"What is
Ogham Divination"
DRUID/OGHAM DIVINATION CLASS #1 Searles: Tonight's class will be using the material from some articles on Ogham Divination that I am currently publishing in installments in the _Journal of the Henge of Keltria_. This is a work that I became interested in about 7 years ago when I first discovered the Ogham. Have you ever seen something that just caught your attention, or just caught your eye? My introduction to Ogham was kind of like the book in The Never-ending Story. Once you pick it up you never want to put it down, and, in fact, probably you "cant" put it down again. The Ogham just seemed to have a way of saying things to me and telling me things. They seemed like old friends that I've known before. So "what are the Ogham?" A quick answer can be found in the title of my book, which is "Ogham Divination: A Study in Recreating and Discovering the Ancient Ways of the Druids". The creator of Ogham is the god of eloquence, Ogma Sun Face, son of the Dagda. And the mother of Ogham are the hand and knife of Ogma. Ogma is the father of the Ogham in much the same way that Odin is the inventor of the Runes in the Norse tradition. Divination is a word that means "to foretell the future". They key to its meaning and its working is found in its root, which is the word "divine" It is the gods who know and shape the future. To determine knowledge of the future requires us to gain access to divine knowledge, to the knowledge of the gods. There are many ways to do this and there are many methods of divination in today's world. But to me, those ways don't call to my Spirit in quite the same manner as the Ogham. The Ogham are uniquely Celtic and they are specifically connected to the Celtic cosmos and the elements of the Self. These elements are called Dúile. Some of you may have heard of me speak of the 9 Dúile of the self and the cosmos in other classes, in other places. shimmer: How is Dúile pronounced? Searles: Dúile is pronounced "DOOl-yah". This is correctly spelled with the ' or fada symbol making the u a long u in Irish. D u "fada" I l e. That's how one would spell it out if speaking it out loud. Frinshay|: you where right about swallowing the words a bit,its help my Irish a lot Searles: Yup. Since divination is "divine knowledge," the best and most direct way of getting such knowledge is to speak directly to deity. The fortunate among us sometimes have this experience but it is often the case that we are not in the proper state to listen to what deity has to say. It's very rare that we find ourselves in states of ecstasy and the presence of the gods. When we are in such as place and such a state, all knowledge is open to us... nothing is hidden. It has been my personal experience, at times like these, to understand that each of our spirits is connected to all of Creation, even to the Gods. When we are living within our bodies, which is most of the time, we lose touch with our spirit. Its voice is only a whisper. Our connection is a shadow or even a hint of what we clearly know when we are in the presence of the gods. Since the basis of divination is divine knowledge, what is required by humans are keys to opening the doors to spirit and divine knowledge that we constantly are closing on ourselves. Techniques of meditation and journeying can help us to regain such a connection. The fact is that the connection is never actually completely lost. . It is my contention that the Ogham are the keys to divination for Celts and Druids. The Ogham are symbols of the secret interconnected knowledge of the Druids and the Gods. When we use them in divination, they serve to connect our inner spirit with our mind, which is trapped within our body. Essentially they are a way in which we can tell ourselves what we already know. Each wood of the Ogham is a doorway to our own inner knowledge and the voice of the gods. So the Ogham are all about opening up the pathways between the worlds and the knowledge of past, present, and future. The druids recognized this use of the Ogham and used it to organize and classify the vast amount of information that was available to them. This information was both esoteric and mundane, physical and mental, spiritual and scientific. A beginning druid or Filidh would study the Ogham, the tales of the people and the gods, and memory techniques during the first 7 years of their studies. The reason for this was threefold. To introduce the knowledge of tradition as a basis of understanding the past and the present, to use the Ogham as a means of classifying and categorizing that knowledge, and to learn meditation and spiritual techniques for enhancing the memory and the ability to connect to deity. Each young druid student was taught by an elder... verbally... This knowledge was repeated by the students until it was perfectly remembered. Once the lesson had been learned, the student was then sent to a dark room Dan to bed to meditate and focus on the new knowledge. It is said that such as bed was called "The Bed of the Poets". I envision this as kind of an isolation chamber. It has been further said that students would sleep with a stone upon their chest.. Perhaps this was an aid in remembering. Maybe even it was a means of focusing the attention upon the work at hand. I do know that the next day the student would have stored the knowledge and memory work within their grove that lives within the mind. That grove is a grove of Ogham. In a future lesson we'll discuss a particular form of this grove called, "Fionn's Wheel". It has a very unique organization and inner structure that make it ideal for our use in Ogham divination. I have likened the process of divination to the use of a paint brush on a canvas. A beautiful work of art starts out as a blank canvas. The artist selects brushes, strokes and paint pigments to construct an image. That image can be viewed as many separate items all in a group, orrrrr... the mind can make the leap to integrating the separate elements into a picture. This is what our study of Ogham divination will do for our own mind, using the symbols of the Ogham and other symbols that we will find hidden within Celtic tradition. Before we discuss the symbols of the Ogham, let's talk