The Water is Wide

The Water is Wide

This is a story of one of two oaks that protected me and taught me in my lifetime.

Celtic tradition attributes these characteristics to the Oak Tree:

Tree of endurance and triumph

Central tree of the Year and a day calendar system

Associated with the Gods of Zeus, Hercules, Janus, Jupiter, and Thor.

In Old Irish the word Duir for "Oak" actually means "door".

It is the sacred wood to the Druids

The house that I grew up in was for all outside appearances was your typical "middle class" American home minus the white picket fence. Instead of the fence we had next to us this lovely graceful old Oak tree.

Many children played hide and seek under that tree. Sadly, I can not say I carved initials or received my first kiss under that tree. More important was this tree taught me to stand tall and face adversity straight on.

Very young I realized I had an ability to communicate with nature. While other kids my age were playing with Ken and Barbie or GI Joe, I was out naming spiders and trying to heal fallen baby robins from their nest. Don't get me wrong, I had friends and I did the normal everyday kid stuff; but I was different in this sense.

My household was very much the story of the "elephant in the living room". I was the youngest and therefore had the house to myself without any other siblings by the age of 10 or so. What would have been bliss for most kids was actually painful for me because the "elephant" became very noisy and I sought refuge in nature.

The oak next to my house had a branch that sprawled over half the roof. The grown ups frequently talked of butchering it off for fear a storm might cause it to damage the roof. I voiced my opinion on more than one occasion and the branch remained until I was 16 years old. I was saddened and felt like they had cut off one my limbs.

On days I did not want to hear the "elephant" croon or slurp its drink I went to my mighty oak. It would embrace me and I would vanish into its trunk so I could not be seen.

But now I'm 45 years old and still live in the city I grew up in. Whenever I can I pass that mighty oak on the road; I bow my head in high esteem and gratitude. I keep my eye on my oak. Even though I no longer live next to it, it is the Oak that needs protecting now; I owe my Oak this watchful eye. This oak is at least 100 years old and a Chief among the oak trees that still remain untouched by building business.

The story of Wanna Oak Tree

The year is 1990. I have lost my two best feline friends that I have had for 20 years. I'm in yet another Alcoholic relationship. I am close to financial bankruptcy.

I find my way to the doors of recovery after my encounter with Hecate. The "clubhouse" I frequent is called the "serenity" club. This is a joke for me because I am far from serene and certainly do not know what that word means. The people yammer away at "higher power" and I just translate everything into what was left of my spiritual path. I understood the 'doorknob' concept of a higher power quite well because the trees and the animals were my higher powers.

I was grateful I found the sponsor I needed during that harsh winter. Spring came and my mind starting doing its usual squirrel caging on wanting everything I thought I needed. Tops on that list was an opposite sex companion. After all, I am sober now and know so much more about life than I did before. (cough, cough). Well it took me two years to figure out this wasn't on my timing.

Assisting in this revelation wasn't the "burning bush" but this Oak tree that I would laugh and tell stories under but mostly cry under for things I thought I needed and wanted. The Clubhouse was remodeling and much ado was made of the old Oak trees that stood to be demolished for the progress of the clubhouse. Needless to say the Nature lovers won out. In fact, the Oak tree that I am telling you about has a name for the person who spoke out adamantly--Bert. This is Bert's tree I am telling you about. Bert has now passed on to the summerland, but I digress.

For two years I sat under this Oak tree and learned more about myself. Again, I was being taught to stand tall in the sight of insurmountable odds {and for those who may not know this -- that would be the disease of alcoholism}. Then the fateful event happened--I met a man. He was what I wanted--but Bert's tree knew better.

The man hurt me and I thought I wasn't going to survive the hurt so I went to my tree to find out that they were going to trim the tree way back because it got in the way of the lawnmower. Instantly the hurt was gone and I stood in front of a know-it-all alcoholic with a chain saw and said "I don't think so"! Such determination this alcoholic had that I shocked myself. I didn't know I had that voice in me.

In the interest of peace we compromised. I went into the tree's trunk while the cutting was being done to help the tree understand. She did without any problem.

When I looked at the large limb the man with chainsaw had--I was given the sign to ask him to cut off a piece for me. Needless to say he did without question.

I put that part of the limb with its foliage into my trunk of my car. I did not know why I had to have that but figured I would be informed later.

Two weeks later, still experiencing the rollercoaster ride from the man that hurt me, my tarot cards instructed me to go to an event at Circle Sanctuary ALONE and face what I had to face with that man. It was Lammas.

It was an incredible experience. We all became trees. There was an acquaintance there that I knew made wands. Ah ha, that was why I was supposed to have that branch. I asked him to make me a wand. He told me because this was an oak that it had to properly cure for a year and a day, which meant he couldn't start carving until after that year and a day. Being the alcoholic that I am I wanted it right then; but realized that this was another commitment to my sobriety. Joyfully, I gave it to him to keep for the year and a day.

The year went by quickly and I moved in with the rollercoaster man because we thought we might get handfasted down the line. It was now September and I was clinically depressed and not working at all. I sought out the wand man. We kept on missing each other. Finally in November we connected. He had been carrying it around for all that time. Pleased that we finally got together he took his lunch hour to deliver his work of art to me. The day was very special because unknown to him this was my fourth year anniversary of my sobriety.

We both agreed that the energy of Bert's Tree is feminine which is unusual for an oak. So my oak tree that was a Wanna tree became a "Wanda" Tree.

I do not own a picture of the either one of the trees I talked about but what I do have is a scan of the wonderful artwork that the Wand man carved for me.

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You may rest their weary bones at this wispful
tree

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