NMR ISSUE 54

Aspect in Astrology
Bardic Source Book
Because I am a Witch My Love
Blessing for a Child
Complete Book of Spells, Curses
Earth Magic
Fetish Stones
Finding Your Totem, Discovering Your Guardian
Gleanings 54
How to Use Magick with a Straight Face
Kingdoms of the Faerje Realm
Language and the Doctrine of Signatures
Mountains, Meadows and Moonbeams
New Twist on Tinctures
On the Invocation of Eris:
Pagan Nudity
People of the Earth:
Shapeshifter Tarot
Teen Witch:
The Great Spirit Goddess
The Lore of the Oak
The Samhain Host: Remembering the Dead
The Sun Goddess:
The Well of Remembrance:
To Light a Sacred Flame:
Worship of the Goddess: The Lost Art

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The Lore of the Oak

By Gary R. Varner

The Oak has been recognized since ancient times for its strength, its power, its beauty, and its connection with the divine. This article will explore the various attributes of the Oak, both mundane and magickal, in a historical and religious context.

When the Oak is mentioned in the same sentence as "beliefs" one normally visualizes the hooded and mysterious Druid priest or priestess worshipping in a sacred grove, but the Oak, and the belief in its powers and sacred ties to the Divine, is a universal concept of humankind.

The armies of Rome and the Catholic Church destroyed many Oak groves to drive the Druids and the surviving Pagan worshippers underground. The Oak is again threatened today, by the new armies of developers striving to meet the demands of a burgeoning population, which has already exceeded the limits of the earth and it's sustaining capabilities.

One of the most horrendous tenants of the religion of the Sky God, the religion of the Christian and Jewish faiths, is that the Earth is in existence only for the pleasure and consumption of man. This belief, arising to counteract the nature based religious beliefs of the Pagans, is resulting in the destruction and exploitation of the following: the rain forests, the degradation of our waterways, the loss of fertile soil, the extinction of thousands of birds, mammals, fish, and insects. As well as a host of plants that may have treated and cured a variety of diseases. As part of this degradation and destruction of nature, those who recognized the intimate linkage of humankind and Gaia and who spoke in opposition to the Judeo-Christian patriarchal approach to ownership of nature, also suffered torture and death—and still do.

It was only in November, 1997 that a leader of a patriarchal religion, Bartholomew I, head of the Greek Orthodox Church, stated that the "degradation of nature is a sin". No other leader of a Christian, Jewish, or Islamic body has ever made such a statement. To do so is revolutionary, even though Pagans have held that belief since the beginning of time.

The Oak is widely distributed throughout the world, from Europe and the British Isles to North America and even parts of the Pacific. Wherever humans have encountered this tree they have regarded it as sacred. Trees in themselves are holy. Nigel Pennick in his book Celtic Sacred Landscapes (1), wrote that:

"The tree, like the human, is a mediator between the upper and lower worlds, linking with its serpentine watercourses the underworld of the ground, the surface of the ground upon which we live, and the sky and air. Thus, the tree is an image of the cosmic axis, a physical manifestation of the maxim `as above, so below'."

Today, far removed from the ancient days of the Pagan past, the Oak is still regarded as a sign of strength, longevity, abundance, and of enduring quality. In addition, its history is rich with it being associated with magickal properties and the Gods themselves.

The Oak has always been an important part of the lives of the pre-industrial peoples of the world. The acorns provided a main source of food for both wandering and settled tribes of the world wherever the Oak was located. In addition, the mistletoe, that parasite found in the upper branches of the Oak, which is valued for its romantic associations even today, was held sacred by the Druids and was used as a cure-all for illness. In fact, the very word "Druid" is held to originate from the Indo-European "dru-wid", which literally meant "oak-wise".

The Oak is also mentioned in the Bible. In Genesis (35:8), it was recorded that, "...Deborah, Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak..." Saul was also reportedly buried under an oak, indicative of a "sacred king" of Pagan belief, and Jacob buried not only amulets but the "strange gods" of his household under an oak (Genesis 35:4). Similar practices were mentioned by Sir James Frazer in his work The Golden Bough (2). Frazer wrote that during Mid-Lent it was the practice to "bury Death under an oak", Alexander Porteous noted (The Lore of the Forest) that "In Croatia witches were formerly buried under old trees in the forest, and it was believed that their souls passed into these trees" (3). The Druids, as well, buried some of their dead under the oak, although the majority seems to have been interred in barrows, pits or underground tombs. Celtic lore, according to Pennick, states that "when the human being enters a tree at death, it is a return to the origin. Part of the soul of the deceased enters a tree planted on the grave." (4) In Germany, until the late Middle Ages, tree-burial (burying the corpse in the hollow of a tree) was common and it is believed that the wooden coffin is a result of these tree burials.

