#Celtic oghams

[hauntingbeautyart]

My Ogham deck came out this week 4 years ago! These are my favorite pieces from the deck.

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Deck available at www.thechaoticgingers.com ✨

[blueiscoool]

Stone With 1,600-Year-Old Irish Inscription Found in English Garden

A geography teacher, Graham Senior, stumbled across a rock with mysterious incisions while tidying his overgrown garden in Coventry, England. The discovery of a small stone carved with an early form of Celtic script has caused excitement among archaeologists.

The rectangular sandstone rock was found by Graham Senior in Coventry during lockdown in 2020 while he was weeding, but its true value was only recently understood.

The 11-centimeter-long and 139-gram rectangular sandstone rock had cryptic inscriptions on it that suggested a history spanning over 1,600 years, all written in the mysterious Ogham alphabet.

Ogham is an early medieval alphabet used to write the Archaic Irish language from the 4th to the 6th century and Old Irish from the 6th to the 9th century. It is usually found carved on stones in Ireland, Wales, and western Britain. It was the first written language in Ireland. The majority of the 400 or so known inscriptions from the Archaic Irish period are family name pillars that were built to announce land ownership.

Ogham is an extremely unique writing system among all writing systems, with lines arranged in groups of one to five only. The stones provide insight into the Irish language before the use of the Latin insular script.

Finds liaison officer for the Birmingham Museums Trust, Teresa Gilmore, told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that the discovery on an Ogham stone in the English midlands was a rare find.

“These finds do not turn up in the midlands. The bulk of Ogham inscriptions are found over in Ireland,” she said.

Professor Katherine Forsyth of Celtic Studies at the University of Glasgow conducted additional research that shed more light on the stone’s provenance. Her findings point to a period suggesting a timeframe ranging from the fifth to sixth centuries, with the possibility of an even earlier date in the fourth century.

The stone is inscribed on three of its four sides. The inscription on the stone, “Maldumcail/S/ Lass,” puzzled researchers, with interpretations pointing towards a version of the personal name Mael Dumcail, but the meaning of the S and LASS is unclear. Given the usual purpose and significance of ogham stones, it may be a location reference.

Theories regarding the origins of the stone abound, with speculations ranging from migration patterns to the presence of early medieval monasteries in the region.

The rock will be displayed at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry, to which Senior has donated it permanently. It will feature in the forthcoming Collecting Coventry exhibition, which opens on 11 May.

By Oguz Kayra.

[apiswitchcraft]

the ogham alphabet and their divinatory meanings

FIRST AICME

ᚁ beith

UPRIGHT: joyful beginnings, new possibilities, renewal and rebirth--even if it is uncomfortable

REVERSED: a blind path, wasted efforts, fixation on the past, longing for the impossible

ᚂ luis

UPRIGHT: clarity, attention to detail, purification, danger avoided or overcome, two paths are open to you

REVERSED: vulnerability, uncertainty, deception, delusion, something (possibly your own emotions) is misleading you

ᚃ fearn

UPRIGHT: protection and guidance, emotional security, good advice, prophecy, unexpected solution(s), music, poetry

REVERSED: willful blindness, refusal to listen to advice, arrogance or not enough information

ᚄ saille

UPRIGHT: go with the flow, intuition, dreaming, unconscious, letting go of preconceptions, feminine energy/connection to the moon

REVERSED: inability to adapt, feeling defeated or lost, lack of movement, difficulty that will inevitably pass

ᚅ nuin

UPRIGHT: connection and transformation, being a part of something bigger, fate, divine action/inspiration

REVERSED: isolation and boredom, being blind to (either good or bad) possibilities, take control and be assertive

SECOND AICME

ᚆ huath

UPRIGHT: patience, protection/purification, reserve, feeling suffocated, problems that will eventually change, self-sacrifice

REVERSED: you are acting too hasty, take a second to think OR you're at a standstill, you need to take action

ᚇ duir

UPRIGHT: sacred spaces, forward movement, power and energy, the power to endure, leadership, endurance

REVERSED: help from those in power, success despite means, borrowed strength, a gift, cowardliness

