Guide to Ogham
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OghamOgham BeithBeith, the first letter of Irish ogham, is traditionally associated with the birch. Its form, medieval sources, folklore and modern divinatory reading, kept distinct from the history.OghamOgham LuisLuis, the second letter of ogham, is associated with the rowan, but its name may mean “flame” or “herb”. Sources, folklore and modern reading.OghamOgham FearnFearn, the third letter of ogham, is associated with the alder, a tree of riverbanks. Form, early value /w/, medieval kennings, Welsh folklore and modern reading.OghamOgham SailSail, the fourth letter of the ogham, is associated with the willow. Its form, etymology (Latin salix), honey and bee kennings, modern divinatory reading and limits.OghamOgham NionNion (or Nin), the fifth letter of the ogham, is associated with the ash, but its name also evokes the fork or the loom. Sources, culture and modern reading.OghamOgham UathUath, the sixth letter of the ogham and the first of the Huath family, is associated with the hawthorn, but its name means rather “dread”. Sources, folklore and modern reading.OghamOgham DairDair, the seventh letter of the ogham, is the oak in ancient Ireland. Form, etymology, places named after it, druids and modern divinatory reading.OghamOgham TinneTinne, the eighth letter of the ogham, is often associated with the holly, but its name designates a metal bar. Form, kennings, folklore and modern divinatory reading.OghamOgham CollColl, the ninth letter of the ogham, is the hazel. Form, etymology, Mesolithic hazelnuts, the salmon of knowledge, divining rods and modern divinatory reading.OghamOgham CeirtCeirt, the tenth letter of the ogham, notes a rounded /k/ (Q). Medieval treatises see the apple tree in it. Form, uncertainties, the Otherworld of apples and modern reading.OghamOgham MuinMuin, the eleventh letter of the ogham, opens the family of oblique strokes. Its name probably means “nape”; tradition assigns it the vine. Sources, folklore and modern reading.OghamOgham GortGort, twelfth letter of the ogham: its name means “field” and the manuscripts link it to ivy. What the sources say, and what is made of it today.OghamOgham NgetalNgetal or Gétal, thirteenth letter of ogham: a name that may mean “act of wounding”, an uncertain plant (reed, broom or fern) and modern readings.OghamOgham StraifStraif, the fourteenth letter of ogham: a name probably meaning “sulphur”, an uncertain sound value and the blackthorn of the manuscripts. Sources and readings.OghamOgham RuisRuis, the fifteenth letter of ogham: a name meaning “red” or “redness”, the elder of the manuscripts and of modern end-of-cycle readings. Sources and nuances.OghamOgham AilmAilm, the sixteenth letter of ogham and its first vowel: an uncertain name, the pine or fir of the manuscripts, and three kennings about voices. Sources and modern reading.OghamOgham OnnOnn, the seventeenth letter of ogham: a name meaning “ash”, yet linked by the manuscripts to gorse. What the sources say, and the modern reading.OghamOgham UrÚr, the eighteenth letter of ogham: a name meaning “earth, clay”, the heather of the manuscripts, and kennings of cold and seed. Sources and modern reading.OghamOgham EdadEdad or Eadhadh, the nineteenth letter of ogham: a name of unknown origin, the aspen of the manuscripts and obscure kennings. What is known, and what is assumed.OghamOgham IdadIdad or Iodhadh, the twentieth and last letter of ogham: an uncertain name, the yew of the manuscripts, and kennings about antiquity. Sources, caution and modern reading.OghamOgham: the tree alphabet, history and usesOgham, an Irish alphabet cut into stone from the 4th to the 6th century: its 20 letters, its inscriptions, its legend of the trees, and modern divination, which dates from the 20th century.
The meanings mentioned belong to tradition and symbolism. They are neither promises of results nor medical advice.