What is Ogham? A look at the ancient Irish alphabet

  Ogham, known as the 'Celtic Tree Alphabet,' dates back centuries and has several theories about its origins.

The ancient script of Ogham, sometimes known now as the 'Celtic Tree Alphabet,'  originally contained 20 letters grouped into four groups of five. Five more letters were later added creating a fifth group. Each of these groups was named after its first letter.

"Its twenty letters, called feda (= ‘trees’), group into four aicme (= ‘family, tribe’) of five letters each. Each letter is simply a cluster of one to five straight lines, scratched along the (usually) vertical edge of a stone.

"The first family (B – L – V/F – S – N) has lines drawn to the right of the edge-line (so one line is B, two lines is L, five lines is N, etc.).

"The second family (H – D – T – C – Q) has lines drawn to the left.

"The third (M – G – NG – ST – R) draws its lines diagonally across both sides of the edge

"And the fourth family (the vowels A – O – U – E – I) is drawn either as short marks on the edge itself, or straight across both sides of the edge."

As far as what Ogham was used for, Dr. Quinn explained: "All we know directly for certain is its use in writing personal names, in possessor form (So-and-So’s…), on the edges of standing stones and the like, as memorial (and possibly as territory/boundary) markers.

"But references in Old Irish (and later) literature also have characters writing Ogham on sticks to send messages, to record information, and to do magic."...<<<Read More>>>....

 

What is Ogham? A look at the ancient Irish alphabet

 Ogham, known as the 'Celtic Tree Alphabet,' dates back centuries and has several theories about its origins.

The ancient script of Ogham, sometimes known now as the 'Celtic Tree Alphabet,'  originally contained 20 letters grouped into four groups of five. Five more letters were later added creating a fifth group. Each of these groups was named after its first letter.

"Its twenty letters, called feda (= ‘trees’), group into four aicme (= ‘family, tribe’) of five letters each. Each letter is simply a cluster of one to five straight lines, scratched along the (usually) vertical edge of a stone.

"The first family (B – L – V/F – S – N) has lines drawn to the right of the edge-line (so one line is B, two lines is L, five lines is N, etc.).

"The second family (H – D – T – C – Q) has lines drawn to the left.

"The third (M – G – NG – ST – R) draws its lines diagonally across both sides of the edge

"And the fourth family (the vowels A – O – U – E – I) is drawn either as short marks on the edge itself, or straight across both sides of the edge."

As far as what Ogham was used for, Dr. Quinn explained: "All we know directly for certain is its use in writing personal names, in possessor form (So-and-So’s…), on the edges of standing stones and the like, as memorial (and possibly as territory/boundary) markers.

"But references in Old Irish (and later) literature also have characters writing Ogham on sticks to send messages, to record information, and to do magic."...<<<Read More>>>....

 

The Rune 'Berkana'

The Rune Berkana is known as 'the Birch Goddess' due to its association with the Birch tree. It indicates NEW BEGINNINGS, RENEWAL, GROWTH, LIBERATION, LIFE CHANGES.

[Runesecrets]: Berkano has the energy of a birch grove, and is an hidden sanctuary in times of need. The birch is the first tree to awaken in the spring time, and so Berkano is about the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Healing of all sorts is strongest through this rune, particularly recuperation, rejuvenation, purification, detoxification and regeneration.

Secrecy with Berkano is not a wicked thing, but a power that can be used to great effect. It is the mastery of silence as a device for listening and protecting. It is a life giving rune, so is best used to assist life, to heal and to protect. It will enhance efforts to give oneself, and others, the time and space they need to grow on their own. The creation of time and space is a magical act done consciously through restraint and silence, even concealment of one’s hand in the affair altogether. This ability is magical, requires great humility and is an enviable feminine power.

The Viking's Runes

Runology is the study of the runic alphabets, runic inscriptions, runestones, and their history.

Runology forms a specialised branch of Germanic linguistics. The earliest runic inscriptions date from around 150 AD.

The characters were generally replaced by the Latin alphabet as the cultures that had used runes underwent Christianisation, by approximately 700 AD in central Europe and 1100 AD in northern Europe.

