Bach Flower Remedies
Oak

Quercus robur

There are many varieties of oak in the northern hemisphere, for example the English or Pedunculate Oak (Q. robur) and the Sessile or Durmast Oak (Q. petraea). In general appearance they are similar although the Sessile Oak tends to grow taller with a more slender unbranched trunk. The important distinction lies in the flower and leaf. The English oak (Bach's remedy Oak) has leaves with little or no stalk and female flowers (and later acorns) that are on stalks or peduncles 20-30mm long. The Sessile Oak conversely has stalked leaves and unstalked (sessile) female flowers. These female flowers in both cases are like small, red buds. The male flowers are catkins that hang like knotted string (25-45mm) from the ends of the branches. The female flowers appear on the new season's growth right at the end of the twigs. As it is difficult to pick the flowers of the Sessile oak, the English oak with a stalked flower is the one to use.

Flowering Period

Oak flowers during late April and May. The flowers appear with the new leaves when they are ochre in color before they darken to green.

Preparation

Oak is prepared by the sun method. Choose a place near an oak wood with an open southern aspect and gather the red female flowers only from as many trees as possible. Pick the whole stalk of flowers and float them on to the water so as to cover the surface.

Uses

Resilience.

Oak people have great strength of character. They are not demanding or forceful, but rather they are reliable, dependable and tend to wrap others in reassurance and make them feel secure. Oak people keep calm in a crisis and always seem to know what to do for the best. On a personal level they enjoy their independence and dislike being ill or incapacitated as it interferes with their desire to get on with life. Therefore, they will struggle on, despite their pain or discomfort, and may then become exhausted. If forced to rest they feel dissatisfied, irritated and despondent at the restrictions imposed upon them. They are true fighters when it comes to getting well. They do not give in, but maintain a positive outlook -something which is undoubtedly a great help to them during convalescence, so long as they are patient and allows their bodies a chance to heal.

Oak type animals have a similar strength of character and they too show tremendous resilience and resistance when they fall ill. When forced to rest, they try to resist and repeatedly attempt to get up and walk about, no matter how weak they may feel. They will not normally complain, but may show signs of depression or exhaustion. Oak animals, like their human counterparts, are calm and steady rather than excitable. This is what can help tell them apart from Impatiens, Vervain and Vine types, who also have strong characters but demonstrate them in different ways.

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