This is definitely one for my BOS! I didn’t know I needed to know this, but it’s so cool 
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@SpanishWitchy – I’m glad you enjoyed the post! 
I do plan on finishing the rest of the letters lol I’ve just been a bit busy. I’ve got the next one up on my to-do list.
@cherietta – Wonderful! I’m happy if you like it!
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How awesome! I recognise some of the names from the game i mentioned somewhere else, how cool that there’s so many! I did my name, and then I thought this language would be good for carving on candles, so I tried a couple others too:
I did intuition too but I’d need a rather tall candle for that!
Thanks for sharing this @MeganB!
x Blessed Be x
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You’re very welcome! 
I’ve used the symbols themselves and their meaning in spellwork, but I’ve never carved an entire word in ogham on a candle lol my go-to ogham for spellwork is usually nGetal for healing. It works wonders!
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→ Moving our conversation here, @dan3, so as not to clog the post about Idad with general ogham information
Yeah, that’s definitely the case. I think that comes from trying to homogenize the ogham to fit a wider scope, if that makes sense. It also stems from the fact that there is not one single source with the definitions and associations.
One thing that really requires understanding with anything Celtic is that information varied so widely, even within the same country. Folk belief and mythology about one thing can vary from county to county in Ireland, and so trying to make the ogham fit neatly into each category with its own separate tree gets difficult.
There are even several different variations of the ogham tree associations within The Ogham Tract. One by someone named Morann Mac Main and one by someone named Mac ind Oic. Below all of those meanings are more variations of ogham, including colors, churches, man/woman, and water.
If we were going based solely on The Ogham Tract by Morann Mac Main, the associations would look like this:
Beith: Birch
Luis: Quicken Tree (aka Rowan)
Fern: Alder
Sail: Willow
Nin: Ash
h-Úath: Thorn (literally, it just says “thorn”, but this is inferred to mean the hawthorn due to the region)
Dair: Oak
Tinne: also possibly oak based on the phrase included (Trian, t, another thing the meaning of that today.)
Coll: Hazel
Ceirt: Apple Tree (this fíd is sometimes spelled with a ‘q’)
Muin: Vine
Gort: Ivy
nGétal: Broom
Straif: Sloe (another name for Blackthorn)
Ruis: Elderberry
Ailm: Fir
Onn: Furze
Úr: Heath (aka heather)
Edad: Aspen
Idad: Service Tree (with yew in place, because a type of yew was another name for a service tree)
Ebad: Aspen
Ór: Spindle Tree
Uillend: Woodbine (another name for honeysuckle, per the text)
Pín: Gooseberry
Emancholl: unclear (per the text, it says ‘Luad soethaig’ is ‘a lot of stuff’ in modern Irish, and the text says: “Luad soethaig, expression of a weary one, i.e., ach, ah! uch, alas! that is emancoll, ae, with him, for emancoll is taken for ach, though it may be taken for something else.”
Now, if we look at the other writer, we get this list.
Beith: Birch
Luis: Elm (given as another name for Quicken Tree)
Fern: Alder
Sail: Willow
Nin: Ash
h-Úath: unclear (per the text, “Banadh gnuisi, blanching of face, fear, huath, h, for blanched is a man’s face when he is encompassed with fear or terror. Hence for the Ogham letter owing to identity of name between the same two, uath stands for each of them.”)
Dair: Oak
Tinne: also possibly oak based on the phrase included (Trian, t, another thing the meaning of that today.)
Coll: Hazel
Ceirt: Apple Tree (this fíd is sometimes spelled with a ‘q’)
Muin: unclear (per the text, “Arusc n-airlig, condition of slaughter,muin a man’s back, m. Hence for its synonymous letter.”)
Gort: Ivy
nGétal: no entry
Straif: Sloe (another name for Blackthorn)
Ruis: Elderberry
Ailm: unclear (per the text, “Tosach fregra, beginning of an answer, that is ailm, a; for the first expression of every human being after his birth is a.”)
Onn: Stone? (per the text, “Fethim saire, smoothest of work, or fedem, onn, stone, o.”)
Úr: Heath (aka heather)
Edad: Aspen
Idad: Yew (this text also mentions the Service Tree)
Ebad: Woodbine (given also as aspen)
Ór: Heath (aka heather)
Uillend: Woodbine (given also as honeysuckle)
Pín: Gooseberry
Emancholl: no entry
The trees I have associated with the fíd here come from Weaving Word Wisdom by Erynn Rowan Laurie. I know her associations differ slightly from Morgan’s, and I think they even vary slightly from Lora O’Brien’s, the person who runs The Irish Pagan School and subsequent Ogham Academy. However, this book did come recommended by Lora O’Brien, so it is a valuable resource.
Erynn also notes in her book that she’s not a scholar and she doesn’t have any formal higher education.
I am not a scholar. I don’t have a degree or any formal higher education to speak of, yet I respect learning and the work of scholars. I hold myself to certain standards of accuracy in my research as well as valuing the importance of imbas or poetic inspiration. Within the movement currently known as Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism or CR, both scholarship and inspiration are valued. We who follow this path puruse both aisling – vision – and archeology. We seek evidence for the authentic old ways of the early Celtic peoples and attempt to develop what we find into useful and valid ways of living, thinking, and celebrating a vibrant and vital spirituality based in the present that looks to the future as well.
If you’re interested in learning ogham, I highly recommend this book. It has footnotes, a detailed bibliography, and is heavy with citations. Erynn Rowan Laurie also helps run (or at least helped with the creation and writing) of Paganachd, a website dedicated to Celtic Reconstructionism. It has an FAQ, resources, and so much more.
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Another great summary! That helps a lot.
Understanding there are differences is important. I’ve decided to stay with the associations (Morgan’s) I started with until I get grounded with the details of using the system. It is easy enough to change my deck/associations so it makes sense (to me) to make changes with knowledge and preference as and when I bump up against them.
And, of course, I now have a couple of books to snag. 
update: The link for the CR FAQ is broken - it gets to the main website but the follow-on link fails. The book is on Amazon, though.
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Just popping quickly for this, and I’ll be back in a bit. Here’s the direct link. It should work. I was able to open it in a few different browsers.
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That worked. I think I will still get the paper version.
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Thank you for the reccomendation! While I am a fan of online information, I find as I get older it’s important to me to have a reference tome I can touch and read. Something about how my brain was hardwired growing up that cements the knowledge in there, plus it’s just lovely to have that one reference book you can turn to over and over again.
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Okay, I’m finally making it back here 
I’m glad it helps! Celtic mythology can be hard to wrap your mind around because there are so many contradictions, differing stories, and interpretations. You’re doing good by sticking to one resource until you get grounded in the way it works for you.
Sounds good to me! I may end up getting a paper version in the future when I have an actual bookshelf to store my books lol
You’re welcome! I haven’t even made it all the way through the book. It’s nice and thick, with so much information. I’m the same way with physical books. I can find most textbooks online, for example, but there’s something about physically flipping through them that triggers my memory and makes it easier for me to use.
On another note, I should have the information for the forfeda completed in the next few days!
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Your thorough research on this topic is noteworthy. I think the whole body will be a ‘goto’ for those studying Ogham.
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Aww, well, thank you! It’s definitely helping me learn more about ogham lol so I’m glad it can be helpful for others, too.
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