The Holly and Oak King
The Holly and Oak King are the same king but with a twin soul.
At Alban Arthan
the Winter Solstice (Yule)
in midwinter, when the Mabon/ Sun begins to come back to light
the world the Oak King wins the fight to rule the year and at
midsummer Alban Hefin the Summer Solstice (Litha),
also known as they Festival of Joy and the Light of Summer,
the Holly King wins the fight to rule. They both rule for six
months of the year, and are associated with the rites of the
Solstice’s. They are both vegetation Gods/Deity’s
connected to fertility and the seasons.
At Alban Arthan
the winter solstice, the new sun is born and at Alban Hefin,
the Summer Solstice it is completed. It has become its most
mature on the longest day. The Winter Solstice was a time for
letting go what has held you back in the past year and the beginning
of plans and dreams for another. It is also a time to focus
on rebirth rather than death, the Sun, Mabon is being reborn,
each day the sun gets stronger and the Earth Mother, Madron
This is also the time of old age as the Holly king is dying.
Both the Oak and Holly Kings are the Horned God, Cernunnos,
the Wild lord of the Hunt. The process starts again at the Solstice
as they fight for the hand of the Earth Maiden, Lady Ceridwen.
The fight is between the light and the dark half of the year.
The Oak king at this time of year has suffered a wound (Summer
Solstice) and his energy dies down, the Oak and Holly King battle
each other at the Solstice's so the Oak king has suffered a
mortal wound which he will not recover from. In the Winter Solstice
the Holly Kings energy is defeated and the Oak Kings energy
Hence the Oak king can take the crown and woo the Spring Maiden,
the spring maiden is the Lady Ceridwen, also known in Anglo
Saxon is Eostre, Goddess of spring, she and the Mabon meet now
(Spring Equinox) as masculine and feminine energies mix to bring
forth the fertile season.
The Lady of the Harvest, is associated with autumn equinox Alban
Elfed also known as Madron
the Earth Godess, mother of Mabon the sun/son, as she retires
into the earth for the dark half of the year we give thanks
to her for her bounty, and we have faith that she will bless
us again next year with her continued fertility of the harvest.
She is also known as the Lady Cerridwen and many other names.
The Mabon, the Sun Child who brings the promise of the sun and
rebirth, is still an infant and until the Spring Equinox when
the sun starts to be longer he is not old enough to woo the
maiden, the Lady of Spring Ceridwen representative of the earth.
As he grows, so does the suns power, and then the fertility
starts again in the spring with the sacred marriage of the earth
and sun. This is marked by the Spring Equinox Alban EilIr.
Lady Ceridwen is known as Madron and
Danu and also is part of the Triple Goddess in some beliefs.
In springtime the Triple goddess is seen as the Maiden in summer
the Mother and winter the old Hag or Crone. We can see how the
maiden is represented by flowers and rebirth of the land the
fertile cycle starts again, in summer as the mother she is in
full glory and abundance in the coming harvests, in winter months
she is the wise woman or crone, old age and wisdom, resting
now her fertile days are over before the cycle of birth and
death starts again.
The legends of the Oak and Holly King, whatever names we give
to these masculine Gods of fertility and vegetation wax and
wan into the year, much confusion arises from the fact that
in most trees of the Celtic months/moons the Oak is in June
but this is the time when he is suffered a mortal wound by the
Holly King and its the Holly’s energy that wins the day.
In Winter Solstice we see the rising of the Oak King’s
energy and the dying down of the Holly King’s.