Sacred Woods :: Oak
Oak in the forest towers with might,
In the fire brings the Gods in sight.
Mighty. Royal. Majestic. The frequency with which these adjectives are used to describe the oak is indicative of the
importance and reverence the tree has enjoyed for thousands of years. It is not uncommon for an oak to live for centuries,
outlasting generations, empires and entire civilizations. People have made their homes in this slow growing tree, made
food from its fruits and fashioned religious idols and masks, tools, weapons and furniture from its wood. Criminals have
hung from its boughs, newlyweds danced round its base for luck and declarations of freedom nailed to its trunk. Through all
of this, the oak stands silent sentinel, a symbol of permanence, strength and virility.
In early Greece, female spirits called dryads, later known as hamadryades, were charged with protecting the forest, specifically the oak in which they lived. Their presence was thought to be so vital to the tree’s healthy growth that they did not die until the tree itself did. Those who came with offerings received the nymph’s blessing and occasionally glimpsed their hidden knowledge, but those who came to harm the tree were fiercely pursued by the axe wielding spirit. At Dodona, the dryads guarded the oaks in Zeus’ sacred grove. Herodotus reported that the trees possessed oracular abilities and a priestess attended a shrine to interpret the words of the god. It is said that his voice came to her through the babbling of a brook that wound its way around the roots of the sacred tree.
The Romans dedicated the oak grove at Lake Nemi to Diana, goddess of forests and erected a shrine at which to honor the goddess. The sacred spring at Nemi was guarded by Egeria, who in earlier times had been considered a goddess of wisdom and foresight. As the guardian of Diana’s sacred spring, Egeria’s role was reduced to that of a water nymph, though she may have been though of as an aspect of Diana. Each year, Egeria was ritually wed to the oak god. Along with wisdom, Romans also recognized the oak’s connotation of strength and power. Soldiers who performed acts of particular bravery or selflessness were honored with the presentation of an oak leaf crown.
As it did to the Greeks and Romans, the oak represented masculine virility, power, wisdom and longevity to the Druids. The
Druid’s held the tree in particular reverence and gathered under its boughs for ritual and religious observances. If
mistletoe, the most sacred of herbs, was found growing on the oak, it was though to be exceptionally powerful and symbolic
and was gathered with extreme care. Modern lore dictates that we never gather wood from an oak that is host to mistletoe;
rather it is better to hold rituals under the tree that has been blessed by the god or dance around its trunk as witches of
yesterday once did. Afterward, pour an offering of red wine onto the gnarled roots of the tree to symbolize the blood of
the god giving life unto his sacred tree.
The name Druid itself may have come from the people’s close association and deep veneration for the tree. Doreen Valiente, in her book An ABC of Witchcraft, points to the Welsh term Derwydd, meaning “oak seer” as the origin of Druid. The Irish and Gaulish worlds for oak, daur and dervo respectively, also bear a close sound quality to Druid and it is known that the people of Ireland and Gaul regarded the tree as sacred and holy. Irish churches were even once known as daur-thech, meaning “oak house” and the Latin name for oak, Quercus, may have derived from two Celtic worlds: quer meaning “fine” and cuez meaning “tree”. Oak corresponds to Duir, the seventh letter of the Celtic Ogham alphabet and in Robert Graves’ version of the Celtic Tree calendar, the month of Duir (oak) begins on June 11 and ends on July 8.
Though it is typically identified with high, masculine, father figure deities such as Jupiter, Taranis, Zeus, Odin and Thor, the oak also has feminine connection as seen in its Greek protectors, the dryads and the Roman association with the goddess Diana. In Celtic and Welsh mythology, the oak is thought to be the tree from which Math and Gwydion created the beautiful Blodeuwedd, who was intended to be a spouse for Llew Llaw Gyffes, a sun and corn divinity. Though the marriage did not work out as the gods had intended, the tree was still considered sacred to Blodeuwedd. The oak’s relationship to the fairy folk is illustrated in a rhyme that survives from the New Forest region of England. “Turn your cloaks, for fairy folks are in old oaks” warns travelers to turn their cloaks inside out to prevent being led astray by the fae.
