B for Beginnings
Hey there!
Recently, I've been researching the Celtic Tree Ogham, and during my research, I found a lovely book titled: Celtic Tree Mysteries-Practical Druid Magic and Divination by Steve Blamires.
In the first section of the book, he explains some misconceptions that have been attributed to both the Ogham and its predecessor, the Tree Ogham.
The first myth dispelled is that the Tree Ogham and the Ogham alphabet are not interchangeable. The Ogham Alphabet was used mainly as a form of communication between a select group of people, such as bards, to communicate. It has strict grammatical boundaries, and in many myths and legends of the Irish, it is used between people who don't want what they are saying to be understood by outsiders. This developed as time went on and became the basis for the current Gaelic Alphabet.
The Tree Ogham, on the other hand, was used as a means to convey layers of different meanings, both mundane and otherworldly.
The letters themselves represented Trees that the druids held sacred, and the meanings held by these trees and the Tree Ogham became synonymous with one another.
These meanings came in 3 basic layers: Physical, Mental, and Spiritual.
I'll explain these in detail in a bit, but first, I would like to get to the other Myths that Blamires dispelled. There really is only one, but it's important to note.
Recently, there has come up the belief has arisen that the Paleolithic or Original Druids created a calendar that had the 13 Tree Ogham characters/Trees that represented each month. This simply is not true; the first Celtic Tree Calendar was created in 1946 by Robert Graves, long after the Original Druids had been wiped out.
He goes on to say that while they did not invent it, they probably would have condoned it. Druidry is a living, Breathing Community. As with any community that wishes to remain living, it prunes itself of beliefs that are decrepit or no longer relevant and grafts what is good and relevant.
The Calendar is a brilliant idea, and if you want to create your own, you shouldn't be excommunicated.
A great site for the calendar, Celtic Tree Calendar by Joelle, is a little misinformed about the origins, but it still gives a great example of what is meant by calendar.
Now, back to the Three Layers of Meaning for the Tree Ogham. The first is the Physical meaning. All this means is the actual properties of the tree and its uses in medicine. The Mental and Spiritual levels are a little harder to define. I think it's because the words themselves both have so much meaning attributed to them already.
Actually, I believe that Intellectual would be a better word rather than Mental, as it does a better job describing what the layer is for me.
To each his own.
Anyway, intellectually, we have meanings for the trees. For example, in Irish mythology, the birch tree was a symbol of beginnings and rebirth. In the next layer, the Spiritual, this definition goes further into how this meaning with others interacts and affects the world around them.
For example, when Blamires begins the Tree Ogham study with the birch, he does so with specific intentions.
Physically, he might have put it first because it is the first tree to grow in bare ground and a quickly growing tree, thus making it more likely that you would find one nearby.
Mentally, the meaning is appropriate for the beginning of a new venture.
Spiritually, beginning with birch sends out an intention for the study, a sort of calling card that puts everything for you to continue.
My official personal study will begin with the local variety of birch, and I will end at Yew, though I will continue to study trees that grow locally that are not included in the original Tree Ogham. I am also keeping a physical journal of the experiences I have during this study of the Green World.
I hope to have fun and learn many things.
Recently, I've been researching the Celtic Tree Ogham, and during my research, I found a lovely book titled: Celtic Tree Mysteries-Practical Druid Magic and Divination by Steve Blamires.
In the first section of the book, he explains some misconceptions that have been attributed to both the Ogham and its predecessor, the Tree Ogham.
The first myth dispelled is that the Tree Ogham and the Ogham alphabet are not interchangeable. The Ogham Alphabet was used mainly as a form of communication between a select group of people, such as bards, to communicate. It has strict grammatical boundaries, and in many myths and legends of the Irish, it is used between people who don't want what they are saying to be understood by outsiders. This developed as time went on and became the basis for the current Gaelic Alphabet.
The Tree Ogham, on the other hand, was used as a means to convey layers of different meanings, both mundane and otherworldly.
The letters themselves represented Trees that the druids held sacred, and the meanings held by these trees and the Tree Ogham became synonymous with one another.
These meanings came in 3 basic layers: Physical, Mental, and Spiritual.
I'll explain these in detail in a bit, but first, I would like to get to the other Myths that Blamires dispelled. There really is only one, but it's important to note.
Recently, there has come up the belief has arisen that the Paleolithic or Original Druids created a calendar that had the 13 Tree Ogham characters/Trees that represented each month. This simply is not true; the first Celtic Tree Calendar was created in 1946 by Robert Graves, long after the Original Druids had been wiped out.
He goes on to say that while they did not invent it, they probably would have condoned it. Druidry is a living, Breathing Community. As with any community that wishes to remain living, it prunes itself of beliefs that are decrepit or no longer relevant and grafts what is good and relevant.
The Calendar is a brilliant idea, and if you want to create your own, you shouldn't be excommunicated.
A great site for the calendar, Celtic Tree Calendar by Joelle, is a little misinformed about the origins, but it still gives a great example of what is meant by calendar.
Now, back to the Three Layers of Meaning for the Tree Ogham. The first is the Physical meaning. All this means is the actual properties of the tree and its uses in medicine. The Mental and Spiritual levels are a little harder to define. I think it's because the words themselves both have so much meaning attributed to them already.
Actually, I believe that Intellectual would be a better word rather than Mental, as it does a better job describing what the layer is for me.
To each his own.
Anyway, intellectually, we have meanings for the trees. For example, in Irish mythology, the birch tree was a symbol of beginnings and rebirth. In the next layer, the Spiritual, this definition goes further into how this meaning with others interacts and affects the world around them.
For example, when Blamires begins the Tree Ogham study with the birch, he does so with specific intentions.
Physically, he might have put it first because it is the first tree to grow in bare ground and a quickly growing tree, thus making it more likely that you would find one nearby.
Mentally, the meaning is appropriate for the beginning of a new venture.
Spiritually, beginning with birch sends out an intention for the study, a sort of calling card that puts everything for you to continue.
My official personal study will begin with the local variety of birch, and I will end at Yew, though I will continue to study trees that grow locally that are not included in the original Tree Ogham. I am also keeping a physical journal of the experiences I have during this study of the Green World.
I hope to have fun and learn many things.
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