Ogham Keys to Wisdom - The Power of Truth

Ogham Keys to Wisdom - The Power of Truth

a Course of Study Consisting of 14 Classes

The Power of Truth is a guide to understanding the Druids and a course of study that brings the power of truth into our lives today using the Ogham Keys to Wisdom.

This is one course in the long awaited, expanded coursework and study that was previously offered in the Summerlands and which was published in the Journal of the Henge of Keltria. It has been greatly expanded and is patterned on Udemy classes (and may well be presented there in the future). Ogham Keys to Wisdom is an introductory study into the ways of Druids that explores their hidden knowledge while also establishing a systematic approach to implementing that wisdom within modern Druidic practice. It does this through a nine fold investigation into the elemental qualities of everything as understood by the Celts and Druids.Currently there are three courses available to chose (through the link above) out of a total of nine. Each course and its class lectures has its own materials and audio/video presentations to assist you in attaining wisdom.

Sign up soon! Classes start after the Summer Solstice.

Classes are being revamped and edited. 

The Power of Truth

This course, The Power of Truth, and its accompanying book and other materials investigates and reveals the Druidic practices associated with the primary force in creation and prosperity according to the teachings of the Druids. Truth was found within the center of Celtic society in the person of the king. The king’s truth and his sacred marriage to the Goddess of Sovereignty in the ritual known as the banais rígh determined the fate and future of the people as well as the land. Several works attributed to Druids are presented and discussed to illustrate the powers of truth. Among these are Audacht Morainn (by the Druid Morann mac Main), the Precepts of Cú Chulainn, the Advice to a Prince (by Cormac mac Art), as well as the Collar of truth, the Cup of Truth and the Chant of Truth. The color of this class and book is earth colored (symbolizing the land and its special place in the center of Celtic society). It is trimmed in bronze for its basis as a beginning in any undertaking. The Cauldron of Formation’s gift to the beginning student is a knowledge of self and of one’s roots. The Ogham keys are continued in this (and all of the classes and books) to identify and clarify the concepts that are revealed within their leaves.

The course is designed to be completed in three to four months (or less) and consists of 14 lessons. Each lesson focuses on different aspects of being or becoming a Druid with particular interest on developing the ability to see the world and to analyze it as a Druid would do. It is a complete introduction to the ways of Druids and is a great way to experience a deeper and more powerful understanding of doing as the Druids did (and still do).

If you would be a Druid or know the ways of Druids then there is no better place to begin than in this course and through learning what it offers. Druids great and small have benefited from these same materials since the first Ogham was written on Birch from one Druid to another.

Category: Humanities

What are the requirements?

It is suggested that students begin their studies with the Opening the Pathways course before attempting this course. Otherwise, at the beginning of the course, the student only needs a computer, online access, and a thirst for knowledge, to work with, and connect to the Druid way. Electronic texts, videos and links will be provided for reading, references and study. A student will eventually need a set of Ogham for use in meditations, journeys and all manner of divination and esoteric workings. These can be purchased online or they can be hand made from locally provided woods. At some point, if one wishes to go further on this path, then robes, a walking staff and a Crane Bag (for carrying the Ogham and other special objects) should be crafted or purchased. It is expected that there will be a weekly online chat session with the teacher to discuss the study materials and to clarify answers to any questions that have arisen. Three tests will be provided to gauge the student's progress and to provide additional guidance for the focus of one's studies.

 What am I going to get from this course?

• In this course you will learn how the Druids perceived Truth
• You will develop an understanding of Truth as it was presented in Triads.
• You will develop an understanding of Truth as it was presented in Wisdom Literature.
• You will develop an understanding of Truth as it was presented in Traditional Tales.
• You will develop an understanding of Truth as it was found in Certain Druidic Practices.
• You will develop an understanding of Truth as it was taught in the Truth Against the World
• You will better understand the Act of Truth and its Basis in Creation.
• By the end of the course, you will be able to understand the spiritual basis of Truth and its Importance to being able to work on the Three Levels of the Physical World, the World of the Mind and the Lands of Spirit.
• You will perceive the connections between Death, Birth and Life as a Druid Would See Them

 What is the target audience?

This course is designed for a beginning student who has completed the Opening the Pathways course and requires only that the student dedicate the necessary time and study into the course materials. Students that complete the work of this course will hopefully find their own Truth and connect through that Truth to the many wisdom teachings and Truths of the ancient Druids and Sages. People will benefit most from this course who are seeking to find the truth that is against the world, and who desire to be able to create new works, principles and ideas through their own personal Act of Truth.

