Book Review

Celtic Tree Mysteries

Written by Steve Blamires

Publisher: Crossed Crow Books

250 Pages

Release Date: May 16, 2023

 

 

 

 

A Llewellyn author, Steve Blamires has traveled to all the continents and is known as an authority in Celtic mythology and paganism. He has worked for National Geographic and he leads group tours to Scotland, hosts a radio show, and is on the Board of Directors of American Center for Folk Music. The Llewellyn site wrote this about him:

“Steve Blamires was born in Ayr, Scotland, and is one of the foremost Celtic scholars in the world. He is a co-founder of The Company of Avalon, a working magical group offering an in-depth training in the Western Mystery Tradition. He leads spiritual tours to many of the sacred sites of Northern Europe. He has written numerous articles for publications in both the U.K. and U.S. He is the author of the book Celtic Tree Mysteries: Practical Druid Magic & Divination.”

The book they listed is the one I am reviewing today, and it is just one of his publications. He has also written The Irish Celtic Magical Tradition: Ancient Wisdom of the Battle of Moytura, Glamoury: Magic of the Celtic Green World, Celtic Tree Mysteries: Practical Druid Magic and Divination, Secrets of the Ogham, and Little Book of the Great Enchantment: A Biography of William Sharp. He has authored articles and even a review of his own.

The book Celtic Tree Mysteries was generously sent to us for review, and before I had a chance to read it, I did a little research and discovered some of the material was previously published in Celtic Tree Mysteries: Practical Druid Magic & Divination. I was surprised it was not listed as a new edition on the front cover, but in the Acknowledgement, it is listed as a new edition. Kythera of Anevern reviewed the book on Amazon and included side by side copies of the earlier edition and the current one with the same material, which you can see here: Celtic Tree Mysteries: Practical Druid Magic & Divination.

On to the book! It is organized into three sections, with the first explaining the origins of the Ogham, the validity of the tree calculator and the development of the tree Ogham. The second section is great about describing the trees the Ogham staves are named after. The third section discusses how to make your own tree magic practice, and he shares important folklore that ties in with how to do magic with trees. He also discusses divination with the Ogham staves. He shares a glossary, extensive bibliography, and a helpful index. Before you think this is a conclusive collection of everything you ought to know about Ogham, Celtic tree lore, and tree magic in general in 250 pages, know that Blamires is a lifelong learner and researcher. He shares a lot of his own research, but he wants the readers to do their own research and develop a personal practice. This book is not designed as a stand alone authority on these topics, but a volume that belongs with all the others that explore these things.

In the first section, in the chapter “The Origins of Ogham”, he writes, “Ogham (oh-am) script most often takes the form of a series of notches or lines, known as flesc (flayshk), which are spaced along a central stem line and carved into a standing stone. These stones are found throughout Ireland and the British Isles and contain the best examples of this method of writing. The letters themselves are called feda (fay-dah) and the consonants are referred to as taebomnai (tay-bow-nih). There is another group of letters known as the forfeda (fore-fay-dah), or supplementary characters, which are identified in ancient Irish manuscripts on Ogham but which rarely appear on the standing stones.”

Right away, he shows readers are going to get an education on not only history but also instructions to create personal practices. He is kind enough to provide pronunciations. If you think the book gets any less scholarly, you can think again. He talks about how many stones with Ogham have been found, and where, and when the Ogham lettering was first used. He even shares information of books from the 1300s and 1400s that have information about Ogham and he shares there were multiple Ogham alphabets and discusses different types of Ogham lettering. He even writes about an Ogham sign language that was used. It is enough to make your had spin, but my goodness, this is chock full of good information!

Plenty of Ogham related lore is shared in this book, including some about the hero Cuchulain. In the story The Tain Bo Cuailnge, Cuchulain stops an entire army, forbidding them to pass until a ring with Ogham inscribed on it is deciphered. Another time, he placed Ogham inscribed wood in the middle of a ford and stopped an army from advancing. Another time, he felled an entire tree, inscribed it with Ogham, and this stopped another army. Blamires writes that lore like this expressed the magical uses of Ogham. He later shared the legendary creation of Ogham alphabets you can read all about for yourself.

