The Oak


Latin name: Quercus Robur

I have a young oak tree here at Tunrida. This may not seem strange to most, but the fact is that the oak is an uncommon tree this far north. It can’t reproduce on its own, but a sapling taken further south and planted here can grow into a tree with a little luck and some care.

The presence of the oak along with some other beneficial places on the premises was one of the reasons we moved here. We soon found out that the oak was glad to have us living here and we decided to ask it if it would like to be the “vårdträd”, the care-tree of the homestead and it agreed. A “vårdträd” is a tree that protects the homestead and its inhabitants, giving happiness and health. A “vårdträd” must never be harmed or disturbed in any way.

I keep my eyes open around our oak, looking for any branches it may have dropped in the wind, making handles to my small rattles out of them and also trying to collect enough to make at least one set of runes a year. It is still too young, only 40-50 years old, to produce any acorns, but I’m looking forward to gathering them in a decade or so.

The Oak and its Uses

The oak is a tree that grows quite slowly and gets very old if left alone. There are oaks that are over a thousand years old and Sweden is one of the countries with the largest population of old oak trees. Old oaks can have a very large girth; Kvilleken in Småland, Sweden has a girth of 13 meters. Oaks can become 25 – 35 meters tall, there are even a few exceptional specimens that have become as tall as 50 meters.

Oaks are deciduous trees, losing their leaves every autumn and sprouting new ones in spring. Their heads are very large, and they flower mid-spring, producing acorns that ripen in the autumn.

Oakwood has historically been very important in shipbuilding, furniture and houses as well as ploughs and thills. The acorns were important for the farmers, as food for their swine. When famine struck, acorns could be ground and mixed with flour when baking bread. The taste of such bread was described as “bitter but strengthening”.

The Oak in Contemporary Herbal Medicine

Bark from the oaks is used externally in damp compresses for acute discharging eczema. It can also be used for some chronic skin conditions, for example eczema, chilblains and leg ulcers. It can also be used for scouring the mucous membranes in the mouth and genitals.

The Oak in Folk Medicine

The bark from the oak contains a high percentage of tannins, making decoctions of it effective against diarrhea and dysentery. Therefore, cultures from around the world all share the knowledge of the oak as medicine for stomach related sickness.

The Oak in Folk Magic

The oak is one of the strongest trees we have, in magic as well. It is especially well suited for protection and healing, being Tor’s holy tree.

Many magical uses for the oak could also be described as medicinal. Large oaks with roots or branches forming holes can be used for removing illness by pulling the sick person through the hole widdershins three times. In old days, attempts were made to cure rickets by splitting a young oak tree down the middle, pulling the sick person through is as described above and then tying the split halves together again, to grow whole and making the sick person as straight and strong as the oak. The oak has been used against both ague and gout. All these practices has been accompanied by magical verses of different kinds.

The oak is a very strong magical protection. In Germany, France and Lithuania, oak branches adorned the doors and windows to keep witches out. A bandage made from oak leaves was said to protect against envy and sorcery.

The oak is said to ward off snakes, keep cattle safe from illness, hens protected from foxes and making sure cows bear female calves.

The most sacred and pure fire is the fire of lightning, lightning being the property of the mightiest god. Since the oak is the tree of the god of thunder (Tor here in Scandinavia), fire from the oak made by the friction of rubbing holds some of the magical and sacred properties of the fire from lightning. This form of protection was used throughout history to ward off plagues.

The powers of the oak can also be used in malicious sorcery, historically it has been used to ruin guns, make people crazy and conjure up a wind that blows away the fertile rain.

Deities and Creatures Associated With the Oak

The oak is the tree of Tor, our Norse god of thunder and protection of humankind. In other cultures, we find that their god of thunder is associated with the oak; the German Donar, Zeus of the Greek, the Roman Jupiter, Taara of the Estonians and the Lithuaninan Perkunas to name a few.

Sources

Juneby, H.B., Fytomedicin - en fickhandbok om medicinalväxter Artaromaförlaget, Gamleby 1999
Schön, E, Älvor, troll och talande träd. Semic, Sundbyberg 2000
Tillhagen, C-H, Skogarna och Träden. Carlssons, Stockholm 1995
www.naturcentrum.se/jattetrad
www.Wikipedia.org