odubhain
January 24th, 2009, 01:10 PM
In another thread I was asked how I derived my Ogham Correspondences and I gave a brief answer. I'm including more detailed answers about the process here. It is really two sets of correspondences that I derived: Basic and Detailed. The Detailed Correspondences are based on everything I mentioned previously and also include nine sub-meanings, each based on an individual dúl of the Dúile.
Here is an excerpt from the first chapter "Signs Were Found" of one of my teaching works, The Cauldron of Vocation, that introduces how the correspondences were derived:
The Ogham, as a kind of index to Druidic memory and the traditional tales, became the foundation of the workings of the Irish Druids and the Filidh. The most esoteric of the Ogham lists used for these workings is to be found in the Briatharogam which are kennings and images that in themselves contain the theme of a tale or the essence of a concept in values. Using such a list of values and images, one could have access to the essential cosmology, cosmogony and framework making up the Irish worldview and culture. In the tale, The Settling of the Manor of Tara, we are provided with such a partitioning of the world into values and ideals by the oldest Seanchaí, Fintan, and his Otherworldly counterpart Trefuilngid Tre-Eochair. Ireland itself is partitioned according to its quarters or “fifths” and each is assigned values and features by both of these wise beings. It should come as no surprise that the Ogham can be used to sort and associate these values to Ireland and our own worlds of being.
The sorting tools used to evaluate these values and qualities in the Ogham divination system that I teach are the three diagrams of the Ogam Tract in the Book of Ballymote. These diagrams are individually known as The Stream Strand of Ferchertne, Fionn’s Window and the Wheel Ogham or Roigne Roscadach. They each have unique structures associated with them based on the ways in which the Ogham that are used to form them is sequenced. Ferchertne’s Stream Strand is a sunwise spiral written with five descending levels that are themselves squares. The bottom of this set of levels is a floor upon which the Forfedha are organized upon an “X.” I visualize this arrangement as a kind of sacred well within the landscape.
Fionn’s Window is a clockwise arrangement of the Ogham Aicme that is formed in cardinal, radial sets that are arranged from the outside to the inside of a series of five concentric circles. The Forfedha are drawn on this diagram at the second circle in the spaces that exist between the cardinal aicme. This diagram is a way of seeing how reality ripples in increasing circles out from one’s centers: the self, the home, the tribe and the center of the world. As such a center, Fionn’s Window is used to determine the individual meanings that represent and determine the Dúile of the self when casting Ogham on any diagram or arrangement or for predicting outcomes and present state of being.
On Roigne’s Wheel one finds the Ogham form known as Collogam arranged as inward spirals within four separate divisions of a circle. The upper two divisions have counter clockwise organization while the lower two divisions are arranged in a clockwise fashion. I see this diagram as a bilateral statement of rightness and wrongness in vortices of right-hand and left-handed flows. Traditionally it was said that Roigne determined the prerogatives and qualities to be associated with Ireland’s North and South. In the same manner, we will determine positive or negative outcomes for our divinations depending on which whirlpool (or spiral) commends the focus of our workings.
I’ve assigned these three Ogham diagrams a collective name as the Ogham Mandalas. It is my contention that they represent a framework for the three realms of Land (Fionn’s Window), Sea (Ferchertne’s Stream Strand) and Sky (Roigne’s Wheel). These realms also have a microcosmic association with their corresponding macrocosmic elements. The body and the cosmos are linked in early Irish belief and tradition. As such, the qualities and elements of each flow from one to another within reality and for each person like a matrix or latticework within mathematics, crystalline structure or weaving on a loom. The pathways that exist between each level of this World Tree of the self are not straight lines. They are spirals of change that synchronize the flows of one realm to another.