ᚈ tinne

UPRIGHT: challenges or tests, recommends decisive action, balance, integrity, talent/skill/expertise, growth

REVERSED: attack, hardship, aggression, lack of direction or balance

ᚉ coll

UPRIGHT: knowledge and learning, transformation and flexibility, creativity, daydreaming, rituals/divination

REVERSED: intellectual/creative blockages (art/writer's block), lack of insight, fear of failure, ignorance

ᚊ quert

UPRIGHT: happiness, healing, beauty, love affairs, awakenings and new experiences, opportunity (or the choice) to live more fully

REVERSED: despair, ailments, unavoidable choice(s), mixed gain/loss, procrastination

THIRD AICME

ᚋ muin

UPRIGHT: inspiration, prophecy or psychic senses, community and celebration, freedom, rest, examine life's lessons

REVERSED: burdens, difficulties, a need to relax/unwind, you're strung out or trying too hard OR overindulging

ᚌ gort

UPRIGHT: slow/indirect progress, wildness, purpose, determination, transformation, follow life's path

REVERSED: entanglement, think twice about what you're doing, and arduous path

ᚍ ngetal

UPRIGHT: vitality, awareness of environment, creating order from chaos, prioritizing personal health, you aren't finished yet

REVERSED: inability to act, need for healing and patience, you aren't ready to act yet OR you have done all you can

ᚎ straif

UPRIGHT: necessity/inevitability, fate or omens, death, rebirth, some things cannot be changed, wheel of fortune

REVERSED: pain, difficulty, retribution, necessary suffering, no choice is a good one

ᚏ ruis

UPRIGHT: resolution, completion, looking ahead, omen of success, difficulties permanently overcome

REVERSED: endings and departures, face the facts, shame, illness/disability

FOURTH AICME

ᚐ ailm

UPRIGHT: insight, grounded in the present, clear vision, start new project(s), new perspective, foresight

REVERSED: ignorance of the broader picture, unrealistic ideas, step back and reassess, fear and anxiety

ᚑ onn

UPRIGHT: energy, life, vigor, sexuality, attraction, gathering together, consider changing your life's direction

REVERSED: difficulties and delays, overconfidence, taking too many risks, unrealistic desires

ᚒ uhr

UPRIGHT: spiritual/magical power, forces of nature, deep connections, fulfillment, death and memories of loved ones

REVERSED: deception, deceit, loss of contact with nature/spirits, need for recuperation/reconnection in a relationship

ᚓ eadhadh

UPRIGHT: courage and tenacity, a struggle for victory, quest for inner strength, enlightenment

REVERSED: addiction, terror, declining health, compromise and negotiation, choosing a different path

ᚔ iodhadh

UPRIGHT: ancestry, aging or dying, things unchanging, old age, memory

REVERSED: stagnation and immobility, death or mourning, the past is a burden, things lingering past their prime

FORFEDHA

ᚕ eabhadh

UPRIGHT: spiritual wisdom, complexity, place of balance/harmony, presence of many factors, spiritual wisdom

REVERSED: confusion, bewilderment, too many factors at work to allow for a successful prediction/decision

ᚖ oir

UPRIGHT: radical transformation, abundance, sudden illumination or destruction that is set about by outside forces

REVERSED: patience, preparation, the path before you is a slow one, wait for outside forces to act

ᚗ uilleann

UPRIGHT: knowledge and lore, learning and study, wisdom of the past as a guide, private thoughts or secrets

REVERSED: ignorance, failure to learn from the past, future instead of past

ᚘ ifin

UPRIGHT: secrets and revelations, subtle influences, releasing emotions of guilt/shame

REVERSED: the situation is not as it seems, the information that you need is not available to you

ᚙ eamancholl

UPRIGHT: unexpected change, arrival of new influence, illness

REVERSED: sudden endings or disruptions

[sierrawitch]

🌳Ogham Master Post🌲

(Aicme links below)

Ogham is an Early Medieval (and the first) Celtic writing system created in 100 CE, which went on to develop Ancient Irish in the 4th-6th centuries CE, and Old Irish in the 6th-9th centuries CE. It was also used to write Pictish, Scottish Gaidhlig, and some Welsh.

