The Celtic Year - Oak Moon

The Ogham alphabet is an ancient Celtic Druidic alphabet consisting of Ogham rune characters. These runes have been found on isolated monoliths which date as far back as 4,500 B.C.E., earlier than most written records and histories found to date, other than the pictography writings of pre-dynastic Egypt (5,500 B.C.E.)

During that time period history was primarily handed down orally and the Ogham alphabet was also used as a hand alphabet or signal for silent communication at fairly close distances. Fingers of either hand were used along with the bridge of the nose which acted as the center or dividing line.

Ogham alphabet characters or runes are composed of 13 consonants, each of which represent a specific Moon month and its sacred tree. In addition, there are 5 vowel trees - A,O,U,E and I - which separate the year into respective seasons; Rebirth, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Death. The extra day of the year following the Winter Solstice, was represented by mistletoe and the letter "double I" (Y or J). June 11 - July 8 is The Oak (Duir) Moon

The Celtic word for Oak is "Duir" and the name "Druid" comes from a combination of the word "Duir" and the word "wyd" which means "to know." In Celtic countries the Druids often worshiped in sacred Oak groves as the celestial Oak also symbolized the god or male principle.

The Oak Moon is the seventh Moon, also known as The Moon of Strength and is associated with the Summer Solstice (in the Northern hemisphere) and the Winter Solstice (in the Southern hemisphere). This Moon is dedicated to Janus, the two-faced god, for in his maturity the Oak King looks in both directions of the year at once, as does the Sun. The word for Oak also means "door" in many languages and this Moon is known as the hinge of the year.

You can celebrate this Oak Moon by recognizing the sacred male and female within yourself, for all of us are children of both the Sun and Moon. We are both strong and steadfast like the door itself, yet we can open and close with the help of our hinges.

To learn more about the mysteries of Celtic Tree Magic I recommend the book "Year of Moons, Season of Trees" by Pattalee Glass-Koentop.

The first image pictured above is from my Celtic Tree Wisdom deck (coming soon) which consists of 18 oracle cards. Find all my hand painted oracle decks here.

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About Kathy Crabbe

I believe in dreams, creativity AND inspiring my peeps to awaken intuition and joy, no matter what. As a practicing astrologer + artist since 1993 I’ve learned a thing or two and I’d love to share it with you!

With Luv and Sparkly Blessings,
Kathy Crabbe, (Dec. 24, 2018)
Photo Credit: Chad Woodward

Wearable Art Oak Necklaces

My Oak Necklaces are hand painted on California oak slices collected from my property in Southern California. They are one-of-a-kind, original paintings that are varnished, hand signed and dated.

These are unique and lovely little ornaments and a magickal piece of wearable art jewelry and wall art.

All art is original, hand drawn, hand painted, varnished and hand signed and dated on the back and no two pieces are ever the same.

Your ornament, wall art, necklace is packaged with tissue to keep it safe.

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All Kathy Crabbe’s wood slice pieces are ethically hand foraged from her property in Southern California and created entirely by hand. No stencils were used and all art is original.

Friday is for Gran & The Fiddlehead - Part 7

Today's post is dedicated to my Gran Betty and her canal boat called The Fiddlehead. This regular Friday post documents a recent two week family vacation taken by 35 family members on 5 narrow boats, with folks ranging in age from 8 months to 91 years old (Gran herself!)

This was Day 7 as recorded in my faithful moleskin journal. We had just spent yesterday at Warwick Castle (pictured below) otherwise known as "Britain's Ultimate Castle" according to their website. It dates back almost 1,100 years to 914 AD when Ethelfleda (cool name!), daughter of Alfred the Great, ordered the building of a 'burh' or an earthen rampart to protect the small hill top settlement of Warwick from Danish invaders.

Some English sayings I gathered along the trip:
Blighty (used especially by troops serving abroad, means - Britain; home.)
"Bob loves tatties and winkies" (written on someone's van-take a guess what it means!)
Give Way (a street sign that means "Yield")
Shandy with bangers and mash (good food and good drink; ie. pub grub.)

Me and my good buddy, the court jester at Warwick Castle (can you tell I'm a flautist?)

Friday is for Gran & the Fiddlehead - Part 2

This Friday post is an ongoing canal boat feature in honour of my Gran, who was the proud owner of her very own English canal boat named "The Fiddlehead." Gran currently lives in a nursing home and this is my way of staying in touch on a regular basis because Friday is her mail day! The pictures in these posts come from Gran's own scrapbook as well as a recent family trip in 2007 that included 35 family members ranging from 8 months to 91 years old (Gran herself) on 5 narrow boats touring along the Leicester Loop.

A Wee Bit of History About The British Canal System
The British canal system of water transport played a vital role in the United Kingdom's Industrial Revolution and the UK was the first country to acquire a nationwide canal network. This was a time when roads were only just emerging from the medieval mud and long trains of pack horses were the only means of "mass" transit of raw materials and finished products. It was no accident that amongst the first canal promoters were the pottery manufacturers of Staffordshire.

The canal system came into being because the Industrial Revolution (which began in Britain during the mid-18th century) demanded an economic and reliable way to transport goods and commodities in large quantities. Some 29 river navigation improvements took place in the 16th and 17th centuries starting with the Thames locks and the River Wey Navigation.

The 20th century brought competition from road-haulage, and only the strongest canals survived until the Second World War. After the war decline of trade on all remaining canals was rapid, and by the mid 1960s only token traffic was left, even on the widest and most industrial waterways.

Here is Post 1 from this series: Gran Part 1

The Celtic Year - Hawthorn Moon

The Celtic year is divided into 13 lunar months, each represented by a sacred tree. The Hawthorn Moon month occurs from May 13 to June 10.

The Druids of ancient Celtic Britain invented a rune alphabet called the "Ogham alphabet" which was composed of 13 consonants taken from the letter names of the 13 sacred trees that represented the 13 lunar months. There are also 5 vowel trees that separate the year into it's respective seasons along with a 19th tree for the extra day of the year following the Winter Solstice.

The Hawthorn Tree represents the sixth lunar month, also known as “The Tree of Purification" and “The Moon of Restraint." This moon is dedicated to Thoth and the winged goddess, Isis.The energies of this moon can help you clarify your focus and intentions. It can also help you clear away spiritual and physical deadwood, along with old habits. This is a good time for cleaning and chastity, in preparation for mid-summer celebrations. This lunar tree has the power to open what is closed away, and to conceal what is open. She is the “Keeper of the Four Winds" as she looks both forward and backward in time, is sacred to the fairies, and is the benefactress of craftspeople.

About Kathy Crabbe: Soul Reader & Artist

I painted Celtic tree Goddess images on silk that I laminated and made into a hand lettered, one-of-a-kind book titled "The Celtic Tree Year." I have also created an oracle deck from these paintings (almost 12 years later which I hope to publish one day) and I use these oracle cards in giving soul readings.