Folk Names -Joves Nuts, Juglans.

Planetary Correspondance - Jupitor,  Mars,

Symbolism - Strength, Endurance, Power, Generosity, Protection, Honesty, Bravery, Sovereignty.

Invocatory - The Green Man, The Dagda, Athena, Marmari, Hermes, Odin, Perkunas, Perun, Rhea, Robur, Shu, Thor, Janus, Diana, Cybele, Hecate, Pan.

Birds - Wren, Oriole.

LORE

`The Mighty Oak´ is honoured throughout the world,  It was considered to be one of the most if not the most sacred tree among Ancient Greeks, Pagans, Celts and Romans.

`Sir James George Frazer´ * wrote `the worship of the Oak tree or oak god´ it appears to have been shared by all the branches of the Aryan stock in Europe.

In `The Golden Bough´  Frazer goes about describing a most special holy place in Greece, `Dodona´ where an oak tree was the oracle connected with Zeus.

digging deep into Greek history, we find that before it was a Zeus oracle (the name `Zeus´ actually means `deity´)

the oracle was an area devoted to the Mother Goddess. Although not as popular as the Oracle at Delphi, there are mysteries still embedded with the oak oracle of Dodona. In the `Argonautica´  by Appollonius of Rhodes (born 295bc),

Jasons ship, the Argo, had the gift of prophecy, because it contained an oak timber spirited from Dodona!

Perhaps one of the most remarkable quotations from Sir James George Frazer's work `The Golden Bough´ is the following:

"Indeed the very name of Druids is believed by good authorities to mean no more than 'people of the oak´ "

It was considered tree of life by Siberian Shamans who believed the universe turned on an axis of oak.

The oak is also embedded into the history of Britain and King Arthurs Round Table (still shown on the wall at Winchester Cathedral) was made from a single slice of a huge oak, cut from an enormous tree.

Druid Lore has always stated that grooves of oak were very sacred, treated as holy places and used as ritual sites.

The Celtic god of light and healing `Robur´, (hence the trees botanical name!) was worshipped in the French Pyrenees also had much power in the inner light of this marvellous tree.

There are many associations between oak and mistletoe. It is said that one shouldn't harvest from any oak tree which holds mistletoe.  ancient wisdom says -  that it's a symbol from the otherworld that a very special spirit resides in the oak tree if the oak tree holds mistletoe.

Making connection with oak tree energies is very stabilising and life enhancing, its also a strong and deep craft. Try to give them the respect they deserve, these oxygen, life giving great beings.

Peter Carvello,

April, 2024.