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Title: Celtic Wisdom Sticks: An Ogam Oracle by Caitlin Matthews ISBN: 1-85906-053-6 Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser Pub. Date: October, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.75 (4 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: The sticks....
Comment: I have enjoyed much of the Matthews' writings, both when together and on their own, but I'm not so elated with this. I was fortunate enough to pick this up when a book shop was closing down and so got it at a very low price, I'm not so sure I would have been so forgiving if I had to pay full price.
I have read quite a lot on the Ogham, and aside from Robert Graves' White Goddess, this is probably the most inspired and innovative spin on them I have come across, although it is not the most insightful. Now whilst I agree that the Ogham should not be looked upon only as a "tree alphabet", if one has decided to emphasise this approach then there should be a little more about the nature of the tree and how this affects ones interpretation of the individual staves. Just my personal opinion!
That aside, the actual practical side of the book is a geat idea, enough to redeem it at any rate! I particularly admire the work gone into the quatrains, which are far more insightful than many of the traditional word oghams, which have lost much meaning in their translation. These add so much more to the depth of reading one can traditionally get from them, and has revived my flagging use of them.
This book has altered the way I use the ogham quite considerably, but I shan't be using the staves that come with the set, I'll stick to my own (oh the comedy!). Mine came with two that were losing their bark and in a fraying bag. Rustic,or just shoddy? I think the latter. That aside, it is true that making one's own staves is a much better idea. My own set I spent a while over, collecting the wood of each tree and bush to make them with, all in all a much better way of doing it!
Rating: 5
Summary: There Be Wisdom In These Here Sticks
Comment: It is true that the oracle text is concrete and pragmatic, and that the wisdom sticks themselves look like french fries. And one would have liked some hints as to time and place for consulting the sticks. Nevertheless, this is Caitlin Matthews' most accessible, most "tactile," least esoteric oracle device yet. Lest you think from the foregoing that Celtic Wisdom Sticks are some kind of Irish fortune cookies, used intuitively and contemplatively they can lead one to a deep, rich, mystical experience equal if not superior to tarot.
Of all of Ms. Matthew's works, I find the Celtic Wisdom Sticks of a par with her Celtic Devotional, and both to be superior tools for those pursuing a neo-Celtic or maybe meta-Celtic path.
Rating: 5
Summary: Dynamic Innovative Approach to Ogham
Comment: First off, let me say that I have incredible respect for the work and writings of Caitlin Matthews. I have followed her line of inquiry into the Celtic visionary tradition over the years and feel that she has done an incredible service to both Celtic and non-Celtic descendants by what she has produced. Her research into Ogam to produce The Celtic Wisdom Sticks is keeping in her prolific strides to produce time-tested, yet relevant means for people to deepen their practice. Her work on the Ogam is very good both via scholarship and translation but, probably even more importantly, via utilizing some of the very visionary states of consciousness employed by our Irish ancestors. The book really is very innovative in its consideration of the Ogam--speaking openly that the sacred markings have a utilitarian purpose, but also a visionary application.
The actual "sticks" in the set The Celtic Wisdom sticks--at least in the ones I received--were not really that great, but I have since realized that, truly, they are merely meant as a guide--and that if your soul takes to the Ogam, and the soul of the Ogam takes to you, that you will eventually make your own set that has the mark of your own energy within them. And, I would recommend doing this. The 'forfedha' letters on the Four Airts, or Four Directional Indicator stave is truly ingenious and adds a remarkable sense of visionary continuity with other visionary practices in the Celtic tradition. The particular indicator stick I received in the set was a little imbalanced--which I think can throw a reading off and is another reason for making your own staves--but I find this innovation, like everything else Caitlin does, to be truly cutting edge, while honoring of the ancient.
Many of the suggested readings are also beautiful, combining the best of intuition with the nature of this lore to guide those who walk in this way with a quality of "the next step," which any working oracle should do. The Oghams, like the Runes and the Yarrow Sticks of the I-Ching, are not a static and lifeless oracle, but a living, breathing being that becomes a co-walker in your life.
To this end, I feel that the book is well worth the purchase, but I would recommend using the actual sticks that one receives in The Celtic Wisdom Sticks as simply a model or guide for creating your own set. Definitely reap the harvest of Caitlin's analepsis, as she puts it, but buy this set primarily for the book.
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Title: Ogam: The Celtic Oracle of the Trees: Understanding, Casting, and Interpreting the Ancient Druidic Alphabet by Paul Rhys Mountfort ISBN: 0892819197 Publisher: Inner Traditions Intl Ltd Pub. Date: 30 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Celtic Tree Mysteries: Practical Druid Magic and Divination (Llewellyn's Celtic Wisdom Series) by Steve Blamires ISBN: 1567180701 Publisher: Llewellyn Publications Pub. Date: October, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Mist-Filled Path: Celtic Wisdom for Exiles, Wanderers, and Seekers by Frank Henderson Maceowen, Tom Cowan ISBN: 1577312112 Publisher: New World Library Pub. Date: July, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Tree Wisdom by Jacqueline Memory Paterson ISBN: 0722534086 Publisher: Thorsons Pub Pub. Date: March, 1997 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: Yearning for the Wind: Celtic Reflections on Nature and the Soul by Thomas Dale Cowan, Tom Cowan ISBN: 1577314115 Publisher: New World Library Pub. Date: May, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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