Celtic Europe · Plant motifs
Mistletoe and the druids
The sacred plant that grows on the oak and was believed to come from the sky.
What does it mean?
According to Pliny the Elder, the druids of Gaul held nothing more sacred than mistletoe and the oak on which it grows, believing mistletoe to be sent from heaven. On the sixth day of the moon a priest in white climbed the tree and cut the mistletoe with a golden sickle into a white cloak; then two white bulls were sacrificed. Taken in a drink it was believed to make barren animals fertile and to protect against all poisons [1]. Mistletoe is poisonous; it appears here as a cultural record.
Related plants
- European mistletoe: The sacred plant of the druids; poisonous.
Same theme
Sources
Drawing: Bitki Tabanı, interpreted from the traditional motif.