Ogham - Blog Posts

A reminder that Robert Graves is not a reliable source, and if you are relying on any books by him, including The White Goddess, to double check everything you incorporate into your practice!

ETA: If you're happy to include things like that anyway, the choice is (obviously) your own, and I don't mean to judge that :). Just to be aware that a lot of Robert Graves' theories are unfounded and based somewhat on poetic license.

the ogham alphabet and their divinatory meanings

FIRST AICME

ᚁ beith

UPRIGHT: joyful beginnings, new possibilities, renewal and rebirth--even if it is uncomfortable

REVERSED: a blind path, wasted efforts, fixation on the past, longing for the impossible

ᚂ luis

UPRIGHT: clarity, attention to detail, purification, danger avoided or overcome, two paths are open to you

REVERSED: vulnerability, uncertainty, deception, delusion, something (possibly your own emotions) is misleading you

ᚃ fearn

UPRIGHT: protection and guidance, emotional security, good advice, prophecy, unexpected solution(s), music, poetry

REVERSED: willful blindness, refusal to listen to advice, arrogance or not enough information

ᚄ saille

UPRIGHT: go with the flow, intuition, dreaming, unconscious, letting go of preconceptions, feminine energy/connection to the moon

REVERSED: inability to adapt, feeling defeated or lost, lack of movement, difficulty that will inevitably pass

ᚅ nuin

UPRIGHT: connection and transformation, being a part of something bigger, fate, divine action/inspiration

REVERSED: isolation and boredom, being blind to (either good or bad) possibilities, take control and be assertive

SECOND AICME

ᚆ huath

UPRIGHT: patience, protection/purification, reserve, feeling suffocated, problems that will eventually change, self-sacrifice

REVERSED: you are acting too hasty, take a second to think OR you're at a standstill, you need to take action

ᚇ duir

UPRIGHT: sacred spaces, forward movement, power and energy, the power to endure, leadership, endurance

REVERSED: help from those in power, success despite means, borrowed strength, a gift, cowardliness

ᚈ tinne

UPRIGHT: challenges or tests, recommends decisive action, balance, integrity, talent/skill/expertise, growth

REVERSED: attack, hardship, aggression, lack of direction or balance

ᚉ coll

UPRIGHT: knowledge and learning, transformation and flexibility, creativity, daydreaming, rituals/divination

REVERSED: intellectual/creative blockages (art/writer's block), lack of insight, fear of failure, ignorance

ᚊ quert

UPRIGHT: happiness, healing, beauty, love affairs, awakenings and new experiences, opportunity (or the choice) to live more fully

REVERSED: despair, ailments, unavoidable choice(s), mixed gain/loss, procrastination

THIRD AICME

ᚋ muin

UPRIGHT: inspiration, prophecy or psychic senses, community and celebration, freedom, rest, examine life's lessons

REVERSED: burdens, difficulties, a need to relax/unwind, you're strung out or trying too hard OR overindulging

ᚌ gort

UPRIGHT: slow/indirect progress, wildness, purpose, determination, transformation, follow life's path

REVERSED: entanglement, think twice about what you're doing, and arduous path

ᚍ ngetal

UPRIGHT: vitality, awareness of environment, creating order from chaos, prioritizing personal health, you aren't finished yet

REVERSED: inability to act, need for healing and patience, you aren't ready to act yet OR you have done all you can

ᚎ straif

UPRIGHT: necessity/inevitability, fate or omens, death, rebirth, some things cannot be changed, wheel of fortune

REVERSED: pain, difficulty, retribution, necessary suffering, no choice is a good one

ᚏ ruis

UPRIGHT: resolution, completion, looking ahead, omen of success, difficulties permanently overcome

REVERSED: endings and departures, face the facts, shame, illness/disability

FOURTH AICME

ᚐ ailm

UPRIGHT: insight, grounded in the present, clear vision, start new project(s), new perspective, foresight

REVERSED: ignorance of the broader picture, unrealistic ideas, step back and reassess, fear and anxiety

ᚑ onn

UPRIGHT: energy, life, vigor, sexuality, attraction, gathering together, consider changing your life's direction

REVERSED: difficulties and delays, overconfidence, taking too many risks, unrealistic desires

ᚒ uhr

UPRIGHT: spiritual/magical power, forces of nature, deep connections, fulfillment, death and memories of loved ones

REVERSED: deception, deceit, loss of contact with nature/spirits, need for recuperation/reconnection in a relationship

ᚓ eadhadh

UPRIGHT: courage and tenacity, a struggle for victory, quest for inner strength, enlightenment

REVERSED: addiction, terror, declining health, compromise and negotiation, choosing a different path

ᚔ iodhadh

UPRIGHT: ancestry, aging or dying, things unchanging, old age, memory

REVERSED: stagnation and immobility, death or mourning, the past is a burden, things lingering past their prime

FORFEDHA

ᚕ eabhadh

UPRIGHT: spiritual wisdom, complexity, place of balance/harmony, presence of many factors, spiritual wisdom

REVERSED: confusion, bewilderment, too many factors at work to allow for a successful prediction/decision

ᚖ oir

UPRIGHT: radical transformation, abundance, sudden illumination or destruction that is set about by outside forces

REVERSED: patience, preparation, the path before you is a slow one, wait for outside forces to act

ᚗ uilleann

UPRIGHT: knowledge and lore, learning and study, wisdom of the past as a guide, private thoughts or secrets

REVERSED: ignorance, failure to learn from the past, future instead of past

ᚘ ifin

UPRIGHT: secrets and revelations, subtle influences, releasing emotions of guilt/shame

REVERSED: the situation is not as it seems, the information that you need is not available to you

ᚙ eamancholl

UPRIGHT: unexpected change, arrival of new influence, illness

REVERSED: sudden endings or disruptions

Muin

Today starts and will end on 29th september Muin's arboreal month, the vine, then linked to the Vendemmia and - more general - to the autumnal nature. But also the effects of the good wine produce on people: happiness, carelessness, joy but also toxicity, angry and danger.

It rappresents the period between autumn equinox and all of works linked to: working activities, the second harvest, the preparing of the food to store during winter, etc. At large, Muin reppresents the master through which the knowledge comes, the one who make us try hard to gain a higher level of our personal growth.