the role of testing the heros virtues and guiding him on the quest he was subjected to. In our mythology some beautiful and vengeful fairies named iele are mentioned to haunt the forests. Anyone who saw them dancing in the night would be lured by their charms and later on would be punished with their life for having given in to temptation. It was believed that the place where they once danced would be bare and nothing would ever grow there. Other stories in our mythology have Mother Forest (the Beldam), the wood spirit, as a supernatural being. She is an old, mean and ugly woman. It said she had a lot of children with the devil himself and they were so evil and they wouldnt sleep so she took humans childrens sleep for her babies. The forests are considered, in some fairy tales, like portals to another world, a magical world and our hero would fight with some magical creatures like witches or zmei/dragons that are very strong, almost immortal. On the other hand, good spirits dwell in the forest and they protect the good characters who treat the forest with respect, helping wounded animals, protecting the helpless and making use of the virtues such as modesty, diligence, humbleness. Therefore, one would always find the help of Holy Friday and her sisters (Saturday and Sunday) if he/she was able to successfully finish some tasks that would prove the qualities of innocent precious creatures, so much treasured in the sanctified ground of the deep forest that can bare no harm.

To conclude, the forest would be the sanctuary that represents life, and the path people have to take in order to discover who they are. If they are evil and unable to learn the right ways the forest has to teach them, through the numerous assignments and tests they have to overcome, they will perish. And if the one that dares to enter the forest and venture into the unknown proves to show his virtues and his good heart he would be rewarded, found worthy and gratified.

Pintescu Dana Madalina Colegiul Silvic Casa Verde Timisoara Clasa a IX-a D Prof. coordonator: Kovacs Alina