Ancient Olive Tree, believed to be between 3,000-4,000 years old and still bearing fruits! In Luras, Sardinia, Italy.
Today I am far away from my snow-covered mountains and birch trees. I am in a place of warm sea breezes, palm trees and Spanish moss. Sitting in meditation today my attention was brought to a book I am currently reading on Ogham. The book discusses the historical uses for Ogham and also talks about the different properties of the trees from their physical to their spiritual.
Then I got to realize why I never finished the book the first time I read it over a decade ago, and it is because in order to really get into it, you have to fashion your own Ogham sticks from all the trees represented in the alphabet and many are not indigenous to my current habitat on the planet. It seems strange to me to buy sticks of various trees (if that is even a possibility) as you have not made a connection to the particular tree gifting you with the branch and therefore I think it would be silly to try to use it as a divinatory tool.
I use other forms of divination, like runes and I have yet to make my own set of runes (something on my spiritual bucket list), but for me, because of my close connection to trees, I felt like I would have to had spent time with each of the trees I were to collect branches from.
On my travels, I often meet special trees – ones that are very ancient and have seen it all, even the development of language, or ones that have immense healing power, ones who are joyful, some who are sad and some that are just tired, kicking back and taking it all in as this crazy world changes around it. I have met very young trees. I even met an Ent once.
I often collect leaves, acorns, olives or branches from these trees that have fallen to the ground and of course after asking permission. I have many of these special relics on my main altar and I have sat in silence with them, learning their own special gifts for mankind.
So sitting in meditation today, I thought about making my own divinatory system based on some of these pieces and perhaps on other relics that I collect during further travels, while looking for the trees that represent the trees of the Ogham.
I am not quite sure how I can use these yet, but as the wind moved through the palms and I heard the leaves swaying I was given yet another gift by trees, the gift of remembering to use what you have, and those things which have meaning for you to unlock more of nature’s mysteries.