The Land has elements of the Sea within it in the form of lakes, streams and rivers. The body of a person has such reservoirs to be found in the blood within its organs and the vessels that circulate blood from one to another. Food flows in a similar fashion within us as does air. Thought and impulse flow from the head of a person to the various fluid and solid forms of the body in much the same way that air moves the clouds and the winds, rain and evaporation water the Land and recharge the clouds. Lightness and darkness cycle the world in much the same way that periods of wakefulness and sleep order our own lives. Our emotional outlook is synchronized to the cycles of the Sun and the Moon as well as the changes in the Land that are known as the seasons. We are creatures formed out of and linked to our surroundings.
The three greater elements of Land, Sea and Sky have also been expanded within the preserved knowledge of the Irish to give us various lists of qualities known collectively as the Dúile. A variety of such lists of qualities in the worlds and within people can be found in Indo-European tradition as well as Irish traditions. Even Padraig’s (St. Patrick’s) Breastplate had such a list of elements. In my own working system of the Dúile, I have standardized these qualities into nine elements. These are the bones, flesh, skin, blood, breath, mind, face, brain, and head for a person. For the cosmos, their analogs are stones, earth, trees, seas, winds, Moon, Sun, stars and sky. All of these elements have a “Tree of Life” structure with one another both in the microcosm and the macrocosm. Indeed, as the “trees” of the Ogham and the qualities of the Dúile they have a forest of associations and potential possibilities.
All of these parts of existence can be statically modeled using the Ogham Mandalas and the associated meanings of their structures based upon the wisdom of Fintain and Trefuilngid. The individual areas of these diagrams are ordered and influenced by the esoteric knowledge of Ferchertne, Fionn and Roigne. Dynamic interactions that more closely simulate the changes that can occur for us as beings within this worldview can be emulated using Ogham that are selected from the Briatharogam. This means that the skills of Morann mac Main, CúChulainn and Mac ind Óic can be used to determine one’s fate when cast within these structures in a divination. The interactions of the wisdom of these beings and individuals represents the palette of esoteric and potential outcomes that can occur for a person within life. One uses wisdom from the gods and Otherworldly beings coupled with the skills of the learned to accomplish feats and to delve into mysteries. All of these and more are within the many abilities of the various Ogham gifted to us from the Irish traditions and the preserved knowledge of their Druids and Filidh.
I have developed basic and more complex meanings for the Ogham to be used in divination that reflect the values of Tara along with the structures of Ferchertne, Fionn and Roigne. The basic meanings derive from the Certogam names assigned by Cenn Faeladh in the Ogham Tract. These names (which are also associated with trees) have various meanings that are fundamental to each symbol. Some say that the original meanings are themselves values for each sound rather than exclusively being tree meanings. That may well be true but the ways that these meaning were remembered was through their tree associations in the memory groves of the mind. The sound is the name in the Certogam. The form is the associated tree.
Basic Ogham meanings are based on the sounds of the Ogham characters. These sounds and the words associated with them have extremes or domains of meaning that can occur for them much like a harp string has a range in which it can be usefully tuned. A search through the meanings of similar words and sounds found in the Dictionary or the Irish Language was my guide in understanding how each Ogham character and sound could be formed, shaped and understood. As such, there are two extremes to the basic Ogham correspondences to be used in divination as well as the “middle path” meaning, where balance and harmony are to be found. Students are expected to tune their own harps to get the best melodies in this work but the suggested tunings are what has worked best for me. My intention is not to limit but to guide. I hope that others with greater skill and knowledge will perfect the meanings beyond the start that I have made in my own work.
More complex meanings and correspondences can be developed for use in Ogham divination by threading and weaving the Briatharogam images with the structure of the Dúile and the colorings of the tales that are associated with both. That is what I have attempted to do in producing a table of Detailed Ogham correspondences for divination. Each correspondence is linked through the changes that their place in the Dúile for that Ogham produce. The anchor points for this weaving of meanings is each individual kenning of the Briatharogam. Ferchertne’s are used for the lower three dúl. Cú Chulainn’s are used for the middle three dúl and Mac ind Óic’s are used for the upper three dúl. This is fitting since one individual is associated with coming out of the sea and judgment (Morann); the next with riding and fighting upon the land (CúChulainn), and the last is associated with the realms of the gods and the Sun (Mac ind Óic). This means that the three of the detailed correspondences are also the meanings of the Briatharogam.
