As it rained lightly on Thursday evening, witch Ashley Branton placed a crystal, sprinkled salt over it, and placed a burning candle around the base of the fairy tree.
Several branches of the tree were severed close to the trunk and local residents fear the tree is damaged. Well-wishers gathered to heal the tree.
The Norfolk Department of Public Works recently completed a project to trim trees in the Larchmont neighborhood, including the fairy tree that has brought a little magic into people’s lives since the pandemic.
Eight people stood in a circle around the crepe myrtle and on the sidewalk, ready to send it good vibrations and new positive energy.
Lisa Suhay, who lives near the tree, handed out laminated notes that read “BELIEVERS,” a picture of a fairy and the words of a healing rite that Branton read.
“I cleanse myself and this grove with light and loving energy… This place is now replenished, reborn and renewed with hope, kindness, love and community.”
The crepe myrtle became a fairy tree in 2020 when Suhay put up a small sign inviting children to write letters to the fairies who lived inside it. Since then, thousands of children have visited the tree each year, and the fairies always respond to the children’s letters with handwritten notes, usually within 24 hours. The Library of Congress called the crepe myrtle a “witness tree” of the events of the pandemic.
“The secret of life is not to take yourself too seriously,” Suhay said after the ceremony. “Enjoy the journey. Try crazy new things and when it’s all over, you’ll know you never hesitated to live every minute to the fullest.”
After hearing about the pruning, dozens of children visited the fairy tree. Some hugged its bark. Many left gifts for the fairies – cookies, sugar packets, drawings, Lego bricks and flowers – at the tree’s roots.
“I think people have a very strange relationship with the tree,” Suhay said. “Or maybe not so strange. I think they feel like we keep cutting back on the good things and sacrificing the positive for the sake of progress.”
Colin Warren-Hicks, 919-818-8138, [email protected]