CURRICULUM

The curriculum follows the class topics itemized below for 14 weeks. Students will be assigned reading segments for each class, as well as being provided with video and audio presentation materials.

Additionally there will be one hour per class discussion periods conducted in a chatroom style setting.

Class 1 -THE TRADITIONAL ROLES OF DRUIDS

The Druids were the intelligentsia of Celtic society and fulfilled many roles within it. They witnessed oaths and remembered feats and traditions. They were also the spiritual specialists and the traditional leaders of the sacrifices to the gods among the Celts. To guarantee that oaths would be faithfully remembered and that the traditions covering the basis of Celtic law would not be sullied, Druids served as official witnesses and were required to at all times hold to the truth. Any Druid found to be untrue would no longer be recognized as a Druid by the people and would effectively be caste out or exiled from their society. Truth and being are the oaken roots of Druids in the life of the people. A Druid’s truth is found in the strength and straightness of the ash and the ever-springing resilience of the yew.

• Our Forms of Truth

• Truth, Magic and the Man in the Tree

• The Five Marks of a Druid

• A Few Words for Those Who Seek

• What is a Druid?

• "What makes a Druid a Druid in today's world?"

• A Seeking of Wisdom

• The Beginnings of a Druid's Education

• Becoming a Druid

• The Truth Against the World

• The Imbas Experience

• The Underworld Journey

• You Can Be Called a Druid

• What are These Skills and Training?

• What Kind of Druid Am I?

• Draíocht!

• Beyond the World of Illusions

• Embracing the Name and the Way of Druids

Class 2 – SEEKING WISDOM

I have always maintained that Draíocht is a seeking of truth and a stewardship of harmony. I commend anyone (whether Druid, Christian, atheist or otherwise) on the overall harmony that is contained within their words or way of life. Their harmony in being speaks well of the communion that Nature has shared with them in their lives and workings. A triad that I am particularly fond of is that the three strong supporters of the wise person's pursuit of wisdom are knowledge, information and inquiry. It is my firm belief that these three come more readily to the person who maintains an open mind and a trained and discriminating memory.

• Spiritual Harmony

• Transcending Ego

• Three Tenets of Draíocht

• What Druids Studied

• Druidic Art or Draíocht

• There is no escape from the Truth of Being

• We are all connected within the Warp and Weave of Creation

• We must give of ourselves so that we may receive of ourselves

• Druids are TRUTH SEEKERS and STEWARDS of HARMONY

• Responsibility and Spiritual Abdication

• The Testimony of our Enemies

• According to Caesar

• According to Dio Chrysostom

Class 3 - TRUTH AS CREATION

Truth is the power that creates. Words describing a thing paint a picture of its creation. Words are the tools and sometimes the roadmap. Words bring the image of a thing into our minds and create them there. They are also the smoke that leads to the fire as well as the signal itself given by the fire to thoughts and awareness. The source of that fire is to be found inherently within wood and will, as well as in the ability of life to store energy within forms that are harmonious to other life. Perhaps Carbon, Oxygen, Hydrogen and Nitrogen should be our gods (or at least our Dúile)? They are the forms that support life and our physical selves.

• The Quest for Truth

• The Act of Truth

• The Truth of the Fountain

• Cormac’s Adventure in The Land Of Promise

• Another Telling of the Tale

• Fountain and Stream

• Cormac's Cup of Truth

• Risk and Judgement

Class 4 - TRUTH AS PHILOSOPHY

Much has been said about the idea of truth here in this work and especially as it is understood by Druids. The following early Irish remarks on the subject can provide us with a common point of discussion and reference. The treatise is found in one of the earliest Irish writings on the In King of Mysteries, Early Irish Religious Writings, is reproduced here as an aid to discussion and in hopes that others will be encouraged to further research both the book and the subject. The author of the book was an Irish Christian monk, Colmán mac Beónai, who was related to a line of Irish kings, Druids and Filidh. Carey says that the work itself seems to be drawn from the following sources: "the monastic treatises of John Cassian (died 435) , on the sapiential books of the Old Testament and probably on native wisdom literature as well…"

