Ogham: The Secret Language of the Druids

by Robert Lee (Skip) Ellison

"This solidly researched guide to Ogham, the traditional alphabet of Irish poets and loremasters, belongs on the bookshelf of anyone interested in Celtic traditions or modern Druid spirituality. Ellison deserves high praise for a readable and practical introduction to the intricacies of Ogham lore." -- John Michael Greer, author of The Druid Magic Handbook

Genres: Nonfiction, Paganism, Divination, History

166 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Rev. Robert Lee "Skip" Ellison is a past Senior Druid of Muin Mound Grove, Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF), in greater Central New York.

Reviews

[Sasha Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of the book is a little misleading, because Ellison does not actually claim that Ogham was a language; it may well be a case of choosing a title that will sell. It's a good basic introduction to Ogham as a writing system and a symbol set for divination, with a clear distinction drawn between Ellison's own interpretations and those found in historical glosses, and a discussion of the ethics of divination.

[Anna Katherina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of this book makes it sound far more mystical and questionable than it actually is. Truth be told, I side-eyed the title but was pleasantly surprised by its contents once I cracked it open.

It's not only well sourced, using the primary sources for Ogham, but it's also clearly cited where otherwise deviating from that primary material. And it has footnotes and a bibliography- rare sights, both, when it comes to Pagan books, and incredibly refreshing to see. The author also does a wonderful job labeling where something is a personal addition, interpretation, or practice.

Speaking of, the book is more research and explanation than it is a personal guide through Ogham's modern mystical uses; I found it mostly useless in examining someone else's practice with them- but found it to be a great guide through the Scholar's Primer and the Ogham tracks, and incredibly helpful in understanding them.

My only complaint was that he makes one mention of the color White being "the traditional color for divining". This claim wasn't sourced in the book, nor could I corroborate through academic texts when I went looking. That's the only thing that pinged my "sources please" radar, however- which is a bloody miracle in the Pagan world. That being said, my knowledge of Ogham is low, and so it's very possible I'm not knowledgeable enough to have caught any other problems.

Knowing what I currently know, however, I'd say this is definitely a good book to pick up if you're interested in Ogham.

[Eurik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, especially the intial bit. The historical examples of all sorts of ogham are interesting, but quite irrelevant for practise, they seem to only extend the book and root it academically, which is fair enough,m though I most appreciated it's fisr, core part about tree ogham and it's magic/divinatory meanings.

[Michael Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good starter for those interested in learning basic Ogham. This focused on Tree Ogham as the base but does touch on the fact that there are more 150 other types that were used. Well written and easy to follow.