An overall meaning for each Ogham is determined by a consideration of all of the Dúile meanings, the Briatharogam meanings, the harmonies of the sound extremes, the expansion of the associated tales, and the ways in which Ogham have been assigned by the Druids and the Filidh in their surviving works. When one considers the wisdom of Morann, CúChulainn, Mac ind Óic, Fionn, Ferchertne, Roigne and Cennfaeladh in the many ways that they interact, answers can be found to any question. The Ogham are sound and matter, so these fundamental sounds and associated matters should be considered to completely grasp the meaning of each Ogham in much the same way that a song, a novel or a performance has an overall effect and lasting impact. What remains from such an experience is a symbiosis of meanings that meld into a wonder of art and a working of science to become doorways or keys to one’s own inner wisdom.
Here's another excerpt from the same chapter:
7. I had originally included only the Word Ogham of Morann Mac Main and Mac ind Óic in my correspondences. To increase these kennings to a better-rounded Celtic “three,” I added my own Word Ogham to the tables. After that was done I discovered the Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn, courtesy of Erynn Laurie of Nemeton-L and the book, A Guide to Ogham, by Damian McManus, noted Celtic Ogham scholar. I modified some of their interpretations of this particular Word Ogham to better suit what I thought they actually said, so now there are “four” Word Ogham to use (as you like). In my opinion, the Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn is remarkably similar to my own (though I would never dispute Cú Chulainn’s choices!). Cú Chulainn listed no Word Ogham for the Forfedha. In their absence, I presumed to include my own Word Ogham. This was done to help connect the dúile correspondences for the Middle World/Cauldron of Warming. The Word Ogham that have been included in the following list should serve to provide a variety of differing viewpoints: differing personalities, differing worlds and differing times. Please use them to guide you in choosing your own Word Ogham, as well as using them as a flavoring for the interconnections that exist between the more specific Ogham meanings for the dúile.
The Ogham kennings are like the Tarot and must have developed out of a set of universal images that can be seen with the eye of spirit. In the three sets of kennings for each Ogham there are images severing a very similar function to Tarot card images. It is tempting to say that Ogham was possibly the progenitor of Tarot except that would be placing limits where there are none. Like the stone carvings of the Brughs, the creation place and birth case of both Tarot and Ogham are in the eye of spirit, when the first spirit sought to commune with others. In a sense, such images are what we each create in the worlds around us as we come into being ourselves.
Perhaps that is why Near Death Experiences (NDE) and deep meditations are so good for divinations. They establish a connection to the original images that are contained within our first selves. When one exists or inhabits a space of quietness and without form, the spirits seek out creation for communion. It is in such a place that one can connect to anything. Going into an image is a purposeful journey into a created space. Tarot and Ogham are much like maps of these images and places that have been provided to us by the seers of the past to help us in our journeys. One can just *GO* on a serendipitous journey without a guide and hopefully upon one's return, enough can be remembered to create one's personal symbols of otherliness and awakening creation.
The briatharogam are an essential basis to the meanings of the Ogham in divination though one should also be on the lookout for the phrases as they occur in associated traditional tales. The tales expand on the images to provide lessons in philosophy, morals and values.
8. I added in the Dánogham (Ogham of skills) so that the classifications and Word Ogham might be easier to interpret. The skills of the Aes Dana seem to take their Magic from the Ogham as each meaning compliments the other.
9. I also added my own classification: Magical Ogham. These Ogham are based upon the Magical practices of the Celts and Druids that have been identified by Sean ÓTuathail of Cainteanna na Luise, as well as some practices that I myself have encountered and used. I have indicated these Magical Ogham as (CNL) and (SOD) respectively, where they are used. Though the Magical Ogham and their interpretations were not given in the Book of Ballymote, they are based upon Old and Middle Irish terms and concepts found within the ancient writings of the Gael. Much of what was Magical was filtered and removed from books like the Book of Ballymote by the ancient scribes (due to their Christian bias). The Magical Ogham are only one attempt to re-create some of the lost wisdom. I trust they will serve as a guide to you in your own efforts at discovering the Ways of the Wise.
