Are you an apple tree–quiet, shy, charming and loyal? Or does your birthday make you a fir–reliable and loaded with good taste, but prone to stress?
Visitors to the Morton Arboretum learned their Celtic tree signs during a recent program that connected an ancient custom to trees in the arboretum.
“Ancient peoples attributed a person’s character to the trees that flourished when [they were] born, and the trees’ characters to the people who were born when they flourished,” said docent Barbara Anderson. “They considered all trees sacred, so there weren’t any bad tree signs.”
After looking up their tree signs, visitors could take a guided walk through the arboretum to spot most of the 21 varieties of trees listed in the Celtic system.
Other people were content to stay snug in the special-events room and compare tree sign characteristics to their friends’ and relatives’ personalities.
The quiet demeanor of Charlie Gebhardt, 7, didn’t seem to match his tree sign: the spontaneous, strong-willed walnut. But at least a few of the listed characteristics fit his personality, said his father, Jeff Gebhardt of LaGrange.
“I’m sure every tree sign on the list is at least a partial match for just about anybody,” Gebhardt said.
