INTRODUCING THE OGHAM PART I
- casey8404
- Apr 1, 2023
- 12 min read
Updated: Apr 2, 2023
There are fifteen different tree species that appear in European folklore and form part of the Celtic tree-alphabet known as "ogham" or "ogam." Ogham was presumably influenced by Latin writing between the 1st and 3rd century CE and was the earliest form of Irish writing. Lack of evidence indicates that this form of writing died out in the 8th century CE.
Celtic mythology tells us that the ogham was created by the God of literacy and eloquence, Ogma. Each of the letters in the ogham is named after a different tree and therefore inherits the characteristics of that tree. The Celtic zodiac system was also linked to trees of the ogham - each tree was associated with a timeframe in the year and individuals born within that timeframe also inherited the characteristics of the tree (Vine, for me).
Each symbol was created in a series of lines at various angles to a vertical line.
Ogham script has been mentioned throughout many Celtic myths and was most likely used by the Druid class for divination, record keeping, and “magic”. R.J. Stewart, however, notes that Ogham "seems to have been reserved for important funerary inscriptions or god names, and occasional permanent statements." (Stewart: 1990). While most ogham letters have been discovered carved into stone, they may have also been used on wood tablets which sadly no longer exist. "We hear that in earlier times Ogam was used to write ancient stories and sagas; it was incised on bark or wands of Hazel and Aspen," noted Peter Berresford Ellis, an expert on the Celts. These "fili rods" (poets) were kept in libraries or Tech Screptra." (Berresford: 1998). Sadly, the libraries and "Fili rods" have long since been reclaimed by nature. A book written around 1400 CE (The Yellow Book of Lecan) contains evidence that St Patrick had 180 of these ancient books burned in his attempt to eliminate the Druid influence. Though ogham marks are found on stones in Scotland and Wales, the most are found in Ireland, with County Kerry alone accounting for one-third of the total (Anon:1999).
Birch, Rowan, Ash, Alder, Willow, Hawthorn, Oak, Holly, Hazel, Elder, Dwarf elder, Silver fir, Heather, White poplar, and Yew are among the trees represented in the ogham alphabet. While not trees, the Vine, Furze (a cereal grain), and Ivy are all members of the group. There are thirteen consonants and five vowels in the ogham alphabet. Silver Fir, Furze, Heather, White poplar, and Yew are the vowels.
Each tree has a rich folklore associated with it. Each one is discussed below besides the Oak, because I have already put out a whole post about it. Additionally, the three non-tree species are discussed as well.
THE ALDER
The Alder is linked to mortality, the power of evaporation (and the smith's fire), and in Celtic lore it is tied to the fairy, divination, and resurrection. To the Greeks, the Alder was an emblem of Pan (Cooper: 1978) and was associated with spring and fire festivals. Similarly, in Celtic lore it is associated with the harvest festival Lughnassadh which is celebrated with fire (Later converted to Lammas, the Christian holiday which coincidentally also falls on the 1st of August and is also celebrated in similar ways). According to Porteous, the alder was a favorite tree of sorcerers in Austria's Tyrol region. These sorcerers could use the wood to bring the dead back to life (Porteous: 1996).
The Alder has always been treasured for its ability to withstand the damage created by water and it was utilized for the foundations of many cathedrals. The Romans, famous for their sturdy roads, relied on it when driving causeway piles in marshes. In Ireland, Alder wood was used to make whistles and milk pails. The Alder was also considered quite valuable because it was used to produce three colours of dye: red from the bark, green from the flowers, and brown from the twigs. These hues represent fire, water, and earth.
During one period of time, Alder branches were tied to the cradle of newborn boys to keep fairies from kidnapping them to use as changelings. This is odd because the Alder was "protected" by water fairies — yet another example of nature's dual aspects and folklore. Either that, or a brilliant testament to the slyness of the little people. In the Odyssey, the Alder appears as one of the three resurrection trees that guarded Calypso's cave.
THE ASH
The Ash, like the Oak, is considered a "progenitor of mankind." It was said in ancient Greece that the first humans emerged from a vast cloud of ash formed by the Nymphs of the Ash. These Nymphs were female cloud deities. The ash was also Poseidon's sacred tree.
