The Season of Onn and the Spring Equinox by Bendis

The Ogham and the Seasons of the Sun

The ancient Ogham alphabet used as a calendar, both lunar and solar, is a unique and effective tool for personal development and spiritual growth. Within it, we explore our connections to trees, birds, animals, colors, stones and much more as we follow the seasons of the year. 

I would like to share with you, the correspondences found within the Ogham alphabet as connected to the Spring Equinox when used as a seasonal calendar.  As you read, look for connections to see how each ties in with and flows with the season of Spring as we live it.

The Tree ~ Gorse

The Message ~ I am a blaze on every hill

Ancient peoples recognized its power. It symbolizes the coming summer Sun.  The ancients made wine from the sweet smelling flower. 

Gorse is a sign of in-gathering sweet and valuable things.  It is now time pull from within, all of those things you have learned and know about yourself so that you might come to a new and higher understanding of your own wisdom.  Now is the time to open to that growth.  It will ease your life, if you allow it.  Because in this season we also have a tendency to scatter our focus, it is important to “collect” all that you have of yourself and to focus on new beginnings and the manifestation of your desires.

The Stone ~ Citrine is a stone of wisdom and peace. It is pale yellow to a deep orange in all of its glorious golden and yellow colors. The yellow color is from the presence of iron, the darker the color - the higher the grade.

Citrine is transparent, coarse-grained variety of the silica mineral quartz. A semi-precious gem is valued for its yellow to brownish color and its resemblance to the more rare topaz.

The name citrine is derived from the French word citron - lemon.

Citrine is valuable in the treatment of depression.  It eliminates self-destructive tendencies. Citrine is said to stimulate memory. It aids digestion, and removes toxins from the body. Citrine is a good healing stone, especially for heart, kidney and liver. It helps fighting diabetes.

Citrine symbolizes light-heartedness, joy and happiness. Citrine is a great protective talisman. It calms and soothes.

Citrine is the signature of wisdom and peace. It stimulates the mental body and aids the opening of the bridge between higher mental body and intuitional levels. It helps to enhance creativity, and motivates writers.

The Bird ~ Cormorant and the Color ~ Dun

The cormorants name is derived from Latin 'corvus marinus', which means 'sea crow', called Phalacrocorax carbo in Linnaeus description, lives near the water, on coasts and estuaries, inland lakes and rivers. Depending on whether their habitat is coastal or river, they nest on cliffs or in trees along the water. The cormorant is a large black or blue-black bird, with a long neck and bill, and it is known for standing on rocks, with arms stretched out to form a Celtic cross.

The Goddesses ~ the Nine Maidens Who’s Breath Fueled the Cauldron

These nine sisters are the ones who guard the vessel of life and grant every living soul special gifts.  Each breath that they breathe across the cauldron of our own life essence gives us with our own particular gifts.  If we ignore these blessings of the maidens, we will not flourish easily; life could be an uphill grind, and we feel as though we have to reinvent the wheel at every turn.  If, however, we can look at the ingredients of our own cauldron containing our gifts and blessings and open to their life giving breath of new life, we can find a wonderful unfolding richness in all we do.

Here at the Equinox, winds move upon the land. The strong March wind blows away dead leaves and exposes the soil to the new sun.  Our concept of Spirit is linked as a metaphor of the breath – “breath hovers over the waters.”  In this, the wind is seen as a great power behind the natural world and becomes that power’s creative spirit.

A strong gust of wind suggests an opportunity for creative potential. The Cauldron of creativity is fueled by the breath of nine maidens who are the Goddess in her ninefold manifestation.   To the ancient peoples of the world, life was not thought to begin until a newborn child took its first breath, thus being infused with the spirit of the Goddess, life began.

Following the sequence of imagery in the Song of Amergin as the year unfolds; we find that the “wind over the sea” follows the bursting-forth of the “lake over the plain.” The waters have escaped the abyss, bringing the essence of fertility, but this fertility is still inert and without known purpose.

Now the Goddess as a Divine Wind must breathe herself into this potential, bringing growth. What this means to us, is that we must now open ourselves to this gift of the life giving breath of the Goddess.  It is now time to contemplate this creativity, and actively resume conscious action in our lives. 

The Animal ~ Elephant

The Elephant supplies the feet of the Unicorn (the animal of the Ogham made up of five animals) because during Spring the Earth puts forth its greatest strength (Mother Earth's extraordinary power revives!). This is the one animal of the five that is never depicted in surviving pictures of the Unicorn. Usually it has horses' feet or the cleft feet of a goat thus leaving out the Spring animal, either from ignorance or for deception.

An Elephant brings you ancient wisdom and power to draw upon.  It embodies strength and power.  Elephant people often have a very strong sex drive. 

Elephant people show great affection to their families, caring for the young and the elderly.  They also have an inborn knowledge of roots and plants.  An Elephant will give you insight into the power of the three feminine energies:  child, mother and old wise woman (or crone).  

I hope you have enjoyed the variety of what one letter of the Ogham alphabet can bring to your imagination.

Warm blessings,

Bendis

Author’s Bio: In the Goddess community, Deanne Quarrie is known as Bendis, Fierce Huntress of the Two Spears, Priestess of the Goddess. Bendis spent the early part of her life as a student of world religion, finally finding Goddess in mid-life.  Diving headlong into what she considered life’s greatest treasure, Deanne has never looked back.  Her work as a priestess has been dedicated to the empowerment of women and helping them to learn of the ecstasy of Her dance.  Bendis has spent the last eleven years heavily involved on the Internet, weaving webs through continents, networking and pointing seekers far and wide, serving as moderator for many e-groups, as both peacekeeper and technical advisor for thousands of women as they grew in Goddess. Through the Apple Branch – A Dianic Tradition, Bendis has mentored many women as they studied to become priestesses themselves.  These women now share their knowledge and guide other women both in the United States and in Europe.

To learn more of the Ogham http://blueroebuck.com 

The Apple Branch – A Dianic Tradition http://applebranch.org