[expand]
The mistletoe ceremony was Druidism’s most famous ritual, described by Roman writer Pliny the Elder with mixture of awe and incomprehension.
The Timing:
Sixth night after new moon—not arbitrary but calculated. The moon’s phase affected plant potency, and the sixth night was optimal for mistletoe. Too early and the power had not concentrated. Too late and it began diminishing.
The Tree:
Mistletoe grew on various trees, but oak-mistletoe was most sacred. Oak itself was holy, and mistletoe parasitizing oak created double sanctity—the combining of two sacred species into single organism.
Oak-mistletoe was rare (mistletoe preferred softer-barked trees), making its discovery significant event requiring immediate preparation for harvest ceremony.
The Druid:
Only Druid could harvest mistletoe—not because of prohibition but because the knowledge, the ritual competence, the spiritual authority all resided in Druidic training.
The Druid wore white robes (symbolizing purity, reflecting moon’s light, creating appropriate ritual atmosphere). He climbed the oak or used ladder to reach the mistletoe, careful not to touch it with bare hands before cutting.
The Cutting:
The golden sickle—never iron, which would pollute the sacred—cut the mistletoe with single stroke when possible. Gold was pure metal, untainted, appropriate for sacred work. The sickle’s shape (curved like moon) reflected lunar influence.
The Catching:
Mistletoe could not touch ground—contact with earth would destroy its aerial power. White cloth spread below caught the falling plant, preserving its betweenness, maintaining its sacred quality.
The Offering:
After harvest, sacrifices were made—often white bulls (male fertility offered to obtain plant that cured infertility), with prayers and invocations accompanying the ritual slaughter.
[/expand]