Three of Ireland's Five Magic Trees, the Tree of Tortu, the Tree of Dathi, and the Branching Tree of Usnech - all Ash trees sacred to the Druids - were felled by Christians in 665 CE. This illustrated Christianity's victory over paganism. "A descendant of the Sacred Tree of Creevna, also an ash, was still standing at Killura in the nineteenth century; its wood was a charm against drowning," wrote writer and folklorist Robert Graves (Graves: 1948). To protect the tree, Irish citizens immigrating to America brought pieces of it with them.
The power of Ash is represented by a Druidic Ash wand (used for ritual purposes) with a spiral decoration discovered in Anglesey in the first century CE. The Christians' perception of the Ash's negativity resulted in a number of legends. According to later Christianized Scandinavian folklore, the ash tree was a favored by witches and that they were once ogres or became the abode of ogres (Porteous: 1996). Porteous also informed us that the Askafroa, or "wife of the Ash," was an evil and destructive spirit. "It was necessary to make a sacrifice on Ash Wednesday to propitiate her," he wrote.
As time passed, Ash Wednesday was evidently used as a Christian holy day to counteract the evil powers of pagan demons. It's worth noting that Ash Wednesday originated as a Roman pagan festival sourced from Vedic India. People would bathe in ashes during this festival, because, thanks to the fire god Angi, they had the power to wash away all of their sins. These ashes were said to symbolize the “purifying blood of Shiva.” (Walker: 1996). The existence of more such festivals around the world proves that Ash Wednesday has many more links to pagan traditions than Christian ones. In The Golden bough, Sir James George Frazer writes about the Ash Wednesday festival held in Braller, Transylvania: “…two white and two chestnut horses draw a sledge on which is placed a straw-man swathed in a white cloth; beside him is a cart-wheel which is kept turning round. Two lads disguised as old men follow the sledge lamenting. The rest of the village lads, mounted on horseback and decked with ribbons, accompany the procession, which is headed by two girls crowned with evergreen and drawn in a wagon or sledge. A trial is held under a tree, at which lads disguised as soldiers pronounce sentence of death. …he is…handed over to the executioner, who hangs him on a tree.” (Frazer: 1981). The straw man was sentenced to death "because he had caused them harm by wearing out their shoes and making them tired and sleepy." [Possible connections to the burning of the wicker man? I'll have to investigate.]
The Norse World tree, Yggdrasil, was also an Ash.
The Ash's leafing has long been associated with weather. A 19th-century saying in the English Midland Counties went, "When the oak comes out before the ash, there will be fine weather in harvest; but when the ash comes out before the oak, the harvest will be wet." (Inwards: 1994).
According to J. C. Cooper, the Ash "also typifies adaptability, prudence, and modesty." (Cooper: 1978).
In Welsh folklore, the Ash leaf is said to provide prophetic dreams and to protect against witches and the devil if worn as a garter (Radford: 1949). The sap of the Ash tree was thought to protect newborns from witches, fairies, and "other imps of darkness" in the Scottish Highlands. According to Anna Franklin, "ash buds placed in the cradle prevent fairies from exchanging a changeling for the child." (Franklin: 2004). In addition, the Ash was used in an ancient "passing through" cure. As a treatment for "rupture," children in particular were passed through an ash that had been split down the middle or had natural openings in the trunks. At sunrise, they were "passed through" at least three times. The split in the tree was then plastered with clay and mud. If the tree could heal, so could the child. In another version, the child was passed through the split "three times three" (nine times) each day for nine days, with nine people taking turns passing the child through the darkness." As spoken about earlier, with regards to zodiac trees, these “passing trees” were intimately connected with the children that had been passed through them — “that should the tree die, the child, also, would die.” This applied to the person’s whole life.
Natural holes in tree trunks were also thought to be doorways to the spirit world and were frequently used to cure certain diseases due to the tree's connection to the spirit world. According to Thompson, "when a hole was discovered in the pine and pollard ashes, it was regarded with special veneration, and in Somersetshire and Cornwall it is still believed...that a rickety child passed through the aperture would be made strong and healthy." (Thompson: 1995). Folklorist Wayland D. Hand claims that similar beliefs and rituals have taken place in Latin American traditions. The fact that this is such a widespread practice (from Britain to Latin America) tells us that this is a universal ancient folk medicine practice (Hand: 1975).
