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MAPLE (Acer spp.)

A very hard, pale, fine-grained wood.

 Although the sugar maple has the highest sugar content in its sap,

 all maple species can be tapped to make syrup and sugar,

 making them a vital resource to early North American settlers.

In north-eastern North America,

the annual 'sugaring-off' usually coincides with the vernal equinox,

making it one of the first signs of spring.

 Maple can bring success and abundance

The Maple tree gives us delight. For many peoples ts sweet sap was the only source of sweetness, And the radiant colors of its Fall foliage are a joy to the eye. I say that the Maple is Mother Nature's skirt of many colors, and so it symbolizes the beauty and bounty of nature.

The wood is very regular in density, and light in color. The grain can be regular and straight, or it can be wildly idiosyncratic. A wonderful varient is caled "Tiger" or "fiddled" Maple, with spectacular shifting rays of satiny grain This wood is often almost paperwhite. This particular wood looks more like Starlight than anything else. I correspond this wood to the energies of the Morning Star.

Maple wood can be enhanced by an old process that is NOT a stain- that gives Early American artifacts their "maple sugar" color.

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