The Ogham of the Season
Searles O'Dubhain

Wed Feb  7 10:24:32 2001
An excerpt from:*p*Ogham Divination*p*A Study in Recreating and Discovering *br*the Ancient Ways of the Druids*p*(Copyright by Searles O'Dubhain)*p*EA*p* *br*Eabha, Ebadh, Koad (EH-vah) – Grove *br*“Gatherings”*p*“The Feast Day of the Bride,*br*The daughter of Ivor shall come from the knoll,*br*I will not touch the daughter of Ivor,*br*Nor shall she harm me.*br*On the Feast Day of Bride,*br*The head will come off the “caiteanach,”*br*The daughter of Ivor will come from the knoll*br*With tuneful whistling.*br*The serpent will come from the hole*br*On the brown Day of Bride,*br*Though there should be three feet of snow*br*On the flat surface of the ground.”*p*from the Carmina Gadelica by Alexander Carmichael*p*Because of it’s position on Fionn’s Wheel (between the Ogham symbols for Luis and Duir, and directly on the Circle of Filidecht, a gift that is granted by Brighid, the Goddess of Poets), and because its Ogham symbol is the cross, I associate this Ogham with Imbolc. This Celtic gathering could have been held in a Nemeton or it would more likely have been held near the Bile or within the home itself. The Irish word for a sacred grove is fiodhneimheadh. It' contains the Ebadh overpowering the softened consonants. It is a pathway of vowel sounds, a flowing together of goddess power, a union of heart and hearth, of people and fire. The Cross has long been the symbol of the Sun and Creation, as long as men and women have had Deities. Equal armed crosses have even been found chiseled upon the walls at Newgrange and Lough Crew. The Cross of Brighid can still be found on the mantle of an Irish home or in a place of honor by the doorway. The purpose of Imbolc, which was dedicated to Brighid, was to be a festival of the Hearth and the Home. Its meanings were manifold: a time when life was returning to the Land; a time when lambs are born; a time when the first milk flows (Oimelc, another name for the festival); a time when the Land was experiencing the first hint that winter could possibly be over. All of the symbols and rituals of this feast day are associated with rebirth, purification and reconnection with the Land. This was primarily done through the hearth fire and the effigy of the goddess. It was also a time of divination and blessing. In modern Irish ‘EA’ is also cognate with ‘nath’ which is to say a poem (another way in which it is tied to Brighid). A third way in which the ‘EA’ Ogham is tied to Brighid is the name ‘Eabha’ or ‘Eve’ , the mother of the human race in Christian mythology. Brighid was considered to be the Mother of the Gael. ‘EA’ is all about beginnings and family and the creation that flows forth from the center of life. The Bardic colors for Grove are many different shades of green. It belongs to no class. It also has no month. One of its meanings for divination was that wisdom would be gained by seeing the truth that shines through illusions. This truth was gained by gathering together within groups and companies to listen to the wisdom of the Elders and to learn from the ancient trees themselves.*p*Tone: G1 (ÓDubhain); G1 (ÓBoyle)*p*Magical Ogham: éasca - 1) moon; 2) fluent, nimble, free, swift. (CNL) This word is spelled éscaid sometimes and is associated with the Moon and lunar periods. It also has connotations associated with expectancy, exaltation, swiftness, as well as, cleansing and the edges of bogs and streams. I see this as being associated with Moon worship and perhaps Women’s Mysteries? Additionally, an eascann in Irish is an eel, a reptile or a snake.  Thhis directly relates to the "Daughter of Ivor" and the snakes of wisdom as well as to regeneration, goddess power and wisdom energy. (SOD)*p*Skill Ogham: éicse - poetic ‘nuts and bolts’ knowledge (cf. iomas). (CNL)*p*Color Ogham: éadracht - ‘shining, brilliant.’*p*Word Ogham of Morann Mac Main: Snamchain feda (‘most buoyant of wood; the great raven; the salmon, ea’). These words point to the gathering of ravens prior to and after a battle (death) and/or to the gathering of salmon as they returned to their birth waters to spawn (birth). In either case, the operative concept was a Gathering of necessity.*p*Word Ogham of ÓDubhain: An cine daonna (‘family of man’). Of all the major Celtic festivals, Imbolc was the one that was closest to (and held within) the home. It centered around the hearth fire rituals which are symbolic of how the self, the family, and the tribe were all interconnected. This occasion was a gathering for mutual help and support, a sense of belonging. Sense of Community.*p*Word Ogham of Mac ind Óic: Cosc lobair (‘corrective of a sick man; woodbine, ea’). The third reason that gatherings occurred was to aid those that were sick, injured, or dying. This was a time to lend aid to a friend or a family member. It was a time to attempt healings and to settle affairs. A spoon full of sugar or kindness allowed bitter medicines to be more easily swallowed. The easing of disease and death by spreading its bitter effects to a wide range of natural objects was also thought to effect cures and to lessen the burden of one who was sick. Whether it was birth, death, or illness, a Celt could usually count on having family close at hand for support and blessings. Blessings of Healing.