Other Biblical references to the oak include the mighty tree which caught the hair of Absalom, by which "he was taken up between heaven and the earth". Many oaks in the Middle East are regarded as "inhabited oaks", including the one venerated tree referred to as Balutat-Ibrahim, or Abraham's oak.

The Oak is treated in a confused fashion in the Bible. It is at once holy and also representative of evil. It would seem that in the earliest books of the Bible the Oak was held to be sacred, probably due to the fact that the early worshippers of the Sky God, Yahweh, still held many of the Pagan Goddess beliefs close to their hearts. Abraham was said to have built an altar to God in a grove of oaks and was visited by God in the likeness of three men under the shade of the oak trees (see Genesis 12:6 and 13:18).

Early Jewish practice was to sacrifice children to "Moloch" which was simply a term that meant "king". This "king" has been identified with Yahweh and with Astarte. Although "king" would not be the appropriate title for a Goddess. The oaks in the sacred groves were "said to be smeared" with the blood of the sacrificed children before they were burned. The Grove of Moloch was located just outside of the walls of Jerusalem.

Later Biblical writings indicate a shift in the sacred beliefs of the Jews towards oaks. Hosea, Ezekiel and Isaiah, all Levite priests, condemned the sacred groves as "heathenish". However, as in most instances where attempts have been made to destroy Pagan beliefs, the belief in the sacredness of the oaks at Hebron continued long into the Christian era.

Interestingly enough, many early Christian leaders preached near sacred trees as well. Many times this was done to convey a subtle shifting of the trees Pagan roots to the new Christian theology. Statues of the Virgin Mary and crucifixes were placed on or near the sacred trees. One such Pagan site, the Allonville Oak, was actually turned into a Catholic Church in 1696 and was consecrated to the Virgin Mary. This huge tree, still living in France, is over a thousand years in age and its trunk measures forty-five feet in circumference.

One of the methods used by the church to turn public opinion against the Oak was through storytelling. One such tale is that when Jesus' crucifixion was planned, all of the trees met and agreed that they would not be part of the bloody event. As the laborers attempted to craft the cross, each tree that was selected splintered into thousands of pieces, all except the ilex oak. The oak allowed it-self to be used and came to be viewed as a traitor, like Judas. The oak was regarded as condemned and many people would not allow any part of the tree to be brought into their homes. Their axes were not allowed to come into contact with the tree.

Charles Skinner in his book, Myths and Legends of Flowers, Trees, Fruits, and Plants (5) does not leave the oak condemned as the above story does. Skinner wrote:

"...but though it thus became accursed, Jesus forgave it as content to die with Him, and in the shade of an ilex he reappeared to the saints."

The Oak's association with the Divine is an ancient one. The Greeks regarded all oaks as sacred to Jupiter (6) as they were to Zeus. Frazer wrote, "Perhaps the oldest and certainly one of the most famous sanctuaries in Greece was that of Dodona, where Zeus was revered in the oracular oak" (7). Dodona was one of the most important and revered sacred places in the Greek world until 219 B.C.E. when Dorian invaders swept down upon the Greek frontiers. J. B. Bury wrote in his book, A History of Greece (8), that the Dorians "destroyed instead of adopting the civilization that they found." Dodona became a neglected and little used outpost, although the Sacred Oak was reported to still stand in 180 C.E. and it is believed that the priestesses continued to serve at the site until approximately the 3rd century. It is interesting to note that the Sacred Oak at Dodona was also an ilex oak. The Sacred Oak of Dodona was, as Aeschylus reported, "a lofty and beautiful tree, an incredible wonder...regarded as the Tree of Life". (9)

Located in Epirus, Dodona contained a temple dedicated to Zeus established near the oracular oak. Epirus was thought to have more storms than anywhere else in Europe and was sacred to Zeus who was thought to be the God of Thunder. Large gongs were hung from the huge oak and gave forth sound similar to thunder when the wind rose. Zeus was known to be present when the leaves rustled, and His messages were transmitted through the leaves. Abraham's oracular oak was used in a similar manner, the rustling of the leaves and the calls of birds were thought to hold divine messages.

