We are surrounded by the most beautiful assortment of trees, yet how many of us can actually identify say an Alder?

Back in Celtic times our ancestors could not only identify your native trees but also created an alphabet around them - The Tree Ogham(pronounced oh-am). Ogham is an ancient form of writing consisting of various notches across the straight edge of a stick or standing stone, said to have been invented by the Irish Celtic God of strength and eloquence - Oghma. Evidence of this alphabet can still be seen on standing stones around Ireland and the British Isles. It is similar to the runes of the Scandinavian and Germanic peoples.

Why did they choose trees to represent their alphabet – well, the Celts were a resourceful people and also used a Bird Ogham, a Colour Ogham and a River-Pool Ogham. In other words they used and adapted what was in their world and what they understood on a very profound level.

The Tree Ogham first ‘seeded itself’ into my awareness in the early 1990’s and I acquired a couple of books on the subject at that time. These lay dormant until quite recently until I purchased a set of Tree Oracle Cards by Gillian Kemp. The positive and supportive messages on these cards nursed me through a very difficult period of transformation and, all of a sudden, the seeds of the 90’s had grown into full-blown trees! It was then that I ‘came across’ this book – if I had to say what hooked me it was probably the word mysteries in the title. It ‘invited’ me to investigate further.

The Tree Alphabet is not just about vowels and consonants. It describes the energy of 20 native trees and how we can work on physical, mental and spiritual levels with these energies. The author, one of the most foremost Celtic scholars in the world and founder of the Celtic Research and Folklore Society takes us on a magical and archetypal journey, starting with Birch (Beth) right through to Elder (Ruis). He shows how we have cycles within cycles during our life and how we can work with these cycles to advance our personal growth.

I have found this quite an eye opener and realise that in real terms, even at my age I haven’t really progressed much further than the Birch but I am working on it. I am truly enamoured by this approach as it has given me such a feeling of connectivity to the world around me and made me realise that I have spent most of my life with my eyes tight shut!

P.S. I’ve just planted my Alder.
Gill x