Celtic Tree Ogham: Rituals and Teachings of the Aicme Ailim Vowels and the Forfeda

by Sharlyn Hidalgo

Gain Greater Wisdom, Stronger Magic & Deeper Healing with the Last Ten Ogham

Build a powerful connection to nature and explore the mystical teachings of trees with this illuminating book of rituals that focus on the last ten ogham of the Celtic Ogham tree alphabet. Filled with meditations, stories, activities, and correspondences, this easy-to-use guide introduces you to the spiritual lessons and magic of the aicme ailim vowels and the forfeda. You'll also discover how these Celtic ceremonies fit into the Wheel of the Year so you can access tree energy year-round.

A follow-up to Celtic Tree Rituals , which covered the first fifteen ogham, this book acts as your doorway into the sacred wisdom of not only trees, but also totems, guides, and deities. Each chapter presents step-by-step instructions on preparing and performing the ogham's ritual as well as associated keywords, holidays, songs, chants, and more. From guided journeys to altar blessings, Celtic Tree Ogham 's activities help you live well and stay connected to nature and your authentic self. These tree teachings encourage you to live out your role as a steward of this planet and supports you to create a spiritual practice that honors and protects mother earth and the web of life.

224 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2021

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

In Celtic Tree Ogham: Rituals and Teachings of the Aicme Ailim Vowels and the Forfeda, Sharlyn Hidalgo provides a template for a ritual honouring each of the last ten feda of the ogham. The rituals tend to focus on the trees associated with each ogham (or, associations like the grove, the sea, etc. in the case of the forfeda). All of the rituals follow a template that Hidalgo explains in the introduction -- welcome and greetings, calling directions and guides, the teaching, singing, chanting, guided meditation, and activities. This template is, I think, a model that many readers will enjoy, and many of the guided meditations are well written. It does make for some repetition with a few paragraphs being repeated verbatim in every single ritual, but Hidalgo's writing is clear and approachable.
Unfortunately, while I appreciate several of the meditations and activities, I do have some serious issues with this book. It is very much a 'how to design a tree ritual' book; it is not historical -- the author writes that she is not much interested in the history really -- nor is it scholarly. This is fine, as it's how the book is described and so is what I expected. However, while much of the book is the author's own reflections and ideas, it really should have citations in a number of places -- several sentences begin with things like "It was said..." and "It is said..." but give no indication who exactly has 'said' what is written.
The book presents a binary understanding of gender and sex that is cisnormative and heteronormative; this is not pervasive but references to "the great male and female cycles of life" and "your male and female attributes" and things like this do appear periodically; all of the trees are referred to as "she." The inclusion of a range of cultures here (deities from different pantheons, etc) is perhaps an attempt at inclusiveness but it feels very surface level and superficial. Sentences like "Study shamanism of plant medicine in the mountains of the rain forest in South America or the teachings of Hawaii or Africa" feel straightforwardly appropriative as diverse cultures and entire continents are lumped together.
Content warning: the section on Ioho/Yew contains discussion of suicide.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely beautiful book on a subject I knew nothing about. I learned a lot about Celtic traditional religion from this book. It is a great reference for anyone interested in world religions, ancient customs, Celtic history, etc. Setting the religious element aside, this book contains some great wisdom and ideas for self-help. You do not have to be a follower of Celtic religions to benefit from the ideas presented here. The author also includes interesting stories of her personal practices, travels and experiences. Between chapters, a beautiful illustration of the tree to be presented next is included as a black and white illustration. These would make ideal meditative coloring projects and would allow the reader to personalize his/her copy. The author also included an extensive bibliography.
Very well done. I would read more from this author and about this topic.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Kathy Shimpock · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Celtic Tree Ogham is an ancient alphabet in which each “letter” represents a tree or plant. The author has previously written several books on this topic. This book covers the last ten ogham of the Celtic tree alphabet. It is a treasure trove of ideas for folks using the ogham as a tool for divination or ritual. Chapters focus on a single ogham and its corresponding tree with ideas for holding a group ceremony. Included are guided meditations, songs, chants, and other activities. Chapters end with a story of the author’s personal experience with the ogham. Although this book will be of special interest to contemporary Druids and pagan practitioners, it will also be enjoyed by those wishing to learn more about Celtic spirituality and divination.

[LittleRead · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always loved trees. They have their own stories to tell and become majestic beauties. This book has brought me to another way of approaching them and I am so pleased that I read this book. It is a follow on book to Celtic Tree Rituals and I will be reading that book as well. So often you can read a book and move on, other times it calls to you, just like trees do for some of us. Yes, we are the stewards of the planet and it is up to us to protect and nurture all that Mother Earth has given us. If you agree with that last statement, YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK!

[The_Manc_Witch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review..

The book is an interesting read, especially for people who enjoy celtic and druid paths. I can only give this book three stars though as it was needlessly dense and I found it a deficult read to get through. It has taken me a while to get through it unfortunately for that reason. It does have useful information and some ideas I haven't seen before which makes it a useful book, but it could have been shorter in parts.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this early through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

The book was quite underwhelming: I don't understand why only rituals for the last 10 ogham are included? Why not the whole set?
Also unclear how to transport this book to other parts of the world, where certain trees may not be available. This severely limits the target audience. But I'm sure there is an audience for it, it's just that I'm not a part of it.

[Lacey Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Celtic Tree Ogham is a beautiful and informative book, I would recommend reading this after you've read Celtic Tree Rituals which explains the first 15 Ogham in great detail. Of course this follow up book explains the last 10 in the same detailed way as Celtic Tree Rituals. If you're interested in learning about this subject and are looking for a deep dive then I absolutely would point you towards these books,

[Diane Mendenhall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book, but I was looking for a book that included more of the ogham and not just the last 10. The oghams that were discussed were interesting but it was not what I was expecting based on the title of the book.

[Penn Kemp · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ancient alphabet in which each “letter” represents a tree or plant. This book covers the last ten ogham of the Celtic tree alphabet.

[Zee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great primer on Druidic tree lore as well as ogham. I really liked that it assigned a time of year to celebrate each tree, and created a sample ceremony, too. This is a resource I know I'll revisit for years to come.