Celtic Ogham Fairy Oracle Cards
Connected to Nature
Aboriginal people over the world, ancient tribal traditions have always remembered their close connection to Nature. Once there was no modern technology but the solid Earth beneath and all it/She could provide, there was Air and the vast Sky around, Water to nourish, soothe, heal and carry, and Fire as perhaps the first "tool" as well as the magnificent force of Nature and the symbolic spark of life. That was what composed humans. That still is. We are Nature. And somewhere way beneath our unconscious conditioning and conscious teaching we still hold memories of this connectedness.
We just need to reach out to find it and surely it is still there and available.
One easy and always-known way to connect with Nature is through the trees. They are quite alike us - even if we are not aware of it we might still feel a kind of kinship. For trees AND we both have roots, a body, a waist to hug, a solid spine, covering skin, arms bearing weight or reaching high, need for water and food, love for sunshine, etc. Trees are scientifically proven to breathe, move to seek water and support, feel and reproduce, female plants and flowers exude a powerful seductive odour ... - all in all they actually show intent. Trees also have an electro-magnetic field around them - just like any living beings - which has been monitored to show changes, a peak of energy at midday and smaller activity at night... They are sentient beings. Plus through their shape and form have quite individual characteristics.
Trees have always been there for people. Just imagine how natural that is - even today - to find shelter underneath them. People have always leant against, rested and slept under, sometimes hugged, spoken to or cried under trees. Let alone touching/knocking on wood - as probably the oldest "magical" act ever. Do you still do it today? That is what I am talking about :-)
And do not forget trees have a long life span. Dendrochronology can read their rings in the trunk, which do speak about not only the age of the tree but the weather of certain years, the times when trees were crowded or comfortably spaced out, of forest fires and interference of pests, etc. Also, the same way trees must remember all the stories, words, sighs, cries and dreams they witness from generations of people approaching them.
They do remember. And they can share. The wisdom of trees and messages from them have been sought and revered for long ages.
Seeking the Future
Divining, oracles and fortune telling - meaning seeking answers or the future by sometimes called "magical" ways is about as old as humankind on Earth. Many things of Nature as well as the men-made world provide means for it, from scrying into Moon-lit pools to special crystal balls or mirrors, from the flight of birds, the rustling sound of leaves to reading coffee grounds in fine china or casting manufactured cards while burning the right incense stick nearby...
Finding out answers and guidance about the future with the means of pieces of wood, a rod or twigs is also an old practice called Rhabdomancy and was already mentioned by Cicero e.g. in connection with the Celts.
Celtic Traditions
The first recorded use of the word Celts to refer to an ethnic group was in 517 BC in a writing about a people living near "Massilia" (Marseille). Celts seem to have appeared from the East and spreading into Gaul, Iberia, the Balkans, Asia Minor and the British Isles, also sacking towns in Italy, France, Germany and other European countries. They are considered to have been great technologists of the ancient world, skilled metalworkers, chariot and road builders, experts in agriculture and animal husbandry. At the same time they were a people believing in reincarnation and transmigration, with druids teaching that the human soul had to pass through several incarnations and the lessons of earthly life – and the progress could be hindered by things like pride, lies and unnecessary cruelty.
Druids were the ancient Celtic “priesthood”, spiritual leaders as well as healers, wise men greatly connected and deeply attuned into Nature. Their special kinship with trees is reflected in the fact that the origin of the word “druid” was “Duir-wydd” meaning “Oak-seer” as “Duir” was their name for the oak tree. What is more their calendar and their system of writing was related to trees as well.
The Celtic calendar was based on the Moon. The New Year began on 1 Nov after Samhain, which month was called Birch / Beth. It was followed by Rowan / Luis, etc while in the end the 13th lunar month was named after Elder / Ruis, a very short period to wrap up the year. Thus each moon/month was named after a tree, which also corresponded an Ogham sign. Though they also knew and used the solar year’s calendar as well as the Greek Metonic Cycle or the Roman alphabet.
What's Ogham
There are several theories about Ogham signs. To my surprise I have found that the more I learn about them the more varied the ideas become - leaving me to focus on intuition and traditions rather than black and white facts. What is always agreed on is that Ogham signs are like runic "letters" composed of short, straight lines that were easy to carve in wood, or perhaps on stone.
Some source say they were sacred gylphs once and through evolution became the alphabet of Celtic times.
In Wales they believe it was their god Hu the Mighty who invented the script.
Some Bardic traditions teach Einiged the Giant invented the special letters.
Other ideas claim the Irish/Gaelic Ogham was born from an ancient finger sign-language.
Celtic myths say it was Ogma, their God of Literature, who devised the signs as well as gave them the name Ogham.
Whatever their genuine origin was, we have all the reasons to believe researchers who find Ogham signs were/are based on sounds. Just think about it for a second. How multi-layered that is! Especially if we think of Nature itself. Nature IS sound. The Earth makes sounds as it has rhythm and movements, water also creates a multitude of different sounds, plants make sounds by the wind as well as tiny noises we cannot hear but they are still there in the movements of life, let alone air - through landscapes, forms, tree leaves, birds' songs and animals' throats... Only little sound can we hear but its resonance IS there in Nature, made up of many things, many volumes... Plus a little more added by the resonance of human songs and spoken words. What if the ancient ones did know all of these and were able to interpret the meanings? Not only words like us today but all the fine layers of all the vibrations received not only by ears but spiritual senses - and built a system of signs to capture ALL THESE HIDDEN LAYERS OF MEANINGS.
