also called:
The Ogham,
The Beth-Luis-Nion
and
The Boibel-Loth
In Celtic tradition, the Druids were credited with the power to transform trees into warriors and send them into battle. In one sense this is true, since in the Celtic languages "trees" meant "letters."
The Druidic and Bardic schools place great importance on wit, as manifested through the use of elaborate poetic metaphor and a good memory.The continental Celts ritually prohibited writing, so it is difficult to tell whether the emphasis on memory was the cause or effect. Even the laws of the ancients were composed in verse to facilitate memorization. Because of this prohibition, both the Beth-Luis-Nion and the Boibel-Loth seem to have been used like mnemonic “peg-systems” for various riddles, poems, and lore. This emphasis on oral tradition and secrecy was so great that public use of the various oghams was banned until well into the decline of Druidism. Caesar comments upon this in his narrative, The Gaulish Wars:
Report says that in the schools of the Druids they learn by heart a great number of verses, and therefore some persons remain twenty years under training and they do not think it proper to commit these utterances to writing, although in almost all other matters, and in their public and private accounts, they make use of Greek letters.
The different oghams were not alphabets, as normally thought of, but more analogs of alphabets. In addition to the “twig ogham” and the “finger ogham” there was also a “nose ogham” (involving touching different parts of one’s nose), a “shin ogham”, and untold others. The Beth-Luis-Nion and the Boibel-Loth are sets of phonemes associated with various concepts which can be used in conjunction with any of the oghams.
The Beth-Luis-Nion tree alphabet consists of 5 vowels and 13 consonants and used mainly for divination. Each letter is named after a tree or shrub associated with it. The consonants of the alphabet form a calendar of seasonal tree magick based on the lunar month. This calendar is represented by the “unhewn dolmen” of the year. The vowels of both the Beth-Luis-Nion and the Boibel-Loth represent the stations of the year are associated with trees considered to be especially sacred.
| Letter | B | L | N | F (V) | S |
Name | Beth | Luis | Nion | Fearn | Saille |
| B-L Name | Boibel | Loth | Neiagadon | Forann | Salia |
| Hebrew Equivalent.. | Beth | Lamed | Nun | Samekh | . |
| Tree | Birch | Rowan (Quickbeam).. | Ash | Alder | Willow (Osier) |
| Lunar Month | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Part of Solar Year | Dec 24 to Jan 20.. | Jan 21 to Feb 17 | Feb18 to Mar 17 | Mar 18 to Apr 14 | Apr 15 to May 12 |
| Color | White | Gray | Clear | Crimson | "Fine colored".. |
| Bird | Pheasant | Duck | Snipe | Gull | Hawk |
| Zodiacal Sign | Sagittarius.. | Capricorn | Aquarius | Pisces | Aries |
| Misc. Concepts | Solar | Fire | Poseidon | Saturn Fire | Moon Hecate The Crone |
| Key Images | Inception | Quickening,.. Candlemas | . | Spring Equinox.. | May Day |
| Gem or Stone | Red Sard | Yellow Chrysolite | Sea Green.. Beryl | Fire- Garnet | Blood-Red Carbuncle |
| Tribe of Israel | Reuben | Issachar | Zebulon | Judah | Gad |
| . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Letter | Z or SS | H | D | T | C |
| B-L-N Name | . | Uath | Dui | Tinne | Coll |
| B-L Name | Straif | Uiria | Daibhaith | Teilmon | Caoi |
| Hebrew Equivalent.. | Tzaddi | . | Daleth | Tau | . |
| Tree | Blackthorn.. | Hawthorn | Oak | Holly | Hazel |
| Lunar Month | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Part of Solar Year | Apr 15 to May 12 | May13 to June 9 | June 10 to July 7 | July 8 to Aug 4 | Aug 5 to Sept 1 |
| Color | "Bright colored" | "Terrible" | Black | Dark- gray | Brown |
| Bird | Thursh | Night-crow | Wren | Starling | Crane |
| Zodiacal Sign | . | Taurus | Gemini | Geminin | Cancer |
| Other Concepts | . | Cardea Flora Maia | Mid-Summer Solstice, Jupiter/Thor, The Oak King.. | Mars | Mercury Wisdom.. |
| Key Images | . | Earth (the element) | Door | Increase | . |
| Gem or Stone | . | Lapis Lazuli | White Carnelian | Yellow Cairngorm.. | Banded Red Agate |
| . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Letter | Q or CC | M | G | P (NG) | R |
| B-L-N Name | . | Muin | Gort | Pethboc (Ngetal) | Ruis |
| B-L Name | Quert or Cailep | Moiria | Gath | Ngoimar | Riuben |
| Hebrew Equivalent | Qoph | Mem | Gimel | . | Resh |
| Tree | Apple | Vine | Ivy | Dwarf Elder | Elder |
| Lunar Month | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| Part of Solar Year | Aug 5 to Sept 1 | Sept 2 to Sept 29 | Sept 30 to Oct 27 | Oct 28 to Nov 24 | Nov 25 to Dec 22 |
| Color | "Mouse- colored" | Varigated | Blue | Glass Green | Blood Red |
| Bird | Hen | Titmouse | Mute Swan | Goose | Rook |
| Zodiacal Sign | Leo | Virgo | Libra | Scorpio | Sagittarius |
| Deities or Other Concepts | Venus | Solar Dionysus Osiris | Solar Dionysus Osiris | . | . |
| Key Images | . | Autumn Equinox | . | . | Winter Solstice |
| Gem or Stone | . | Amethyst | Yellow Serpentine | Clear Green Jasper | Dark Green Malachite |
| Tribe of Israel | . | Manasseh | Dan | Dinah | Naphtalu |
| . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Vowels | A | O | U | E | I |
| B-L-N Name | Ailm | Onn | Ur | Eadha | Idho |
| B-L Name | Acab | Ose | Ura | Esu | Jaichim |
| Hebrew Equivalent | Aleph | Ayin | . | Heh | Yod |
| Tree | Silver Fir | Furze | Heather | White Poplar | Yew |
| Color | Piebald | Dun | Resin colored | Red | Pale White |
| Deity or Planet | Moon | Mercury | Sun Venus | Jupiter | Saturn |
| Concept | Birth | Youth Initiation | Maturity Consummation | Repose Old Age | Death |
| Phase | Winter Solstice | Spring Equinox | Summer Solstice | Autumn Equinox | . |
| Misc. Associations | Eagle Amber Benjamin | . | . | . | . |
| Tree | Planet | Letter | Day |
| Birch | Sun | B | Sunday |
| Willoe | Moon | S | Monday |
| Holly | Mars | T | Tuesday |
| Hazel (or Ash) | Mercury | C | Wednesday.. |
| Oak | Jupiter | D | Thursday |
| Apple | Venus | Q | Friday |
| Alder | Saturn | F | Saturday |
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