The Ogham of the Day According to the Wisdom of Finneagas

After Lughnasadh of 2012, I was asked by Finneagas to continue his practice of posting the "Ogham of the Day." He had long provided this service to the world but did not feel he could continue to devote the time to the effort that it deserves. I have not posted an Ogham reading or thought every day either. I choose only to post when the reading or spirit behind it is meaningful or impacts our lives. I trust Finnegas approves of the way I am handling the task that he requested of me:

"I am asking you,since much of the Oghams,meanings we wrote,and the application thereof came from study,and largely YOUR work,and so therefore,would you like to take up that torch."

What follows will be a (growing) collection and sampling of such readings to give an idea of what can be seen beyond the surface of events. The general format of the reading will be the Ogham indicated by the Moon for that Day; accompanied by Finneagas' interpretation of it along with the meanings for it in terms of the Moon from my book called Facing the Sun. Often when staring from these points of origin, the wisdom of the Ogham open doors and take me further in mind and spirit. Those experiences are sometimes also included.

The Ogham of the Day According to the Wisdom of Finneagas is Ruis or the Elder Tree (Summer Solstice 2013)
Transformation is continuous, its the shaping might that needs to be harnessed, to bridle the wild horse is the winding spiral/dance of life itself! Endings are new beginnings, yet all things must end, learn the secret of this aspect of life changes to life, death is but a shadow! The Great Spiral and coming transformations are more apparent in the course of the day. New avenues are opening in your favor.

The Moon pursues the Goad of Lugh (Deled Luigh) which is ruled by Nét (Néit) the God of War and who is married to Nemain, one of the Morrigú. His name means 'battle' and may be the original Irish word for it. Her name means, 'battle fury.' He is also said to be the grandfather of Balor. He is married to Macha in some tales (which might make him synonymous with Nuada from the point of view of the Tuatha Dé Danann). Nemain is also confused with Macha, completing the circle. Prior to the Second Battle of Moytura, Lugh incites his troops by goading them with a rhetoric while he employs 'Crane Magic' (hopping on one leg, with one eye closed, and with only one arm visible.). Lugh himself succumbs to battle frenzy later in the story and leaps from the enclosure of his foster fathers to join the fray. When a goad is used to excite us for a noble purpose, it is a blessing. When goading becomes a source of personal pleasure or a way of increasing self-image, then it can lead to destruction. We all possess great power within ourselves that can be awakened by suitable words. In a sense, this house is about channeling the anger and emotion generated from irritation and goading into useful purposes.

At this time of ther Sun’s Standing all things are amplified to the breaking point. Those who lack clarity now will see these days as disrupted and confused. Those who have a clarity of purpose will be able to transmute the disruptions into useful constructive energy. It is a tiger by the tail but it is a huge wave that can be ridden on to victory and success. Those who will succeed shall respond to coming events in a way that will be unexpected and positive all others will be submerged by the way and will see to shelter in the passing of the wave. They will lie upon the beach seeking the safe way while others will garner these forces and move forward in their life goals. The time for this is short as the shadow of confusion will grow longer after a few days so that the initial charge must direct and spearhead the charge while light is abundent. The ebb is beginning but now we are upon the heights and all things are possibble for the bold.

The Ogham of the Day According to the Wisdom of Finneagas is Saile - Willow (31 March 2013)
Relationships today need a bending a little as like the Willow, too much rigidity, in time will break anything, so learn to relax and flow. Attempt to delve all aspects and sort into facts for usage both mundane and magical, know a given 'plan(s)', an appropriate 'time allocation' to assert ones will. Knowing how the Spiral... is moving will aid in life’s transformations.

The symbol associated with this time and Ogham is a small square that represents the “little cage” of creativity and creation. In some traditions this is drawn as a square but in actuality and Ogham it could also be a spiral in many dimensions, while a square in only two. It is a small place or a large place depending on how many realms that one considers. The Moon empowers its working even while diminishing. The day represents the universe as deity, reflecting the connection to deity from within. This idea reaches across religious boundaries today as this is pretty much what Jesus was teaching from his own Druid-like perspective and in his working. Today’s work for each of us is to find the small cage within that is a square or an infinite spiral. Using the connection it makes, we can manifest the goodness from within that leads each of us to deity.

