I might have stepped away from Eclectic and Neo-Wiccan practices, but at the Summer- and Winter solstices, I will always spend some time thinking about the Oak King and the Holly King, brothers who rule over the seasons. The Oak King rules from Midwinter to Midsummer and his brother from Midsummer to Midwinter. At the solstices, they battle and one of them gets defeated.
The legend has Celtic origins but within (Neo-)Wicca, the two are often considered two aspects of the Horned God. Whatever the interpretation, the two are inseparable and one can not exist without the other.
This sunday, I'm hosting an Eclectic Midsummer celebration with a good friend and part of the celebration will be the battle between the Kings. As I pitched this idea to said friend, I wrote a bit of text for both Kings to say before they started the battle. As we're not using it anyway, I can use it here to make a point:
We need the Holly King, even if you don't subscribe to this myth. We all need times of quiet and contemplation. Somehow, the entire reign of the Oak King seems to be filled with changes for me. It's a recurring theme in my life. The first part of the calendar year always rushes past. It's one, long, sprint from January through June. I long for the summer, the slowing down that starts in its brilliant sunlight. It's barely Midsummer and I'm already looking forward to winter.
So this sunday, I will be cheering on the Holly King at the top of my lungs. I'll shout for him to win and beat his brother down so the earth, and I, can find rest. And in half a year's time, I'll stand before them again and I will cheer for the Oak King all the same. Because they belong together, and I can't have one without the other... and I doubt I would want to, even if I could.
The legend has Celtic origins but within (Neo-)Wicca, the two are often considered two aspects of the Horned God. Whatever the interpretation, the two are inseparable and one can not exist without the other.
This sunday, I'm hosting an Eclectic Midsummer celebration with a good friend and part of the celebration will be the battle between the Kings. As I pitched this idea to said friend, I wrote a bit of text for both Kings to say before they started the battle. As we're not using it anyway, I can use it here to make a point:
Oak King:
"I am strong and powerful! Why should I relinquish my crown to my brother? Have I not taken care of you since Midwinter? When my brother wins, the long winter will return. The leaves will fall and you will go hungry. Cheer for me during the battle and I will bring you the sun!"
Holly King:
"Yes my brother speaks truth! I bring you cold and misery. Your fields will freeze over and you will not be able to produce food from them, but listen to me before you choose his side. I am the darkness of winter, the calm inside human and field alike. The rest both need to recharge and renew before Spring. Without me, your fields would become barren and you would still die of hunger. My brother is charismatic and speaks, as is only logical, half of the truth. Look into your souls and hear my words; I bring you sun and quiet, so children of Mother Earth, cheer for me!"
We need the Holly King, even if you don't subscribe to this myth. We all need times of quiet and contemplation. Somehow, the entire reign of the Oak King seems to be filled with changes for me. It's a recurring theme in my life. The first part of the calendar year always rushes past. It's one, long, sprint from January through June. I long for the summer, the slowing down that starts in its brilliant sunlight. It's barely Midsummer and I'm already looking forward to winter.
So this sunday, I will be cheering on the Holly King at the top of my lungs. I'll shout for him to win and beat his brother down so the earth, and I, can find rest. And in half a year's time, I'll stand before them again and I will cheer for the Oak King all the same. Because they belong together, and I can't have one without the other... and I doubt I would want to, even if I could.
6 comments:
Have a blessed time this Solstice, and on Sunday as you think of the Holly King and the Oak King.
Tim, is that you?! You found me!
Thank you, hun! Although you don't observe it, I wish you a blessed Solstice as well!
I miss you deeply, my friend.
though I do far less with the solstices, there is a fairly good bit of evidence and scholarly work talking of the equinoxes when related to the half of the year that Apollon is not in Hyperborea. So I have developed my own bi-yearly practice. Though this has taken even more shape since I came across Pausanias' reference to Apollon and Pan as gods of the two seasons. For which I have begun to see it as an exchange from the season of cultivation, fruition and harvest, to that of sowing, germination and flowering. I just thought I would mention it (though I see from your blog roll that you read my blog so you probably have already read me yammering about this several times by now heh) to give you a related idea from the Hellenic side (though clearly dealing with equinoxes instead of solstices).
Kinda amusing to be replying to this so late now as we are approaching the winter solstice ;)
Gods, reading this again, it feels like an entirely different person wrote it. I can't believe how much my practice and thought process changed over the course of a few short months. I don't observe the equinoxes anymore, although I publish Little Witch on them, so I am aware they are happening. They don;t fit in my Hellenistic religion anymore. Wow, it's weird to say that with so much finality.
At any rate, I do read your blog and enjoy it very, very much. I recently wrote about the Eniautos-Daímōn (link below), which may relate to your comment about Pan, although the references are of Dionysus. It may be worth reading for you.
Thank you for bringing me back to this post. It feels like a huge blast from the past :)
http://baringtheaegis.blogspot.nl/2012/12/pbp-tragic-sacrifice-of-year-daimon.html
I only celebrate the equinoxes myself as so much as they relate to the movement of Apollon, and in this case the division of the year between Apollon and Pan as the god of the two seasons as per Pausanias in his description of either Messenia or Arcadia..I can't recall which offhand :) In any case it is quite different as a Hellenic thing, and really has little to do with how equinoxes are celebrated by others, this post just brought it to my mind lol. Dionysos' exchange with Apollon is particular to the Delphi cult but Dionysos himself is not really associated with a season even though he does his term at Delphi. That both Apollon and Pan have a close relationship with Dionysos, makes everything work together in an interesting way. I will take a look at your other entry.
Oh and thanks lol. I have signed up for BlogSpot to copy my blog onto largely so I do better at keeping track of this blog and a couple of other BlogSpot writers that it is helpful to have update notifications for ;)
I went back to read that post on your blog and found it fascinating, again. I really need to spend some quality time with the writings of Pausanias beyond the cursory glance I have given them prior. Oh how I wish for more hours in the day...
And yes, the dynamic between the Theoi makes Hellenic culture much easier to grasp, don't you think? I'll have to look closer into the Apollo/Pan dynamic; I've largely associated Apollo and Dionysus together in regards to the yearly cycle (due to Delphian influences). An Apollo/Pan dynamic makes sense.
I hound your blog ;) Welcome to the blogger community. I love it here, and I hope you will as well. Thanks for the compliment!
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