The Ogham alphabet consists of four major letter groups—or aicme—to make up the feda, and one additional group that was created in the 6th century of the Old Irish period—the forfeda.

Ogham can be seen today carved into ancient stones in Ireland, Scotland, and in Wales, some dating back to the 4th century CE.

Each character is representative of a type of tree or plant with additional associations such as wealth, healing, love, etc. Today, these characters are used primarily in divination practices in Celtic paganism and Celtic folk witchcraft as wooden staves, cards, or carved onto stone and other natural objects. Ogham is typically written vertically from bottom to top, resembling the growth of a tree. However, it can also be written horizontally by rotating the characters 90° to the right (as shown in aicme links).

First Aicme (B)

Second Aicme (H)

Third Aicme (M)

Fourth Aicme (A)

Fifth Aicme/Forfeda (EA)

If you would like typed Ogham on a mobile or desktop device, be sure to use the horizontal format of the Ogham Transliterator. Highlight, copy, and paste the text to use in various projects.

[blackcrowing]

Ogam Divination Meanings from a Linguistic Perspective

I want to prefix this guide by saying that I take a very different approach to ogam than many other practitioners do. I approach them from a linguistic perspective and gather context from the cultural perspective.

So if you are familiar with other divination meanings for the ogam these meanings may feel VERY different from the ones you've seen. That being said if you have questions about how I came to the meaning I did, please feel free to ask and I will explain the ogam in question to the best of my ability.

I align the aicme ('families') with the four fire festivals. This is my personal method, it is not based on any specific historical or linguistic data but it helps me bring more context to each feda.

Imbolg

beithe

strongly associated with protection

a warning to guard what is dear

a call to heal/healing

sense/essence of protection

luis

that from which healing comes

that which sustains ones way of life/community

the act of healing (gently)

fearn

fighting to protect

the first line of defence

fighting for the community

sustaining peace

sail

Otherworld protectors/ancestors

messages from the Otherworld

Otherworld gift

Reciprocal relationship with the Otherworld

nin

binders of the community

the bringing of peace (possibly through action/reprimand)

a wave can be gentle and soothing, but a wave can also be wild and sweep you your death, it is uncaring in these endeavors simply following its nature

especially emphasizing women

Bealtane

úath

point of life transition (male coming of age)

related to the unmarried male war bands

warrior skill building or related to warrior skills (cattle raiding, skirmishes, hunting, soldiering)

dair

the greatest knowledge

knowledge over the ways of life and death (druids)

both the skilled and that which is shaped by skill (think something along the lines of every master of a skill had to be shaped into a master by others)

tinne

seems to be related to a festival (possibly one lost to time, or a more general kind of festival like a market day)

a coming together

trade; commerce; dealings

items made by skilled craftsmen

coll

inspiration (imbas)

poetic knowledge

creation/creativity

cert

Ruler

power of the Otherworld

fír flathhemon

Lughnasadh

muin

the duty to strike down

righteous attack

beheading (related to head cult)

gort

lands that feed

‘home’

the place of providing

place of the ancestors?

gétal

opening wounds

for healing or valor

act of healing (difficult, painful, traumatic)

straif

secrets, mystery

seeking visions and dreams

possibly related to something ceremonial

ruis

extreme emotion (negative or positive, even a mix)

related to activities with others

Samhain

ailm

beginning

the first action/first to answer the call

naming/creating/birth

onn

patrolling what is yours

movement through what is familiar

movement over great distance

úr

ancestors/decedents

family (in the broad sense)/ community

ancestor burials

edad

bond of friendship

host/guest relationship

oath

idad

the eternal

that which always is

movement through time (maybe history, but also possibly the future)

[saganssorcery]

This is the box I have carved for my Ogams. The symbol is known as Feige Find or Fionn’s Window, it appears in the “Auraicept na n-Écea” an old Irish text on language and grammar. Each ring includes the well known Ogam feda and the forfeda (or additional feda) surrounding the second ring from the outer edge.

The symbol and its original uses are somewhat a mystery but people have adapted it as a meditation tool which ties Irish myth and cosmology together.

The idea here is that it can be used in meditation as a mandala or portal into the otherworlds, starting from the outer edge and moving your attention to the inner circles where the deeper secrets lay.