The large and the small house for these workings is known as Leabaidh Filidh:

This is the Bed of the Poets, the place within and around each of us that shelters our creativity and truth. Amergin is another son of Míl who was the Ollamh of their Draíothe and Filidh. He is noted for his roscana in claiming the land of Ireland for the Mileseans and for stilling the storm of the Tuatha Dé Danann (that sank the ship of Donn). Amergin found favor with the three Goddesses of Sovereignty when he promised to name Ireland for each of them. He also gave the first judgement in Ireland. Its truth saved his life, when he was challenged by the Tuatha Dé to decide what would be a fair thing to do regarding the initial hostilities between the Sons of Míl and Ethor, Cethor and Téthor (the names of Mac Coll, Mac Céacht and Mac Grían). Amergin is said to have slain Mac Grían at the mound of Tailtenn (Teltown) in Meath.

The Ogham of the Day According to the Wisdom of Finneagas is  Huath - Hawthorn (20 March 2013)
Definitely a time to ponder things in retrospect. The possibility of sudden dangers arising with lack of awareness. Begin the process of transforming bad patterns especially the destructive ones, seek out wisdom with a disterning eye, be aware of hidden enemies and their actions. Put aside fear, it will only lead to fai...lure, keep to your path it will become a comfort.

The Moon is in the House of the Two Vessels and has two choices to make between its two possibilities. Currently the chice is a positive one and will manifest opportunity if boldly pursued, If this choice is not made now then the pathway of rejection and decline will soon make such things as difficult as they can be. Each Moon we have these choices to make. Learn from the last, Make a decision now and look to the next time that power comes to help you.

“HORROR, SON OF TERROR”
“I have an axe;
Let one of you take it in his hand and cut off my head today,
and I will cut off his head tomorrow.”

(Uath Mac Imoman - The Champion’s Portion from Bricriu’s Feast)

It is no time to be timid or shy in making decisions no matter how difficult they may be. The time is now for increase or else accept the decrease that follows.

The Ogham of the Day According to the Wisdom of Finneagas is Blackthorn - Straif (Imbolc 2013)
Be expecting unexpected change today, oftimes the path of Fate and circulating influences cannot be avoided. Cast off negative thought patterns, anger and unfruitful emotions as they will not serve you with Blackthorn. A good time to build magical might and reinforce your will, but seek truthful clarification about those who you suspect l...ie and deceive.

The Moon is in the Cró of Lugh

(The Hidden House of Lugh)

Lugh was the Tuatha Dé Danann God of the Sky and Air. His weapon was lightning and his voice was thunder. It was he that brought the rains and storms as well as the light of the clearing day. The Cró of Lugh has two meanings: It is the move that Lugh invented in the chess game of Fidchell from which there was no escape. It is also the name of the enclosure of his foster fathers who attempted to shield him from battle at the Second Battle of Moytura. When the battle was joined, Lugh was overcome with passion and the spirit of battle. He was able to leap out of the Cró, escaping his own 'circle of spears.'

The day will provide a time when one's preparation make it opportune for taking action. Be ready to leap and focus your rnrthies and abilities to create a prosperous future but be cautious in picking and choosing your battleground.

The Ogham of the Day According to Finneagas is Coll - Hazel (14 January 2013) 
As the Hazel says the height of the Sun today and its inspiration will lead to poetic verse and time to 'unfold' into the light of Beli during this time, the tongue creates the strains that resembles Awen in full glory. Begin to awaken the senses, draw deep into self as a Earth connection and centering needs to be realized. Meditations will yield wondrous results, an inner journey awaits you.

We are coming out of the darkness of the Moon. The spirit has abided in solitude and contemplation. On this day of the Moon with the Sun returning on its greater path, insights and imbas will be empowerded. This is the time of the two Finns: Finneagas and Fionn; the master and the student. Fec’s Pool surrounds us and collects the power of the Sun within its depths. Eating the Salmon of Wisdom today will bring clarity of vision and prophecy. We have survived the darkness, Creativity appoaches us with wonders and gifts. The Serpent will soon rise from the depths and we shall find our twin in wisdom and learning. It may well be our selves that we discover.