• The Idea of Truth

• On Knowing Truth

• Truth as a Refuge

• Evaluating Values

• The Joy of Truth

• Poetic Truth and Magic

• Finding the Stillpoint

• Finding Truth

• Finding Life

• Many Ways and Different Paths

• Truth and Sacrifice

• Human Sacrifice

• Historical References

• The Children of Crom

• Segda Saerlabraid, The Blameless Youth

• Life-force and Spirit

• A physical container of some kind

• Life-force/power

• Will/focus

• Life-force for Sacrifice

• Death of a Druid Prince

• The Three Fold Death

• The Dark Year

• The Power of Truth

Class 5 - THE TRUTH AGAINST THE WORLD

Is amlaid dogníthe in tarbfhes sin .i. tarb find do marbad & óenfher do chathim a shátha dia eóil & dá enbruthi, & chotlud dó fón sáith sin, & ór fírindi do chantain do chethri drúdib fair, & atchíthe dó i n-aslingi innas ind fhir no rígfaide and asa deilb & asa thúarascbáil & innas ind oprid dogníth. Díuchtrais in fer asa chotlud, & adfíadar a res dona rígaib .i. móethócláech sáer sonairt co n-dá chris derca tairis & sé ós adart fhir i sirc I n-Emain Macha.

This is how that bull-feast used to be made: to kill a white bull, and for one man to eat his fill of its flesh and its broth, and to sleep after that meal; and for four druids to chant a spell of truth over him. And the form of the man to be made king used to be shown to him in a dream, his shape and his description, and the manner of work that he was doing.

(translation by Dillon, Myles)

• Tarbh Feis - The Bull Dream

• The Chant of Truth (Dichetal do Fírinne)

• TRUTH is FÍRINNE

• Cultural Truth

• The Tale of the Ordeals,

• Cormac's Cup.

• Morann Mac Main's Collar.

• Morann Mac Main's Second Collar.

• Morann Mac Main's Third Collar

• Sencha's Lot-Casting

• The Vessel Of Badurn

• The Three Dark Stones

• The Cauldron Of Truth

• The Old Lot Of Sen

• Luchta's Iron

• Waiting at an Altar

• Cormac's Cup.

• How One Determines Truth

Class 6 - PRESERVING SHRINES

There is a specific reason why Druids study to learn what is known about the world around us. This reason is very much like why we build databases for computers and software in the modern world. Druids study and databases are constructed so that resources are available when one is attempting to simulate or emulate life in a predictive or creative manner. Stated another way, the more accurate information one has, the better model of reality one can construct.

• Centers of Spirit and Schools of Learning

• The Center of the Universe

• The Basis of Knowledge

• The Soul as a Preserving Shrine

• Coimgne, the Continuity of Tradition

• Truth and Druids

• Why Druids Study and Memorize Traditional Knowledge

• Truth as the Sustaining Power of the Universe

• The Center Of Truth And The Edge Of Uncertainty

• Truth as Law

Class 7 - NATURE’S TRUTH

Discovering a truth is a timeless instance of all times existing within one’s self. I thought I could better express this idea in a tale of kingship and sovereignty:

He sat on a lush green mound rising out of the surrounding plain, itself shaped like a breast of nourishment for his people who were arrayed before him. Some were there for the games and the crafts. Others came to seek his justice or a boon. Still others were there to remind him and the people of the gods and the traditions of the old ones. As he gazed on the gathering, time stood still and took him to that fireside long ago when he had been on his own quest of seeking. A seeking of truth and self it was for this king of kings and sub-kings. For at that time he was but a youth and not the leading candidate to become a king at all. His brothers all outranked him in age, in stature and in the skills of warriorship and the lore of tradition. They sat around the fire with him, sharing the quest.

• A Love for the Land

• A Terrible Darkness

• The Land of Spirit

• The Land of Form

• The Land of Mind

• Death as Ultimate Truth

• Death as Liberation

• The Deceit of the Spear

• Order and Chaos, Slaying the Dragon

• Cnoc Fírinne the Hill of Truth

• The House of Donn

• The Land of Youth

• The Island of the Everliving

Class 8 - DRUIDIC TEACHINGS

The ancient Druids had specific stories in mind when they created such Triads for themselves and their students. In this way, each Triad could serve as an index to the tales in much the same way that some consider Ogham were used to index knowledge and memories. It is a matter of debate as whether there is an Ogham - Triad link. My position and the underlying foundation of what I’ve uncovered in my own studies demonstrates that there is such a connection. A linkage between Triads, Ogham and tales, would fit right in with the existence of the three phrase Ogham of Morann Mac Main, CúChulainn, and Mac ind Oic. The Briatharogan (as they are called) define the qualities of past, present and future, as well as land, sea and sky. These cosmic ideas and relationships can also be extended to the three components of body, mind and spirit in a person.

