Magic and Medicines #13: Ogham

For the final episode in this first 13-part series of Magic and Medicines, Eleanor explains the origins and subsequent interpretations of Ogham, the ancient Irish language of cuts.

We start by exploring how we define what Ogham is, and its origins in the 4th century A.D.

From there we dive into how the system works, our earliest sources (including The Auraicept na n-Eces, The Ogham Tract, and The Book of Ballymote) some associated mythology, and points of crossover with other runic languages such as the Elder Futhark.

After that, via a bit of Medieval misinterpretation, it's onto the Neo-Pagan revivals and characters including Iolo Morganwg and Robert Graves, whose speculative works served to further muddle our understanding of Ogham, while also birthing a series of quite nice ideas!

Encompassing methods for using Ogham in divination to the Celtic Tree Months, links between Ogham and the legends of the Tower of Babel, Lebor Ogham, 'orthodox' and 'scholastic' scripts, and much more, it's a fascinating journey into a rich, technical topic which may, in truth, forever remain a little bit of a mystery...

Martin will be back on Saturday for our Local Legends interview with Dr Francis Young, and we then hope you will join us on Monday for our next county episode, in which we will be exploring the history and folklore of Worcestershire!

The Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.

Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...

Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays (Magic and Medicines about folk remedies and arcane spells, Three Ravens Bestiary about cryptids and mythical creatures, Dying Arts about endangered heritage crafts, and Something Wicked about folkloric true crime from across history) plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.

With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?

Learn more at www.threeravenspodcast.com, join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/threeravenspodcast, and find links to our social media channels here: https://linktr.ee/threeravenspodcast

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