Witch Hunts, Oak Trees, and a Gift for a Gift
Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Zoë Howe, author of the new Witchful Thinking.
Whenever I’m in the woods—which is as often as possible—I like to leave something for the spirit of the place, such as a piece of crystal or something “of the earth” that won’t damage the wildlife. A few years ago, something very strange and special happened when I did this. My husband and I were visiting a magnificent 800-year-old oak tree in a wood in Mistley, not far from where we lived at the time in Essex, England. This tree is something of a folk hero in witching circles. His name is Old Knobbley and he is a highly protective presence: during the Essex witch-hunts of the English Civil War, local women suspected of witchcraft hid in the generous hollows of Old Knobbley, escaping capture and saving their lives.* It is hard to visit this idyllic part of the country without feeling keenly aware of the horrors of the past, but there was hope in these cruel times, and Old Knobbley is a potent symbol of that. Greatly loved by the locals, these days children play inside the hollow where women once hid in terrified silence.
We met Old Knobbley on November 1st, 2020, the day after Samhain and an intense blue moon. I placed half a piece of jet that had recently broken into two perfect halves inside a hidden nook (I still have the other half) and kept my fingers upon it as I said a silent prayer of thanks for the sanctuary he had provided. It was then that an extraordinary thing occurred: I felt a sudden, tremendous, and unmistakable heat come through the stone and into my fingers, an intense healing warmth. An exchange was occurring and it was magical and very moving, and went on for some minutes. I was very reluctant to disconnect but I was starting to attract attention from the dog-walkers. Still, it was a moment I will never forget.
The ground around the tree was scattered with acorns, and I was keen to take one as a souvenir. Acorns make fine talismans: they are filled with the oak’s protective vibrations, and you can charge them with energy like a little power unit. I found my acorn and picked up some leaves, and we went to a bench nearby to sit with the energy of the area. Suddenly an exquisite autumn leaf from one of Knobbley’s ancient branches flew down to us, landing almost in my husband’s hand: a gift for a gift.
Now my precious leaves from Old Knobbley are displayed by the door of our cottage, and I always think of that day, that moment, and the protective power of that famous oak, when I see them.
You can find out more about Old Knobbley easily—he’s the only tree I know with an Instagram page.
* These particular witch-hunts were led by self-appointed “Witchfinder General” Matthew Hopkins. His victims were mostly women, although men were targeted during his reign of terror, too: one man murdered by Hopkins was an ancestor of my husband’s: a Mr. Meggs the baker, executed for witchcraft in 1645 in East Anglia. My new book, Witchful Thinking, is dedicated to him.
Our thanks to Zoë for her guest post! For more from Zoë Howe, read her article “Silence is Golden: Five Ways to Quietly Make a Difference in a Loud World.”