The Ogham of the Day according to the Wisdom of Finneagas is Holly or Tinne (24 November 2012)
Possible conflicts may arise today, be aware of the true nature of it. A dynamic reality with an aspect of combination energies, leads to changing currents at this time. Look deep within yourself with zeal, overcome lazy thoughts and ideals, you can be victorious in your efforts. Begin the process of returning darkness... to where it originates.

The Moon has entered the House of the Eye of Goll. Within is the fire of sacrifice. One must maintain dedication and energy to keep to a purpose so that it can be achieved. This can mean working with those that normally are in opposition because mutual success is there providing prosperity for everyone involved. Honoring one’s commitments is also required, even if the success may not be yours but another’s.

The Ogham of the Day according to Finneagas is  Heather or Ur (6 November 2012)
This day has deep rooted Spiritual impulses at work and play, as things MAY seem chaotic the tide is formulative. Look to inner healing energies today, send healing thoughts and deeds to someone who very much needs it. Now is the time for community building in truth, as untruths will fall to the wayside. The transformations are happenin...g in full power now. Enchantments are afoot, both light and dark.

The Moon is in the House of Bres which means that prestigious office is at hand and its symbol is a throne. The question here is concerning Lugh and Bres with one replacing the other. Time and the voters will give us an opportunity to see who is a pretty face and who will get some work done to insure prosperity for the people.

The lesson to be learned in the House of Bres is that a gaining of prosperity is not in itself a gift or an advantage unless that prosperity also brings prosperity to others. This experience is sometimes symbolized within the tales as a gift from the gods (or even a wife of the Sídhe). The reception of such good fortune is usually accompanied by a prohibition to reveal its source. If the secret is revealed then the gifts are taken away and things are worse than they would have been without the gift in the first place. A person can become too locked into material things and squander the chance to rise to the heights (by forgetting the good fortune of the original gift). Gifts should be appreciated but they should not be held captive or hoarded. Who will bring prosperity by sharing the wealth and who will be miserly in an attempt to keep it for himself? These are the questions to be asked of anyone being chosen to be a leader.

The Ogham of the Day according to Finneagas is  Ivy or Gort (4 November 2012)
This is the will of the group mind and its effects on you as an individual. Thoughts meander and entangle as the Ivy itself today, stay in focus and keep centered. Do not cultivate what you wish not to keep or avoid. The ill intent of others will be paid with karmic reaction, and those who choose to lie and deceive will be exposed and the...n overcome.

The Moon is declining in its positive influences but is still a factor for resolving understanding. Accordingly, the Ogham understanding of this fidh in the Feasting Hall of the Fomorii is that one must go into their hall as the Dagda did in all meekness yet be able to call upon one's truth in being to hold to purpose. Doing so allows a person to request what seems to be a small reward (such as the Gray Cow) yet having this small reward means that all of the good things bound to that truth also will come to you.

Now, in this time of voting and decisions, in the time when darkness begins to grip the land, one must hold to the truths that will bring the greater rewards. That includes going to the polls, doing what is right for the environment and Nature, as well as small kindnesses for others in one’s personal life. A small favor may bring be rewards in the future if one’s heart truth is in the action. Gort can mean a garden or a famine. The difference between the two is accomplished through decisions in what and when to plant as well as being found in remaining true to one’s intentions.

As Shakespeare’s Mark Anthony said, “The evil that men do lives after them while the good is often interred with their bones.” Remaining true to one’s heart truth insures that the crop that returns and remains from any activity is a garden rather than a famine or scourge upon the land. Ivy or Gort is a vine and binds us to our actions and intentions, both visible and hidden deep within the recesses of one’s soul.