That is why Ogham signs offer a tool to find inspiration and answers through meditation, intuition and connectedness.
In Druidic lore some state there were 16 of them.
In the Tree Calendar of Celtic Astrology there are 13 signs, following the moon-months.
When I first ever read about them in a Wiccan book there were 25 letters and trees mentioned - noting that two of them represent Grove and Sea that are not even trees and were a later addition to the alphabet by Manannan.
In a later book I found 17 of them, still, containing a new one that was not the part of the 25...
So in the end in my deck there are 24 cards that might or might not contain all of the letters and trees in everybody's opinion. What is more they are coupled with Fairies.
Who are the Fairies
A type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical or supernatural. The word fairy is a borrowing from French, meaning the land of the legendary people of folklore and romance, which derived ultimately from the Latin “fata”, who was one of the “fates” hence a (guardian) spirit. In some cultures they were regarded as ghosts (like the Bhean Sidhe) or an intelligent species, elementals (such as gnomes and sylphs in Alchemy), while many of the Irish tales refer to ancestor beings as fairies (though in more ancient times they were regarded as Goddesses and Gods).
For the Celts in their lives deeply entwined with Nature, trees obviously attracted a host of fairy life. Gnomes and kind earth elementals were said to reside among the roots and oak trees housed a species of tree-nymphs the Dryads, who had special affinity and gave their name to the female druidesses of the Celts.
Celtic myths and ancient lore of the British Isles as such is abundant in nature spirits, fairy/faery/fay folk and kindred souls. There is great variety of the “wee folk” / “little people”, such as the Brownies / Pixies of England wearing brown clothes, shaggy hair and finishing household tasks; Elves / Trooping Fairies of Britain, who are either small – dancing creating the “fairy rings” or human size – enjoying hunting and riding, and like to wear green; the Daoine Sidhe / Sidh / Sith / Si of Ireland who are also known as the “people of peace”; or the Lepracaun, the solitary shoe-maker… just to mention a few.
Fairies are often described as human in appearance but having magical powers. The “wee people” or “good neighbours” in general are indeed like humans in many respects. They need food, drink, shelter, they require sleep. May fall ill and are not immortal. They are fond of music, play instruments and love dancing. What generally deters them is cold steel, iron, bells, salt, whistle and turning the clothes inside out or jumping over running water can also keep them away and behind – if needed as though often easily befriended they are capable of enchantment. What they take kindly to on the other hand is fresh water offered, milk, honey and cookies as well as finery e.g. pearls, shiny silver or golden jewels and gems.
Being nature spirits they might dwell in the house but are likely to live outside. Befriended they will surely bless your property, help the plants and trees grow, help you find things lost, turning up some stones or rocks aid you find some “treasure” for spiritual work or listening to them (like the Dryads e.g.) they can even answer your questions and provide guidance if asked for.
MY Cards
The Celts carved their Ogham signs on pieces of wood to use them. As I have said I am using SOME of them and I have written them on cards. Because it may be more convenient to have, carry and use in our days and also because their meanings and messages are coupled with those of fairies.
In my deck there are 24 cards. It is three times eight – three being the “witch’s number” as well as the one with the spiritual reference to magic, intuition, creativity, and expression. It also means wisdom and understanding and with its “trinity” it represents past-present-future in one. While eight represents continuation, repetition, and cycles as well as the ability to make decisions.
The cards might or might not contain all of the letters and trees in everybody's opinion and might or might not follow the exact interpretation by others. Still, they are based on all my studies as well as connectedness, tuning in, meditation and intuition about Nature, trees, THE Celtic Trees, Ogham Signs and Fairies.
When I started to draw the images I did know about the tree-signs and did have the intention to find the fairy of each individual tree, I, however, did not plan what to draw. Sometimes I had the tree's qualities in mind and just watched amazed what was appearing on the paper. Other times I was consumed with the Ogham sign and its layers of meaning and started to draw to find out only after finishing the picture and reading about the qualities attributed to the tree itself how matching they were with the fairy's image. Or I merely had a sudden idea, a drive what to help be born on paper and felt it deeply connected to one of the trees only later when acquainting myself more with that particular one.
As I regard the process of creating art as active meditation I believe the images look what THEY wanted or were meant to look like to correspond the trees and the Ogham signs as best as possible and they were born thus to convey THEIR messages.
So the cards you might be holding in your hands right now are unique, embodying the wisdom and guidance of different sources - that are in the end all one and the same.
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What the deck and its booklet contains
The deck contains 24 cards depicting the Fairy of the certain Tree and its Ogham name and sign.
The Booklet contains information about
- different methods of laying the cards and interpreting their messages
And introduction of each Tree one by one through:
- information about the Tree itself as a plant that can already reveal symbolic attributes
- insight into mythologies where the tree has gained significance and its meaning in those myths
- introduction to the Moon of the Tree, that is what qualities the tree has as a birth sign in Celtic Astrology
- the message of the Fairy, in other words what it means if you have picked that card
- an affirmation, a summary of the meanings to remember or an inspiring thought to accompany you on your path
Coming to Ancient-Craft Shop soon! :-)
That I might seek the unknowable.
(Riley Wilde O'Marion)