You'll notice that the feda are set into four “aicme” consisting of five feda running from the outer circle to the inner circle. At the top we have the Beith aicme. The right the h-Uath aicme. The bottom the Muin aicme. And left the Ailm aicme. This set up somewhat reminds me of the Rune Aetts and their categories but obviously not related or the same.

Anyhow I figured I would share a little about what this is and what I've been up to with it.

©️SagansSorcery 🔥🖌️

If anyone would like an Ogam reading please send me a DM. I'm offering three Ogams for £5 GBP or a 10 Ogam Celtic Cross for £15.

[differentwitchflower]

Celtic Ogham divination set ~ a work in progress

I've been wanting to make my own "runes" or stone divination method, I could not vibe with any I found in store, so I've made some in polymer clay.

Like tarot, each symbol has its own meaning I both researched historical and wrote myself in my Grimoire. I now have my own magic tool for self growth made by myself, and spirit. I feel connected even tho I have not used them yet.

Exploring my Celtic roots has been the most grounding experience with witchcraft I've had. I'm much more aware of my whole self and even my subtle body energy system.

I am magic. I am learning to love myself. I am learning to love the flow of life.

These ogham will help me grow to my highest self.

[umbralgrove]

✨WIP✨

Ink on 220gsm Watercolour

Ogham is the earliest written language system of ancient Ireland. These stones can be found all across Ireland, no two are exactly alike. Ogham is read from the bottom upwards.

Custom made, personalised Ogham namesake art pieces are available to order from my ✨shoppe✨linked below, check moon out the listing for details 👇

[paganposting]

Ogham Readings

Hello! As some of you know i am trying to raise money for top surgery, and after very careful consideration i have decided to offer ogham readings.

What is ogham?

The ogham alphabet is the earliest written form of the Irish language, originating sometime around 300BC. In the mythology, the alphabet was created by the god Ogma as a gift to humanity. Each letter has multiple associations, trees, birds, colors, ideas, and much more. This is an oversimplification of course, but the ogham alphabet is a key part of my practice. Modernly many Irish pagans use it for divination, charms, and artwork.

Using ogham is not a closed practice. Anyone is welcome to it, but it is very deeply entrenched in celtic cosmology and can only be understood in that context. This is why ogham readings can be a bit tricky to get the hang of.

What Im Offering

Ogham readings are a service i provide in real life to people in my grove, its one of my roles in our community. I'm new to doing this online, so feedback is appreciated! I am only comfortable giving readings to those over the age of 18. You do not have to be pagan or even religious to ask for one.

$5- one fid reading

i will pull one ogham stave and discuss its meaning, history, and core concepts with you. this could be something that needs more attention, a message for you, or a concept deeply tied to you as a person. through talking we can figure out its meaning in your life.

$10- answering a question

i will help you craft a question best suited to your needs and the oghams ability to answer. i will use my method of ogham divination which usually yields 3-5 staves. we will discuss the outcome and its meaning.

$20- three cauldrons

the three cauldrons are poetic energy centers in the body that are turned by joy and sorrow. there is the cauldron of warming, the cauldron of motion, and the cauldron of wisdom. this reading will look at each individual cauldron and provide insight on what you should focus on in those aspects of life to align your energy.

DM if interested!

if there's something specific you'd like a reading on that doesn't quite fit one of these options let me know and we can negotiate price!

thank you 💚

[aggywytchking]

Divination Dice

[yoga-onion]

Legends and myths about trees

Celtic beliefs in trees (10)

Ph for Phagos (Beech) - all year around

Stars: Mercury, Saturn; Gender: female; Element: air, earth; Patrons: Ogma, Thoth, Hermes, Mercurius, Odin, Kronos; Symbols: learning + knowledge, wisdom + understanding, prosperity

The beech tree is a tree of learning, a symbol of prosperity and success. When walking through a beech forest, the large trees with the smooth, silver-grey bark and the curves created by the trunk and branches are like a living elephant or rhinoceros, giving you a sense of relief all year round.