Here's the Basic Correspondences rationale from The Cauldron of Formation:
Ogham Kennings
Ogham was a source of the famed 'dark speech' of the Druids and the Filidh. This speech consisted of powerful kennings for many different parts of ordinary and Otherworldly realities. A Poet or Druid could converse with another entirely in metaphors and alliterative word images. Entire conversations could be had in an encrypted or disguised manner even while in a public setting and surrounded by crowds of people. Entire contentions occurred in this way between Sages, Poets and Druids. Three structured groupings of Ogham kennings have survived in the literature of Ireland that are known as the Briatharogam. These are the word or phrase Ogham of Morann mac Main, CúChulainn, and Mac ind Óic. Along with this grouping are many other kennings in Cert Ogam and Tree Ogham that can stand as an image or allegory for complex concepts. An in depth study of the Ogham associations and the tales in which they are used is a beginning part of the education of Druids and Filidh.
As an aid in opening your own pathways to Ogham use, I have developed lists of their meanings for use in divination and situational analysis. These basic correspondences have been derived from the Ogham names as found in the Tree Ogham lists. In much the same way that tension is placed upon a harp string, extreme meanings for each Ogham name have been located and identified along with a median or balanced meaning that sings between the extremes. In this way, the Ogham can also become a tool for use in musical compositions as well as the very 'Music of What is Happens' which was Fionn's favorite music.
Esoteric Ogham Forms
(later in the same work)
Many debates have occurred over the validity of the more esoteric Ogham forms and their meanings along with the many available tables of correspondences that have been linked to them. Some of these esoteric correspondences were found within documents and glosses that were preserved within early medieval Irish monastic writings. Other lists of correspondences have come from the more traditional assignments used by the Irish family Bards and Filidh of the 17th century. After this time, the Filidh and Bards ceased to exist as an established order, following the oppression of English invaders and the atrocities of the troops under Oliver Cromwell. Some of the more recent correspondence tables for the Ogham that are in circulation have been intuited (as in the case of those provided by Robert Graves and Iolo Morganwyg). Finally; some of these esoteric Ogham lists have been produced by modern writers using whatever sources were available (tree lore, musical toning, Cabala, Tarot, Runes, Imagination, Imbas, Awen, etc.). I have developed a set of Ogham correspondences, in this series on the Ogham and the Cauldrons, that are based upon their Old Irish names, their mundane and esoteric associations, and the kennings that have survived from the ancient lore. These correspondences can be used as a basis for our understandings of the Druids and a study of their ways. The detailed Ogham correspondences are more completely described in Volume 2 of this series, The Cauldron of Vocation. We will use a basic set of correspondences for any work that is done in this volume.(Volume 1).
Basic Ogham Correspondences
Tree
Ogham Name Meaning
Birch
Beith Will
Rowan
Luis Perspective
Alder
Fern Contentions
Willow
Sáile Resistance
Ash
Nuin Hardihood.
Hawthorn
hÚath Opportunity
Oak
Duir Honor
Holly
Teine Principles
Hazel
Coll Wonder
Apple
Queart Harmony
Vine
Muin Law, Experience
Ivy
Gort Knowledge, Skill
Reed, Broom
Ngetal Modesty
Blackthorn
Straif Clarity
Elder
Ruis Balance, Understanding
Silver Fir, Elm
Ailm Teachings, Awareness
Furze
Ohn Eloquence, Inspiration
Heather
Ur Reflection, Contemplation
Aspen
Edadh Judgment, Insight
Yew
Idadh Mastery
Grove
Ebad Centering
Spindle
Oir Pathways
Pine
Ifin Trials
Mistletoe
Uileand Journeys
Sea, Witch Hazel
Mór, Emancholl Rewards
The basic correspondences can be used to perform divinations with Ogham. More detailed meanings and nuances can be discovered using the Briatharogam and the nine dúile of each Oghan fidh.