about some symbols that seem to be universal to humankind. Such symbols have decorated the secret places and have described the sacred knowledge for at least 30,000 years. Such symbols have been found within caves deep within the ground. Placed there with the express purpose of capturing the knowledge of the gods. Such symbols have been found within caves deep within the ground. Placed there with the express purpose of capturing the knowledge of the gods and The Goddess of the River, can no where be better found than at the Brugh na Bóinne. The same symbols that are marked within and around the Brugh of the Gods are also the fundamental symbols of Vedic astrology... which is another pathway to divine knowledge. Vedic knowledge itself is contemporary with the construction of Newgrange. I know that the Vedic civilization and Celtic culture share common Indo- European roots.It is not surprising that they would share symbols that point to the inner knowledge of the spirit. It is my contention that the deeper we go into our own spirit, the further we go into the past and the world of our ancestors. When we get to the world of the first humans, we discover the common knowledge of our tribe, which was written upon the hearts of the Stone People. Though our Ogham will be written and marked primarily upon wood, it is upon stone that it has come down to us. The symbols upon the stones of the Brugh are the:
In the reading material for tonight's class, I call the Circle a "Circle of Being". It is the Sun, which sustains us all. The Moon is a cycling of Crescents and Arcs, which connects to the Sea through the action of Waves. The Cosmos itself is a great elliptic egg. The Cross has long been a symbol of a gateway. And the Zig Zag can only be associated with the cutting edge of a sword, in this case, the lightening bolt of the Thunder God. The Diamond is itself a portal of fire, which can trap or transmit light. The Spiral is itself a means of connecting between worlds. And the "Gaming Board of Destiny" is itself a field that is crisscrossed diamonds, portals, crosses and gateways. Each of the symbols can be associated with one of the elements of the self. And a table is provided in the class materials. These are the symbols from across time. They are the first knowledge of the Stone People. They are the ancestors of the Ogham. They are the elemental knowledge that connects each Ogham to another, as well as ourselves to the Cosmos. Let's talk in greater detail about the primary symbols found within the stone. The Point, or "The Dot", symbolizes the fundamental beginning of Creation. It is what we use to define space, as well as what we use to define nothingness. Whether a thing is or is not, it contains a point. The point is the limit of manifestation. When it become observable through being related to another point, then it has existence. When it is unobservable because it has no other point of reference, then it represents "non-being". The Circle was associated with the Sun, but also with sacred space and the zodiac. It contains the secrets of that which returns to itself, the cycles of life Dan nature, rhythms of existence. When I talk about the three cauldrons, the Circle is the fundamental of each. The Circle also describes the boundaries we will cross in our quest for divination. The Square or the Diamond is normally taken to represent the earth in cosmological diagrams. It is also representative of gaming boards. These have long had the dual nature of being games, as well as being representative of the Cosmos. Each Samhain Gwynn Ap Nudd plays a game of fidchell with the king of the land to determine its fate, for instance. We shall return to these gaming boards when we speak further of cosmology. The Square expresses the idea of many sidedness. The Four Directions are inherent within it. These directions and their qualities will be described further when we discuss the description of the land of Ireland by Fintan in the tale _The Settling of the Manor of Tara_. To develop a casting cloth as a symbolic "land" within which we can divine the future as well as understanding the past and seeing the present for what it is, we will use each of the symbols that I have discussed tonight. One of the things that I would like you to do in the coming week is to meditate upon each of the sacred stone symbols to see what information your inner spirit will reveal to you about them. In order for symbols to speak to us, we must know them as we would know a friend. Which is to say, we must know them better than we know ourselves. It is for this reason that I treat my set of Ogham like an entity, an old friend who helps me discover the secrets. Divining with Ogham is as much about developing a relationship with the Ogham and their symbols, as it is about any esoteric power that the symbols manifest. The power of divination is within the divine. The spirit of the divine is found within each of us. And it is within meditation upon the symbols of ourselves, that we will make the necessary connections. When I look at the symbols this is what I see. I see the Great Serpent. It coils around the center of life. I see the beauty of the Eyebrow, the entrance of the temple. I see the power of Life coming from Death. I see a Cross that spins around a sacred fire. I see the flow of the dragon power. covering the land and singing in the waves of the sea. I see the spiral beyond the stars which reaches into the darkness of the depths. I see a great oak... scarred yet standing beyond the lifetimes of humans, bearing witness to the sword of light that separated the darkness from the day. I see an eye of fire into which we must commit our spirit. I see both the infinite darkness and the point of light. I see the dance between the two within the sky, the sea, and the land; as well as within our own centers of power. and I hear the song of the tree Dan I drink the water of the well. When we meditate upon these symbols this week, feel them in your bones and the pulse of your blood through your flesh. Think about the waves of time that are measured with each breath. Discover the light that leaps from thought to thought within the darkness of the mind. Find your special symbol and mark it upon a stone. this will be the place where you start your journey to the grove of the mind. This will be the stone that you use to amplify your connection to the lore of the people, the knowledge of the trees Dan the voice of the gods. OK... that's all that I'm going to discuss this evening regarding the first class and the material. I'd like to say a few words now about how the class will be structured and the subject we will be covering. The ongoing classes will be: 2. Celtic Cosmology. The Self The Dúile The Three Cauldrons The ongoing classes will be:
Frinshay|: do you wish us to make our own Ogham even if we have some already? Searles: It's not necessary to make your own if you already have a set that will work with you. Some people like to try to make their fidhs (pronounced fewes) from the wood of the associated tree. This can be difficult however, since many of the trees are hard to find in this country. Some of the Ogham are better symbolized by bushes and abstract concepts as well. In my own set of Ogham, the material that is used is called "fairy wood". This is another name for "bog oak". I like it because it has soaked up the waters Dan blood of the land for thousands of years. I cant think of a better way to connect with the wisdom of the gods then using such a wood. A friend of mine here in Fort Worth, has been able to get a supply of such wood from Ireland. His name is Jon Keyes, and I'll speak with him to see if we can get another shipment, if anyone is interested. Caithness: yes! Searles One idea that I have about making a set of Ogham was to use the wood of a tree that gifted me to make the sticks. To further enhance the connection with each tree symbol, I considered trying to get the berries or the leaves of those trees and make a dye. In this way I could dye each of the sticks, using the essence of the tree it symbolized. And perhaps the many different tones and colors would further enhance the way in which the reading spoke to my inner self. This would be a way to have, not only a set of Ogham which had a special connection for yourself, but also a set that connected to the tree of the symbols. I also think Jon was able to get some wooden daggers made of bog oak, but I'll have to check that. I know I'd like to have one of those myself as a ritual tool I will be posting the transcripts Dan the class reading materials in a special class web which will be linked from the class outline, to be found on the welcome page of An Daire Draiochta. These should be posted no later than Friday night. That concludes my remarks for the evening. I expect that we will begin our next class with an open discussion period of the homework Dan the reading material before I begin our discussion for class number 2. any questions, comments, idle thoughts... twisted minds????? <G> Frinshay: I heard somewhere that the Ogham was post Christian, what are your thoughts on this? GA Searles: The "writing" of Ogham can be can be established around a date somewhere in 2nd century CE using accepted academic standards. Technovate: I want to get the bog oak Ogham and a dagger too. Searles: This does not mean that the Ogham were invented in the second century CE It only means that that's the earliest best guess for the dating of the currently available samples. As a memory key, and a tool for classifying knowledge, the Ogham are intimately connected to Celtic language. They are not only the sounds by which we express our fundamental concepts, they also contain the music that gives life to our words. As such, the Ogham are as old as the Celts. The Ogham are not only marks upon wooden stone, they are also sound and matter. The first Ogham was the song of existence. It was the knowledge that identified the self and distinguished thought from formlessness. In another religion, this is told thusly, ... In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was...Among the Celts and the Druids we could say, "In the beginning was the Ogham which gave birth to Song" How could it be otherwise. I have Caithness down for Ogham wood Dan Technovate for Ogham wood Dan wood dagger... providing we can get them. The fact is that Ogham written upon wood doesn't last. The first written Ogham would have been upon wood and those that have lasted are upon stone. I think that Archaeology will discover Caithness: depending on prices, I would also like both.*g* TS: Caith... OK.... gotcha Searles: that the Ogham (as written) are at least dated to around 400 BCE when all is said and done. Gotcha back. Technovate: I think they were about $50 last time weren't they? Frinshay|: can I be put on that list for staves?? Searles: Sure Frinshay|: thanks Searles: We'll have em digging up the bogs all over! :-) Maybe they'll find another cauldron or two while they're at it? Caithness: or mummified Celts! Searles: Another Pete Marsh Caithness: talk about being LATE for dinner! Searles: That's it for class.... maybe I can get Technovate to give me a few pointers on the stars? hahahaha....I guess he didn't like his last supper. Got the burned piece I think. <<Searles thinks he'll look more closely at his cornbread next time.>> Caithness: Didn't know he was speaking the truth when he said,"Woman, your cooking is gonna kill me someday!" Searles: hahahah Technovate: Howdy. I'm approaching brain-deadness at this point. Searles: Some folks also got a steak with their bread. NTM a few herbs and spices. I'm hoping to get the Celtic astrological correspondences set up soon as I really do think that they used a form of astrology very similar to Vedic astrology. Technovate: You should post those again on the Draíocht list, and maybe we can get into a more in-depth discussion there. Searles: Will post away and hopefully I can post a few other corresponding lists that also point to how the deities are related as well as the influences of the houses and the planets on one another. Technovate: That sounds cool. Searles: In case anyone doesn't know, we have a mail list called Draíocht which is for Druids Searles: to discuss the very kinds of things we will be covering here and in An Daire Draiochta. [_members/blfsnhdtcqmgngstraoueieaoiuiioae/members/daireclass/_private/_amrún_foot.htm] |
