The Holly King's Bed
Although he has felt it for millennia, for as long as energy and form have intertwined, this sensation has always perplexed him - the height of power. For there cannot be height without a fall.
If you’re listening, please forgive my scratchy voice - I have a bit of a cold.
The Oak King is tired.
He has strength enough to peep into his children’s rooms, but before long he must return to bed, to his lover’s arms. To be swathed again in his lover’s sable enchantments. To rest.
The Holly King’s black fingers stroke his lover’s head and his eyes are watchful. He draws his immense cloak over them, pressing his body against his lover’s sleeping form. Above them, clouds gather, pregnant with snow.
It has taken all of the Holly King’s skill these last weeks to lull the Oak King to dream-laden nights. To coax him to bed. And he has relished the peace his efforts have brought the golden-haired man cradled in his arms. But he knows it is almost time to begin letting his lover come back to himself.
He sniffs the air, sharp with cold. Like a coiled spring, he waits. Although he has felt it for millennia, for as long as energy and form have intertwined, this sensation has always perplexed him - the height of power. For there cannot be height without a fall.
Yet he is glad of his descent.
He longs for the extravagant energy of the Oak King - his strength and vitality and radiant zeal. His warmth.
A shiver jumps down his lover’s spine and he presses himself closer, feeling even as he does the heat of his lover diminish.
It is time.
He tucks the cloak around his lover and stands, naked. The eye of the moon is bright with mirth. He circles their bed in widening arcs, stooping to collect fallen branches. When his arms are full, he drops the wood on a charred stone and with a snap of his fingers, they burst into flame.
More about the Oak King and the Holly King can be found on Wikipedia or (my favorite) in the tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Thanks for reading (or listening)! As always, I love hearing from you. What do you have planned for the Winter Solstice? Do you enjoy the dark, firelit nights or are you impatiently awaiting the spring?
💛 Maia
If you haven’t already read it, check out the first part which I wrote for the Autumn Equinox:
That was interesting I wasn’t aware of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight there are definite parallels relating the waxing and waning of power.
This is really nice I went back and read the first part that I’d missed, I’ll now have to investigate Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.