However, the use of runes persisted for specialized purposes in northern Europe. Until the early 20th century, runes were used in rural Sweden for decorative purposes in Dalarna and on Runic calendars.

The Rune Isa

The Rune Isa (Is) literally means 'Ice' and symbolises 'stillness'. It is the period that can be determined as 'waiting for the ice to melt'.

However it takes for that process to symbolically take place; a period of static and no action in a situation, when there is the anticipation of the time something will start to take place.

It can be the rune that signifies an ending; a decision still to be made; indecisiveness prior to decision making.

Isa is also a rune of concentration and willpower; of focus and of nurturing.

"Ice is beautiful and treacherous. It lulls the traveler to sleep with its peace and serenity. Nice locks life under its surface and keeps it motionless. However, there is little else as powerful as the slow moving glacier, which can tear apart even the bedrock as it inches forward. Although ice generally shows itself as it is, with little glamor, there is little so treacherous as a weak spot in the ice that will swallow the unwary with surprising swiftness, and soon enough leave hardly a trace. The hidden part of an iceberg, which represents 90% of its bulk, can remain hidden and gut a ship with little mercy. This is how the ancients saw ice: inimical, even hostile to life." (Rune Secrets)

Naudiz - The Rune of Necessity

Runemaker.com: Need, want, craving. demand, deprivation, compulsion, desire.

Control your emotions. Beware of extraordinary demands on your time or generosity. Naudiz represents need, hardship, or adversity. Luckily, it includes the perseverance to endure, and reserves of inner strength. It counsels patience. However unpleasant the hardship it is a learning experience that will ultimately benefit you.

You are getting exactly what you need right now to make the best progress on your spiritual path. It may appear to be the very opposite of what you want, but this state is not permanent, it is merely a series of lessons that must be learnt so that you can make the transition from negative to positive ...read more>>>... ...

Futhark: Mysterious Ancient Runic Alphabet of Northern Europe

The word rune comes from the Norse rún which means mystery or secret. Little is known about the origins of the Runic alphabet and no one knows exactly when, where or who invented it.

Runes are the characters of the earliest written alphabet used by the Germanic peoples of Europe called Futhark. The runic alphabet was used within Germanic languages but primarily in Nordic countries. Inscriptions have been found throughout northern Europe from the Balkans to Germany, Scandinavia, the British Isles and Iceland, and were in use from about 100 to 1600 AD. Runic inscriptions have even been found in North America, supporting claims that the Vikings arrived in the Americas long before Columbus.

The Runic alphabet is known as Futhark after the first six runes, namely f,u,th,a,r and k. It consisted of 24 letters, 18 consonants and 6 vowels, and was a writing system where each character marked a certain sound. Runes could be written in both directions and could also be inverted or upside down. The earliest runes consisted almost entirely of straight lines, arranged singly or in combinations of two or more. Later runes took on more complex forms and some even resemble modern day letters of the English alphabet.

Elder Futhark is thought to be the oldest version of the runic script, and was used in the parts of Europe that were home to Germanic peoples, including Scandinavia. It consisted of 24 letters, and was used mostly before the ninth century AD. This was the ancestor language of English, Dutch, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Icelandic. As languages changed and more Germanic groups adopted it, Futhark changed to suit the language that it came to write...read more>>>...

An Introduction to Runes

Sunnyway: Runes are an ancient Germanic alphabet, used for writing, divination and magick. They were used throughout northern Europe, Scandinavia, the British Isles, and Iceland from about 100 B.C.E. to 1600 C.E. Runic inscriptions of great age have even been found in North America, supporting stories that the Vikings arrived in the Americas long before Columbus.

Tacitus, in Chapter X of his Germania, describes a form of divination used by Germanic tribes:

"To divination and casting of lots, they pay attention beyond any other people. Their method of casting lots is a simple one: they cut a branch from a fruit-bearing tree and divide it into small pieces which they mark with certain distinctive signs and scatter at random onto a white cloth. Then, the priest of the community if the lots are consulted publicly, or the father of the family if it is done privately, after invoking the gods and with eyes raised to heaven, picks up three pieces, one at a time, and interprets them according to the signs previously marked upon them."

Runes are an oracle from which one seeks advice. They work best if you detail your current circumstances and then ask a specific question. Rune readings are sometimes obscure. They hint toward answers, but you have to figure out the details. This is when the rune casters intuition becomes paramount.

