An Introduction to the Ogham
by Winter Cymraes
By way of very brief explanation, that which is commonly known as Druidry has become a number of groups around the world known by various names. There are also, I would imagine, many groups and individuals using Druidic work within their own traditions or solitary practice. There are three classes or grades within this. The Bards are concerned with self-expression in all its forms; the Ovates are healers and diviners; the Druids main concern is the focus and direction of knowledge. Traditionally speaking, the Bards are the poets, the Ovates specialize in shamanic practice and the Druids are seen as the heads or the priests.
The Druids become such by being chosen by the order and spend years of learning, instruction and testing in order to ‘become�?Druids. Although history and learning were important to the Bards, they became so by their natural talent of music, poetic ability and singing.
The Ovates become so by direct revelation, accident, illness or a personal ordeal rather than through years of study. As with the Bards, they display a particular proclivity toward divination in their case, but their position tended to be one determined by Divine intervention and spontaneous becoming. In other words, they were chosen by the Gods and Goddesses to be a specific channel, a door between both worlds.
Historically it is supposed that people would attend the Druidic colleges, hopefully to remain throughout the course of studies to become Druids. But it would also be correct to suppose that some would not wish to do so and would rather take the information, especially that of healing and the uses of herbs, back to their home villages and thus be of use there.
The Ogham are actually part of a system of divination which eventually developed into a system of runes, an alphabet of sorts, which came to be used in written expression. Initially, however, the Ogham were not used to express words but to express feelings and were used to open the doors to hidden knowledge.
The Ogham were used only by the Celts, just as the Futhark were only used by the Nordic-Germanic people, both representing a unique and specific expression of a particular set of symbols and mythology.
Originally the Ogham were cut into wooden lathes or sticks, a series of nicks or cuts in wood. These sticks were thrown on the ground and interpreted by the way they fell. This method is called colebreni, and the interpretations read by the Ovates.
Often an advanced form was used. A square frame was constructed, with the Ogham cut around its edge. This frame was spun in a manner similar to the Tibetan Prayer Wheels in use to this day. (By the way, this similarity to Indo-European practices is one of many, bringing many historians to the conclusion that the Celts and Dravidians were originally the same people who went wandering off in divergent directions.)
The Ogham were also carved on stones, reading from bottom to top. Many of these stones are found throughout the Celtic world.
The Ogham were one of many methods the Celts encoded secret knowledge and they left behind just enough information for us to construct and use a modern system.
Most present knowledge of the Ogham comes from The Book of Ballimote, which was written in the fourteenth century and transcribed by George Calder at the beginning of this one. The Ogham were originally believed to be devised by Ogma Sun Face, an archetypal Celtic father figure and sun god. (There are, however, many other sources of the history, origin and mythos of the Ogham.)
However, their original use was a complex sign language, since the Druidic tradition was, for many centuries, strictly an oral knowledge passed down from one to another. In use, each Tree correlates to a letter and each letter had a particular position on the hand. Complete ‘secret�?conversations took place, the ‘real�?message in sign language, while the ‘normal�?spoken conversation about the weather, the family and village life occurred. This became so much of a problem that a royal edict was issued forbidding the use of this method of conversation.
But the Ogham are much more than a system of communication between humans. It is seen as a door to a world beyond. The Druidic belief is very similar to the one expounded by Jung in this century - that there is a collective consciousness of human-kind, one containing the accumulated experience of human existence. In some circles this is also known as the Akashic records.
All shamanic practices, of which this is one of many, maintain that ALL information is available. The world is regarded as a Magickal place with objects and events used as tools to gain access. A special state of mind must be achieved. Conditions must be right and often special times of the year are used - the Solstices and Equinoxes are especially favored. Therefore, the Bardic tradition contained within the Celtic practices is of prime importance. The sounds effect the mind in such a way as to alter it enough to walk through the doors of perception, which is also the title of the book by Aldous Huxley and some very similar experiences.
The individual's job is to find her or his particular method, the one that unlocks the doors for him or her. Once through these doors one enters a world of parallel knowledge, meanings and associations. This requires use of symbolic code and many methods are used, including dream interpretation, the pattern of thrown sticks and/or stones, animal movement, sacred fires, winds, patterns of clouds, running water, rocks, landscapes and, yes, Trees.
The species of Trees used were chosen by the qualities they displayed, qualities linking them to spiritual concepts. These Trees were eventually separated into three ranks - Chieftans, Peasants and Shrubs - which are classifications of symbolic importance rather than stature among one another.
Each letter or Tree is also symbolic of an entire area of human experience, becoming a divine language. The Ogham itself is a system of classification using sounds to produce a certain state of mind, based upon mysteries of which sound is an indication. This divine language is accompanied by an entire history of lore and legend, ceremony, story-telling and music, an imaginative system which triggers insight and perception. The mysteries are contained within each individual and the information is unlocked by use.
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