Ash rods were also used to cure diseased livestock. The rod was waved across the sick animal to cure whatever ailed it. In addition, Ash was used to neutralize snake venom. In the nineteenth century, John Fiske wrote of the powers of the Ash in a "Lecture on Philosophy" at Harvard University – “The other day I was told, not by an old granny, but by a man fairly educated and endowed with a very unusual amount of good common sense, that a rattlesnake will sooner go through fire than creep over ash leaves or into the shadow of an ash-tree. Exactly the same statement is made by Pliny, who adds that if you draw a circle with an ash rod around the spot on the ground on which a snake is lying, the animal must die of starvation, being effectively imprisoned as Ugolino in the dungeons of Pisa. In Cornwall it is believed that a blow from an ash stick will instantly kill any serpent.” (Fiske: 1881).
THE BIRCH
The Birch is sacred to Thor, Donar, and Frigga, and is associated with fertility and light, as well as protection against witches and evil spirits. According to Teutonic myth, the final battle would be fought around a Birch tree (Cooper: 1978).
Birch twigs and rods were part of the "Beating of the Bounds," pagan [?] practice that persisted into early twentieth-century Britain. During this ritualized festival, a group of men would rove from boundary to boundary, "capturing" any newly appointed parish officer, who was then turned upside down and thrown head first into a freshly dug hole. "Saluted with the shovel" for his "later end." It was also common to flog a boy at certain points of the parish boundary (Bilson: 1994). I believe this was remaining bits of an ancient sacrificial rite.
The Birch was known as the Cosmic Tree by the Siberian Yakuts. The children of the maker, Ai Toyon, the "Creator of Light," nested on the tree's eight branches. Each Yakut shaman is spiritually connected to a sacred Birch, and his life is reliant on that tree. A sacred eagle representing the Lord of the World lives at the top of this cosmic tree, and souls of future shamans live on its branches.
Forest Devils (not shamans) lived in the tops of Birch trees in Russian forests. Through the nineteenth century, Russian peasants hung "ritual towels" on the branches of Birch trees as offerings to the Mother Goddess, who was closely associated with the Birch. Another Russian legend tells of the Mother of God, perched on the top of a Birch tree, and another Birch, who saved a young girl from a witch together.
To many people, the sacredness of the Birch has a multifaceted and conflicting meaning. This does not apply to the people of Estonia though - The Birch tree is their national emblem.
THE DWARF ELDER
The 12th letter of the ogham alphabet is represented by the Dwarf Elder. The tree is important not because it has magical properties or because it is occupied by spirits, but because it was from this tree that the Egyptian pharaohs' reed scepters were made. It was also said that a reed from the dwarf elder was placed in Jesus' hand when he was dressed in scarlet and the crown of thorns was placed on his head (Graves: 1948).
THE ELDER
The Elder was the 13th letter of the ogham script and was long aligned with magic and witchcraft. The Elder has been associated with witchcraft and ghostly powers, and some legends claim that this (rather than the Ilex Oak) was the wood used to make the cross and the tree from which Judas hanged himself. Given these traditions, the elder is regarded as the "ultimate in evil" in Christian lore. Because of the elder's affiliation with supernatural powers, the leaves of the elder were dispersed around doorways and windows to ward off witches and evil in Scotland (Radford: 1992). This contradicts another piece of folklore: "Witches were thought to produce bad weather," writes Richard Inwards, "by stirring water with elder branches." (Inwards: 1994).
Also, some folklore suggests that an Elders could be witches in disguise. In Germany, however, hair and nail clippings were buried beneath an elder to prevent witches from acquiring them and utilizing them for evil.
Puskaitis was a god of the underworld and fairies in the Baltic countries, and those who honored him left offerings at elder trees (Jones & Pennick:1995).
A charm worn as a necklace made from nine elder twigs, according to Lady Wilde, was a protective measure against epilepsy and convulsions (Wilde: 1991). According to a seventeenth-century English myth, beating boys with Elder sticks would stunt their growth (Radford: 1949). Furthermore, it was believed that gathering elder leaves on the last day of April and applying them to a wound would ensure that the wound healed. However, as previously stated, elder possessed a double nature — one revolving around evil and the other around protection. Another piece of folklore held that burning elder wood in a fireplace would result in a death in the family. The elder had the "unpleasant habit of taking a walk in the twilight and peeping in through the window at the children when they were alone," folklore from the Scandinavian peninsula tells us, where the sun stays low in the sky for long periods of the year (Porteous: 1996). This bit of lore was obviously unheard of in different parts of Scandinavia, like Copenhagen, where each house had its own elder tree, known as a Guardian Tree, for protection. "Any baptized person whose eyes were anointed with the green juice of [the elder's] inner bark was able to see witches in any part of the world," according to legend (Thompson: 1995).
