A few words about this project: Originally, I had hoped to build a three-dimensional tree out of wire and hang little leaves from it, as well as little picture frames containing images of Ogham letters as well as images of actual trees that I had photographed earlier this year.

Of course, that didn't happen and this morphed into another rubber-stamping, cut-and-paste project on paper. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!) So here is the family tree of... the Tree!... complete with Ogham letters, tree names and images invoking the mythical Celtic lore of Tir na nog and stories of ancient Ireland's Fey folk.

The word ogham or ogam (pronounced OH-am) has been used to refer to:

- An alphabet of twenty-five characters used for stone and wood inscriptions in Celtic Ireland and Britain.

- A group of twenty sacred trees that give names to the letters of the ogham alphabet.

- A calendar of thirteen months named for some of the trees.

- A purported system of hand-signing used by Druids that relates to the alphabet.

- A system of divination in Celtic paganism that may or may not relate to the alphabet.

The ogham alphabet is often called "beth luis nion". This is somewhat like the word "alphabet"; it comes from the names of the first, second, and fifth letters. The letters consist of one to five perpendicular or angled strokes, meeting or crossing a center line. The form of the letters allows them to be carved easily on objects of wood or stone, with the edge forming the center line. Most ogham inscriptions come from Ireland and Scotland.

(Credit: J. C. Clark, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA)

SOURCES & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
www.alia.ie/tirnanog/oghaml.html
www.csupomona.edu/~jcclark/ogham/
www.uponreflection.co.uk/ogham/index.htm
Once Upon a Time: The Fairy Tale World of Arthur Rackhan, The Viking Press, NY, NY ©1972