Notes from Diane's Garden
Or The Curious Lore and Magical Property of Plants
By Diane Fenster
Eostre 1989: Oak
Abraham met the angel of God under an Oak, sacrifices to Baal were conducted under it, the Dodona oracle of Zeus was found in an Oak grove, it was sacred to the Dagda, high god of the early Irish and of course most of us are familiar with the Oak's relation to the Druids. The tree was duir (D) in the Druidic alphabet and was a representation of power.(See Graves' White Goddess, pgs.176-179, for a detailed excursion into the symbolism of the Oak). Druidic sacrificial victims were said to be crowned with Oak leaves and the sacrificial fires were of Oak logs. So sacred is this tree that felling it is thought to bring death. If the tree was cut down, it was thought to utter a shriek or a groan.
The sacred grove of Diana at Nemi, made famous by Frazer in the Golden Bough, was a grove of Oak trees. Here the King and his tanist fought to the death for the privilege of being ritually united with the Goddess.
The Oak is also related to thunder and was dedicated to Thor in Scandanavian mythology. To the Romans, the Oak was sacred to Jupiter, because it sheltered him at the time of his birth and so it was thought that the tree could not be struck by lightning. This belief comes down to us in an English folk saying:
Strike Elm, strike Rowan, Not the Oak.
In Iceland, Oak pillars were erected to Thunor (another form of Thor). These pillars often stood outside temples and I suspect were later brought inside temples as the axis pole or connector between heaven and earth, and later developed into those columns in the Gothic cathedrals that I spoke of earlier. These tree poles would have acted as something like a natural lightning rod for the divine energies to travel back and forth between the dark womb of the Goddess and the bright sky of the God. We find this imagery once again in Voudon, where trees are the great highways of the comings and goings of the loas. The center post or poteau-mitan of the hounfor or temple is a stylized tree, and the loa descends into the hounfor along this post.
There is a tradition in Westphalia that states that the Wandering Jew will be able to come to rest when he finds two Oaks growing together in the form of a cross. Tradition has it that the cross of the crucifixion was made of Oak. In Ireland there was said to be a famous Oak tree which was under the protection of Saint Colman. A fragment of this tree, if kept in the mouth, would ward off death by hanging.
The Oak tree plays a part in weather charms and oracles as well. Farmers say that many acorns foretell a hard winter. Watching the Oak tree and the Ash to see which comes into leaf first in the spring gives us the saying:
Oak before Ash, only a splash;
Ash before Oak, only a soak.
An early method of divination was to listen to the sounds of the rustlings of the leaves of the Oak. Haven't you ever stood under the boughs of a tree and listened to its whisperings? It is an ancient language, next oldest to the language of stones and mountains, and speaks to us of times long ago. Oak, ash and thorn are called the fairy triad, because if you find the three growing together, you'll be able to see the wee folk. In northern mythology, Fairyland gathers around the roots of the Oak. The Oak is thought to be a guardian tree and it's good luck to have one growing next to your house. Grimm tells us that there is a relationship between elves and Oaks and that the holes found in the trees are used as a sort of thruway for the fairies. There is a similar belief in India where the tree spirits or dryads make use of the holes.
The symbolism of the treehole as yoni, entrance to the womb of the Goddess, and a place of healing, is brought into play with the Oak, just as we saw in the arch of the blackberry branch. Remnants of this belief are found in folk superstitions which claim that you can heal various complaints by putting the hands or the feet in contact with these tree holes. There was a charm for curing gout by taking nail clippings and hair from the inflicted leg, placing them in the treehole and closing the hole with cow dung. Within three months, the cure was made.
Another charrn using the Oak is for a toothache. One bores into the tooth with a nail until it bleeds (a bit severe) and then drives the nail into an Oak, using the side of the tree where the sun does not shine. When the nail rusts, the pain will cease. That's a bit of a long wait so I'm surprised this remained as a charm.
Acorns have also been used as healing charms. Try carrying one in your pocket. It's supposed to bring health and well being. The acorns from the trees that marked parish boundaries were thought to be most effective (Oak trees were used to mark parish boundaries in rural England and the villagers made a procession round the outskirts every year reciting the gospels as they went. This festival of "beating the parish bounds" was supposed to have come down to us from a feast to the god Terminus).
In Berkhamstead, England, there was an Oak that grew near a crossroads (a very magical place indeed, being the haunt of Hecate and Papa Legba) known as the Cross Oak. People suffering from ague would pin a lock of hair to the tree and pull away with a jerk, leaving the hair (and hopefully the ague) still attached to the tree.
The bark of the tree is the part used by herbalists for its astringent effects. It is used in the treatment of agues and hemorrhages and can be substituted for quinine when treating intermittent fevers. When used for this reason, it is given with chamomile flowers. A decoction of one oz. of bark in a quart of water is a useful gargle for chronic sore throats. It can be applied locally to bleeding gums and piles.
The skin of the acorn was thought to be useful in staying the spitting of blood. A powder of acorns mixed with wine was used as a diuretic. Acorns mixed with oak bark and milk was considered an antidote to poisonous herbs and medicines.
Due to the high concentration of tannin, the bark of the tree is used to tan leather. When mixed with copperas, it yields a dye which colors woolens a dull purple.
The Prime Mover of the Universe