 

Finneagas' Ogham of the Day is Oir (5 October, 2012)
To make an honorable assessment, for personal obligations, taking care to seek out 'authentic/proven' authority. Being away of 'those' that would appear to be deceptive in undertakings. Seek a higher goal for happiness! Adjust energies to 'shape' into a more fulfilling manifestation(s).Know the tides of the season will now uprise and feel a little overwhelming!
The "House of Red" (Da Dearga) is a symbol for this as well as a human head. don't lose your head is the message. Remain calm and cool in teh face of adversity. Reign in teh emotions and animal nature to focus on creating and making one's dreams a reality while treading through the obstacles and geassa (taboos) that have been placed in your path. This house is about keeping one’s head through maintaining one’s obligations and geasa. Since the head is also the house of the soul and the home of the mind, the House of Red also can be considered to be a double edged sword. When it is used to resolve mundane matters we are more successful in the material world (yet also more locked into a hardness of form). This is the way of logic and reasoning. When we go beyond the physical, it is the mind that can be our guide to focus our energy and to shape our purpose. As with the case of geasa, this use of the mind can determine whether one loses one's head or stays within it. Keep in mind the examples of Bran the Blessed, Ruadh, and not rushing into Da Derga's Hostel.

Here's what Finneagas' Ogham has to say about today:  Ioho (Ifin or Pine) (20 September 2012)
The patterns of the past are changing rapidly now. Begin to see change as a necessary friend instead of an enemy, it will ease the transition. Have a care with sudden bouts of depression and a sense of powerlessness. Be sure to 'empower your lives' today. Be aware of fraudulent people taking unfair advantage of you. Remove... that which isn’t needed now, seek out new growth cycles.

My views and insights:

The waxing Moon is reflecting from the Evil Eye of Balor. Mars is occluded by the Moon. The Sun sails on a level sea and the White Hazel is transmuted into a shield of protection. This Ogham sign is all about letting the Earth turn things back to their natural course, even when they seem harmful. I find the remarks about "fraudulent people" to be particularly apt now and hope that the ground level truth transmutes their words and actions into realizations for each of us as to what is right and good for us to do.

Those born today will tend to be:

Those who are devoted to hospitality and prosperity, people learned and skilled in handling fire, engineers, cooks, chefs, merchants and electricians.

Things that have seemed negative will in general tend to get better in the coming days. Balor's Eye was poisoned while a youth and its evil consumed him in that life, yet the power that caused the harm was reshaped within the wood of the White Hazel as Manannán's Shield that later became Fionn's Shield of Ogham.

The Aicme of Events

The Aicme of Events – Written on My Mother’s Birhday

I was prompted to write this today by a posting that was made elsewhere. I offer it here as an echo of thoughts, words and deeds that have occurred all around us and within each of our hearts, minds and spirits. It is a jouney into cosmology through doorways of Ogham that reveal the principles and qualities of being.

Fear and love exist in the forest of all existence along with the other Ogham that compose the songs of being. Love follows wonder on the wheel while fear surrenders to its own death, yet becomes the spark of will in the next life. Rather than nothing or one thing, even two things, all of life is the many choices we've made, that are made and will be made by us, for us and in response to the actions of others.

Love banishes fear in the land of spirit, while resolve clears away confusion in the realm of the mind. It is in the world of form where objects do battle and structures are built to bring order to conflict. These three states of being each are a part of us to the point that we cannot expect one to rule completely over the others. We are the union of many qualities and possibilities. We are spirits inhabiting bodies through consciousness and choice.

Noble and fell deeds describe the results of the choices that are made. Parents have children and children grow to become parents. Some people have a choice in the matter while others are excluded. Some are heroes in these stories while others are villains. We who remain chant the stories that surround their decisions and actions. Every Ogham is a doorway while in groups they are described as plains and directions. In some forms they are a downward spiral that leads to the depths, forming the wellspring that flows upward to the surface again.

Others are spirals weaving around us, above us and beneath us, to stitch the fabric in which we are clothed in our many lives. In those lives, circles ripple outward and return to the center establishing the patterns we discern through interference and support. The boundaries of our centers shape the cauldrons. It is the well and the fire that is also the tree that builds the altar of existence. Let's use each and every fidh of the fedha to tell our tales and to score our songs as we chant the truth of creation. It is a ladder and a stream, a wheel and a window.

Not all of it is pretty and happy, nor is it only sadness and horror. It is everything and more. It is not just the moment or the eternity. It is not the gaps nor is it the pinnacles. It is beyond those horizons; wild horses running across the fields of the Sun; cattle moving like stars across the black void that are illuminated like the Moon. Being are made of earth, flowers, waters and trees even as they become animals and people chasing from one life to another. Let us revel in the wonders and the shape of wonder that deity brings to mortal and humans sings to the gods.