That's part of how, why and what I teach about the Ogham and their meanings for divination.
Searles O'Dubhain
Here is an excerpt from the first chapter "Signs Were Found" of one of my teaching works, The Cauldron of Vocation, that introduces how the correspondences were derived:
The Ogham, as a kind of index to Druidic memory and the traditional tales, became the foundation of the workings of the Irish Druids and the Filidh. The most esoteric of the Ogham lists used for these workings is to be found in the Briatharogam which are kennings and images that in themselves contain the theme of a tale or the essence of a concept in values. Using such a list of values and images, one could have access to the essential cosmology, cosmogony and framework making up the Irish worldview and culture. In the tale, The Settling of the Manor of Tara, we are provided with such a partitioning of the world into values and ideals by the oldest Seanchaí, Fintan, and his Otherworldly counterpart Trefuilngid Tre-Eochair. Ireland itself is partitioned according to its quarters or “fifths” and each is assigned values and features by both of these wise beings. It should come as no surprise that the Ogham can be used to sort and associate these values to Ireland and our own worlds of being.
The sorting tools used to evaluate these values and qualities in the Ogham divination system that I teach are the three diagrams of the Ogam Tract in the Book of Ballymote. These diagrams are individually known as The Stream Strand of Ferchertne, Fionn’s Window and the Wheel Ogham or Roigne Roscadach. They each have unique structures associated with them based on the ways in which the Ogham that are used to form them is sequenced. Ferchertne’s Stream Strand is a sunwise spiral written with five descending levels that are themselves squares. The bottom of this set of levels is a floor upon which the Forfedha are organized upon an “X.” I visualize this arrangement as a kind of sacred well within the landscape.
Fionn’s Window is a clockwise arrangement of the Ogham Aicme that is formed in cardinal, radial sets that are arranged from the outside to the inside of a series of five concentric circles. The Forfedha are drawn on this diagram at the second circle in the spaces that exist between the cardinal aicme. This diagram is a way of seeing how reality ripples in increasing circles out from one’s centers: the self, the home, the tribe and the center of the world. As such a center, Fionn’s Window is used to determine the individual meanings that represent and determine the Dúile of the self when casting Ogham on any diagram or arrangement or for predicting outcomes and present state of being.
On Roigne’s Wheel one finds the Ogham form known as Collogam arranged as inward spirals within four separate divisions of a circle. The upper two divisions have counter clockwise organization while the lower two divisions are arranged in a clockwise fashion. I see this diagram as a bilateral statement of rightness and wrongness in vortices of right-hand and left-handed flows. Traditionally it was said that Roigne determined the prerogatives and qualities to be associated with Ireland’s North and South. In the same manner, we will determine positive or negative outcomes for our divinations depending on which whirlpool (or spiral) commends the focus of our workings.
I’ve assigned these three Ogham diagrams a collective name as the Ogham Mandalas. It is my contention that they represent a framework for the three realms of Land (Fionn’s Window), Sea (Ferchertne’s Stream Strand) and Sky (Roigne’s Wheel). These realms also have a microcosmic association with their corresponding macrocosmic elements. The body and the cosmos are linked in early Irish belief and tradition. As such, the qualities and elements of each flow from one to another within reality and for each person like a matrix or latticework within mathematics, crystalline structure or weaving on a loom. The pathways that exist between each level of this World Tree of the self are not straight lines. They are spirals of change that synchronize the flows of one realm to another.
The Land has elements of the Sea within it in the form of lakes, streams and rivers. The body of a person has such reservoirs to be found in the blood within its organs and the vessels that circulate blood from one to another. Food flows in a similar fashion within us as does air. Thought and impulse flow from the head of a person to the various fluid and solid forms of the body in much the same way that air moves the clouds and the winds, rain and evaporation water the Land and recharge the clouds. Lightness and darkness cycle the world in much the same way that periods of wakefulness and sleep order our own lives. Our emotional outlook is synchronized to the cycles of the Sun and the Moon as well as the changes in the Land that are known as the seasons. We are creatures formed out of and linked to our surroundings.
