Fearn (Alder) #3

[Senbecc]

GUIDANCE



Among the grove of sacred trees, the status of the Alder is a Chieftain tree, the sound made by Fearn of course is "F". Alder is the van of warrior bands, for thereof are their shields. By the word ogham of Morainn mac Moín, Alder is the shield of warrior bands, owing to it's redness. In the word ogham of Cú Chulainn it is Alder which serves as the heart's shield, and by the word ogham Óengus Alder is the guarding of milk, and/or the milk bucket.


Now comes the visualization of Alder/Fearn, which IMO may be somewhat more complex than the latter two visualizations of Beth and Luis. Firstly we see the all knowing, oracular head of Bran which sits upon his shield with two smaller shields which extend slightly from the bottom and top of Bran's by stems, the latter two shields adorned by elaborate Celtic knotwork. This is surrounded by four singing birds, two by the top shield, and two at the bottom...Practice this visualization until you can feel Bran's breath carried by the wind from the wings of the birds, as well as hear the singing birds.

OK...Moving right along, lets discuss the meaning of Fearn/Alder. What is the meaning of Fearn? Not hard- Fearn is a tree letter which roots it's self in good advice and self councel.

The Alder tree most readily grows with it's roots in the water, usually clustering it's self within groups of small trees, which is symbolic of when Bran the blessed waded across a sea, laid across a river, had hurdles set on him to form a bridge with his body...Look for the symbolism here...Fearn is a tree letter embodying guidance...A guiding council I suppose.

To be receptive in this time to good advice, guidance, and counsel will be beneficial if taken from both inside and outside sources. When you come across a set of circumstances which truly challenge the mind and spirit finding this ogham in a reading or spread means that guiding council is just around the corner. However more importantly this ogham directs you to sources of guidance and inspiration within the self as well as making us conscious of those outside sources both of which wait to be drawn upon. If we are experiencing difficulties then it becomes important to be receptive to the right advice, whether these be personal, social, legal (or as im my case internet) matters you want to find yourself in full possession of all the facts. We may find that an older, more experienced authority figure is in a position to guide and advise. You should listen carefully to this advice to find it's beneficial substance...

However, more often than not the best guidance comes from within the self which is the most beneficial. Though sometimes getting in touch with these inner wisdoms of the heart can be difficult...to say the least. While it's certainly true that older more "experienced" minds can offer the knowledge of A lifetime to share, within each of us is the wisdom of a thousand. We have to learn to "shut-off" the conscious mind and learn to listen to these inner voices from the past, the voice of the inner sage/crone. Fearn is an ogham of vast oracular knowledge which advises us to find our answers from within the endless waters of the self which know only endless depths of spirit. In shorts don't follow blindly the advice of others. Seek instead to remain open to that advice, use what you can...However be your own oracle.

..To be continued!

[wren]

Natural Characteristics

Alder is a water-loving tree, often found on the banks of streams and rivers, providing shade for plants and fish. Its nitrogen-salt-forming root system also benefits the surrounding soil. In winter, after it has shed its leaves – black cones from the previous season and unopened catkins adorn the tree. These ‘heads’, which remain after the alder’s branches are bare, may be suggested its connection to the ‘talking head of trial god Bran the Blessed to the ancient Britons.

Alder is a hardwood that was especially employed in the making of shields, as the Word Oghams show. Its role as the ‘shield of the warrior bands’ is also alluded to in the Welsh poem the Cad Goddeu, an emblematic ‘Battle of the Trees’ where:

The alder-trees, at the head of the army
Formed the advanced guard.

This leads to the divinatory correspondence of being shielded from harm, especially through receiving the right advice. The tree was also used in the construction of fords, bridge supports and house foundations, lending, as we shall see, the Fearn Ogham its associations of strong foundation, lasting support and the bridging of reason and intuition.

Storylines

We know that the god Bran is the alder, as he is named as such by Gwyddyon himself: ‘The high branches of the alder-tree are on your shield. Your name is Bran of the dazzling branches… The high branches of the alder-tree are in your hand: Bran you are by the branches you bear…’ To clinch the case, Bran’s sister Branwen has a son named Gwern, meaning alder-tree.

In the second branch of the Mabinogion we find the story of one Bendigied Vran, a title of Bran’s. The romance of Branwen, the Daughter of Lyr tells of how Bran (here humanized as King of Wales) has given his sister Branwen in marriage to the Irish King Matholwch. But she is mistreated by him and sends a bird as messenger to Bran, who then leads an expedition against Ireland. Afterwards he gives a rather strange command to his followers:

And Bendigied Vran commanded them that they should cut off his head. ‘And take you my head,’ said he, ‘and bear it even unto the White Mount, in London, and bury it there, with the face towards France. And a long time will be you upon the road. In Harlech you will be feasting for seven years, the birds of Rhiannon singing unto you the while. And all that time the head will be to you as pleasant company as ever it was upon my body.’

From this ensues four-score years in which Bran’s head continues to guide and encourage his retinue in the episode known as the ‘Entertaining of the Noble Head’. What is significant here is the theme of the oracular head, a widespread motif in the Celtic and Norse world that suggests the role of a god, king or mighty personage in instructing his followers from beyond the grave.

The Celts believed hat the vital power of a person resided in the head, but the theme of the oracular head may further suggest a form of ancestor worship in which the spirits of the departed return to advise the living from their perspective of higher knowledge in the Otherworld. Interestingly, the word bran is an old Celtic root and is the Irish, Welsh and Breton word for ‘crow’. Crows, along with other wild birds, are emblems of protection and sources of otherworldly guidance in Celtic mythology. They proffer warning or advice, to those who listen, and Druids and bards were said to be able to understand the language of these and other birds.

Bran is, therefore, a type of oracular god, who, like the crow after whom he may be named, sings to his people with the secrets of the Land of the Ever-Living Ones. The benefits of this function are revealed in the fact that Bran’s followers are joyous, full of mirth and never tire. Like the alder in the Word Ogham of Cú Chulainn, Bran’s relationship to them is as ‘protection of the heart, shield’.

Folklore and Magic

The Welsh Bran has been widely linked to the Irish Bron, son of Lir (the god of the ocean), and the character of Bran mac Faibal, hero of the famous immrama (sea-going) voyage. Later he turns up in Arthurian Romance as Bron, the Fisher King who guards the Grail. This association with the element of water highlights another link between Bran and the alder. In Branwen, The Daughter of Lyr, Bran arrives in Ireland to rescue his sister but his army finds the way blocked by the Linon River. ‘I will be the bridge,’ Bran declares, lying down for his followers to cross. Similarly, alder-wood is what the Celts used as the foundations of bridges, jetties and their ‘floating towns’, built on lakes.

Finally, the Word Ogham of Óengus tells us that the alder is for the ‘guarding of milk (or milk bucket)’. This refers to the use of alder-wood in making the milking buckets, for which role its water-resistant quality made it well suited. The vessel holding milk resonates with the sacred Cauldrons of Celtic myth and cup of inspiration, including later the Holy Grail. Bran-the-Alder is one of its magical guardians. In modern magic, Fearn may be invoked to attract good counsel and open up our communication with the Otherworld.