These are our songs and our stories. They are our dreams and our despair. They are the loves and the fears that move us. They are the truths and the falsehoods that define us. We are the memories of our memories and the minds of our minds, even as we are also the spirits of the river that is itself a spirit, a mind and even a great body of oceans. There are lands and skies within each island that comes over the horizon, in every door that opens and all instances wherein the spark brings a fire or a cauldron nourishes knowledge. It is all breath across the edge of a knife or the hand that carves the mountains.

It is the Aicme of Events.

Telgud Noe - Man-throwing

"Man-throwing" (telgud noe) in its simplest definition is the adding of the suffix "tot" to a word in Old Irish.

There's of course more to it than that. "Tot" is defined and described as the sound that a wave makes or even the sound that a man's body makes when falling on water. This is specifically an onomatopoetic sound. Now before anyone gets too confused, here's a few things that one should also know
(from dantewoo.com):

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onomatopoetic: strictly speaking, of or relating to the formation or use of words which imitate sounds, like whispering, clang, and sizzle, but the term is generally expanded to refer to any word whose sound is suggestive of its meaning.

a.. Sidelight: Because sound is an important part of poetry, the use of onomatopoeia is another subtle weapon in the poet's arsenal for the transfer of sense impressions through imagery.

b.. Sidelight: Though impossible to prove, some philologists (linguistic scientists) believe that all language originated through the onomatopoeic formation of words.
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In Auraicept na n-Éces, the Ogham are said to be composed of "sound and matter." They are a tool for unlocking the ways that sound and form relate to thought and perception. What this is all about is that some words or sounds mimic one another. Irish and specifically Old Irish is considered to be a very onomatopoetic language. Its sounds are primal and more closely connected to the ways that the human psyche relates to existence and Nature. That's why the Celts and the Druids believed that words had a power to create, especially when they were *true* words that had the onomatopoetic attribute. Poetry and words are then "man-throwing" when the sounds within them strike into the psyche through their close connections to the processes and effects they are describing (or manipulating).

Here's how the Auraicept describes the process (in Calder's translation):

"Fertot, its telgud noe, its flinging of a man, for *nae* is man, ut est, if a man suffer on land, i.e. the man allows suffering on him, he goes afterwards to bathe himself in the water, he lets himself down the bank, into the water, *tot* saith the wave under him, i.e., *tot* was the name of the sound which the wave makes: *tott; tott*, then, is its onomatopoetic name or mixed name from sound, ut est, the *bu* of cows, the *go* of geese: or the heavy voice the man utters dropping himself on the water. From the sounds of birth have been named *go go* in sound, or *bu bó*, i.e., *tot*: or again the man takes his garment about him from some one else. What he then says is *fertom* (i.e. give ye to me, i.e.) it serves me, *feartot* it serves thee, quoth thy companion to thee, that is a passive verb, *feartot* quoth his companion to him, this is an active verb."

English being a more artificial language than Irish, I expect that many would be unfamiliar with the power and effect of onomatopoeia in words and expression. It is an essential of the Poet's art however and one that is still studied in schools of higher learning today.

Here's links to onomatopoeic words and usages in

Japanese:
http://www.kt.rim.or.jp/~etshioda/onoma.html

Irish:
http://www.mcgovernonline.com/mcgop87.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/9261/noel.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/9261/

Even examples in English:
http://personal.netwrx.net/gk/poem01.html
http://www.kent.k12.wa.us/staff/aromine/resource_kit/onomatopoeic.htm

The key to the use of onomatopoetic words is to select those that evoke a response from the hidden self, the natural self, the inner self that hears and tastes and feels the words. It's a trip into how illusions are made and realties are structured. To write powerful poetry and to see words have an effect on those around us, even our surroundings, we must dive into the wracking, whapping waves of onomatopoetic, totting tons of tonn, toit, tuigen and tongues.