The three greater elements of Land, Sea and Sky have also been expanded within the preserved knowledge of the Irish to give us various lists of qualities known collectively as the Dúile. A variety of such lists of qualities in the worlds and within people can be found in Indo-European tradition as well as Irish traditions. Even Padraig’s (St. Patrick’s) Breastplate had such a list of elements. In my own working system of the Dúile, I have standardized these qualities into nine elements. These are the bones, flesh, skin, blood, breath, mind, face, brain, and head for a person. For the cosmos, their analogs are stones, earth, trees, seas, winds, Moon, Sun, stars and sky. All of these elements have a “Tree of Life” structure with one another both in the microcosm and the macrocosm. Indeed, as the “trees” of the Ogham and the qualities of the Dúile they have a forest of associations and potential possibilities.
All of these parts of existence can be statically modeled using the Ogham Mandalas and the associated meanings of their structures based upon the wisdom of Fintain and Trefuilngid. The individual areas of these diagrams are ordered and influenced by the esoteric knowledge of Ferchertne, Fionn and Roigne. Dynamic interactions that more closely simulate the changes that can occur for us as beings within this worldview can be emulated using Ogham that are selected from the Briatharogam. This means that the skills of Morann mac Main, CúChulainn and Mac ind Óic can be used to determine one’s fate when cast within these structures in a divination. The interactions of the wisdom of these beings and individuals represents the palette of esoteric and potential outcomes that can occur for a person within life. One uses wisdom from the gods and Otherworldly beings coupled with the skills of the learned to accomplish feats and to delve into mysteries. All of these and more are within the many abilities of the various Ogham gifted to us from the Irish traditions and the preserved knowledge of their Druids and Filidh.
I have developed basic and more complex meanings for the Ogham to be used in divination that reflect the values of Tara along with the structures of Ferchertne, Fionn and Roigne. The basic meanings derive from the Certogam names assigned by Cenn Faeladh in the Ogham Tract. These names (which are also associated with trees) have various meanings that are fundamental to each symbol. Some say that the original meanings are themselves values for each sound rather than exclusively being tree meanings. That may well be true but the ways that these meaning were remembered was through their tree associations in the memory groves of the mind. The sound is the name in the Certogam. The form is the associated tree.
Basic Ogham meanings are based on the sounds of the Ogham characters. These sounds and the words associated with them have extremes or domains of meaning that can occur for them much like a harp string has a range in which it can be usefully tuned. A search through the meanings of similar words and sounds found in the Dictionary or the Irish Language was my guide in understanding how each Ogham character and sound could be formed, shaped and understood. As such, there are two extremes to the basic Ogham correspondences to be used in divination as well as the “middle path” meaning, where balance and harmony are to be found. Students are expected to tune their own harps to get the best melodies in this work but the suggested tunings are what has worked best for me. My intention is not to limit but to guide. I hope that others with greater skill and knowledge will perfect the meanings beyond the start that I have made in my own work.
More complex meanings and correspondences can be developed for use in Ogham divination by threading and weaving the Briatharogam images with the structure of the Dúile and the colorings of the tales that are associated with both. That is what I have attempted to do in producing a table of Detailed Ogham correspondences for divination. Each correspondence is linked through the changes that their place in the Dúile for that Ogham produce. The anchor points for this weaving of meanings is each individual kenning of the Briatharogam. Ferchertne’s are used for the lower three dúl. Cú Chulainn’s are used for the middle three dúl and Mac ind Óic’s are used for the upper three dúl. This is fitting since one individual is associated with coming out of the sea and judgment (Morann); the next with riding and fighting upon the land (CúChulainn), and the last is associated with the realms of the gods and the Sun (Mac ind Óic). This means that the three of the detailed correspondences are also the meanings of the Briatharogam.