The three phases of body, mind, and spirit are associated with the Word Ogham of Morainn (the physical), the Word Ogham of CúChulainn (the mental), and the Word Ogham of Aonghus (the spiritual). They can also be considered as being representative of Past, Present, Future; Tradition, Experience, Inspiration; Body, Mind (in an active sense), Spirit (in the sense of higher level mental states). A judge, such as Morann was; a warrior, such as CúChulainn; and a deity, such as Mac ind Oic; would each represent a different perspective in the lives of people and the world.

• Sacrificial and Healing Practices

• Iomarbhus (Sin)

• Doing no Evil

• Maintaining Right BehaVior

• Druidic Triads

• The Triads of Ireland

• Irish Triads

• A Few Words about Triads

• The Ogham Triads

• Other Triads

• Welsh Triads

• The North Britain Triads

• Iolo’s Triads from Barddas and Other Collections

• A Compilation of Pagan Triads

• The Welsh Triads from Llyfr Coch Hergest

• These Are the Noble Triads:

• These Are the Triads of the Horses:

• The Welsh Triads found in Peniarth MS

Class 9 - WISDOM TEXTS

Truth was valued above all else in Celtic society and by the Druids. Their teachings were almost completely oral and it s said that little survives of them. This would not be entirely the case. The truth be told, on the arrival of Christianity and its scribes and written language, a blossoming of wisdom teachimngs was created and preserved for later days and the literate world. These are often imbedded with Druidic wisdom that have been preserved for us from the past even if they are also a mixture of Biblical and classical sources as well. The new wise people and sages of the Irish incorporated wisdom wherever they found it but combined it with uniquely Irish and traditional teachings as well. Often these texts are interpreted beyond the scope of their foreign origins to form a window into the minds and teaching of the pre-Christian Druids and sages. The words that follow are a sample and an introduction to this wisdom that speaks to us across time.

• Three Wise Druids

• Morann mac Main

• Cormac mac Art

• Cú Chulainn

• Three Testimonies of the Wise

• Audacht Morainn - Testament of Morann

• Teagasc an Riogh (Instructions of a King) - Cormac's Advice to His Son

• Bríatharthecosc Con Culaind - The Precepts of Cúchulainn

• Three Extra Wisdom Texts – Tri Forfessa

• Timna Chathaír Maír - The Testament of Cathair

• Old Irish Wisdom Attributed to Aldfrith of Northumbria: An Edition of Bríathra Flainn Fhína maic Ossu

• A Miscellany of Irish Proverbs

Class 10 - FINDING TRUTH

The expression “finding one’s truth” is sometimes an euphemism for dying, while “dying” is itself an older (more Shakespearian) euphemism for having sex, Beyond these two expressions for finding truth, there is an esoteric practice that is mentioned in conjunction with both sex and death, as well as with wisdom and magical abilities in the teachings of Amergin that is popularly called the “Cauldron of Poesy.” However it is that one finds one’s truth, it is certain that where truth exists, the source of creation, life and death, as well as knowledge, is also to be found. In Judeo-Christian mythologies, all of these values and gifts are found in the Garden of Eden story of Genesis. In the Irish Druid tradition, these wonder-sources are presented in groups of tales known as Imrama and Echtraí. The Imrama are daring voyages to islands and strange lands. The Echtraí are adventures into realms of wonder and the Otherworld. In a sense these two genre are descriptions that are akin to religious experiences.

• Religious Experiences

• Sex as the Little Death

• Finding One’s Truth at Death

• Many Forms and Books of Death

• Being Reborn or Twice Born

• Nine Shades of Death

• Achieving Imbas

• The Three Illuminations

• Dichetal Do Chennaib

• Tenm Laida

• Imbas Forosna

• Outlawed by Padraig

• Tenm Laida and Imbas Forosnai Revisited

• Spirit, Divination and Animal Lifeforce

• Three Traditional Ways of Finding Knowledge

• Truth, Magic and the Man in the Tree

• Separating Bias from Perception

• Truth as Aims and Beliefs

• Understanding Belief

• The Beliefs of Others

• Many Pathways to Truth

• Finding Truth

• The Druid Way

• Religion, Faith, Discipline or Philosophy?

• The Beginning of the Journey

• An encounter with Christianity

• What Would Druids Do?