Searles

Music, Sound and Form

The Ogham were said by some to have been formed by Sound and Form (as its parents). What better child of Sound and Form would there be but Music? It is a theory of Seán Ó Boyle that the Ogham represent the notes of a Celtic harp. My thoughts on Ogham go beyond this musical notation into realms of mantra and mantic states. In this, I do not think I am far from what Alain Danielou proposed when he said in Music and the Power of Sound:

"If we were able to reproduce the exact relations that constitute the natural names, we should recreate beings, things, and phenomena, because this is the very process of creation, explained by the Vedas and also indicated in Genesis, or in the Gospel of John when the 'creative Word' is spoken of. If, however, exact relations cannot be produced, approximate relations have a power, if not of creation, at least of evocation; sound 'works now in man's small magic, just as it first worked in the grand magical display of the World Creator.'

'The natural name of anything is the sound which is produced by the action of the moving forces which constitute it. He therefore, it is said, who mentally or vocally utters with creative force the natural name of anything brings into being the thing which bears that name.'

By the artificial construction of harmony we can go beyond the phenomenon of sound vibrations and perceive not sounds but immaterial relations through which can be expressed realities of a spiritual nature. We can thus lift the veil by which matter hides from its all true realities"

It is my experience that the Ogham can be used in such a way to produce altered states of consciousness and to open the doors to levels of reality. In a true language (such as Ogamic Irish) with nature words and names, there is a power to the harmony of sounds and the letters that give them birth/form. Everything has a music that is natural amd uniquely characteristic of it alone. The fundamental sounds determine the "Music of the Spheres." Each of these "spheres" can be represented by an Ogham, a note and a sound as well as a quality, an essence and a level of awareness.

For starters, the Ogham can and should be used as a means of transitioning between normal consciousness/reality and mystical/altered consciousness/reality in much the same way that Amergin does so in his poem that is sometimes known as the "Mystery." what Amergin did was to chant and to "become" a variety of mystical/magical symbols for states of being and reality in his poem of mastery over the cosmos. The Ogham characters each have at least three kenning-meanings associated with them from historical/traditional Druidic lists. These meanings can be used to form relationships to create transitions in states of being in a manner similar/parallel to the Tree of Life structure that is used in Cabala (after all, the Ogham are primordial sound/form; even trees in Druidic traditions).

The keys to doing all of this in a Druidic way are to thoroughly understand the traditions, tales and values/concepts associated with the Ogham symbols. This is really not much different from the analogous ways that other Magical systems work to establish esoteric hierarchies. Of course, some will say this is "smoke and mirrors" but to me those who say such things just display an ignorance or an avoidance of Celtic/Druidic ways when they don't put forth the work to actually understand such things. The Druidic Way is not for those who want easy/instant solutions.

Another parallel for this use of Ogham, tone and mantra/chant among Druids and the Filidh (their inheritors) is to be found in the use of Sanskrit letters, symbols, sounds and correspondences among the Brahmins and Yogis of India. In their system chant and mantra are the foundation of meditation and the pathways to enlightenment. Almost any Hindu or Vedic site on meditation or Yoga will give information similar to this found at Universal Mantra.

"The Yogis of the past, found that within our body and mind there is a vibrational activity, and this activity creates sounds. In their deep meditations they listened all this sounds and they cataloged them, they found fifty sounds, and now this sounds are the fifty letters of the Sanskrit alphabet. "

"In the tantric science of meditation these sounds are used to awaken higher stages of consciousness and they are combined together to create Mantras, special words based on this sounds."

Other sites for this sort of information can be found at: The River of Heaven which says:

"Hence the Yoga of sound is meant to take us back from our gross sounds to their idea content to the perception they represent and ultimately to the pure being behind that perception. It is not a process of merely saying sounds or thinking about words but tracing the origin of sound and meaning back to awareness itself by the power of meditation."

Awen and Imbas

"This information could be almost anything: events from a person's past life, a detailed history of who and what had happened to an object or even how and why the subject was bespelled or enchanted. The examples that I've seen seem to suggest to me that a spontaneous flow of information and/or poetic verse might accompany the first contact that occurred between the seer and the object. This verse would then be interpreted based upon the vast storehouse of Druidic knowledge that had been accumulated through many years of study, experiment, observation and experience. It is this interpreting of the extemporaneous recital of verse that involves the act of 'cracking open the nuts of wisdom'."