In the second section, twenty trees are described, and before he delves into it, he writes, “The practice of tree magic is a very personal thing, perhaps more so than any other form of magic. A deep, personal relationship with each tree must be established before any progress can be made. What follows are basic guidelines for Practical Work. You may find yourself developing your own system, and if so, do it; always follow your intuition in such matters. Initially, however, I would suggest you work your way through this set of tried and tested exercises. If possible, perform the Practical Work outdoors and close to the tree you are studying. If outdoor Working is not possible, or if a certain species of tree is not available in your area, then indoor Working with a branch, twig, leaf, or fruit of the tree can be substituted. If you are Working outdoors, you should perform these exercises in all weather conditions, at all times of year, and at various times of day and night.”

If you think Blamires is going to give a handy divination guide with a quick two sentence definition of what each tree means in the Ogham, guess again. Guides like that are available, but Blamires wants readers to communicate with the trees to really understand them on a personal level. He also recommends making your own Ogham staves using the wood of the tree the writing is connected to. He acknowledges you won’t find a certain size of twig of things like heather or ivy to use, so he says to substitute with a different wood and write the correct character on it. He includes a ritual to use for initiating communication and a relationship with a tree.

He writes about the physical, mental, and spiritual meanings of each of these trees, and discusses personal work you can do for all of them. For example, in the birch chapter, he writes about the physical information, “Birchwoods help to sustain a variety of other life forms. Birds, such as the redpoll and tit, feed on its seeds. The mottled umber moth caterpillar eats its leaves. Heather and bilberry thrive on the acid-rich soil that birch favors. The small leaves cast a light shadow on the ground beneath the tree, which encourages grasses and other plants to grow. This, in turn, brings rabbits and deer to graze in the birchwoods. The bark of the birch is very tough and survives long after the wood has rotted away, leaving a hollow tube where once had stood a proud tree. Various fungi grow on the dead trees, especially razor strop and bracket fungus on the trunk, and fly agaric on the roots.”

Then in the spiritual section, he writes, “The name for the birch in the Tree Ogham, Beithe, has two meanings in Irish. It can mean “being” in the sense of the verb “to be,” and it is also a noun meaning “a being,” in the sense of an entity or life force. From a spiritual point of view, the birch is a symbol of the ideal toward which you should be Working—a state where you are prepared to give up that which is your own to help the common good. It is a symbol of being totally unselfish and caring for the needs of others through preparations that help others flourish.” He then adds ritual practice, and he does so for each and every tree he lists. In the third section, lore is shared that is very important to studying the trees of the Ogham and you can read those stories for your own enjoyment and education about the trees.

More than anything, I would say this is a book to get readers started on the path of doing magic with trees using Celtic lore and ancient beliefs. Blamires wants the reader to really think in depth about each tree and establish personal communication with them. That is the root of all magical practices- personal work and plugging in to the magic. This is the first thing I have read by Blamires, and it’s very good material. This isn’t the only book about tree magic, Celtic magic, or Celtic lore, but if these things are part of your path, reading this book is important. So, I recommend this book- or a copy of its earlier form. You can buy a new or used copy of the book here:

 

Celtic Tree Mysteries on Amazon

 

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About the Author:

Saoirse is a practicing witch, and initiated Wiccan of an Eclectic Tradition.

A recovered Catholic, she was raised to believe in heaven and hell, that there is only one god, and only one way to believe. As she approached her late 20’s, little things started to show her this was all wrong. She was most inspired by the saying “God is too big to fit into one religion” and after a heated exchange with the then associate pastor of the last Xtian church she attended, she finally realized she was in no way Xtian, and decided to move on to see where she could find her spiritual home.

Her homecoming to her Path was after many years of being called to The Old Ways and the Goddess, and happened in Phoenix, Arizona. She really did rise from her own ashes!

Upon returning to Ohio, she thought Chaos Magic was the answer, and soon discovered it was actually Wicca. She was blessed with a marvelous mentor, Lord Shadow, and started a Magical Discussion Group at local Metaphysical Shop Fly By Night. The group was later dubbed A Gathering of Paths. For a few years, this group met, discussed, did rituals, fellowship, and volunteering together, and even marched as a Pagan group with members of other groups at the local gay Pride Parade for eight years.

All the while, she continued studying with her mentor, Lord Shadow, and she became a Third Degree High priestess in 2022. She belongs to the Black Dragon Clan.