In Northern Europe, the oak was the tree of Odin and Thor, who both resemble the Greek Zeus and the Roman Jupiter as sky
divinities. As a tree of strength and wisdom, it is Odin’ tree and by holding oak, thorn and ash leaves while pronouncing
the correct invocation, one could summon the aid of Wodan, a later Germanic form of Odin. In Germanic culture, the tree was
considered so sacred that an individual who harmed an oak would have their navel ripped out and nailed to a the tree. They
would then be forced to walk around the trunk, an action that would slowly pull out their intestines and wind them around
the base of the tree. It was impossible to hide after harming an oak since it was widely known that the tree’s screams could
be heard up to a mile away.
Possibly through the tree’s close relationship with lightning, the tree became sacred to Thor, the sky god of storms who used thunder and lightning as his primary means of gaining attention. It is said that the oak is the tree most often hit by lightning. A rhyme from Southern England warns people to “Beware the oak, it draws the stroke”, but in some areas, particularly America, the oak is thought to protect from lightning and people are told to seek shelter beneath it during storms. Many times we can find oaks whose trunks have been split by Thor’s bolts only to absorb the hit and continue to grow to their full majesty. When invoking the power of storm and thunder deities, it is traditional to wear a chaplet of oak leaves and an oak wand is used when working weather magic.
The oaks’ propensity to be struck by lightning is likely a result of its tendency to grow solitary in an open field,
acting as a natural lightning rod. Oaks will grow in a grouping, but because of their immense height and spread it is far
more common to find them growing alone in a sunny, open site with plenty of room to expand. The Common or English oak (Q.
robur aka Q. pedunculata) is the most familiar. It regularly reaches 120 feet tall and its branches spread to an incredible
80 feet. Compact varieties of the English oak that retain the tree’s characteristic lobed leaves and clusters of acorns in
fall are available for landscaping in smaller spaces but even these grow quite large. The Compacta is slow growing like all
oaks and will reach a miniature (in comparison to its relative) 16 feet tall with a spread of 13 fee. Concordias or Golden
oaks welcome spring with beautiful yellow-green leaves and reach both a height and spread of 33 feet at full maturity, while
Hungaria oaks are unusual in their upright stature with a spread of only 5 feet and resemble the Lombardy Poplar (Populus
nigra) in shape. Most oaks are deciduous, but the Holm oak (O. ilex) which does particularly well in coastal areas is an
evergreen. Its leaves are lance-shaped and silvery green when the tree is young, as the tree ages, the leaves turn to
glossy green. Varieites of oak are native to Europe, Asia, Australia and North America; of the 80 species native to the
United States, 58 are trees. All species and varieties are important for wildlife, providing food, shelter, and protection
for numerous insects, birds and small mammals.
Legend has it that an oak even provided protection for an English king. In an attempt to restore the monarchy, the future
Charles II, son of Charles I who had been executed by pro-Cromwell forces, led a Scottish force of 10,000 into battle at
Worcester. His forces were defeated and Charles himself escaped, but was a hunted man. He hid in the trunk of an oak until
his pursuers gave up. He remained a fugitive for six weeks until he managed passage to France where he waited amid his
Stuart supporters until the republic died with the passage of Cromwell. Those loyal to the king took to wearing oak leaves
on their lapels and when the monarchy was restored in 1660, Royal Oak Day was proclaimed as the official day to wear the
symbol of royal loyalty. Those who refused to wear oak leaves were beaten with stinging nettles. It remains a tradition to
carry oak wood for protection from all harm and an equilateral cross made of oak twigs affords the same protection to the
home in which it is hung.
In April, flowers appear with or after the leaves. Later in the year, the flowers develop into the fruit of the tree - the tiny acorn; inside which potentially lies the immensity of the one of the mightiest and longest lived of tree. The acorn symbolizes the continuity of life, life in its early stages (ie youth) and fertility. This sacred symbolism did not escape the notice of our ancestors. The goddess Diana, the eternal maiden, is sometimes depicted holding or wearing a necklace of 40 acorns. Sussex lore holds that one should carry an acorn in their pockets to preserve health, vitality and youth. In other areas, acorns were carried to increase fertility and strengthen sexual potency, perhaps this association came about because of the acorn’s phallic appearance. Draw on its phallic connotations by adding acorn to workings that you desire to be fertile. Practically, the acorn is a source of drink, food and medicine. A caffeine-free coffee alternative can be brewed from ground dried acorns and dried acorns can also be ground into meal to produce breads, puddings and soups. Native Americans, who regularly gathered acorns for food, discovered that if a portion of the ground meal was allowed to mold, the mold could then be applied to boils, sores and inflammations to speed healing.
