Ogham Divination

History: Did the Ancient Celts Use Ogham for Divination?

This is a question worth asking honestly. The short answer is: probably not in the way modern practitioners use it — at least not in any form we can archaeologically verify.

The 400-plus surviving Ogham inscriptions are almost entirely memorial stones: they record names and lineages. There is no known inscription that reads as a divination text. Medieval Irish legal and literary texts mention Ogham in various contexts — messages, boundary markers, curses — but not clearly as a divination system in the way runes appear in Norse tradition.

What medieval manuscripts do preserve is an elaborate system of correspondences for each Ogham letter: trees, birds, colours, rivers, and poetic kennings. The most important source is the Book of Ballymote (c. 1390), which contains a tract called Ogam Tract listing many such associations. These kennings — rich, poetic descriptions of each letter's qualities — form the basis of modern Ogham divination.

The idea of the Ogham as a spiritual or magical tool was powerfully popularised by Robert Graves in The White Goddess (1948), where he proposed a "Celtic Tree Calendar" linking each letter to a month and a tree's sacred qualities. Most academic scholars reject this framework as a modern invention, but it planted the seed of Ogham as a living spiritual practice. Neo-druidic and Celtic neopagan traditions of the 20th century built the divination system that is widely used today.

What Are Fews?

In Ogham divination, each individual letter is called a few (Old Irish: fid, plural feda). A complete set of 25 fews is called a coelbren in some traditions, though this term is actually borrowed from Welsh Bardic tradition rather than Irish sources.

Each few carries:

• A letter name (e.g. Beith, Luis, Fearn)
• A tree association (birch, rowan, alder…)
• A set of poetic kennings from the medieval manuscripts
• A cluster of symbolic meanings developed in modern practice

Just as runes can be read upright or reversed, Ogham fews can be interpreted in two directions. An upright few suggests the energy is active and accessible; a reversed or aicme-reversed few suggests the energy is blocked, excessive, or challenging to integrate.

The 25 Fews — Meanings at a Glance

Click any few to expand its full upright and reversed meanings.

Divination Methods

1. The Single Draw

The simplest and most common method. Hold your question or intention clearly in mind, reach into your bag of staves without looking, and draw one. The few you draw speaks directly to the heart of your question. Spend time with the letter's associations rather than rushing to the "answer".

2. The Three-Few Spread

Draw three fews in sequence and lay them left to right:

The three fews are not read in isolation — notice how they relate to each other. Tension between past and present, or harmony between present and future, tells a story beyond the individual meanings.

3. The Five-Few Cross

Draw five fews and arrange them in a cross shape:

• Centre: the heart of the matter
• Above: what to aspire toward or consider
• Below: what underlies the situation (often hidden)
• Left: what is passing away
• Right: what is approaching

4. Casting

Place all 25 staves in a bag, shake them, and cast them gently onto a cloth. Read only the fews that land face-up. Those near the centre of the cloth are most relevant; those at the edges relate to peripheral influences. Those that land touching each other create a conversation between their meanings.

This method is less controlled but can surface unexpected patterns. It is well-suited to broad questions about a situation rather than specific yes/no enquiries.

Making Your Own Ogham Staves

Making your own staves deepens your connection to the practice. There is something fitting about handling the living wood of the tree each letter represents.

Materials

Traditionally, each stave is cut from the wood of its corresponding tree — birch for Beith, rowan for Luis, and so on. In practice, any seasoned hardwood works well. Hazel is a traditional all-purpose choice, and hazel branches cut in winter have a natural straight grain ideal for staves.

Cut 25 sticks to roughly the same length (10–15 cm works well) and similar thickness (1–2 cm diameter). Sand them smooth, paying particular attention to the ends. Leave one face flat for carving.

Inscribing the Characters

You have three main options for applying the characters:

• Carving: Use a small V-gouge or carving knife. Ogham strokes are straight lines, so they are well-suited to beginners. Carve along the flat face for horizontal staves, or along the edge for traditional vertical orientation.
• Pyrography (wood burning): A pyrography tool gives clean, lasting lines with good contrast. Works especially well on pale woods like birch or ash.
• Ink: A fine permanent marker or ink pen on sanded wood is the simplest approach. Less durable but perfectly functional.

Finish with a coat of beeswax or natural oil to protect the wood. Keep your finished staves in a cloth bag — silk, linen, or wool are all traditional choices.

Stone Alternatives

River-washed flat pebbles make excellent staves. The Ogham character can be painted on with stone paint, carved with a Dremel tool, or written in permanent marker. Stone staves have a pleasing weight and a natural connection to the stone-based origins of Ogham writing.

A Note on Reversed Fews

Because Ogham characters are directional, a stave drawn upside-down or reversed is sometimes given an opposing interpretation. Not all practitioners use reversed meanings — some read all draws as upright and rely on intuition and context.

If you choose to use reversals, treat them as indicating the energy of the few is:

• Blocked or resisted rather than flowing
• Excessive or ungrounded rather than balanced
• In need of honest examination rather than acceptance

Reversals are rarely "bad" — they are invitations to look at a pattern from a different angle. The same few reversed is the same energy, asking a harder question.

Frequently Asked Questions