The Oak & Holly Queens: A Reimagining of a Summer Solstice Offering Ritual

This is a reimagining of the traditional tale of the battle of the Oak and Holly Kings.

In British folklore, particularly neo-pagan mythology, the Oak King and Holly King are symbolic figures who rule over the waxing and waning halves of the year.

The Oak King reigns from Winter Solstice to Summer Solstice, as the light grows slowly stronger and the days lengthen.

The Holly King rules from Summer Solstice to Winter Solstice, presiding over the waning half of the year, as the days begin to shorten and lead us to winter.

At each solstice, they do ‘battle’ for dominance, one falling in battle, the other rising as victor. This cycle represents the eternal dance between light and dark, growth and rest, life and death. The story is not about good versus evil, but about change and balance and the natural cycles of nature.

Even though the ‘battle’ between the kings is obviously symbolic and both are interconnected, I felt the symbolism of battling Kings, given the current climate and world events, no longer resonated.

So I decided to reimagine the tale as a meeting of two sister Queens:

The Tale of The Oak Queen & The Holly Queen

“And so it was that at Midsummer, within a sacred grove deep within the heart of an ancient forest, the Oak Queen, radiant in her green cloak and oak leaf headdress, surrounded by summer blooms, buzzing bees and the song of young birds, begins to feel her strength soften. 

She has danced though the year, from darkness to light; she has danced all the long, light days; she has nourished the crops, and sung the life back into the land, the plants, trees and all the animals, and witnessed this year’s new growth reach its peak.

Now she senses the great turning. She senses the time is right to begin her rest. She does not fight it, she knows it is the way of things. It is the call that must be followed, the ebb and flow that cannot be fought.

And so at the Summer Solstice threshold, she walks deep into the forest to meet her sister the great Holly Queen, equally radiant and resplendent, crowned with Holly and deep, red berries and cloaked in the colours of twilight. The Holly Queen steps out from the shadows into the sacred space within the grove, not to battle and conquer her sister, but to bow to her and receive her offering.

The Oak Queen removes her garlanded crown, woven with young Oak leaves, honeysuckle  and elderflower, and places it gently into the open hands of the Holly Queen.

“You are the keeper of stillness,” she says. “I gladly offer my crown so that the land and all who live here shall know the darkness that nurtures; the stillness in which all life rests and returns, and from which all life is born.”

And the Holly Queen bows in return, smiling to her sister. “Thank you dear sister. I gratefully receive your crown. You are the bringer of light and warmth that nurtures growth.” she says. “Rest now, and be held by our great Mother as you tend to your roots.”

The two Queens spent three days and nights in the sacred grove together, sharing their stories of their year. They told each other what they were grateful for; they mourned together for what had been lost, they honoured their joys and disappointments, and saw their highs and lows with equal richness. 

At the end of their time together the Holly Queen begins to sing a beautiful lullaby to the Oak Queen who prepares for her great rest.

There is no sorrow, conflict or tension between them, only gratitude. The wheel turns not by force, but by grace. They do not grasp, but open and offer. They do not fight, but weave together balance, a perfect harmony. 

The Oak and Holly Queens remind us that light and dark, growth and decay, birth and death, are not opposing forces but two strands of the same weaving, one warp and one weft, both vital to each other and necessary to create the beautifully intricate, interwoven pattern, the fabric of existence, the fullness of all life. 

They do not meet in conflict like the kings of old did, but in ceremony. The Queens are exchanging roles willingly with dignity and grace, knowing that each phase of the year and each phase of life, holds beauty and purpose. 

They meet in sacred circle witnessed by the elements, plants and trees, all beings seen and unseen, all knowing they also must soon follow the lead of their queens, and engage in their own ritual of slow surrender, until the Queens meet again at the Winter Solstice.”