Post by wren on Dec 14, 2006 12:58:58 GMT -5
Ailm (Pine or Fir) pronounced AHL-m
Botanical name: Pinus sylvestris or Abies alba. Status: shrub. Sound: a.
Elaborations on the Ogham Name Ailm: Ailm, a fir tree, a Pine Tree.
Word Ogham of Morainn mac Moín: Pine is the loudest of groanings, for it is ailm or ‘a a’ a man says while groaning in disease, or wondering, marveling at whatever circumstances
Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: Pine equals the beginning of a weaver’s beam or of calling, ahh.
Word Ogham of Óengus: Pine equals beginning of answers.
Elation
From the great height of a pine tree’s upper branches, see a vast landscape unfolding.
Ailm is the pine: a tree of ecstasy and elation. All the traditions surrounding this Ogham letter reveal it as one of enthusiasm, wonder and awe. There may also be some fear and trembling, especially if the ogham letter appears reversed. Yet either way, Ailm always augurs something great.
The state of elation that comes with peak experiences is both enjoyable and illuminating. It brings heightened awareness, an expansion of consciousness in which we dwell on the positive elements and unfolding possibilities of our lives. Imagine yourself high in the branches of a tall pine; from here you gain a sense of perspective and can see all the way to the horizon and its limitless reaches. Let your enthusiasm lead you dancing across the landscape of life.
As the Ogham Elaboration makes plain, Ailm represents a coniferous tree, either pine or fir. Conifer trees, with their spiny needles, are from a far older epoch than broadleaves. They were prevalent in the boreal period that came after the last great glacial age, and pine is thought to have been especially common at this time, growing in a variety of climes. Conifers can survive in dry soil and tend to inhabit a rather bare surrounding space, due to the cover created by their needles. They are, crucially, evergreen, giving them a verdant appearance in winter, when deciduous trees have shed their leaves and stand bare and skeletal.
Scots pine, juniper, and yew are the varieties native to the British Isles, with silver fir being introduced as late as the seventeenth century. Scots pine is now mostly limited to scattered remnants of woodland in the Scottish highlands. The distinguishing feature of this tree is its tall, straight trunk and horizontal or upward inclining branches. It can reach heights of up to one hundred feet, with smooth, coppery-red bark and stiff needles sprouting profusely from its cone-laden branches. The silver fir is of similar stature and is thought to have been the original Yule-tree.
This Ogham letter also marks the dawning of understanding, as when something is revealed of the overall design of which we are a part. Here you catch your breath with wonder and realize that there is a symmetry behind the apparently random flux of daily life. Ailm is traditionally linked to the song of otherworldly birds who sing from spiny branches, and here it is for you to catch the notes of their composition and understand, with a measure of awe.
Realizations of great significance can also be mingled with pain. Indeed, at times elation contains seeds of its own shadow side: awareness of the incredible fragility of life and consciousness, poignancy at what is passing, and fear in the face of that which is beyond our comprehension. Yet Ailm encourages you to allow yourself to experience and express the full force of your feelings. Vent your emotion, whether it is joy or pain or rage.
Reversed, Ailm tends to signal something fearful or even terrifying. Anguish may well up from the depths, threatening to overwhelm you. Perhaps you are experiencing grief or some other agony, and no words can bring consolation at this time. Confusion may also reign, frightening and paralyzing you. Do your best to distinguish between the pain and the confusion, so you can begin to process the hurt and unravel the knots that entangle your heart.
Keywords: Elation, enthusiasm, wonder, awe, peak experiences, heightened consciousness, perspective, great realizations, also pain, poignancy, fear, expression of emotion.
Reversed: Fear, terror, anguish, confusion, fright, paralysis, need to untie emotional knots.
Botanical name: Pinus sylvestris or Abies alba. Status: shrub. Sound: a.
Elaborations on the Ogham Name Ailm: Ailm, a fir tree, a Pine Tree.
Word Ogham of Morainn mac Moín: Pine is the loudest of groanings, for it is ailm or ‘a a’ a man says while groaning in disease, or wondering, marveling at whatever circumstances
Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn: Pine equals the beginning of a weaver’s beam or of calling, ahh.
Word Ogham of Óengus: Pine equals beginning of answers.
Elation
From the great height of a pine tree’s upper branches, see a vast landscape unfolding.
Ailm is the pine: a tree of ecstasy and elation. All the traditions surrounding this Ogham letter reveal it as one of enthusiasm, wonder and awe. There may also be some fear and trembling, especially if the ogham letter appears reversed. Yet either way, Ailm always augurs something great.
The state of elation that comes with peak experiences is both enjoyable and illuminating. It brings heightened awareness, an expansion of consciousness in which we dwell on the positive elements and unfolding possibilities of our lives. Imagine yourself high in the branches of a tall pine; from here you gain a sense of perspective and can see all the way to the horizon and its limitless reaches. Let your enthusiasm lead you dancing across the landscape of life.
As the Ogham Elaboration makes plain, Ailm represents a coniferous tree, either pine or fir. Conifer trees, with their spiny needles, are from a far older epoch than broadleaves. They were prevalent in the boreal period that came after the last great glacial age, and pine is thought to have been especially common at this time, growing in a variety of climes. Conifers can survive in dry soil and tend to inhabit a rather bare surrounding space, due to the cover created by their needles. They are, crucially, evergreen, giving them a verdant appearance in winter, when deciduous trees have shed their leaves and stand bare and skeletal.
Scots pine, juniper, and yew are the varieties native to the British Isles, with silver fir being introduced as late as the seventeenth century. Scots pine is now mostly limited to scattered remnants of woodland in the Scottish highlands. The distinguishing feature of this tree is its tall, straight trunk and horizontal or upward inclining branches. It can reach heights of up to one hundred feet, with smooth, coppery-red bark and stiff needles sprouting profusely from its cone-laden branches. The silver fir is of similar stature and is thought to have been the original Yule-tree.
This Ogham letter also marks the dawning of understanding, as when something is revealed of the overall design of which we are a part. Here you catch your breath with wonder and realize that there is a symmetry behind the apparently random flux of daily life. Ailm is traditionally linked to the song of otherworldly birds who sing from spiny branches, and here it is for you to catch the notes of their composition and understand, with a measure of awe.
Realizations of great significance can also be mingled with pain. Indeed, at times elation contains seeds of its own shadow side: awareness of the incredible fragility of life and consciousness, poignancy at what is passing, and fear in the face of that which is beyond our comprehension. Yet Ailm encourages you to allow yourself to experience and express the full force of your feelings. Vent your emotion, whether it is joy or pain or rage.
Reversed, Ailm tends to signal something fearful or even terrifying. Anguish may well up from the depths, threatening to overwhelm you. Perhaps you are experiencing grief or some other agony, and no words can bring consolation at this time. Confusion may also reign, frightening and paralyzing you. Do your best to distinguish between the pain and the confusion, so you can begin to process the hurt and unravel the knots that entangle your heart.
Keywords: Elation, enthusiasm, wonder, awe, peak experiences, heightened consciousness, perspective, great realizations, also pain, poignancy, fear, expression of emotion.
Reversed: Fear, terror, anguish, confusion, fright, paralysis, need to untie emotional knots.