Anyone that has ever done Magick knows that it involves resonances and associations. Magick has many color associations as well as musical associations. We have all experienced the magick of music in contemporary music. Sometimes this can be in the form of attending a concert, othertimes it can be when we are alone and listening to our favorites tunes. Modern day religious services take advantage of the Magick inherit to music to enhance their worship services. This can be in singing hymns or hearing organ and choral anthems. I’m sure that we will all agree that music in such sitruarions alters our state of being. We are uplifted and changed by the ritual music we experience. It should be no surprise that the ancient Celts used music in a similar manner. In Morgan Llwellyn’s “Druids” we find an example of such a Druidic use of music in Magick. The chief Druid of a village would greet the Sun with song and lead the village each day in welcoming the Sun back from the Underworld. When the Sun set, another farewell song was enjoined. This practice is still followed by some in Celtic lands to this day. Examples of such incantations and greetings to the Sun may be found in the “Carmenica Gadetica” a vast resources of ancient and rercent Celtic verse and song.
(Please pardon the typos!) In many Magick systems, Words of Power using the names of the Gods are used to create resonances within the Magical Circle so that the Magicians may attain a higher state of awareness. The use of these words also serves to open the internal “Power Centers” or “Chakras” of the participants. These godnames are constructed using the letters of the Magickal alphabets of the respective Magickal systems as well as the natural tones and the corresponding resonances that are associated with each letter or symbol.
For example:
YHVH Yud Heh Vahv He
(a Kaballistic godname)
An incantaion of a godname becomes a chant with its own inherent melody and rhythm. Such sounds generated form an occult alphabet are thought by Magicians to have inherit Power in their sounds and to generate Magickal resonances within the Magician and the Circle. It is my belief that the ancient Celts and Druids used music and sounds from their secret Ogham alphabet to aid them in working Magick in a similar manner.
Druidic Bards studied for 15 to 20 years to learn the epics, chants, spells and histories of their peoples and clans. These works were memorized exactly and were a requirement for advancement to a higher or inner level of the Druidic ranks. The works had to be rendered with feeling so that the listener would be spell bound and consequently could relive the event. The Irish Druids had the following classes of Bards:
Class # of Epics
__________________________________________
Driseg 20 (the Beginner)
Foclaic 30 (Advanced beginner)
Cili 100 (Journeyman)
Anraid 175 (Master/Warrior)
Ollomh 175+ (Doctor/Judge)
Bards learned to play the pipes, the whistle, the harp, the lyre, the flute, the sistrum and the bodrun among other instruments. According to Murry Hope these instruments, were used based upon the mood or tone that the particular Bardic work required. He gives a table of the following correspondences:
The Flute – Air (later the Organ)
The Harp – Water
The Sistrum – Earth (The Bells or Bodrun)
The Lyre – Fire
Poets and Bards carried branches with bells and amulets attached to them. A beginner’s branch would be bronze, journeymen carried a silver branch and the Master Bards carried a golden branch. The music of the bells would announce the Bard’s presence and an impending performance.
My own belief is that the Bards usually accompanied themselves with the harp as they recited their repertorie. Just as Oghams were used as keys to memory with verses being linked by assonance and alliteration, I believe that each Ogham had a unique tone or note associated with it on the harp. The tone or string was struck as the Ogham sound was spoken or sung two notes per line. The begining and ending notes serving to connect each line to the next line in a continuing stream. In the world of my my imagination I can hear the tones and words of the Bards echoing as they float upon a wave of melody acroos the room. The sound reminds me of chanting monks or the plainsong of worship (similar to modern Anglican or Roman Catholic Plainsong).
Sean O’Boyle, a late Irish scholar, made an attempt to interpret “Aradach Fionn” (Fionn’s Ladder) as harp tabulature using Oghams. He suggested that the Irish practice harp that has only 20 strings has a 1 to 1 correspondence to the first 20 Oghams. As far as I know,no records survived to reach us verifying his theory. It seems to make sense to me but I only speculate.