Damh the Bard tells us:

"During a Druid ritual, the Awen can be intoned as a single monotone note using three syllables "Ah-oo-en" (some Druid Orders intone the three letters I. A. U. in a similar way). The power held within the Awen mantra can be used in many ways - from initiating poetic inspiration, to drawing down the blessing of the God and Goddess or evoking a change in the atmosphere of a ritual circle. It is truly a sacred word. "

So it also was and still is among Druids regarding chant and mantra for meditation. Rudimentary use of this was first attempted by Iolo Morganwyg in the Barddic Mysteries and the Barddas, when he suggested that the Awen was represented by three rays/sounds/letters (which are I A U as given above). These are the "fifth", "primary" and "third" elements in the Ogham vowel group or Ailm Aicme. In any esoteric alphabet, the letters represent primary states and tones. In the Ogham, each grouping can have a relationship to the elements/qualities as well as the directions and parts of being. A study of some of the Irish tales has suggested associations for these to me that mesh in a web of interlinking meanings as well as tonic qualities.

One practice that could come out of this use/cross-referencing of Ogham to sound, is that an entire symphony of meaning could be arranged in a melody of notes while colors, lists and other associations (like blossoms and smells) would also allow a multileveled matrix/field-like approach to any esoteric or mundane situation/ritual using the Ogham lists (which were a part of every File and Druid's education). What this means is that there is a ready sourcebook in Druidic memory and tradition for spellwork, medicine, poetry and ritual to be found in the Ogham as music, symbol, talisman and knowledge indices.

I could go on at length about this (and have in books, seminars and classes on the subject) but these few short remarks should point to the wealth of knowledge that awaits one who seeks the knowledge that is to be found along the Druid Way (and especially through the use of Sound and Form and their child which is the Ogham).

What's in the Cauldron?

I've resisted blogging for many years now but have finally taken hand and knife to this one. Hopefully, I won't clutter the Internet with too much dross or drivel.

Here's links and an article to what it's all about:

What is an imbas experience?There seems to be some confusion about this topic among some frequent posters to this newsgroup. It's certainly not a way to self-aggrandizement. It is however a way that one connects to the gods.That means that it is a pathway of dedication. I apologize in advance to those of you who already know what an imbas experience is.Good historical and scholarly information about imbas can be found here:

http://www.fhaoil-choin.org/imbasforosnai.htm

A short description of my personal take on imbas can be found at this URL:

http://www.summerlands.com/crossroads/library/awenimba.htm

This is a part of "The Celtic Workshops" a course I taught online forseveral years:

http://www.summerlands.com/crossroads/black_cauldron/workshop.htm

The Celtic Workshop is a part of "O'Dubhain's Cauldron" a Pagan Bestof the Web website which is itself a part of the Summerlands Public Library and the Summerlands itself (the website that my wife Deborah,many talented others and myself created seven years ago):O'Dubhain's Cauldron:

http://www.summerlands.com/crossroad...n/coiredub.htm

The Summerlands:

http://www.summerlands.com/

But enough about all that for now! :-)

Imbas is an experience that has been described by Druids in the past. Amergin described it in the Cauldron of Poesy materials as translated by Erynn Laurie and found at:

http://www.seanet.com/~inisglas/cop1.html

Here is different version of part of this poem:

The Cauldron of Vocation

Ar-caun Coire
nÉrmai
intlechtaib raith
rethaib sofis
srethaib imbais,
indber
n-ecnai,
ellach súithi,
sru/aim n-ordan,
indocbáil doer,
domnad
insce,
intlecht ruirthech,
rómnae roiscni...

I acclaim the
Cauldron of Érmae
with understandings of grace
with accumulations of
knowledge
with strewings of imbas,
(which is) the estuary of wisdom
the
uniting of scholarship,
the streams of splendour,
the exalting of the
ignoble,
the mastering of language,
quick understanding,
the darkening
of speech...
Attributed to Nede mac Adne and translated by Liam Breatnach

I put together a version of these texts more in line with my own imbas that stands on the shoulders of previous translations and versions:

The Three Cauldrons

Trí coiri bit en cach dúini:
coire érma, coire goriath, coire áiged.

Three Cauldrons that exist within each person: the Cauldron of Formation, the Cauldron of Vocation, and the Cauldron of Celebration.

Amergin, White Knee and the Triads of Ireland

My own existence springs forth from the Cauldron of Formation,
Which was created by the gods from the dúile;
Enlightened is each inspiration
That streams forth in my speech and from my center of being.