Prior to Zeus and Yahweh, known as patriarchal Sky Gods in Greek and Judeo-Christian mythology, there was and is the Great Mother, the Goddess of all that was, that is and that is still to come. The tree is closely associated with Her as well. Eric Neuman, in his works The Great Mother: An Analysis of the Archetype, wrote:

"The Great Mother who brings forth all from herself is eminently the mother of all vegetation. The fertility rituals and myths of the whole world are based upon this archetypal context. The center of this vegetative symbolism is the tree. ...The protective character is evident in the treetop that shelters nests and birds. But in addition the tree trunk is a container, "in" which dwells its spirit, as the soul dwells in the body. The female nature of the tree is demonstrated in the fact that treetops and trunk can give birth, as in the case of Adonis and many others." (10)

However, in Pagan belief the Goddess is part of the dual nature of The One. As in the rest of nature, both female and male make up the whole of the universe. In this way the tree is also reflective of the male/female aspects of the Ancient Divine. While the tree is female, sheltering the nests and birds in Her branches and giving birth through Her fruit, it is also male. As Neumann describes the tree, it "is also the earth phallus, the male principle jutting out of the earth". (11) Much of the reason for the Judeo-Christian denouncement of the sacred tree is the age-old Pagan belief in the spiritual duality of the tree, the duality seen in all of nature. Patriarchal leadership must substitute Pagan values with patriarchal values successfully so that its values may continue and flourish. The female aspect of the tree, of existence in general, was denigrated and maligned and made base so that the male aspects could become dominant. Neumann summarized this struggle in The Great Mother:

"Whereas under matriarchy even the male-phallic tree retains its character of dependence on the earth, the patriarchal world...knows of a tree whose roots are "above," in the patriarchal heaven. The "anti-natural" symbolism of this spiritual tree is, of course, distinctly patriarchal in meaning." (12)

Patriarchal teachings, such as those found in Christianity, show the spiritual tree represented by its connections with heaven, not with the Earth which has nurtured it. Mircea Eliade wrote:

"...We find the symbols of the Cosmic Tree and of the center of the world incorporated into the symbolism of the Cross. The Cross is described as a `tree rising from earth to Heaven,' as `the Tree of Life planted on Calvary,' the tree that `springing from the depths of the Earth, rose to Heaven and sanctifies the uttermost bounds of the universe'." (13)

But these intentional twists of mythology do not erase the long-held Pagan beliefs concerning the Oak. The ancient Greeks referred to the oak as "The Mother Tree" and thought that the first men were created from its branches (in addition, the Ash is also given this distinction). In some parts of the world the souls of the unborn are thought to reside in trees until birth and that the souls of women who die in childbirth also reside in trees.

The "Mother Tree", the "Great World Tree", is a universal myth. As Neumann (14) wrote:

"Mysterious in its truthfulness, the myth makes the vegetative world engender the animal world and also the world of men, which thus appears merely as a part of the World Tree of all living things."

We must not assume that "myth", in the sense used, is merely a child's tale or that of a simple mind. All mythology is comprised of a universal memory, perhaps using images that allow for an easier understanding, but nonetheless a collective accounting of natural and supernatural relationships. What used to be considered "superstitions" are today being verified as fact, such as herbal medicines, the inter-relatedness of the organisms on the Earth with the Earth itself, the Earth in relationship with the universe.

The Oak, among the most sacred of trees, has long been held to be linked to other mystical entities. Fairies were thought to live in the hollows of the Oak. These hollows were referred to as "fairy doors" and it was believed that in touching these fairy doors, healing properties could be tapped into. The Celts believed that the tree could be the home of a deity, or a deity itself. The individual trees were believed to have their own spirits, but they also could house the spirits of humans, fairies or demons. The souls of humans that resided in trees between incarnations were thought to go on into their new existences easier.

Wayland D. Hand, in his book Magical Medicine (15), wrote that farmers used to milk their cows after passing their hands through clefts in trees when the cow's milk production had fallen off. It was thought that by doing so, the farmer would be able to tap into the supernatural powers left by the "fairy folk" who had used the cleft as their doorway between the worlds. The Oak, among many of the other hardwoods, was a favorite vehicle to transfer diseases to. Skinner noted that "even in our country we find survivals of that belief in the curability of diseases by pushing the patient no longer through the `fairy doors,' but through the forks of an oak, or a gap made artificially, with axes, and thereafter to be repaired with loam" (16).

Folk medicine in America called for the boring of a hole in an oak and plugging the hole with a child's hair to cure asthma or to blow into the hole and plugging it to cure chills (17). Transferring diseases to the oak through such harmful methods would not have been permitted by the Druids.