Runic divination or "rune casting" is not "fortunetelling" in the sense that one actually sees the future. Instead, runes give one a means of analyzing the path that one is on and a likely outcome. The future is not fixed. It changes with everything one does. If one does not like the prediction, one can always change paths...read more>>>...

Eye Writings - A Practical Application?

 And here we appear to have a practical application of the 'Eye Writings' described previously; by way of an apparent coding in the Daily Merlin Spreads linked to the '357 Mystery' ....

The image on the right is a classic Daily Merlin spread created by dealing the Servants Of The Light tarot cards and then casting Crystal Oracle stones ... the resultant pattern of the stones recorded with interconnecting lines between the stones. The patterns 'appear' to resemble 'Eye Writing' notation ...

The image to the below is a typical illustration created by Matthew James from the Daily Merlin spreads. Note how the patterns resemble Eye Writings ...

It is not clear at this stage if this is intentional (i.e A higher force provided the intuitive steps to devise the patterns in this way. Perhaps the same force which whispered '3-5-7' many weeks prior to the events of 3rd May 2007) ... or purely coincidental. But it is worth a deeper look in the near future ...

The Daily Merlin spreads are most certainly going to be reviewed once more ... especially in the light of this latest consideration. Nothing in magick is by chance ... all things are inter-connected and synchronicity is often a sign that a magick is afoot. The impetus to research the Eye Writings within the Keys Of Enoch was only put into motion a few hours prior to this post. The link between the Eye Writings and the Daily Merlin spreads was instantaneous. There is a strong connection in all of this why this line of consideration has now been opened; why this doorway now stands before me ... with another threshold to cross - © Matthew James May 2013

A Word on 'Ogham Alphabet'

The Ogham alphabet is thought to be named after the Irish god Ogma. One theory of its origins is that it evolved out of a system of tallies used for accounting. Ogham is also known as or ogham craobh, beth luis fearn or beth luis nion.

About 500 Ogham inscriptions have been found in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England and the Isle of Man dating from between the 4th and 7th centuries AD. There are inscriptions in ancient Irish and Pictish which have not been deciphered. A number of bilingual inscriptions in Ogham and Latin or Ogham and Old Norse written with the Runic alphabet have been found.

While all surviving traces of Ogham are inscriptions on stone, it was probably more commonly inscribed on sticks, stakes and trees. Inscriptions generally take the form of somebody's name and the name of a place and were probably used to mark boundaries....read more>>>...

Image Of The Day

The Rune WYN ... to bring joy & positive energies at this time.

'The Origin Of Our Alphabet'

Source: Atlantis, The Antediluvian World

The nation that became mistress of the seas, established communication with every shore, and monopolized the commerce of the known world, must have substituted a phonetic alphabet for the hieroglyphics as it gradually grew to this eminence; while isolated Egypt, less affected by the practical wants and tendencies of commercial enterprise, retained the hieroglyphic system, and carried it to a marvellous height of perfection.

It must be remembered that some of the letters of our alphabet are inventions of the later nations. In the oldest alphabets there was no c, the g taking its place. The Romans converted the g into c; and then, finding the necessity for a g Sign, made one by adding a tail-piece to the c (C, G).

The Greeks added to the ancient alphabet the upsilon, shaped like our V or Y, the two forms being used at first indifferently: they added the X sign; they converted the t of the Phœnicians into th, or theta; z and s into signs for double consonants; they turned the Phœnician y (yod) into i (iota). The Greeks converted the Phœnician alphabet, which was partly consonantal, into one purely phonetic--"a perfect instrument for the expression of spoken language." The w was also added to the Phœnician alphabet. The Romans added the y. At first i and j were both indicated by the same sound; a sign for j was afterward added. We have also, in common with other European languages, added a double U, that is, VV, or W, to represent the w sound.

The letters, then, which we owe to the Phœnicians, are A, B, C, D, E, H, I, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, Z. If we are to trace out resemblances with the alphabet of any other country, it must be with these signs.

Ancient Alphabets ... Hieroglyphics

The Alphabet Of Ancient Egypt - Hieroglyphics