The Ogham Alphabet
The Vowels of the Ogham Alphabet
The Ogham- Inscription
The inscription below is taken from a Ogham stone found on a stone pillar located by a cliff at Dumore Head in County Kerry, the message reads: 'Erc, The Son Of The Son Of Erca (Descendant Of) Modovinia'
The Ogham- Inventor
The image below shows the god Ogma from Irish Mythology. He is credited by some as the inventor of the Ogham alphabet. Ogma also known by the name 'Cermait', was the son of the father protector 'Dagda' of the Tuatha Dé Danann.
Ogma - God From Irish Mythology
Ogham script is often referred to as the 'Celtic Tree Alphabet'
Medieval scholars believed that all the letters of the Ogham alphabet referred to tree names but this is argued by modern scholars
A Bríatharogaim is a 'word ogham' and is referred to in early Irish literature. It explains the meaning of the names of the different letters that make up the Ogham alphabet
The ancient Celts held trees in high regard, in fact is is thought the word Druid comes from the Irish word for Oak which is 'Dair'
The Ash tree is regarded as particularly sacred in many Celtic countries, several events in Irish history have been recorded when people have refused to cut down the Ash tree as they feared their own house would burn down
The letter N in the Ogham alphabet is believed to come from the old Irish word for the Ash tree 'Nin'
The letter C in the Ogham alphabet is represented by the Hazel tree (Old Irish word: 'Coll')
The Hazel tree was considered sacred to the ancient Celts, it was known as a fairy tree. People considered it extremely unlucky to burn the wood of the hazel tree and its nuts were described as the 'Nuts of Wisdom'
W.B Yeats considered the Hazel tree to be the Irish form of the tree of Wisdom
The Ogham script is read from left to right
Ogham script is believed to have been used between the 4th and 10th century
Ogham inscriptions can be found on stone monuments all over Ireland, it is believed there are more than 400 surviving inscriptions mainly in the South East of Ireland
It is thought the word Ogham originates from the Irish word 'og-uain meaning point-seam which is the mark or seam made by the point of a sharp weapon
Ogham stones were mainly used as gravestones
Ogham script was also used to write messages on wood or metal and the purpose was for sending messages or marking ones property
In 1999, Ogham was added to the Unicode standard
Modern Druids or Neo-Pagans still use Ogham script today for the purpose of divination
The origin of the Ogham is subject to debate, some feel it is a different form of writing runes, whilst others believe it is a variation of the Roman alphabet, another theory is that the Ogham script was invented completely independently
In today's modern word, Ogham script is often found on jewelry items such as pendants and inscriptions on bracelets and rings. Loved ones can create a personal message using the individual letters from Ogham script to create a cryptic message for their partner or loved one
Ogma is a god from Irish Mythology who is credited by some as the inventor of the Ogham alphabet