*p* EA*p* *br*Eabha, Ebadh, Koad - Grove*br*“Gatherings”*p*The Hearth of the Heart*p*Past, Present, and Future Meanings:*br*Gathering of Family*br*Community of Friends*br*Blessings of Brighid*p*The Nine Dúile of Ebad:*br*Gathering of Roots: Assembly,*br*Assembly of Connection: Weaving,*br*Weaving of Sensation: Community,*br*Community of Blood: Family,*br*Family of Spirit: Fosterings,*br*Fosterings of Dreams: Blessings,*br*Blessings of Thoughts: Attunement,*br*Attunement of Perception: Alignment,*br*Alignment of Power: Centering.*p*Tales to Read and Study*p*The Genealogy of Bríde*p*Radiant flame of gold, noble foster-mother of Christ. *br*Bride the daughter of Dugall the brown, *br*Son of Aodh, son of Art, son of Conn, *br*Son of Crearar, son of Cis, son of Carmac, son of Carruin.*br*Every day and every night *br*That I say the genealogy of Bride, *br*I shall not be killed, I shall not be harried, *br*I shall not be put in cell, I shall not be wounded, *br*Neither shall Christ leave me in forgetfulness.*br*No fire, no sun, no moon shall burn me, *br*No lake, no water, nor sea shall drown me, *br*No arrow of fairy nor dart of fay shall wound me, *br*And I under the protection of my Holy Mary, *br*And my gentle foster-mother is my beloved Bride.*p**br*Oisin's Children*p*(an excerpt from Book 5 of Lady Gregory's Gods and Fighting Men)*p*Now as to Oisin, that was so brave and so comely, and that could overtake a deer at its greatest speed, and see a thistle thorn on the darkest night, the wife he took was Eibhir of the plaited yellow hair, that was the foreign sweetheart of the High King of Ireland. *br*It is beyond the sea she lived, in a very sunny place; and her father’s name was lunsa, and her sunny house was thatched with the feathers of birds, and the doorposts were of gold, and the doors of ribbed grass. And Oisin went there looking for her, and he fought for her against the High King and against an army of the Firbolgs he had helping him; and he got the better of them all, and brought away Eibhir of the yellow hair to Ireland.*p*And he had a daughter that married the son of Oiliol, son of Eoghan, and of Beara, daughter of the King of Spain. It was that Eoghan was driven out of Ireland one time, and it is to Spain he went for safety. And Beara, that was daughter of the King of Spain, was very shining and beautiful, and her father had a mind to know who would be her husband, and he sent for his Druid and asked the question of him. "I can tell you that," said the Druid, "for the man that is to be her husband will come to land in Spain this very night. And let your daughter go eastward to the river Eibhear," be said, "and she will find a crimson-spotted salmon in that river, having shining clothing on him from head to tail. And let her strip that clothing off him," he said, "and make with it a shining shirt for her husband."*br*So Beara went to the river Eibhear, and found the golden salmon as the Druid had said, and she stripped him of his crimson clothing and made a shining shirt of it.*p*And as to Eoghan, the waves of the shore put a welcome before him, and he came the same night to the king’s house. And the king gave him a friendly welcome; and it is what all the people said, that there was never seen a comelier man than Eoghan, or a woman more beautiful than Beara, and that it was fitting for them to come together. And Eoghan’s own people said they would not be sorry for being sent away out of Ireland, if only Eoghan could get her for his wife.*br*And after a while the king sent his Druid to ask Eoghan why he did not ask for Beam. "I will tell you that," said Eoghan; "it would not be fitting for me to be refused a wife, and I am but an exile in this country, and I have brought no treasures or goods with me out of Ireland for giving to learned men and to poets. But for all that," he said, "the king’s daughter is dear to me, and I think I have the friendship of the king."*p*The Druid went back with that message. "That is the answer of a king," said the King of Spain; "and bid my daughter to sit at Eoghan’s right hand," he said, "and I will give her to him this very night." And when Beara, the king’s daughter, heard that, she sent out her serving-maid to bring the shirt she had made for Eoghan, and be put it on him over his armour, and its shining was seen in every place; and it was from wearing that shirt he got the name of Eoghan the Bright.*p*And Oiliol was the first son they had; it was he that had his ear bitten off by Aine of the Sidhe in revenge for her brother, and it was his son married Oisin’s daughter afterwards.*br*






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