Ogam scales from the book of ballymote ogam scales of the book of ballymote by dr. The ogham letters were usually inscribed on trees, sticks, and stakes. Ogham archaic irish script posted on march 26, 2012 updated on april 15, 2012. The ogham stones available to scholars for study clearly support the interpretation that ogham was a monument script, that is, a script used to memorialize a dead person. Kelly gives us an ogham which is based largely on the wordoghams of the book of ballymote. The word divination comes from the latin word divinare, which means to foresee or be inspired by a god. A 15th century treatise on ogham, the book of ballymote, confirms that ogham was a secret, ritualistic language.
There is slight evidence of the use of ogham as divination in irish myth, and this is what ogham is used for today by many celtic. Kelly gives us an ogham which is based largely on the wordoghams of the book of ballymote, rather than the treeoghams which had dominated the field since the work of robert graves, as well as proper translations of the names of the oghams themselves. Since that date it has met without fail each month and has continued to devote itself to its stated aim of raising awareness of all matters of heritage and in particular promoting knowledge of and interest in all aspects of local history, archaeology. While there is no record of an animal list, i developed this list using the same rules that would. A typical example of a translated ogham stone inscription is this one from a stone on inchagoill island, galway. Ballymote gave an overview of each letter, its meaning, and its particular plant, mostly trees, so the ogham has also been called the tree alphabet. Introduction to the magic of the ogham trees eco enchantments.
Ballymote is on the main train line from dublin to sligo, with 8 trains daily each way. In the story, a druid named dalan takes four wands of yew and carves the ogham symbols upon them so that he may use them for divination. Feb 14, 2015 book of ballymote conference at the royal irish academy by elizabethboyle20 on 5th 6th february, a group of 120 academics, students, members of local history groups, and interested members of the public, gathered at the royal irish academy for a twoday conference on the late fourteenthcentury irish manuscript, the book of ballymote. I wrote a poem way back then called witches wheel, using the trees on the wheel of the year.
However, the 14th century book of ballymote leabhar bhaile an. The word oghams from the book of ballymote, the yellow book of lechan and the. A short walk from the castle will bring you to ballymote abbey. I feel these patterns are in deep harmony with celtic and other western traditions as well as recreated or newly created ideas to fill in the gaps or extend into new territory. Ogham is an early medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early irish language and later. The book of ballymote leabhar bhaile an mhota ria ms 23 p 12 written on vellum, probably around 91, the book of ballymote was produced by the scribes manus oduignan, solomon odroma, and robert mcsheedy, for tonnaltagh mcdonagh, whose clan kept the manuscript until the early 16th century, when it came into the hands of the odonnell clan. Book of ballymote leabhar bhaile an mhota royal irish academy. Ballymote gave an overview of each letter, its meaning, and its. Sligo is now more than a quarter century in existence. Bell argues there for an augustinian politic one ontologically grounded, unsurprisingly, in a metaphysic of the analogia entis that can offer a feasible response to neoliberalism. For over a hundred years it was a treasured possession of the mcdonaghs of corran.
The 5 best restaurants in ballymote updated may 2020. Much of the information available on ogham has come from this manuscript currently housed in the royal irish academy in dublin and this information is thought to have been copied. The druids of yore were said to be very efficient at ogham writing and signing. Ogham was used to write in the early irish language, the word ogham denotes the actual script used, while the alphabet is known as the beithluisnin. Sources for the ogham tree alphabet include the ogham tract and 14th century book of ballymote transcribed by george calder as auraicept na neces named after the opening lines meaning primer of the poets or beginning of the lessons.
In essence, is a coded notation that uses parallel lines in groups to represent letters. Posts about book of ballymote written by graecomuse. Ballymote is a growing market town in south county sligo, in the west of ireland. Some reconstructionists of druidic ways use briatharogam kennings as a basis for divinatory meanings in ogham divination. Since it was presented to the academy in 1785 many scholars have worked to decipher, disseminate and debate its content and form. The constructive side of bells project, intimated above, is revealed as the book unfolds and is the focus of the final chapter. Ballymote castle and the book of ballymote with thomas. One of the first ogham books to come out was liz and colin murrays celtic tree. For divination during magical ceremonies, small staves, each with their own. The book contains a complete system of oghamic divination, the lore of each of the 20 ogham characters, a celtic psychology and celtic cosmology as well as a complete suggested curriculum for training in celtic spirituality based on the ogham system. The ogham tract also gives a variety of around 100 variant or secret modes of writing ogham 92 in the book of ballymote, for example the shield ogham ogam airenach, nr. The book of lecan 1416, book of ballymote 91 and book of leinster 12th century are some medieval manuscripts that record the use of ogham as an alphabet system.
The book of ballymote is an iconic and hugely important 14th century irish manuscript. The book of ogham makes great usage of useful patterns in addition to smaller scale precision and larger scale organization. About the beginning of the 16 th century, it fell into the possession of the odonnells with whom it. This was an early discussion of ogham divination circa 1993 or so i am currently. This online exhibition takes a look at some of the scholarly works undertaken on the book of ballymote. Barry fell esop volume 22 page 87 next page return to epigraphy return to ogam scales. Knowledge of ogham is thought to have passed down the generations orally until the medieval times. The original twenty letters each consist of from one to five straight lines or notches intersecting a stem line. I read helen mcdonalds book hawk and loved falconry in indian prints. This 500 page document includes sections on the invasions of ireland, the creation of the world, and a study of ogham writing. The first group of 5 is from the north on fionns wheel.
