Spring light returns to illuminate our Hawthorn tree, as the proud and deeply cut leaves emerge from long graceful shoots, and soon the branches are draped in the delicate lace of the Mayblossoms, the veil of Flor-Aphrodite. This is the albedo, holy flowers blushing with whispers of the fruit to come, inviting us to purify our minds of conditioning by opening our hearts. These rose-like flowers are hermaphroditic, containing both the male and female parts brought together in the coniunctio. As they mature, they begin emitting a signature deathly odor reminiscent of decaying flesh, which attracts certain insects that inadvertently pollinate the flowers while looking for the decaying matter to lay their eggs in. Through this pungent trait the Hawthorn tree has earned an association with death, and serves to remind us that the union of opposites in alchemy (the hermaphroditic flowers) also corresponds to a death or sacrifice that is necessary before we can find our way out of suffering and into the Permanent Rose Garden. To bring these beautiful white flowers into the home is an invitation for death, but it is the death of the “lesser self” and not the physical self that we are concerned with. From this act of letting go, the soul, or the “higher self,” is born within the body. In this way we become sanctified, protected by divine right to remain in truth as a tree with its roots in heaven.