A modern work “Trees for Healing” by Chase and Pawlik, reinforces this belief for me. This book is all about trees, their lore and their spirits. It describes techniques for meditation to determine the harmonic resonaces for a variety of trees. I believe that the ancient Druids also detected certain harmonic tones for each tree and used then in their Tree Ogham Alphabet. If we use the tones that have been rediscovered by Chase and Pawlik and combine them with the ancient chants, incantations and songs of Taliesin and Amergin, we may also be able to work powerful Magicks. This Magick can take any form from enchanting an audience to calling the winds. The Greek Bard Orpheus was able to walk between the worlds in this manner and so can we. I list the trees and the derived modern tonal correspondences below:
Ogham Old Irish English Musical Note ____________________________________________________
B Beith Birch F
L Luis Rowan C
F Fearn Alder E
S Saille Willow F
N Nuin Ash G
____________________________________________________
H Huathe Hawthorn B
D Duir Oak F
T Tinne Holly G
C Coll Hazel D
Q Quert Apple. D#
____________________________________________________
M Muin Vine G
G Gort Ivy G
Ng Ngetal Reed F
St Straif Blackthorn B
R Ruis Elder A ____________________________________________________
A Ailim Silver Fir A
O Ohn Furze E
U Ur Heather B
E Eadha White Poplar E
I Ioho Yew F
____________________________________________________
Ch,Ea Koad Grove F
Oi,Th Oir Spindle C
Ui Uilleand Honeysuckle D
Ph Phagos Beech A
Xi Mor The Sea G
Some of these tones were derived by meditation and resonance, some are based upon the colors associated with the Oghams. My suggestion is to find such a tree yourself and to meditate under it. play a pipe, a whistle or a harp (even a guitar will do in a pinch!) until you find the correct tone for the tree. Other tones will reflect from the tree. The “soul tone” of the tree will be absorbed and you will possibly feel a tingle of energy that is released by the Spirit of the Tree. This experience is somewhat akin to the common belief in Ireland (even today) that a particularily gifted musician, harper or piper has been taught by the Sidhe (famed for their enchanted music). Celts believe in harmony and rightness in all things and particularily in Nature.
Some of this Magick comes down to us today in the form of folk songs still sung in the outer reaches of Ireland and the British Isles. Such a song is the “Padstow May Song” from Padstow, Cornwall (in part):
“Unite and unite and let us unite
For summer is acome unto day
And whither we are going we will all unite
In the merry morning of May.”
“I warn you young men everyone
To go into the greenwood and
fetch your May home.”
“Arise up Mr. _______ and joy you betide
And bright is your bride that lies
by your side.”
“Arise up Mrs. _______ and gold be your ring
And give to us a cup of ale the merrier
we shall sing.”
“Arise up Miss ______ all in your gown of green
You are as fine a lady as wait upon the Queen.”
“Now fare you well, and we bid you
all good cheer
We call once more unto your house
before another year.”
I interpret this song to mean this:
This song is sung on Beltaine and is said to charge the atmosphere of the festival. It symbolizes the marriage of the youth with the land. (Unite and unite and let us unite)
It also adresses 3 individuals: A man, a woman and a Maiden in a green gown (who represents Nature).
This song is sung around the May Pole or May bonfires in the evening (and prior to anyone escaping to the outer folds of darkness for an evening of bliss <g>).
Another ancient folk song that has hidden meanings of Magick is the song “Green Grow the Rushes”:
” One of them is all alone and
ever more shall be so.
Two of them are lily-white boys
all clothed all in green Oh!
Three of them are strangers o’er the
wide world they are rangers.
Four it is the Dilly Hour when
blooms the Gilly Flower.
Five it is the Dilly Bird that’s
seldom seen but heard.
Six is the Ferryman in the boat that
o’er the river floats, Oh!
Seven are the Seven Stars in the Sky,
the Shining Stars be Seven, Oh!
Eight it is the Morning’s break when
all the World’s awake, Oh!
Nine it is the pale Moonshine,
the shining Moon is nine, Oh!
Ten Forgives all kinds of Sin,
from Ten begin again, Oh! ”
This song can be interpreted to mean:
- There is One Power.
- The God has two aspects (Light and Dark).
- The Celts are a wadering people with the sacred number of “3”.
- The 4th Ogham is the Alder sacred to Bran the Blessed and his sister Branwen “the Gilly Flower”.
- The Wizard Merlin as well as the sacred number of the Celtic Gods (not to mention the number of points on a Pentagram).
- Keridwen’s Coracle that ferries us to the Underworld.
- The sacred number of sea gods and the stars in the crown of Arianrhod.
- The number of judgement or resurrection.
- The Triple Moon Goddess Thrice emphasized The number of Priestesses that guard the Cauldron of Rebirth.
10.The necessity to find our “True Selves” in order to understand the Inner Mysteries. The endless cycle of death and rebirth.
Witch's Well 