When I find something that speaks to me and interests me I can get very excited about it. My first inclination is LETS BUY STUFF!!! but I counter that pretty successfully by deciding to make the item myself or my own version of it. Saves money (sometime ) and fulfills a creative need.
After enjoying using my basic popsicle stick Ogham staves that I made for the Multilingual Challenge, and then used for the Divining Differently Challenge, I decided I’d make my own set. I started off by going out and gathering fallen sticks from my backyard.
but then I started actually looking around at the trees in my yard. I went to school in Montana and learned and knew all the trees and shrubs but I hadn’t bothered to learn any of the ones in North Carolina since I moved here over a decade ago.
So I realized I have some of the trees that correspond to some of the letters… and that was that. My enthusiasm led me to walk around my neighborhood as well as at work (I am a zookeeper) and realize I have access to an amazing variety of woods. While I won’t be able to match wood for wood, I absolutely can make a set of 25 staves from 25 different kinds of trees/shrubs.
Great job @Artemisia! I am learning the Ogham, I haven’t gotten to the point of using or making staves yet though. I do have a sort of Ogham journal where I write what I’ve learned about each one in it with the correspondences, history, letters, divinatory meanings, etc…
I am very interested in the outcome & how lucky that you will be able to make them each with a different or corresponding wood/plant! I can’t wait to see how they turn out!
@Melora_Fae I work with the Elder Futhark & would love to make my own set of those too I have a bunch of oak in my backyard from a storm that brought down a bough of one of our oak trees in the backyard. I have since claimed that tree as mine because a large portion of the tree fell, so it is still standing & has weathered the storm, but the parts that need to be let go fell off the tree. (Alright, so that portion of the tree was in our neighbor’s backyard & ours, but it’s our tree so we removed it from their yard after the storm passed & now I have the branches & bough in my backyard) I actually collected a lot of information about them: Runes Information
My husband is going to cut discs up from one of the branches, but I may be able to get him & my son to make me 25 “sticks” if I tell them how long the discs are. I have a woodburning tool downstairs with my other DIY crafting things. When the time comes I will post my progress with both!
I look forward to seeing how they turn out @Artemisia!
Oh my goddness, @Artemisia That’s so amazing! I love that you’ve taken one challenge and just ran with it over the course of several weeks. Ogham is such an amazing language and divination tool. I hope to one day make my own staves from different trees just like this!
@Susurrus – You reminded me that I have so many more letters to work on and make posts for here’s to hoping I find that energy soon!
Lol… sorry… no pressure! I was just thinking that she may be as interested in the information as I am I have a journal that is all about the Ogham & things I learn & find out about them. I just had it printed at the UPS Store into a coil-bound workbook type of book.