I found it was better for longterm divination than shortterm, but it did work. Ogam, sometimes spelt ogham, pronounced ohm, was an alphabet used by the celts. Catalogue of irish manuscripts in the royal irish academy dublin, 1943, fasc. Baile an mhota, meaning town of the mottemound is a market town in southern county sligo in the province of connacht, in the west of ireland. We read the signs, the art, and the ways of mother nature to give us clues and insight into our own lives. Much of the information available on ogham has come from this manuscript currently housed in the royal irish academy in dublin. Book of ballymote historical manuscript britannica. Like many of its kind, has made history by its wanderings. It lies in the barony of corran the norman ballymote castle dates from the 0s and the book of ballymote was written in or near the town in the 90s. About the beginning of the 16 th century, it fell into the possession of the odonnells with whom it remained until the flight of the earls in 1603. Founded on may 30th 1984, ballymote heritage group co. Ogam scales from the book of ballymote equinox project.
About the beginning of the 16th century, it fell into the possession of the odonnells with whom it remained until the flight of the earls in 1603. Versions of this text are found in the 12th century book of leinster, the late 14th century yellow book of lecan and the book of ballymote. One of the stranger ancient scripts one might come across, ogham is also known as the celtic tree alphabet. I have been working with the trees and the strange alphabet based on them, and reputed to be one of the only things to have come to us from the druids, since the mid 1980s. It is claimed that the druids used ogham for divination. Each of the 20 buttons below will take you to more information on that particular ogham, my own personal views on the energy of the ogham tree, and its unique property and divination meaning. The book of ballymote, like many of its kind, has made history by its wanderings. Much of what remains of ogham letters are on stone monuments throughout ireland and western britain, however these symbols were likely often inscribed in wood.
These divination cards are based on the mnemonic lists, as found in the book of ballymote. The famous book of ballymote was partly compiled in ballymote castle about 91. The 21 plants of ogma sunface each one stands for a sacred rune, and each for a lesson the ogham plants have remained the cornerstone of druid magic since the cad goddeu of ages past. Finger ogham equates the five letters of each pillar with the thumb and four fingers, such that the first letter of each pillar b, h, m, a are found from the tip to the base joint of the thumb, and so on. Media in category book of ballymote the following 11 files are in this category, out of 11 total. It is only 20 minutes to sligo and a direct though limited stop from dublin. The main source of written knowledge about ogham is a 14th century manuscript called the book of ballymote, now housed in the library of the royal irish academy. Included in the book were several diagrams using the ogham fews, but the purpose of these diagrams is a mystery. Ballymote castle and the book of ballymote with thomas sheridan. These wonderful ogham staves are crafted in the way mentioned in the irish myth of tochmarc etaine.
The following image of a ogham wheel is a segment from the 14thcentury book of ballymote, a manuscript that contains a collection of irish sagas, law texts, and genealogies, as well as a guide to the ogham alphabet. It opens the doors to the authentic understanding of ancient celtic cosmology and psychology in ways that have never been done before. Professor o huiginn began by introducing us to the manuscript, its scribes, sources and patron. Dr laura malone maynooth the book of ballymote conference featured a range of distinguished speakers, who elucidated many aspects of the manuscript and its contents. The cad goddeau, battle of the trees, and the book of taliesin. It is wort having a look at ballymote castle ruins right by the train station.
A 15th century treatise on ogham, the book of ballymote, confirms that ogham. The ogham alphabet consists of twenty letters to which a further five were added at a late stage in its development, probably later than the 8th century. The 20 symbols of the ogham alphabet are divided into 4 sets or aicme of 5 letters each. Celtic spiritualitythe book of ogham is a practical manual for divination using the ancient. Even the younger futhark is introduced as a kind of viking ogham nrs. One of the more common methods of divination is the use of inscriptions, alphabets, and letters, normal daily means. In the ancient book of ballymote, an important reference for scholars of ogham, we are told that ogma, much skilled in dialects and poetry, as proof of his intellect, invented ogham for signing secret speech known only to the learned, to the exclusion of rustics and herdsmen.
Modern day druids are able to turn in this quest to a number of distinctly druidic methods of divination, including working with the sacred animals and plants of the celtic and druid tradition and working with ogham, which has come to be known as the sacred treealphabet of the druids. Ogham, the ancient irish alphabet composed of 25 unique symbols, dates back to the 1st century yet traces of it. Book of ballymote conference at the royal irish academy. Dec 08, 2012 the main source of written knowledge about ogham is a 14th century manuscript called the book of ballymote, now housed in the library of the royal irish academy. About 500 ogham inscriptions have been found in ireland, scotland, wales and england dating from between the 4th and 7th centuries ad. According to the highland society of scotlands dictionary of the gaelic language 1828 ce, ogham is the occult manner of writing used by the ancient irish. The equinox project reproduces this article by barry fell from the epigraphical society occasional papers vol. Each ogham is listed by its ancient gaelic name, then its modern irish name and then its welsh counterpart. Other articles where book of ballymote is discussed. Included in the book were several diagrams using the ogham fews, but the. The book of ballymote leabhar bhaile an mhota, is an iconic and hugely important 14th century irish manuscript. Dec 26, 2016 ballymote castle and the book of ballymote with thomas sheridan. The book of ballymote indicates that there were a number of secret ways in which ogham could be used to communicate nonverbally. Ogham was named after the celtic god ogma irish or ogmia british, the god of literature and eloquence, who supposedly invented the script ellis 126.
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