The Usefulness of Oak For Humans Created Its Place In Legend, Folklore and Myths.
The Oak's huge structure and long life, provides timber which has
been used in buildings, joinery, fencing, and boat building
from early Celtic times into the present day. A matures oak's crop of acorns provides food
for both domestic and woodland creatures. While in Spring its bark is
stripped and used in the tanning high quality leather.
Oak is extremely durable and strong. In East Anglia the Sutton Hoo memorial
ship-burial made for a fallen King or
Hero was made of oak about 1400 years ago. The wood had disintegrated but
the the Oak left a imprint in the ground and enable a reconstruction of the
ship.
Oak houses and building before the 12th Century would perhaps only last
a generation as the wood post driven into the ground would eventually rot
away. However in the 13th Century it was discover that:
.... a stone plinth and timber
sill along with the use of strong timber joints. The stone plinth consisted of
a line of stones, perhaps partly below ground as well as above, laid along the
foot of walls. On this was placed a sturdy wooden sill…. Green oak rectangular post were then inserted
into the sill and secured by mortise and tenon joints and held together by
oak pegs (http://www.today.plus.com)
This solved the problem of oak posts rotting and building exist in the twenty first Century that were built in the 13th and 14th centuries
Oak's use in Healing
Oak galls, made by the larva of gall wasp induce the oak to produce
chemical that form into abnormal growth or galls to encloses the developing
larv, these galls were ground and were used as a cure for problems with the liver.
The distilled water of the bud,
before they break out into leaves is... to assuge inflammation and to
stop the fluxes. (Culpeper -15th century)
The inner bark of the tree and the
skin covering were used to stop the spitting of the blood and the flux or as we
would called diarrhoea The bark is used by modern herbalist as an astringent, as a gargle for a sore throat and to
stop diarrhoea.
Edward Bach 's remedies were based on finding a cure
for physiological states and stress that depleted the
immune system. He also looked to Doctrine of
Signatures a medieval system in which the appearance and habit of a plant was
thought to indicate what it would cure. The Bach Oak remedy
... is used to help us remain
strong in adversity, while at the same time we learn it is better sometimes to
let go rather than crack under the strain. (The Bach Center)
Tradition Folklore healing would advise a person facing a difficult
situation or who was unable to cope with life to go to the
oak wood and walk three times round an oak. Then rest against it to restore
their equilibrium and to be guide by the wisdom of the Oak.
The Oak Folklore and legend and myths
The oak is strong and endures. Foresters traditionally used to pollard a
living oak tree back to the trunk for timber, the tree will re- row into a
dense canopy which may have been harvested again. Most of the
ancient and veteran oaks are pollard oaks they generally live longer than trees
that have not been cut back.
The oaks has become associate with fire in legends and folklore.
Oaks are taller than most other tree and are full of moisture which increases
its vulnerability to
being hit by lightening strikes. The lightning’s
intense electrical charge
travels into the trunk and instantly vaporizes the sap
and moisture into steam. The tree may then violently split or
explode and the sap from the heart wood may catch fire. Yet the Oak
lives on even though part of its trunk may be blackened and damaged.
The oak was used to kindle the fires at Celtic
festivals Beltane, lammas and Samhuinn. The use of Oak of fires also had a sinister aspect in history
and folklore. In Scotland if a malevolent witch or someone
accused of heresy was sentenced to death by burning at the stake, the fire was
made of green oak which burns slowly and gives off noxious fumes Traditional belief in oak’s
protective power, it was believed, would prevented the shade of the person escaping from the flames and haunting
the community in revenge for their hideous death.
Oaks were often
planted by dwellings to protect it from a lightening strike:
It is not wise to
shelter under an oak in a thunder storm!
Oak’s gives sanctuary and protection
from enemies and evil spirits. In Scotland a traveler sleeping in or
near a wild wood drew a circle round him with a oak staff to protect him from the attentions of malicious fairies. Oak baskets and cribs, it was believed, would stop the fairies stealing
a child and leaving a changeling in its place
The word Oak in
Irish and Welsh also mean Chief. and oak is
ranked as a Chieftain Tree in the Celtic Ogham. Chiefs and Kings would plant an Oak grove around
their residence or fort as symbol of Kingship Strength and Fertility. In
the crowed rural homes the Oak woods would allow privacy
and sanctuary from prying eyes. Many children would
be conceived under the shelter of an Oak tree.
The Oak has been associated with sacred places and In the
Pagan era for ritual and ceremony. This was also true of the early
Christian church. Holy wells had Oaks growing nearby with its male powerful energy of
the universe combined with the female life giving trees, often the
Hawthorn and Willow.