Hulda, the Elder Queen from Denmark, lived at the elder's roots — she was the mother of all elves. Hulda is also the elder's guardian, and her authorization was required before any berries were collected or any branches were cut from the tree.
MORE TREES TO FOLLOW IN THE NEXT POST...
REFERENCES:
Intro:
Stewart, R. J. Celtic Gods Celtic Goddesses. London: Blandford 1990, 34.
Ellis, Peter Berresford. The Ancient World of the Celts. New York: Barnes & Noble Books 1998, 32.
Anon. Celtic Mythology. New Lanark: Geddes & Grosset 1999, 439.
Cooper, J. C. An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. 1978, 10
Porteous, Alexander, The Lore of the Forest. London: Senate, 1996, 166
Alder:
Cooper, J. C. An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. 1978, 10
Porteous, Alexander, The Lore of the Forest. London: Senate, 1996, 166
Ash:
Graves, Robert. The White Goddess. New York: The Noonday Press 1948, 168.
Porteous, Alexander, The Lore of the Forest. London: Senate, 1996, 86
Porteous, Alexander, The Lore of the Forest. London: Senate, 1996, 93
Walker, Barbara G. The Women’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets. Edison: Castle Books 1996, 67.
Frazer, James G. The Golden Bough: The Roots of Religion and Folklore, Vol. 1. New York: Avenel Books 1981, 255 (A reprint of the 1890 edition published by Macmillan, London)
Inwards, Richard. Weather Lore. London: Senate 1994, 151 (A reprint of the 1893 edition published by Elliot Stock, London)
Radford, Edwin and Mona A. Encyclopaedia of Superstitions. New York: Philosophical Library 1949, 244
Franklin, Anna. The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Fairies. London: Paper Tiger/Chrysalis Books 2004, 15
Cooper, J. C. An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. 1978, 10.
Thompson, C.J.S. The Hand of Destiny: Everyday Folklore and Superstitions. London: Senate 1995, 218.
Hand, Wayland D. editor, American Folk Medicine: A Symposium. Berkeley: University of California Press 1976, 5
Fiske, John. Myths and Myth-Makers: Old Tales and Superstitions. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company 1881, 61.
Birch:
Cooper, J. C. An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. 1978, 20
Bilson, Charles. Vestiges of paganism in Leicestershire. Loughborough: Heart of Albion Press 1994, 17 (A reprint of the 1911 article appearing in Memorials of old Leicestershire published by George Allen, London)
Eliade, Mircea. Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. Princeton: Princeton University Press 1964, 70
Dwarf Elder:
Graves, Robert. The White Goddess. New York: The Noonday Press 1948, 185.
Elder:
Ruether, Rosemary Radford. Gaia & God: An Ecofeminist Theology of Earth Healing. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco 1992, 113.
Inwards, Richard. Weather Lore. London: Senate 1994, 153 (A reprint of the 1893 edition published by Elliot Stock, London)
Jones, Prudence & Nigel Pennick. A History of pagan Europe. New York: Barnes & Noble Books 1995, 176.
Wilde, Lady. Irish Cures, Mystic Charms & Superstitions. New York: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. 1991, 15.
Radford, Edwin and Mona A. Encyclopaedia of Superstitions. New York: Philosophical Library 1949, 112.
Porteous, Alexander, The Lore of the Forest. London: Senate, 1996, 279.
Thompson, C.J.S. The Hand of Destiny: Everyday Folklore and Superstitions. London: Senate 1995, 224. (A reprint of the 1932 edition published by Rider & Company, London).
Inspo and bibliography:
Varner, G, R. 2006. The mythic forest, the green man and the spirit of nature: the re-emergence of the spirit of nature from ancient times into modern society, Algora Publishing.
Disclaimer: Besides the authorship of this article, none of this is my original work - nor do I claim that it is. All credit goes to the respective authors in the reference list and bibliography. For PDFs of their ebooks, journal papers and articles etc, contact me on the contact section included on my site. Thank you.
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