Ogham Tuesday: Hazel

Hazel is a favorite ogham of mine. Though it’s a bit of a joke here, how much I dislike the flavor of hazelnuts (except in Nutella), I love getting this in a reading. It speaks of enlightenment, meditation, and inspiration. Specifically, Hazel pulls forward a deep understanding of what we already know. 

In Yeats’ Song of the Wandering Aengus, the hero “went out to the hazel wood” because he had a fire in his head – inspiration! – then “cut and peeled a hazel wand, and hooked a berry to a thread,” to go fishing for more knowledge. Likewise, our own search for insight begins with the desire to pursue more and gains momentum from personal action first. Finally, our desire is satisfied by integrating that new information into our lives, when we catch “a little silver trout” and consume it. 

On the sillier side, I often hear guidance from Hazel in the voice of Captain Obvious. This ogham tends to point out things we already know but haven’t been acknowledging or prioritizing. What advice have you already been given that you aren’t heeding? What lesson is somebody else learning right now that you can use to avoid a similar mistake? Is there a challenge you keep facing over and over again but haven’t solved? The answer could be right in front of you. 

Hazel is challenging you to take action now, use what you already know, and make the most of it. Whatever “it” is for you today. 

The Ogham Tuesday series started in 2023 and focused first on introducing each of the standard ogham alphabet in order. We're moving those posts to the blog now, so they can be more easily searched.

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