Ogham - Sail

Sail (sahl) Willow Tree          S
ogham name (pronunciation) ogham meaning              symbol                       letter

Sail = Willow Tree 'dirty, grey'
Tree Association = Willow

Green Man Tree Oracle - Willow

Kennings: 1 Morainn mac Moin (MM), 2 Maic ind Oc (MO), 3 Con Culainn (CC)
1 Pallor of a lifeless one OR Hue of the lifeless
2 Sustenance of bees OR Strength of Bees
3 Beginning of honey OR Beginning of loss, that is, willow

Auraicept Translation: "The colour of a lifeless one i.e. it has no colour, owing to the resemblance of its hue to a dead person."
Auraicept Notes: Willow in the forest.
Notes on MM: Hue of the lifeless, i.e. hue of one dead, so that he is not living but is dead: or that is Sail, willow.
Notes on MO: Activity of bees, that is willow, for its bloom and for its catkin.

Associations and Cultural Context: The pale hue of the tree and its leaves; some associations with bees and willow pollen.

My Interpretation of the Kennings: Willow Catkins
1 willow catkins become off-yellow in colour once pollinated allowing fertility/new life from death of the old, also the 'dirty grey', off-white/bluish-grey colour of underside of leaves and sallow grey appearance of the bark.
2 willow catkins provide pollen and nectar to sustain bees, enabling growth and reproduction.
3 willow catkins provide pollen and nectar to bees enabling the creation of honey through their own demise, demonstrating the cycles of life.

My Keywords: Cycles, Flow & Intuition

 

Ogham Home

Ogham - Fern                                                                                              Ogham - Nin

The Kennings, Auraicept Translation, Auraicept Notes, Notes on MM and Notes on MO are all found in Auraicept ne N-Eces The Scholars Primer. An online copy of this book can be found HERE.

My Interpretation of the Kennings and My Keywords were formed from information found in the Auraicept ne N-Eces The Scholars Primer as well as researching the meanings, history, lore, folklore and attributes of each ogham as described in the Kennings.

Ogham - Fern

Fern (fairn) Alder Tree           F
ogham name (pronunciation) ogham meaning              symbol                       letter

Fern = Alder Tree
Tree Association = Alder

Green Man Tree Oracle - Alder

Kennings: 1 Morainn mac Moin (MM), 2 Maic ind Oc (MO), 3 Con Culainn (CC)
1 Vanguard of hunting/warrior bands OR Defence of warrior bands
2 Milk container OR Guarding of milk
3 Protection of the heart OR Protection of the heart, that is, a shield

Auraicept Translation: "The vanguard of the Warrior-bands is alder, for thereof are the shields."
Auraicept Notes: Alder in the forest.
Notes on MM: Shield of warrior-bands, i.e. shields for Fern, owing to their redness in the same respect: or because the alder, the material of the shield was from Fern. Shield, that is Fern.
Notes on MO: Guarding of milk, that is the alder of the forest, for it is it that guards the milk, for of it are made the vessels containing the milk.

Associations and Cultural Context: Shields were made from Alder wood, as were milk buckets.

My Interpretation of the Kennings: an Alder Wood Shield
1 wood shields for defence, wood also used in blacksmiths fires to make spearheads and arrows.
2 wooden vessels/buckets for containing and protecting/guarding milk.
3 wood shields seen to provide strength and defence due to it bleeding crimson sap when felled.

My Keywords: Defence, Protection & Guidance

 

Ogham Home

Ogham - Luis                                                                                              Ogham - Sail

The Kennings, Auraicept Translation, Auraicept Notes, Notes on MM and Notes on MO are all found in Auraicept ne N-Eces The Scholars Primer. An online copy of this book can be found HERE.

My Interpretation of the Kennings and My Keywords were formed from information found in the Auraicept ne N-Eces The Scholars Primer as well as researching the meanings, history, lore, folklore and attributes of each ogham as described in the Kennings.

Ogham - Luis

Luis (loosh) Flame or Herb    L
ogham name (pronunciation) ogham meaning                       symbol               letter

Luis = Flame/Blaze 'to shine' or Plant/Herb 'to grow'
Tree Association = Rowan [Quicken] (sometimes Elm)

Green Man Tree Oracle - Rowan

Kennings: 1 Morainn mac Moin (MM), 2 Maic ind Oc (MO), 3 Con Culainn (CC)
1 Luster of the eye OR Delight of the eye
2 Friend of cattle
3 Sustenance of cattle OR Strength of cattle, that is, the elm

Auraicept Translation: "Delight of eye is Luis (rowan) owing to the beauty of its berries."
Auraicept Notes: Elm in the forest.
Notes on MM: Delight of eye, that is Luis, quicken tree, to wit, the flame.
Notes on MO: Friend of cattle, elm. Dear to the cattle is the elm for its bloom and for down. Hence Luis was quicken tree.

Associations and Cultural Context: The rowan was a "delight of the eye" due to the beauty of its berries; rowan berries were used in folk magic for protecting cattle.

My Interpretation of the Kennings: a Rowan Tree / Rowan Berries
1 rowan berries shining/brightness like a flame, or berries with tart, bitter taste bringing tears to the eyes.
2 rowan berries red colour and natural pentagram a symbol of protection for cattle and homes, also branches giving shelter/provide a place of rest for cattle.
3 rowan berries and foliage providing food/sustenance for cattle.