• Revivals of the Druid Way

• Unity that Transforms: Survivals, Changes and Availability

Class 11 - LOOKING BEYOND THE OBVIOUS

It’s maintained by most academics that not much survived about the practices and rituals of the Druids. This point is both correct and completely wrong. It’s true that there are no rituals and “how-to” manuals penned or scribed by the Druids that have survived until today or that have been discovered through the ages. However, it is also true that much was written about the Druids by their contemporaries and also by those who survived from their era. These writers and recorders of information about the Druids include classical historians, philosophers, military leaders, Christian monks and scribes, inheriting Poets and Filidh, as well as Brehons, Seanchaí and physicians. There are volumes and volumes of information about the ancient Druids, as well as myths, traditions and artifacts from their practices of the past. In addition to that, there are currents, streams and threads in the Celtic folklore and folk practices that seem to be echoes of Druidic practices of the past. Even today we have festivals, holidays and celebrations that originated or were performed and practiced by the ancient Druids. This is what we know about the Druids from the ***outside*** through folklorists, scholars, observers and historians. There are many additional worlds and insights to be known and learned about the Druids from the ***inside*** of their practices, techniques, ideas and mind-sets.

• Hiding in Plain Sight

• Nede’s Pathways

• Eight Powers of the Lord

• The Eight Great Magical Attainments

• Opening to the Possibilities

• An Explosion of Awareness

• The Truth Beyond Demonstration

• Awen and Imbas as Truth

• The Clear Light

• Imbas vs Imagination

• The Power of a Geis

• Truth and Consequences

• Matters of Belief

• The Work of Truth

• Modern Differences and Ancient Similarities

Class 12 - UNDERSTANDING UNIVERSAL TRUTH

How does one understand a Truth so large that it is Universal? This is one of many questions that is asked, has been asked and will continue to be asked of, by and for Druids. The myriad answers to this question are varied in their scope and limited in their effectiveness by the realty experienced by those who address it. Simply put, the most universal answer is only given by a mind as large (or larger) than the Universe itself. Any more limited answer or mind will have its short comings in the ability to address all of the possibilities or the ultimate reality. The scope is simply not there in a limited mind, understanding and set of experiences. Before one gets frustrated with the impossibility of it all, there is a simple answer which resolves all of the difficulties inherent with the ripple effect of expanding knowledge and awareness. The answer is to remove the limits on mind, awareness and existence.

• The Truth Makes us Naked

• More Truth of a King

• Why Druids Study and Memorize Traditional Knowledge

• Inner Calmness and Peace

• Sheltering in Truth

• Rightness and Harmony

• Light and Clarity

Chapter 13 - THE SPIRIT OF POETRY

In Patrick Ford's, The Celtic Poets, there is a story translated and retold that inspired me to present it here in my own worlds with hopes that its filidecht could work a change or two in the current surroundings. It speaks to what both newsgroups seek to discuss, the ways of Druids and their spirituality. Here is a story from the Irish traditions of the past that we would do well to embrace in today's artificial and illusory world:

Senchán Torpéist was on a poetic circuit which took him to the Isle of Man. His retinue was large as befits the chief Ollamh of the Poets. His clothing was befitting his rank, the best that nobility deserved according to rank.

• Eitged

• Three Forms of Satire

• The Price of not Being True

• Glam Dicenn

• Briamon Smertach

• Singing in Balance

• Does Greth Eat Curds?

• Satire is Still a Power

• The King is a Bridge

• A Universal Spiritual Nature

Class 14 – BEING AND NON-BEING

The power of truth in the poem brings us to the ultimate questions of what does it mean to exist? What is life and what is death? The answers to these questions are found in the natures of the three deities of creation, destruction and being itself. Along with these three deities are the two additional being of everything and nothing. They are the fathers and mothers of all that can be. Druids put names to these deities in the abstract and as persons. The inherent strength within these names would give a person control of everything. For that reason, the names are hidden and only attainable by those who have realized their own truth in being. In the discussion that follows we will call the first three by the familiar Irish names of An Dagda,

• Grief from the Heart

• Great Joy and Great Anguish

• Spontaneous Truth

• What is a Soul?

• Soul Survivals

• What is Spirit?

• Family Spirit

• Good and Evil

• Ultimate Truth

• Birth

• Life-force and Sacrifice

• Death

• Celtic Beliefs in Spirit

• Other Lives

• "How Cúchulainn was Begotten"

• "Cauldron of Poesy"

• The Alexandrian School

• Multiple Incarnations

• Mirrors on Life

• The Afterlife

• Final Thoughts and Musings

• Reincarnation and Probability

• The Fear of Death

• Truth and the Obliteration of Individuality

• Boundaries and Journeys

• Places of Safety and Protection

• The Cycle of Reunion

• Passing the Barriers

• Reborn into Life

• Finding Deity

• A Druid’s Truth

• Druidic Reflections

• The Power of Truth

Classes will be offered starting after the Summer Solstice.

Please let us know if there is any difficulty encountered when signing up for a class or in using the provided materials.