Superstition holds that if you catch a falling oak leaf in autumn, you will avoid colds all winter long and rubbing sores with the tree’s bark on Midsummer would help the wounds heal faster, but the oak tree itself possesses actual medicinal properties as well. White oak (Q. alba) is most commonly used in medicine, though English/Common oak (Q. robur) and Durmont oak (Q. petraea) are used as well. The medicinal part of the tree is the bark pulled from young branches, twigs and young trunks and the best barks are gathered in the spring when the sap of the tree is active. It is said that oaks found growing at crossroads posses the most potent healing powers. In the case of white oak, the bark produces a yellowish-brown, astringent liquid with a faint odor and slightly bitter taste. To make tea, add 1 gram of powdered bark or 1-2 tsp chopped bark to 2 cups water. Boil for 15-20 minutes, strain and drink undiluted. Oak is sold over the counter as capsules, decoctions, extracts, ointment, tinctures and powdered bark and can be used as an antiseptic and antioxidant. Internally, oak is used to treat bacterial and viral infections, diarrhea and is under investigation as a cancer preventative. Gargling with an oak decoction will help relieve laryngitis, sore throat and bleeding gums. Externally as a bath, rinse or compress, oak is recommended for varicose veins, skin inflammation and small wounds or sores. It is NOT recommended for widespread skin damage. To use as a compress, rinse or gargle, prepare a fresh decoction daily by boiling 1 ounce bark in 1 quart water until it is reduced to 1 pint. Strain and use undiluted. When applying compresses, apply loosely to allow moisture to evaporate freely.
Smart Tip!
As with all medication, use oak wisely. Be aware of all possible side effects and interactions with any current medications. Oak can cause constipation, nausea, vomiting, upset stomach or abdominal pain. If any of these symptoms appear or you simply do not “feel right” so to speak, discontinue use immediately. If symptoms persist, consult your medical professional. In some cases, oak can cause kidney and liver problems and respiratory failure.
The oak figures prominently in Sabbat lore, especially at the winter and summer solstices, the two times of the year
associated with the Oak King, ruler of the waxing year and bringer of light who wrests power from the Holly King at the
winter solstice only to fall to him six months later. A priest dressed in green robes, crowned with oak leaves is an
imposing representation of the Oak King at solstice circles and in ritual dramas enacting the biannual battle. Oak is the
traditional wood for the Yule log, as its burning lights the way into the waxing half of the year and at Midsummer, oak is
one of the woods of the sacred balefire. It adds to powers of protection and health to the fire and fires were once built
in sick room hearths to draw off illness. Adapt this practice by incorporating oak fires into your healing rituals or, if a
full blown fire is not a possibility, grind oak bark for use as incense instead. Use the bright green spring foliage to
create Greenman masks for spring equinox and Beltane rites and use the variously colored autumn leaves for masks and
decorations at Samhain to represent the waning power of light.
Ever resourceful, our ancestors found a use for every part of the hallowed oak. Oak galls, or oak apples as they are also
called, grow on stems and leaves as a result of damage done by worms or insects, particularly the tiny shoot wasp. The
damage occurs when a female insect pierces a shoot or young branch for a place in which to lay her eggs. After they hatch,
the insect produces fluid that changes the starch in the nearby oak cells to sugar, which serves as the food for the larvae.
The plant’s cells use the sugar to create a large protective bump around the developing insect, which then eats its way out.
The bump is the gall and they are rich in astringent substances called tannins, but are NOT recommended for internal use.
Instead, use them as a means of divination. If a worm is found inside an oak apple, it signals illness within the next year.
To find a fly inside portends war. To divine whether a child has been struck by the evil eye, gather three oak apples and
drop them into a bowl of water beneath the child’s bed, if they float, all is well. Update and adapt these practices and
create new ways of drawing the magic of oak into your practices while keeping in mind and building upon the traditional
connotations, rich body of lore, natural characteristics and healing properties of the God’s tree.
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