“No bit of the natural world is more valuable or more vulnerable than the tree bit. Nothing is more like ourselves, standing upright, caught between heaven and earth, frail at the extremities, yet strong at the central trunk, and nothing is closer to us at the beginning and at the end, providing the timber boards that frame both the cradle and the coffin.”
Seamus Heaney
No book about Ogham and trees would be complete without including the wood lore and the kennings of Cad Goddeu in its ranks. This tale is filled with many layers of meaning about the tree lore of the Druids. It takes the form of a battle saga and was probably also a teaching aid for the instruction of young Druids and Bards. The original poem is attributed to Taliesin. I’ve included a modified and updated version of a Victorian translation of this poem.
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Searles O'Dubhain
Searles O’Dubhain is an American Celtic scholar, writer and story teller who has been practicing Druidry for over 30 years. Searles created ‘The Summerlands’, one of the very first beloved online Celtic pagan communities in the early 90’s. He additionally published ‘Ogham Divination’, that lays a detailed and creative pathway of recreating and discovering the ancient ways of the Druids. This and much more available on his website.
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