Ogham: anticipate

+ previous in series | next in series

Appearing as an old, swarthy man of Herculean proportions, Ogmios—the Celtic god of Gaul—was a god of eloquence: so eloquent that in some drawings he is depicted to have men chained to his tongue by their ears. It is apparently for him that the 4th century AD Irish writing system Ogham (pronounced OH-am) is named.

Since Ogham was most often inscribed on sticks and trees, most examples of its use are lost. The few remaining inscriptions, 375 in total, all made on stones, mainly indicate ownership of the lands in which they're found. Much of the information about Ogham, its suspected origins, and its use, comes from the 14th-century text Book of Ballymote, a collection of Irish sagas, law texts, and genealogies.

The alphabet comprises four set of strokes or notches, each containing five letters represented by one to five marks, and a fifth set of additional marks. Inscriptions were typically read from bottom to top, or occasionally from right to left. Each symbol in the Ogham alphabet had a unique name, and there were over a hundred variations on the naming system: tree Oghams, river-pool Oghams, color Oghams, bird Oghams, and even fortress Oghams. Ogham is linguistically significant because it is the oldest artifact of early Irish language. Though scholars dispute Ogham's origins, it shows evidence of influence by Latin and Etruscan alphabets, Germanic rune systems, and even secret Druidic priest finger-languages.

Perhaps because of its similarity to secret Druid communication methods, many believe Ogham inscriptions held magical power. The Ulster hero Cuchulain (pronounced koo-hoo-lin) is said in legends to have employed Ogham's magical properties several times. Once, he halted an advancing army by placing an Ogham-inscribed wooden ring in their path, and forbade them from passing until they deciphered its meaning—a tactic he successfully repeated in later battles in a river and over a fallen tree.

Ogham stone, from Ballintaggart in County Kerry, Ireland, circa 5th century AD. Believed to be a burial stone for an early Irish Christian.		Diagram of Ballintaggart stone Ogham inscriptions.
Ogham stone, from Rathglas in County Carlow, Ireland, circa 5th century AD. Believed to be a burial stone for an early Irish Christian.

Even during the so-called Dark Ages, societies interacted with one another and adapted to new conditions. How can you plan for your organization's future needs? How can you convey those plans to your colleagues, customers, and community? How can you help your company anticipate what lies ahead? It begins with communication.

Throughout our nearly quarter century of helping organizations achieve their goals, we have developed communication programs that anticipate the future for organizations of diverse scale and scope—start-up to centenarians. Explore our client credentials, learn more about how we think, follow the trail below to more information about Ogham, or contact us to learn how we can help you build effective communications systems.

For more information

Swift, Catherine. Ogam Stones and the Earliest Irish Christians. Maynooth: The Cardinal Press, 1997.

Blamires, Steve. Celtic tree mysteries : secrets of the Ogham. St. Paul, Minnesota: Llewelyn Publications, 1997.

Ogham Writing Encyclopaedia Britannica. 15th ed. 2002.

Ogmios Encyclopaedia Britannica. 15th ed. 2002.

Writing Encyclopaedia Britannica. 15th ed. 2002.

+
back to big ideas