The Druids had strict laws prohibiting the harmful treatment of any tree in a sacred grove. Frazer wrote:

"...For such as dared to peel the bark of a standing tree.... the culprit's navel was to be cut out and nailed to the part of the tree which he had peeled, and he was to be driven round and round the tree till all his guts were wound about its trunk. The intention of the punishment clearly was to replace the dead bark by a living substitute taken from the culprit; it was a life for a life, the life of a man for the life of a tree." (18)

The Sacred Tree throughout the world was viewed as an embodiment of the gods themselves and "anyone injuring it was thought to have inflicted the injury on the god himself, which act merited the severest retribution". (19)

In every locality where forests covered vast areas of land, the oak was considered sacred. Also in each case the oak was to be dedicated to the god of thunder. The Romans held it sacred to Jupiter, the Greeks to Zeus, the Germans to Donar, the Norsemen to Thor, the Slavs to Perun, the Lithuanians to Perkuns, and the Celts to Lugh.

Frazer wrote: "the Druids esteemed nothing more sacred than the mistletoe and the oak on which it grew; they chose groves of oaks for the scene of their solemn service, and they performed none of their rites without oak leaves." (20)

The belief of the oak as a totem in Britain and Gaul is thought to have arrived between 1600 and 1400 B.C.E.—some 500 years prior to the first Celtic incursions into the area.

The sacred groves likely were an attempt to keep intact the ancient psychic unity that forests have provided. In Gaul and the western portions of Europe, forests covered immense areas of land. Caesar wrote of Germans who traveled two months through one such forest, called the Hercynian, without reaching the end. In America a redwood forest stretched from the west-coast to the Mississippi River. Today we attempt to preserve a few hundred or thousand acres of old growth trees from the chain saw, with little success.

Pennick writes:

"The natural forest symbolizes the untamed, wild part of the human soul: it is an archetype of wildness. Wildness, however, is not a state of being out of control; rather it signifies innate naturalness existing in balance with natural principles. Eternal, elemental powers reside in the forest, and those who seek may come into contact with them." (21)

Instead of oak groves, we have housing developments or shopping centers which have incorporated the soul of the oak into their names; Lost Oaks Center, The Oaks, Sleeping Oaks, Oak Tree Manor, Oak Haven, Oakwood Village, etc.

Pennick wrote in Celtic Sacred Landscapes:

"The wild wood is the place in which we can restore our conscious link with our inner instincts by contacting the `wild man' within all of us. When we are supported by the elemental powers of the wood, a rediscovery of forgotten things can take place. ...But this can only happen when the untouched wild wood still exists. Once it is destroyed, then the wild part of the human soul is no longer accessible. Reintegration is no longer possible, and the Wasteland comes." (22)

Every human, everywhere in the world, Pagan and Christian, Jew, Moslem, or Atheist, needs the Wild Wood to survive, so that we may also survive in spirit. The day we loose our link to the Sacred Groves is the day that our link to our archetypal past is also severed. Let us meet our responsibility to the Earth and to the Earth's inhabitants, to protect them from the Wasteland.

Notes

1. Nigel Pennick, Celtic Sacred Landscapes. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1996, page 21

2 Sir James Frazer, The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions LTD., 1993, page 309

3 Alexander Porteous, The Lore of The Forest. London: Senate, 1996, page 166

4 Pennick, op cit., page 23

5 Charles M. Skinner, Myths and Legends of Flowers, Trees, Fruits, and Plants In All Ages and In All Climes. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1911, page 194

6 Frazer, op cit.,160

7. Ibid. 159

8 J.B. Bury, A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great. New York: The Modern Library, no date, page 49-50

9. Porteous, op cit., 59

10 Eric Neumann, The Great Mother: An Analysis of the Archetype. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1963, page 48-49

11 Ibid. 49

12. Ibid. 50

13. Mircea Eliade, Rites and Symbols of Initiation: The Mysteries of Birth and Rebirth. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1958, page 119

14. Neumann, op. cit., 52

15. Wayland D. Hand, Magical Medicine: The Folkloric Component of Medicine in the Folk Belief, Custom, and Ritual of the Peoples of Europe and America. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980, page 134

16. Skinner, op cit., 196-197

17. Hand, op cit., pages 84, 99

18. Frazer, op cit., 110

19. Porteous, op cit, 217

20. Frazer, op cit., 160

21. Pennick, op cit., 24

22.Ibid