The Oaks were places where teaching and laws were given. King Edward The
Confessor in 1005 delivered The Charter of London by the scared Oak on Parliament
Hill. This Charter made London the oldest democratic City in the world. Over time, it became the first stepping stone to the emergence of the
Parliamentary System for the UK.
The Crouch Oak in Adlestone marks the boundary of Windsor Park is said to
have been planted in the 11th Century. It was a gathering place, marriages would
have taken place there until the Church stopped the practice. The people gathered at the Crouch Oak to hear readings from John Wycliffe's translation of the Bible from Latin into into English (1382). Many hearing and understanding the Bible Texts for the first time in their own language.
The 18th Century Preacher John Wesley who thrown out of Oxford and his preaching was dammed as
blasphemous by the established church, preached to people under under the Crouch Oak. The oak's branches make a wonderful sounding board so the huge crowds that gathered to to hear him speak could all hear him clearly.
The Oak a symbol of courage &
determination to overcome adversity.
Damage
by caterpillars can strip a Oak of its leaves and seriously
deplete its energy. However round the time of The Celtic Festival of
Lammas in August the Oak will grow a second growth of leaves which enables it
to recover from this damage . The wood sculpture David Nash believes the
insect can smell an ailing tree and this result in insect infestation.
The insects burrow under loose bark and into rotting patches on
the tree. The Oak responds by using its sap to form a callous which
prevents the insects burrowing deeper into the wood. The attack can
leave huge burrs on the trunk and branches. But the Oak:
... has the courage to survive despite the injuries it endures, it has a
determination to live and achieve its potential (David Nash)
The Celtic Tree Ogham Oracle
My knowledge of the Celtic Tree Ogham is gained from reading the works of Scholars, and
three Wise Women who guide me in the realm of The Celtic Tree Ogham Oracle.
They are Liz Murray, Catlin Matthew, and Glennie Kindred. I
have absorbed their wisdom and combined it with my learning about
trees and experience of being in forest and woods.
A Visualization and Meditation on the Oak
Standing by a mature oak and looking
upwards I can see the strong boughs reaching up to the sky and imagine the
great roots that anchor it growing deep into the earth. One a sunny winter's
day the light that filters through the open canopy of its branches is dappled
and creates a magical space to stand or sit quietly and enjoy
a wonderful
moment
a perfect moment
of interconnect with the oak,
The Oak Tree of Knowledge
The
Gaelic and Sanskrit word for Oak is Duir , which means door. If you draw the
Oak when casting the Ogham you should approach the Oak with respect and let
your presence be known. Touch the Oak gently, either with a hand or with
the mind and wait and see if the doorway to inner knowledge opens. If it opens
enter:
into the power of your imagination...
we are taught that imagination only reveals what is imaginary
that is not true Imagination is a faculty of the soul. the same way sight
is a faculty of the eyes. (Cailtin Matthews)
There are many reason The Seeker are drawn to the Celtic Tree Ogham Oracle.
Here are some of the reason to seek answers from the oracle.
Needing reassurance whether it
is the right time to go forward with an action or project to
... have faith in your vision of what
your are working towards. (Glennie Kindred)
The seeker may have issues from the
past. The oak can give an inner vision which will lead to a new understand
the past. It may show the knots of bitterness which are blocking the way
forward, and give the clarity, strength and protection needed to clear the negative energy
and to move on to a positive path.
A seeker may feel lost, or maybe is
procrastinate about an ambition, dream or hope. May be fearful of failure
and be at a standstill, terrified of being expose ridicule or harm.
The Oak show how to have courage, and the strengthen of will to achieve a
goal.
The seeker is blocked from going forward in life. The Oak bends and moves in the face of a storm. If it didn't branches would be break and be ripped off. The Oak can show the Seeker that stubbornness is the cause of stagnation, or a desire always to be right or to win is destructive. Oak’s healing light can take away the seekers fear
of change.
In the modern world stress caused by work, relationships, lack of money, or
life events may overwhelms us,. The seeker may feel as if they are running in
circles and getting nowhere. The stately Oak can give a place to be quite
and still and let the white noise of life, the chatter the mind, be still in
meditation and rest.
Sometime in life any of us may feels exhausted and broken, seeing before us
a mire of unhappiness and darkness .But the oak teaches:
When all seems dark
the stars still shine trust and endure.
I hope the Stars Shine For you
With Reiki Blessings
MerryB
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