• Provides a full explanation for each character of the Celtic tree alphabets and their historic variants, including each symbol’s corresponding trees, colors, birds, cryptic codes, and esoteric inner meanings

• Explores the use of Celtic tree alphabets in spiritual invocation, divination, and symbolic art as well as the practice of Ogham cryptography

• Explains how, like Norse Runes, each Ogham character is a meditative symbol in its own right and offers the possibility of deep psychic transformation

Emerging from the sacred forests of ancient Britain and Ireland, the Celtic tree alphabets known as Ogham and Coelbren are symbolic systems that encapsulate the ancestral spiritual wisdom of the British Isles, including Druidic teachings and ways of thinking. Like the trees of old growth forests, for which they are named, these ancient symbols represent the voices of elemental powers and speak to the inner, untamed part of the human soul, offering the possibility of deep psychic transformation.

Presenting a wide-ranging exploration of Celtic tree lore and tree alphabets, Nigel Pennick examines the Ogham tree alphabet of Ireland and west Britain as well as the Bardic secret alphabet of Wales known as Coelbren. He explains how ancient tradition maintains these symbols were a gift from the wilderness and were created by Ogma, the God of Speech and Poetry. He explains how, like Norse Runes, each Ogham character is a meditative symbol in its own right, embodying a creative energy available to all. He provides a full explanation for each character of the Celtic tree alphabets and their historic variants, including each symbol’s corresponding trees, colors, birds, cryptic codes, and esoteric inner meanings. He details the correspondences and cosmologies contained within the Oghams and Coelbren and explores the practice of Ogham cryptography as well as their use in spiritual invocation, divination, and symbolic art. He also discusses ceremonies that aid in reconnecting with nature and the wilderness, such as “maying” and greenwood marriages, and the use of magical binding knots and colors in Celtic tradition.

This handbook for learning Ogham and Coelbren also offers a comprehensive understanding of the ancient Celtic worldview, allowing you to apply their wisdom in modern life.

Nigel Pennick is an authority on ancient belief systems, traditions, runes, and geomancy and has traveled and lectured extensively in Europe and the United States. He is the author and illustrator of more than 60 books, including The Pagan Book of Days. The founder of the Institute of Geomantic Research, he lives near Cambridge, England.

Acknowledgments

Preface
Celtic Tree Alphabets, Ancient and Modern

1 The Irish Tree Alphabet

2 Meanings of the Ogham Feadha

3 Ogham Cryptography, Gall Ogham, and the Gaelic Alphabet

4 Deities of the Sacred Forest

5 Celtic Tree Lore of Birch, Thorn, and Oak

6 Welsh Bardic Scripts

Postscript
Through Woods to Wisdom

Appendix 1
Ogham Correspondences

Appendix 2
Classification of Celtic Tree Types

Appendix 3
The Bardic Hierarchy

Glossary of Terms

Bibliography and Resources for Further Study

Index