An overall meaning for each Ogham is determined by a consideration of all of the Dúile meanings, the Briatharogam meanings, the harmonies of the sound extremes, the expansion of the associated tales, and the ways in which Ogham have been assigned by the Druids and the Filidh in their surviving works. When one considers the wisdom of Morann, CúChulainn, Mac ind Óic, Fionn, Ferchertne, Roigne and Cennfaeladh in the many ways that they interact, answers can be found to any question. The Ogham are sound and matter, so these fundamental sounds and associated matters should be considered to completely grasp the meaning of each Ogham in much the same way that a song, a novel or a performance has an overall effect and lasting impact. What remains from such an experience is a symbiosis of meanings that meld into a wonder of art and a working of science to become doorways or keys to one’s own inner wisdom.
Here's another excerpt from the same chapter:
7. I had originally included only the Word Ogham of Morann Mac Main and Mac ind Óic in my correspondences. To increase these kennings to a better-rounded Celtic “three,” I added my own Word Ogham to the tables. After that was done I discovered the Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn, courtesy of Erynn Laurie of Nemeton-L and the book, A Guide to Ogham, by Damian McManus, noted Celtic Ogham scholar. I modified some of their interpretations of this particular Word Ogham to better suit what I thought they actually said, so now there are “four” Word Ogham to use (as you like). In my opinion, the Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn is remarkably similar to my own (though I would never dispute Cú Chulainn’s choices!). Cú Chulainn listed no Word Ogham for the Forfedha. In their absence, I presumed to include my own Word Ogham. This was done to help connect the dúile correspondences for the Middle World/Cauldron of Warming. The Word Ogham that have been included in the following list should serve to provide a variety of differing viewpoints: differing personalities, differing worlds and differing times. Please use them to guide you in choosing your own Word Ogham, as well as using them as a flavoring for the interconnections that exist between the more specific Ogham meanings for the dúile.
The Ogham kennings are like the Tarot and must have developed out of a set of universal images that can be seen with the eye of spirit. In the three sets of kennings for each Ogham there are images severing a very similar function to Tarot card images. It is tempting to say that Ogham was possibly the progenitor of Tarot except that would be placing limits where there are none. Like the stone carvings of the Brughs, the creation place and birth case of both Tarot and Ogham are in the eye of spirit, when the first spirit sought to commune with others. In a sense, such images are what we each create in the worlds around us as we come into being ourselves.
Perhaps that is why Near Death Experiences (NDE) and deep meditations are so good for divinations. They establish a connection to the original images that are contained within our first selves. When one exists or inhabits a space of quietness and without form, the spirits seek out creation for communion. It is in such a place that one can connect to anything. Going into an image is a purposeful journey into a created space. Tarot and Ogham are much like maps of these images and places that have been provided to us by the seers of the past to help us in our journeys. One can just *GO* on a serendipitous journey without a guide and hopefully upon one's return, enough can be remembered to create one's personal symbols of otherliness and awakening creation.
The briatharogam are an essential basis to the meanings of the Ogham in divination though one should also be on the lookout for the phrases as they occur in associated traditional tales. The tales expand on the images to provide lessons in philosophy, morals and values.
8. I added in the Dánogham (Ogham of skills) so that the classifications and Word Ogham might be easier to interpret. The skills of the Aes Dana seem to take their Magic from the Ogham as each meaning compliments the other.
9. I also added my own classification: Magical Ogham. These Ogham are based upon the Magical practices of the Celts and Druids that have been identified by Sean ÓTuathail of Cainteanna na Luise, as well as some practices that I myself have encountered and used. I have indicated these Magical Ogham as (CNL) and (SOD) respectively, where they are used. Though the Magical Ogham and their interpretations were not given in the Book of Ballymote, they are based upon Old and Middle Irish terms and concepts found within the ancient writings of the Gael. Much of what was Magical was filtered and removed from books like the Book of Ballymote by the ancient scribes (due to their Christian bias). The Magical Ogham are only one attempt to re-create some of the lost wisdom. I trust they will serve as a guide to you in your own efforts at discovering the Ways of the Wise.