In spring, the beech forests are bright and breezy, and the bluebells are in full bloom, the contrast between the dazzling young leaf colours and the blue announces that 'spring has come'. In spring, the beech spreads soft, translucent, golden-green leaves with a fan-like shape, and in summer these leaves eventually become hard and dark green in colour, changing to yellow, reddish brown or golden in autumn. It is an essential tree for the forest.

The beech tree symbolises the written word, human innate wisdom and ancient knowledge. In olden times, writing was written on beech wood, and the first books were made by binding thinly cut beech wood. Before that, they were scrolls.

The beech tree is associated with deities of wisdom, knowledge and intelligence, such as Odin in Norse mythology, who brought us the runes, or the inventor of the Ogham script; the great warrior of the Tuatha Dé Danann; the monstrous strength of the eighty oxen; and the Celtic god, the sun-faced Ogma. And because of its connection with the creation of the secret code alphabet, it is also a symbol of divination and prophecy.

木にまつわる伝説・神話

ケルト人の樹木の信仰 (10)

Ph は Phagos (ﾌﾞﾅ) - 1年中

星: 水星、土星; 性: 女性; 要素: 空気、土; 守護神: オグマ、トト、ヘルメス、メルクリウス、オーディン、クロノス; シンボル: 学習＋知識、知恵＋理解、繁栄

ブナの木は、学びの木、繁栄と成功の象徴でもある。ブナの森を歩くとき、その大木は銀灰色のした滑らかな樹皮、幹や枝がつくる曲線はまるで生きた象か犀のようで、一年中安堵感を与えてくれる木だ。

春、ブナの林の中は明るく風もよく通り、ブルーベルが一面に咲き誇り、眩い若葉色とブルーのコントラストに「春が来た」ことを知らせてくれる。春になると、ブナは半透明の柔らかい金緑色の葉を扇状に広げ、やがて夏にはこの葉が硬くなり濃い緑色になり、秋には黄色、赤褐色、金色へと変化していく。森になくてはならない木だ。

ブナの木は書かれた文字、人間が生まれつき備えている知恵、古代の知識を象徴している。ブナの木は、ルーン文字をもたらした、北欧神話のオーディンや、オガム文字を発明し、トゥアサ・デー・ダナンの偉大な戦士で八十頭の牛にも勝る怪力の持ち主、ケルトの神である太陽の顔を持つオグマ���ど、知恵、知識、知力をつかさどる神々と関連している。そして秘密の暗号アルファベットの創造と関係があることから、占いや予言の象徴ともなっている。

[afledglings-guideto-witchcraft]

Hello♡, there are any differences between norse and celtic runes? If so what are they?

Ohmygosh, hi friend, I'm so sorry, I thought I had already answered this!

From my research, yes, there is a difference between Nordic runes and the Celtic Ogham.

Runes are a part of an ancient alphabet used by the Germanic peoples as a way of communication, to create spells, and forms of protection.

All runes were used by the Nordic folk, and runes have been found in England, Greece, and Greenland.

The Celts did not have runes. They only had the Ogham, which consisted of four sets of strokes, or notches, each set containing five letters composed of from one to five strokes, thus giving 20 letters. These were incised along the edge of a stone, often vertically or from right to left.

(Left- Nordic Runes, Right- Celtic Ogham)

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

So I got a tarot deck with an instructional/historical book from a garage sale for a whopping total of one dollar, and now I’m learning how to write and interpret Celtic Ogham!

Apparently it was also used as a form of sign language of the hands, or of the fingers positioned across the bridge of the nose or shin bones. Druids were forbidden from communicating with it in some contexts because it was such a multifaceted, contextual language that it was easy to weave in hidden messages; thereby giving Druids the tactical advantage.

[sierrawitch]

Ogham

Fifth Aicme/Forfeda (EA)

by autumn sierra

For digital formatting purposes, the Ogham have been rotated 90° to the right into horizontal form. When rotated 90° to the left, they will again be in vertical form.

Ogham Master Post

This aicme, the Forfeda, was introduced following the main 4 aicmes and is not part of the original Ogham. However, it was documented in the Old Irish period, and is used among the other aicmes to this day.

