Author: Morgan » Thu Jan 05, 2012 10:32 am
Any discussion of the Winter Solstice and holly from a Pagan perspective would most likely include at least a mention of the battle between the Holly King and the Oak King. For a number of Pagan traditions, this battle represents a central theme surrounding the solstices – the concept of light and dark; of birth, death, and rebirth.
Two themes run throughout the Holly King and Oak King saga. The first, of course, is the two great yearly battles between the two. The second is the sacrificial mating, death, and resurrection of each in his season. At Lammas, the peak of the Holly King's reign, he sacrificially mates with the Great Mother, dies in her embrace, and is resurrected. This is an enactment of the natural fertility theme of the season, and is not uncommon in other mythologies: Osiris, Tammuz, Dionysus, Balder, and Jesus are only a few other gods who die and are resurrected. (The Oak King on the other hand, mates, dies and is resurrected at Beltane.) This aspect of the Holly King and Oak King is not widely discussed, but is an important element in their roles as fertility gods.
Often, these two entities are portrayed in familiar ways - the Holly King frequently appears as a woodsy version of Santa Claus. He dresses in red, wears a sprig of holly in his tangled hair, and is sometimes depicted driving a team of eight stags. The Oak King is portrayed as a fertility god, and occasionally appears as the Green Man or other lord of the forest.
The Holly King, the Lord of the Winterwood and darksome twin of the waning year, rules from Midsummer to Midwinter. At Midsummer, he goes to battle with his twin for the favour of the Goddess. He slays the Oak King, who goes to rest in Caer Arianrhod until they do battle again at Midsummer. Ultimately, while these two beings do battle all year long, they are two essential parts of a whole. Despite being enemies, without one, the other would no longer exist.
These two aspects of the Nature god were later incorporated into Mummers' plays traditionally performed around Yuletide. The Holly King was depicted as a powerful giant of a man covered in holly leaves and branches, and wielding a holly bush as a club. He may well have been the same archetype on which the Green Knight of Arthurian legend was based, and to whose challenge Gawain rose during the Round Table's Christmas celebrations.
Light and dark, life and death. A time to grow and expand, and a time to withdraw and rest. This is the lesson of the two kings, the twin brothers. As we celebrate the holiday season, let us not forget the presence of the Holly King and the Oak King in our lives, and remember that in the midst of the struggles we must all occasionally endure, comes the opportunity to learn and discover new strengths and new possibilities. With the death of the Holly King at the Winter Solstice, we begin a new waxing year and a chance at new growth.
The Holly King's time is for rest, reflection, and learning. Thus the Holly King is honoured with the boughs of Holly, and the Oak King is honoured with Mistletoe – the belief being that Mistletoe is best grown on the Oak as Mistletoe’s most powerful host, (a belief strengthened by the opinion of the 17th century herbalist, Culpepper). Ivy is representative of the Goddess; mother of both Kings, both Kings also being her consort – again powerful ideas of duality.
"Deck the halls with boughs of holly!" So go the words of a popular Christmas carol, thought to have originally been based on an old Welsh melody. Although the well-known English lyrics probably were not written until sometime in the late 19th century, the motif of holly leaves used as a symbol for the midwinter season is truly ancient.
Various myths associated with the Holly King include Santa Claus in all his variations, the Green Knight from Arthurian legend, Mordred (who struck down King Arthur), St. John, Corn King, Bran the Blessed
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Morgan )O(
May your summers and winters be short, springs be mild and autumn reaping plentiful.