My Keywords: Quickening, Nurturing & Inspiration
(quickening is 'to give or restore life to/to grow' OR 'to cause a fire/to burn', both relate to Luis meaning of flame or herb)

 

Ogham Home

Ogham - Beith                                                                                            Ogham - Fern

The Kennings, Auraicept Translation, Auraicept Notes, Notes on MM and Notes on MO are all found in Auraicept ne N-Eces The Scholars Primer. An online copy of this book can be found HERE.

My Interpretation of the Kennings and My Keywords were formed from information found in the Auraicept ne N-Eces The Scholars Primer as well as researching the meanings, history, lore, folklore and attributes of each ogham as described in the Kennings.

Ogham - Beith

Beith (bayth) Birch Tree   B
ogham name (pronunciation) ogham meaning              symbol               letter

Beith = Birch Tree
Tree Association = Birch

Green Man Tree Oracle - Birch

Kennings: 1 Morainn mac Moin (MM), 2 Maic ind Oc (MO), 3 Con Culainn (CC)
1 Withered foot with fine hair OR Faded trunk with fair hair
2 Greyest of skin OR Most silver of skin
3 Beauty of the eyebrow OR Bowed beauty, that is, worthy of pursuit

Auraicept Translation: "Of withered trunk fair haired the birch."
Auraicept Notes: Birch of the forest for the first letter on the path of the Ogham alphabet.
Notes on MM: Faded trunk and fair hair, that is for birch: or for these are two aspects of the birch.
Notes on MO: Most silvery of skin, that is the birch of the forest.

Associations and Cultural Context: The pale grey or white bark of the birch tree with its fine small leaves; the first message sent in ogham warning Lugh about his wife.

My Interpretation of the Kennings: a Birch Tree / Birch Branches or Twigs
1 birch twigs/branches ability to create new trees when planted in soil, having small fine leaves and new fine roots that purify the soil.
2 silver/grey/white bark reflects the purity and newness of the birch
3 "watchful eyes" of birch created by fallen branches, old stories tell of these "eyes" being caretakers and guides to see travellers safely home.

My Keywords: Inception, Beginnings & Purification

 

Ogham Home

Ogham - Introduction                                                                                    Ogham - Luis

The Kennings, Auraicept Translation, Auraicept Notes, Notes on MM and Notes on MO are all found in Auraicept ne N-Eces The Scholars Primer. An online copy of this book can be found HERE.

My Interpretation of the Kennings and My Keywords were formed from information found in the Auraicept ne N-Eces The Scholars Primer as well as researching the meanings, history, lore, folklore and attributes of each ogham as described in the Kennings.

Ogham - A Brief Introduction

Oghams are not the easiest things to learn, not if you want to do it properly.

There are plenty of books, decks and sets readily available that will give you meanings for each ogham that are mostly just associations and interpretations linked to trees that draw from worldwide history and folklore. So if you were looking for a short cut to a quick and simple ogham set of meanings and association that could be one way to go, if your happy to accept one of many wide variety of opinions and speculations about the ogham.

However oghams are not all just trees and being an ancient Irish text, I see no relevance for history and folklore that is not directly related to Ireland. Trying to discern the meanings of these oghams is no simple task. I have spent the past few months working my way through the ogham and I have only just gotten past the first aicme. Not that I believe I know all there is to know on these first five oghams, but it is enough for me to begin to understand their meanings and associations, or at least my personal interpretations of these.

For most of my information on oghams I have been relying on the Auraicept na n-Éces: The Scholars’ Primer, being the texts of the Ogham tract from the Book of Ballymote and the Yellow book of Lecan, and the text of the Trefhocul from the Book of Leinster. There is an online version of this book found HERE. Because I can not read Irish, I have been going through the English chapters to uncover all I can about the ogham. This has been a bit of a trek as this book is not the easiest of reads.

As I mentioned above oghams are not all just trees, but reading through The Primer, the first chapter of the Auraicept na n-Éces: The Scholars’ Primer, it does associate each ogham with a tree, so it is easy to see where the confusion about the oghams being a tree oracle might have came from. However in the later chapter Ogham it describes other more varied meanings from the kennings as well as lists a number of other associations linked to the ogham, such as birds, colours, rivers and art.

In trying to decipher each ogham I have primarily used the Bríatharogam, translated as "word ogham", which are the kennings or short meanings given to each ogham found in the Auraicept na n-Éces: The Scholars’ Primer. There are three kennings for each of the original twenty oghams and these along with the meaning for the individual name of each ogham has led me to my own personal understanding of what each ogham represents and means.

According to the Auraicept na n-Éces: The Scholars’ Primer it is Ogma we have to thank for the invention of the ogham, "a man well skilled in speech and in poetry." A man who is not a man but an Irish deity of the Tuatha Dé Danann, a god of eloquence and learning, that is a reminder to me that we never stop learning. So no matter how much we think we may know about a subject there is always more to discover and no matter how much I think I may understand, or grow to understand, the ogham, where will always be more to learn. Something for me to keep in mind as I make my way through this ancient language.