Here's the Basic Correspondences rationale from The Cauldron of Formation:
Ogham Kennings
Ogham was a source of the famed 'dark speech' of the Druids and the Filidh. This speech consisted of powerful kennings for many different parts of ordinary and Otherworldly realities. A Poet or Druid could converse with another entirely in metaphors and alliterative word images. Entire conversations could be had in an encrypted or disguised manner even while in a public setting and surrounded by crowds of people. Entire contentions occurred in this way between Sages, Poets and Druids. Three structured groupings of Ogham kennings have survived in the literature of Ireland that are known as the Briatharogam. These are the word or phrase Ogham of Morann mac Main, CúChulainn, and Mac ind Óic. Along with this grouping are many other kennings in Cert Ogam and Tree Ogham that can stand as an image or allegory for complex concepts. An in depth study of the Ogham associations and the tales in which they are used is a beginning part of the education of Druids and Filidh.
As an aid in opening your own pathways to Ogham use, I have developed lists of their meanings for use in divination and situational analysis. These basic correspondences have been derived from the Ogham names as found in the Tree Ogham lists. In much the same way that tension is placed upon a harp string, extreme meanings for each Ogham name have been located and identified along with a median or balanced meaning that sings between the extremes. In this way, the Ogham can also become a tool for use in musical compositions as well as the very 'Music of What is Happens' which was Fionn's favorite music.
Esoteric Ogham Forms
(later in the same work)
Many debates have occurred over the validity of the more esoteric Ogham forms and their meanings along with the many available tables of correspondences that have been linked to them. Some of these esoteric correspondences were found within documents and glosses that were preserved within early medieval Irish monastic writings. Other lists of correspondences have come from the more traditional assignments used by the Irish family Bards and Filidh of the 17th century. After this time, the Filidh and Bards ceased to exist as an established order, following the oppression of English invaders and the atrocities of the troops under Oliver Cromwell. Some of the more recent correspondence tables for the Ogham that are in circulation have been intuited (as in the case of those provided by Robert Graves and Iolo Morganwyg). Finally; some of these esoteric Ogham lists have been produced by modern writers using whatever sources were available (tree lore, musical toning, Cabala, Tarot, Runes, Imagination, Imbas, Awen, etc.). I have developed a set of Ogham correspondences, in this series on the Ogham and the Cauldrons, that are based upon their Old Irish names, their mundane and esoteric associations, and the kennings that have survived from the ancient lore. These correspondences can be used as a basis for our understandings of the Druids and a study of their ways. The detailed Ogham correspondences are more completely described in Volume 2 of this series, The Cauldron of Vocation. We will use a basic set of correspondences for any work that is done in this volume.(Volume 1).
Basic Ogham Correspondences
Tree
Ogham Name Meaning
Birch
Beith Will
Rowan
Luis Perspective
Alder
Fern Contentions
Willow
Sáile Resistance
Ash
Nuin Hardihood.
Hawthorn
hÚath Opportunity
Oak
Duir Honor
Holly
Teine Principles
Hazel
Coll Wonder
Apple
Queart Harmony
Vine
Muin Law, Experience
Ivy
Gort Knowledge, Skill
Reed, Broom
Ngetal Modesty
Blackthorn
Straif Clarity
Elder
Ruis Balance, Understanding
Silver Fir, Elm
Ailm Teachings, Awareness
Furze
Ohn Eloquence, Inspiration
Heather
Ur Reflection, Contemplation
Aspen
Edadh Judgment, Insight
Yew
Idadh Mastery
Grove
Ebad Centering
Spindle
Oir Pathways
Pine
Ifin Trials
Mistletoe
Uileand Journeys
Sea, Witch Hazel
Mór, Emancholl Rewards
The basic correspondences can be used to perform divinations with Ogham. More detailed meanings and nuances can be discovered using the Briatharogam and the nine dúile of each Oghan fidh.
That's part of how, why and what I teach about the Ogham and their meanings for divination.
Searles O'Dubhain