Page 33 - The Flickering Cauldron Magazine - June 2022

Star Sign: The Wren
Governing Planet: The Moon
Ruling Element: Water
The King of the forest, the symbol of steadfast longevity and so much more than that to the common folk, a sense of just simply always being there. The mighty Oak was a powerful symbol of continuity and stability in a world that was very far from being stable.
Understandably, the Oak was the most sacred of the trees to the Druids, representing life itself.
The tree we are most familiar with is the common Oak (there’s roughly 450 different types of Oak around the world (only 25 of which are native to Europe). It’s actually a member of the Beech Tree family. It grows in forests with Ash and Beech, and it's not unusual to reach the dizzying heights of 150 feet and live for the best part of a thousand years.
Despite being a frequent target of lightning, the Oak has the most remarkable ability to adapt to this, and so it’s understandable that people saw this as symbolic, and that we can be equally up for the challenge to change and still continue to grow despite adversity.
Now pay special attention. If the word ‘Oaks’ or Oak is a part of your surname; Oakwood, Oakley, Oakhill, you’ve got the point. Your family name is Anglo Saxon and stems (we resisted using roots) from families that either lived in close proximity to a noteworthy old Oak or more often, simply a group of Oak trees. Your name actually comes from the Old English ‘Ac’ (Ayk) which only later became Oak.
We’ve started so we’ll finish. The family name of Oaks can be dated back to 897 in the Somerset parish of Oake when it was then referred to as Acon. (Ay-Kon). Furthermore, it is mentioned in the Doomsday Book (1086) as Acha (Ayk-hah) and meant quite literally ‘place of the Oak trees’.
The Oak (Duir)
10th June - 7th July
The Flickering Cauldron® Magazine - Ogham Oak | 33