Celtic Tree Ogham

Ogham, or Ogam, readings are perhaps where I shine the most – my clients certainly say so when they are shocked by the accuracy of the messages they receive. Very few people today know what the Ogham is, fewer still read them for others (aside from at rituals), and even fewer have a set made of the correct woods. Being a "tree girl", mine are by an artisan in the UK.

The Ogham was an alphabet in use over a thousand years ago by the Celts. A simple series of straight lines, they were carved into land markers and grave stones, at a time when writing and reading other alphabets was common.

Why the Ogham, letters hard to write more than a few words with, became popular during that time, and where it exactly came from, is unknown. But within Irish myth are mentions of magic and divination created from the Ogham. Each letter had a connection to different systems of organized knowledge, so it may have been a bard's tool for memorization. Trees were one such system; hence it is often called the Celtic Tree Alphabet, even though there are many associations for every letter. Loving all things tree related, I have studied the meanings of the trees in Irish and British myth and folklore, as well as their physical characteristics. But I have gone on to also study the meanings of the letters and the traditional "kennings" – phrases relating to the Ogham. In my private life, I use them as magical shorthand and for healing, as well as in divination.

My Ogham readings are done in trance dialogue with the tree itself. If the one wanting the reading is present, they can pull the stave; otherwise I will. Later I journey to the Otherworlds and wait for the tree's spirit to begin its message. Some times I am told gentle, moving poetic metaphors and other times I see deep, powerful visions. On occasion I have had a tree swear like a sailor! I have no control of what the Ogham says and the messages make absolutely no sense to me personally. But when I send them to my client, amazing! People love the Ogham and the tree's practical advice. As one client in NYC says, "I can manipulate Tarot with what I ask and hear what I want. The Ogham just lays it out there. I can't avoid getting the point." Trees have no need to lie, to cater to human need for self-deception, or to please us. Their sense of time is different and with their roots deep in the earth and their branches so high above, they have a vantage point of life that no other beings share. Trees won't beat around the bush.

A Prague client recently asked why her recent Ogham reading was different from her Tarot reading. Consider Tarot the pieces on the chess board. I can see the total layout of the game as it stands and make highly educated guesses about the next three moves of the key players. The chess board that these stories are being played out on is the Ogham, with its solid, no-nonsense messages about not just the chess game, but the room it is being played in!

Please contact me if you are interested in an Ogham reading.