A week of stories about lions wouldn’t be complete without a visit with Aslan, the powerful benevolent protector of Narnia. The close up of Aslan (lower right) is one of my most popular photographs. The full view of this root structure (directly below) is itself complex and impressive.

Aslan
Aslan the Protector
This massive cedar root structure is one of the more prominent sculptures at what is known as the Tree Graveyard – Rialto Beach, Washington. The beach front faces a part of the Pacific shoreline historically buffeted by strong storms. Over the centuries many massive cedar trees have washed ashore and weathered into awe-inspiring sculptural tableaus of complex roots.
In the long view of the great lion, you see him standing facing the ocean, his kingly mane flowing back in the wind. From his back extends a long cloak permanently fluttering in graceful folds. Inside his great body he is harboring many other life forms, large and small. Depending on your energy of the moment, you will see various images come forward then step back.
Protection from Fenris Ulf
I especially like the depiction of a wolf – let’s call him Fenris Ulf, the giant wolf who assisted Aslan in one of the Narnia wars. He is so well detailed I wanted to show you a close up. You can see his fur! He is a spirit messenger – one eye is missing, signifying that part of him lives in spirit. He rests beneath, and protects, a portal to some unseen world.

Spirits in Narnia Root
Gentle Yet Wise
Towards the back of this root structure you see some gentle beings – an animal looking left and two birds – one with a sharp beak and beneath him an owl.
Portals to Other Lands
From the back side of the root structure, I photographed two portal openings. They face the Pacific Ocean. The one on the left is the back side of the portal you see above Fenris. The one on the right is the opening that you see from the front on the lower right, still a bit brown, with a variety of artistic contributions from beach strollers. This is always the issue when using portals – they look different from the backside. As the children discovered in Narnia, you need to very carefully establish your landmarks if you wish to return to the world and time from whence you came.

Window to the Ocean

View of Stacks
Who Has Shaped These Images?
Below is a long view of the beach itself, with the massive cedar skeletons. Aslan is the third structure from the right.
This powerful beach with its highly energized “dead” root systems gives one pause. Exactly what is life, reality, imagination? When we feel such power from these so-called skeletons – is it coming from their inherent life force energy? Is it coming from the life forms who have moved in and made these structures their homes? Is it from interdimensional artists who are following a theme? From where are these artists drawing their inspiration? Do they read our literature and get inspired? Is there a universal library – the Akashic Records perhaps – that they tap into? In this area, as in every area of earth’s physical forms, there is much still hidden that is waiting for us to explore, to map, to understand.

Tree Graveyard
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