I am Amergin White Knee,
Ancient in years and gray of hair.
My inspirations are found within
The many forms of poetry
That are born within my Cauldron of Wisdom.

The Gods do not orient each person’s Cauldrons equally
Or fill them with the same talents and abilities:
Some are formed upside down, some tilted or upright.

Some are empty, while others are half full,
Some are filled with knowledge like Eber and Donn,
Capable of creating chants of life and death,
Through a skillful combination of words
In the power of three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter,
And possessing the strength of three measures:
Double letters, long vowels and short vowels.

My Cauldron of Vocation is trained
Through a study of the arts of poetry
And sustains me through proper composition.

I sing also of the Cauldron of Knowledge
That allocates the gifts of wisdom
According to the laws of each art
And the work of each artist in general.[i]

Question: Is the root of poetical art found in a person’s body or within their soul?

Some say that it is found in the soul, since the body is brought to life by the soul. Others say that it is through the body that the skills of our ancestors are passed down to us, hence it is true to say that the source of poetical arts is within a person’s body; though in every second person it is not to be found at all.[ii]

Question: What is the root of poetical art and all knowledge?

Not hard to say. Every person is born with three cauldrons existing within them: The Cauldron of Formation, the Cauldron of Vocation and the Cauldron of Wisdom.

All people are born with their Cauldron of Formation upright, which promotes growth in the body and the learning of childhood.

Secondly, the Cauldron of Vocation is properly filled and oriented after each
person has done the work of turning it from its original position on its side.

Finally, the Cauldron of Wisdom is originally upside down in all people, and it
distributes the first gifts and aptitudes of art.

In unenlightened people, the Cauldron of Vocation is completely upside down; while it is on its side in people who practice the arts of Poetry and Barddism; for the skilled it is completely upright as is the case with the Ollúnaidh (Filidh or Doctors) and the
Draoithe (Druids). The position of the Cauldron of Vocation determines a person’s level of skill, and does not yield proficiency until it is turned by either an awareness of sorrow or the thrill of ecstasy.[iii]

Question: How many forms of sorrow will turn the Cauldron of Vocation?

Not hard to say. There are four forms of sorrow that occur within a person: longing, grief, jealousy, and a questing for the Gods; though the causes of each of these are sorrows found in the world. There are two forms of ecstasy that can turn the Cauldrons upright in a wise person: divine joy and human joy. Human joy has four forms: the union of marriage, the excellence of good health, the joy of graduation after long study in the poetical arts; joy in the experience of imbas granted by the nine hazels of wisdom of the Well of Segais, which flows in its excellence against mundane streams along the Boyne with the relentless determination like a wild boar in valor, or like a racehorse in the Sun’s splendor, at the Solstice during the
most perfect year of its endeavors. [iv]

When the Cauldron of Wisdom is turned by divine ecstasy, rather than by human joy alone, its special grace is a gift that transforms a person, who becomes both sacred and knowledgeable, so that their works include miracles, prophecies, judgments and precedents. It is these people who establish the wisdom that guides our knowledge and regulates the forms of our speech. though this knowledge comes from within a person, its truth and its power is from the Gods and originates from outside of a person.

[i] The text of the Cauldron of Poesy is all traditionally
attributed to Amergin. Several translations of the text have been done (to my
knowledge): one by P.L. Henry, one by Liam Breatnach, another by Caitlin
Matthews and still another by Erynn Laurie. Anne Power transcribed the original
text. I have studied materials from each of these translations and am offering a
combined version of them and their meanings in my own words.
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] Ibid.
[iv] Ibid

I personally had this kind of experience after years of questing and months of sustained and dedicated meditation. It's what started me on the Druid way. It is what let me experience a connection to spirit and deity that gave me a direct personal experience of life beyond life and the reality that surrounds/touches the present reality.

Don't take my word for it or place me on a pedestal for having the experience. You can discover your own imbas that comes from the gods yet is found through an inner search. See for yourself as Cathbad told Cú Chulainn. Seeking truth and finding it for yourself is what the Druid way is allabout. That is the "Truth Against the World." That is an imbas experience. That is how you can know for yourself.

Searles O'Dubhain