In the Rustling of the Leaves
"You will find something more in woods than in books.
"Trees and stones will teach you that which you
can never learn from masters."
–St. Bernard, Epistle French abbot & saint (1090 - 1153)
by Evelyn C. Rysdyk
Co-Editor
June is the month of the longest days and the richness of green. The trees are all in full leaf, the grass waves in the breeze and the garden is full of wonderful textures. It is the time that we celebrate the Summer Solstice and honor the Sun. In Irish Gaelic, the month of June is Ogmhios derived from the name of the Old Celtic Sun god, Ogma.
Irish-Celtic myth identifies Ogma as the god of eloquence and learning. He is the son of the goddess Danu and the god Dagda, and one of the foremost members of the Tuatha Dé Danann--a race of ancient Celtic gods who defeated an earlier race of giants, (the Fomorians) and who themselves were later driven into the Underworld. There they still reside in the "hollow hills," living as the Aes Sidhe or "People of the Mounds"--the Old Ones we know as Faeries.
Myths suggest that it is Ogma (or Ogmios his Gaul equivalent) who brought the Celtic people the alphabet know as ogham.* It is pronounced either "OH-wam" or "OH-em." Like the realm of faerie itself, this is a form of writing that has magical ties to Nature and particularly to the trees. It is said that the Celtic seers used the alphabet for magical means as Norse seið-workers or völvas may have used the runes. Each letter holds a power and has a particular vibratory resonance.
Below are the letters of ogham and below that you will find their corresponding meanings.
B is Beith or Birch--A new start or beginning, cleansing (November)
L is Luis or Rowan--A protector against enchantment and control of the senses (December)
F is Fearn or Alder--Both oracular and protective (January)
S is Saille or Willow--Allied with the feminine, lunar rhythms and night (February)
N is Nuin or Ash--The linking of the Inner and Outer Worlds--as above so below (March)
H is Huathe or Hawthorne--Chastity and cleansing. (April)
D is Duir or Oak--Solidity, Doorway to the Otherworld, strength (May)
T is Tinne or Holly--The best in a fight (June)
C is Coll or Hazel--Intuition, to the heart of the matter or source (July)
Q is Quert or Apple--Beauty, Primal tree of the Otherworld, healing (August)
M is Muin or Vine--Gathering what is needed, prophesy (August)
G is Gort or Ivy--The spiral of the Self, the feminine in "opposition" with the masculine Holly (September)
NG is NgEtal or Reed--The preserver, flexibility, direct action (October)
S (STR and SS) is Straif or Blackthorne--Overcoming all resistance
R is Ruis or Elder--The Nature of Existence-Past, Present and Future, The Beginning and the End
A is Ailm or Pine also Silver Fir--Long sight, the high vantage point
O is Ohn or Gorse--Strength through adversity, Gatherer of strength
U is Ur or Heather--Luck and freshness, Doorway to the Inner World
E is Eadha or White Poplar--Helps rebirth, prevents illness, supports the Inner Healer
I is Ioho or Yew--Everlasting, the gate between Life and Death, Continuity
(The following additions were not a part of the original ogham but correspond to sounds which evolved later in the Irish language.)
CH is Koad or Grove--A sacred place, shrine, holy ground, place of all knowledge
TH is Oir or Spindle--The flash of insight, sweetness, delight
PE is Uilleand or Honeysuckle--The hidden secret
PH is Phagos or Beech--Old knowledge, old writing
XI is Mór the Sea--The sea, travel, mother, maternal ties
This language was read bottom to top so the first of all the letters is "B" which corresponds to the birch tree and the first month of the Celtic year. This makes sense as the birch is one of the first trees that "pioneers" a forest.
Most remnants of ogham are found as vertical carvings on rocks. Later, ogham was written along a line horizontally (on parchment) and was then read from left to right as English is now.
Today, we take communication for granted. In these times of "instant messaging," we can only imagine the powerful magic inherent in first acquiring the written word. Imagine suddenly having a tool by which you could communicate rich conceptual information, write prayers, or mark a place of burial. More than a simple "tree alphabet," ogham's letters represented complex energies which were distilled into a handful of marks. Encoded into a letter might be the smell of the sea, the power of a warrior, the permanency of the rocks, the innocence of the newborn or the path to the spirit world.
"The sacred tree, the sacred stone are not adored as stone or tree;
they are worshipped precisely because they are hierophanies,
because they show something that is no longer stone or tree but sacred,
the ganz andere or wholly other."
- Mircea Eliade, Myths, Dreams and Mysteries
Trees and the mythic World Tree figure in the ancient, spiritual stories of many people across the planet. Collectively, we have assigned trees the role of either intermediary between or supporter of--the earth and heavens. They hold the secrets of nature which we can almost hear them whispering in their rustling leaves. Shamans travel up and down through their roots and branches to journey through the spirit realms. We understand them as wise and knowing elders. Perhaps this is because they out live us and so many other living beings.
I believe that its beneficial to get to know these patient, wise beings a little better. Whether you choose to explore them through this curious alphabet, by handling their wood, leaves or bark, by meditating under them, climbing into their branches or journeying to their spirits--take time this month to celebrate the mysteries and pleasures of trees!
* Other Northern Indo-European tribes have similar stories about the arrival of the "written word." For instance, among the Norse/Germanic people, it is the god Odin who delivered their magic alphabet--the Runes--from out of the Void.
-Evelyn
Sources:
Magical Alphabets by Nigel Pennick
Celtic Wisdom Sticks by Caitlin Matthews
The Celtic Tree Oracle by Liz and Colin Murray
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