ᚕ

Eadad (ea): Poplar tree

Meaning: all knowledge, carrier of wisdom, inspiration, spiritual nourishment

ᚖ

Ór (oi): Spindletree/Gold

Meaning: worth, value, wealth, weaving, fate

ᚗ

Uilleann (ui): Honeysuckle

Meaning: elbow, flexibility, change, measurement

ᚘ

Ifín (io): Gooseberry/Pine tree

Meaning: childbirth, femininity, menstrual cycle, divine influence, sweetness of life

ᚙ

Eamhanchodl (x/ai): Witch Hazel/Witch Elm

Meaning: the Mor, learning, knowledge, books

ᚚ

Peith (p): unknown

Meaning: soft “beith”/unknown

(Most likely created in the Middle Irish period)

[blackcrowing]

Book Review of 'A Guide to Ogam Divination' by Marissa Hegarty

I was thrilled when I bought this book. I was so excited to crack it open and read it, I was excited to write this post and support an independent author who is out here putting in the work and turning out well researched information for budding and experienced pagans alike. It makes me incredibly sad to not be able to do that…

I found the first part of the book, here named "Theory" overly long, convoluted and mostly outside the professed scope of the book (that scope being named as divination). This criticism comes from someone who is enamored by linguistic history and therefore should have found this section as fascinating as any other. However, for example, while I appreciate the author's apparent desire to assure the reader that ogam existed prior to the overwhelming establishment of Christianity in Ireland and therefore was almost certainly a product of a pagan thinking mind as opposed to a Christian one, this point was ultimately very simple to get to and did not require as much time and effort as the author put into it (about 35 pages, taking into account the section on ogam stones which set up the section for this point, likely 10 or so would have done just fine).

I also found myself really struggling to connect with the authors take in many aspects of this section. Few points make sense to me, perhaps in part or in whole do to the author's seemingly random use of citations. Such as one point when the ages of Auraicept na nÉces and In Lebor Ogaim might be cited (though even then it is sometimes difficult to decipher exactly WHAT point is actually being cited), while elsewhere a reference is made to what is apparently a manuscript containing the earliest complete use of Ogam, yet there is no citation for this (it is, presumably, sourced later in the text but with no mention of given either at the first introduction nor at the later account). Additionally, (while it is no fault of the author's) some aspects I could not independently verify at all because the articles/books referenced are unavailable and... apparently... not referenced anywhere else...

Moving on to the second section “practice”… there was very little information offered in this section that was new to a reader who already has read “Ogam: weaving word wisdom” by ERL and “Irealnd’s Trees: Myths, Legends and Folklore” by Niall MacCoitir…

Whats worst, in my personal opinion is that I never felt like the author ever took a stance on… well anything… each time I settled in to what the author was saying about any point at all I suddenly found them either arguing directly against that point in the very next paragraph and dismissing it wholly or after expressing a conflicting idea throwing up their hands and going "either might be true". While this is often done by writers on topics which can not have definitive answers there is a way to do it without giving your audience whiplash or living them feeling like the author themselves may not know what they're talking about and this author… unfortunately did not employ any of those methods.

I can not express enough how much I wanted to like this book and how much I wanted to support this budding author… but I found the whole experience ultimately unenjoyably and lacking any individual thought or additions…

[saganssorcery]

Hello friends! I have another Ogam reading for you.

Today's reading focuses on how to nurture and protect ourselves during times of intense emotion, helping us take the right steps to master these feelings. Emotions are running high, whether it's you or someone else feeling overwhelmed. Creating a safe space to process these feelings is important. While emotional outbursts may happen, this doesn’t excuse negative behaviour. A calm, safe environment is key to expressing these emotions in a healthy way. Emotional boundaries are crucial. Give space to those who need it so they can work through their emotions without making things worse. You'll be surprised at the growth and positive outcomes that can arise when we allow time, grace, and the right environment to process difficult feelings. Don't push, give yourself and others the space to process, find strength, and ultimately grow from the intensity of their feelings.

©️Sagans Sorcery 🔥🖋️

Please DM me if you would like a reading.

10 Ogam Celtic Cross Spreads £15 GBP

3 Ogam Spreads £5

The full list of my services are pinned on my page.

Thank you so much for your support and much love to you all 💙☄️