The Forfeda

The Fifth Aicme is what we call the Forfeda. It consists of the last and later-added ogham fews. They represent sounds that had been omitted, that weren’t universally a part of every dialect, or that were added to the language as it developed—possibly due to the encroachment of Latin in Ireland. There isn’t much agreement on what these added sounds even were. In addition, there is very little in the lore about these ogham, and it is likely that the “tree names” were added by modern pagans just to round out the set. There is also wide variance on the tree names that people use for this group of fews.

One might question whether there is any purpose to including these Paddy-Come-Latelys to the ogham set at all, and many people do NOT use them, sticking with the original twenty. Ogham works perfectly well as a divination system without the Forfeda. On the other hand, they are in widespread, common use, and there is some historicity to their being a part of the Ancient Irish alphabet. Beth uses them and finds them meaningful and helpful as omens. Nik uses them and adds in her Land, Sea, and Sky modifiers. You have options, is what we’re saying.

For our purposes, we’ve settled on these correspondences:

White Poplar/Éabhadh, for far-seeing with the mind’s eye (differentiating it from Pine)

Spindle/Óir, for home life, crafting, and chores (differentiating it from Broom)

Honeysuckle/Uilleann, for sweetness

Gooseberry/Ifín, for sharp focus and attention to detail

Witch Hazel/Eamhancholl for purifying, clarifying, and working magic

Pro Tip: If you, like us, are always confusing Honeysuckle and Gooseberry, the Honeysuckle ogham looks like a little flower bud, and Gooseberry looks like the latticed crust of a pie, which could certainly be filled with gooseberries. For some reason, I never confuse Gooseberry and Witch Hazel, even though both consist of latticed lines.