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The Coelbren Alphabet: The Forgotten Oracle of the Welsh Bards
Devised by a famous Welsh poet, the Bardic alphabet called Coelbren has always seemed to hold great promise. But as long as nobody knew how to use the system for divination, it remained simply a relic of a bygone era.
In The Coelbren Alphabet, John Michael Greer reveals the secrets of this esoteric alphabet, restoring the Coelbren to its rightful place as a powerful magical tool. Unlike the Ogham or runes, the Coelbren letters take their meaning directly from the sounds they represent. Providing the name, Welsh keyword, meaning, symbolism, pronunciation, and divinatory interpretation of each letter, this book shows how to use this unique system for divination and magic. You will also discover sample readings, scrying and meditation techniques, and tips for making your own Coelbren set.
Writing systems have been used for magical power and mystical insight in spiritual traditions throughout history. This book shows how to engage in an effective divinatory practice with an alphabet that is mysterious in its origins but undeniable in its power.
In The Coelbren Alphabet, John Michael Greer reveals the secrets of this esoteric alphabet, restoring the Coelbren to its rightful place as a powerful magical tool. Unlike the Ogham or runes, the Coelbren letters take their meaning directly from the sounds they represent. Providing the name, Welsh keyword, meaning, symbolism, pronunciation, and divinatory interpretation of each letter, this book shows how to use this unique system for divination and magic. You will also discover sample readings, scrying and meditation techniques, and tips for making your own Coelbren set.
Writing systems have been used for magical power and mystical insight in spiritual traditions throughout history. This book shows how to engage in an effective divinatory practice with an alphabet that is mysterious in its origins but undeniable in its power.
192 pages, Paperback
Published June 8, 2017
5 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
John Michael Greer
212 books512 followersJohn Michael Greer is an author of over thirty books and the blogger behind The Archdruid Report. He served as Grand Archdruid of the Ancient Order of Druids in America. His work addresses a range of subjects, including climate change, peak oil, the future of industrial society, and the occult. He also writes science fiction and fantasy. He lives in Rhode Island with his wife.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 11, 2017
If you’re interested in history, European history, dialects, or just never want to stop learning then this is a must buy; particularly as John Michael Greer’s writing is not the normal textbook language where you feel like this could easily replace your Ambien to knock you for a good night’s sleep. His talent from writing over forty books and being an award winning author is evident in his strong writing style, sentence structure and all that boring stuff people who give out awards care about.
What I as a reader and someone whose background in the Irish culture care about is the accuracy and sound of the knowledge he’s trying to impart on a new generation who doesn’t have the familiarity with this long dormant language. On that aspect I can happily attest that his extreme attention to detail and the plethora of research he plowed through has proven his time well spent.
Greer makes you want to know about the people who once used Coelbren the way I’m using these letters. How did it evolve, why was it used, what it sounded like and so forth. He provides examples for you to try out how the letters sound which adds this sense of logic and understanding to the work. As you dive through the letter’s images, meanings and symbolism you get a sense of the type of people who used it; you’re able to be transported back to a long ago age when communication still meant something as an art form and not a right to be fought over.
I loved the section on meditation because too often people think it is the sole property of the Eastern cultures but others adapted it as well for philosophical and theological reasons. Greer even provides some instructions on how to do it properly in order to achieve more positive results.
Hopefully by the time you are done reading his incredibly breathtaking study you will have gained a greater appreciation for the people, the history, and Welsh the culture.
What I as a reader and someone whose background in the Irish culture care about is the accuracy and sound of the knowledge he’s trying to impart on a new generation who doesn’t have the familiarity with this long dormant language. On that aspect I can happily attest that his extreme attention to detail and the plethora of research he plowed through has proven his time well spent.
Greer makes you want to know about the people who once used Coelbren the way I’m using these letters. How did it evolve, why was it used, what it sounded like and so forth. He provides examples for you to try out how the letters sound which adds this sense of logic and understanding to the work. As you dive through the letter’s images, meanings and symbolism you get a sense of the type of people who used it; you’re able to be transported back to a long ago age when communication still meant something as an art form and not a right to be fought over.
I loved the section on meditation because too often people think it is the sole property of the Eastern cultures but others adapted it as well for philosophical and theological reasons. Greer even provides some instructions on how to do it properly in order to achieve more positive results.
Hopefully by the time you are done reading his incredibly breathtaking study you will have gained a greater appreciation for the people, the history, and Welsh the culture.
June 13, 2017
Whew! Quite a work! I love languages, but this one was a pretty intense read. I kept feeling like I needed more background into what I was reading! Still it was interesting to read and lent quite a bit of insight into past writings. I really hadn't given to much thought to anyone trying to pass their own works off as someone else's, but it makes sense. I guess we can only hope more lost books and manuscripts appear in the future! Great book for anyone interested.
June 24, 2017
This is a small book. Much smaller than I expected. Sure, I could have looked at the dimensions that Amazon puts in their listing, but I didn't. That's on my. But half of this very slim book is the story of Iolo Moranwg, notorious forger of 'ancient' documents and founder of revival druidry. So while it's possible that this alphabet is old and something Iolo came across in his travels, it's probably his own invention. Teasing the two things apart a couple hundred years on is pretty difficult.
JMG does a good job of presenting the material, and writing it in a way that makes it easy to work with in divination. That seems obvious, but a lot of books on runes or ogham or tarot don't really do that and leave the reader floundering in too much extraneous info. This is super focused and easy to use, but also a system that will need to be built on by the user because it doesn't throw all that info at you. The business end of this could be a chapter in his Druids Handbook or Celtic Golden Dawn and not over fill it.
I would say, beginners, true fans and completists.
JMG does a good job of presenting the material, and writing it in a way that makes it easy to work with in divination. That seems obvious, but a lot of books on runes or ogham or tarot don't really do that and leave the reader floundering in too much extraneous info. This is super focused and easy to use, but also a system that will need to be built on by the user because it doesn't throw all that info at you. The business end of this could be a chapter in his Druids Handbook or Celtic Golden Dawn and not over fill it.
I would say, beginners, true fans and completists.
June 30, 2017
FULL REVIEW TO BE PUBLISHED!
The Coelbren Alphabet, by John Michael Greer, is one of those books you will devour in no time. I just finished reading it and realized that it took me less than a week to be done with it, which is a strange thing coming from a book that includes history, biographies, metaphors and many different kinds of information to work with.
The only one problem I could say about this book is the lack of images. Besides the letters and some visual examples, there are not many, and that would have made it a better reading. A picture or painting of Iolo, a photo of the author using this letters… different visual options that could have done of this a mini enciclopedia.
Still, you’ll want to buy this book and learn from Greer’s Discovery. Keep it near as you practice, consider it a kind of Bible while strating, but, as the author does, I encorage you to explore and see what individual meaning these symbols have for you. It was a pleasure to read it, for that and for giving me a copy I thank the editor and publishers.
The Coelbren Alphabet, by John Michael Greer, is one of those books you will devour in no time. I just finished reading it and realized that it took me less than a week to be done with it, which is a strange thing coming from a book that includes history, biographies, metaphors and many different kinds of information to work with.
The only one problem I could say about this book is the lack of images. Besides the letters and some visual examples, there are not many, and that would have made it a better reading. A picture or painting of Iolo, a photo of the author using this letters… different visual options that could have done of this a mini enciclopedia.
Still, you’ll want to buy this book and learn from Greer’s Discovery. Keep it near as you practice, consider it a kind of Bible while strating, but, as the author does, I encorage you to explore and see what individual meaning these symbols have for you. It was a pleasure to read it, for that and for giving me a copy I thank the editor and publishers.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews