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Religion Forum Index » Druid Forum » The Wheel Ogham of Roigne Rocadach
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| Searles O'Dubhain |
 Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2004 2:32 pm |
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Here's an excerpt from a book I've written and a course I teach on Ogham
regarding this Ogham symbol from the Book of Ballymote:
The Wheel Ogham of Roigne Roscadach
"Sing thy description in the great knowledge of Ireland, O Roigne." -
Mal, Son of Ugaine
There is another sort of wheel that occurs in the Ogham tract of the
Book of Ballymote known as Rothogam Roigni Roscadhaig (The Wheel Ogham
of Roigne Roscadach). This wheel is the most cryptic of the Ogham
symbols to interpret. Scanty mention of it exists in the Leabhar Ghabála
(The Book of Invasions ). Fortunately, a few stories from other tales
guide us into realms of meaning for understanding it. It has no Forfedha
at its center (as found in the Stream Strand of Ferchertne), nor does it
lead us through the cycles of the Wheel with a circular Forfedha (as is
the case with Fionn's Wheel or Window). The Wheel Ogham of Roigne
Rocadach is both a crossroads and a series of whirlpools that represent
the thin line between choice and destiny. A step off the pathway plunges
us into spiraling current that changes what can be into what is. What we
know propels us to the eternal beginnings of the wheel. What we chance
and how we choose creates the uncertainties that can be disaster of
great success. To be close enough to see the difference is a fine line
that can cut like a razor. To see the line one must either step off of
it or look directly ahead. The first instance is to lose the pathway by
searching for it, while the second instance is to lose the possibilities
of change and choice by seeking only what is already known.
Traveling the pathways of the Wheel Ogham of Roigne Roscadach is a
journey of adventure and coming into being as told in the Leabhar
Ghabála:
[Of the adventures of the Gaedels from the time when they went from
Scythia till they took Ireland and the division of Ireland between them,
with their chieftains, the poet Roigne Roscadach son of Ugaine Mor said
to Mal son of Ugaine his brother, when Mal questioned him:
"Sing thy description in the great knowledge of Ireland, O Roigne,"
Roigne answered him and said:
'O noble son of Ugaine,
How does one arrive at knowledge of Ireland,
The conquest of its company?
Before they overflowed Scythia
They reached the host-king of Shinar;
They approached Egypt,
Where Cingeris was extinguished,
So that a great troop was destroyed,
Who died in the Red Sea.
They flowed through a space very faithful,
With Pharaoh fought;
Niul contracts with Scota,
The conception of our fathers.
They took the name "Gaedels,"
The name "Scots" spreads,
The fair daughter of Pharaoh.
They overspread lands,
Burst into Scythia,
Determined long combat-
The Children of Nel and Noenbal.
Golam was a young lord,
Who slew the son of Neman,
Escaped to Egypt,
Where was Nectanebus.
Pharaoh was welcoming
To Golam; gave
A marriage Nectanebus,
Scota was at cot's head;
A name was changed from them.
They advanced past Africa,
Good was the man under whom they trembled;
Fenius Farsad, the keen,
Well he spread for us a lasting name.
They approached Spain,
Where was born a numerous progeny,
Donn, Airech, Amergin,
Eber, Ir, Colptha himself,
Eremon, Erannan,
The eight sons of Golam.
Mil's renown came upon them,
The sons of Mil wealthy;
Their scholars resolved,
Divided ships,
The Men returned from the burial of Fial.
They divided Ireland,
In twice six, an inheritance of chieftains.
Seek the truth of every law,
Relate sharply the inquiry,
O Son!' ]
This response from Roigne in the Leabhar Ghabála tells us the story of a
coming into being by the Sons of Míl and their voyage to Ireland. It is
another way of saying that our pathway to the future begins in the past
and carries us forward to the present within a moment where the
possibilities are divided into the many choices that must be made.
Roscadach as Proverbs and Maxims
The other stories regarding how roscadach can be understood are
associated with the Stones of Raigne in "Forbais Dromma Damgaire" (The
Siege of Knocklong) and a poem in the _Metrical Dindshenchas, Vol. III_
by Edward Gwynn, entitled "Mag Raigne." In Forbais Dromma Damgaire, the
role of the Wheel is prominent on both sides of the conflict. The main
character is the Druid Mogh Roith who is known as the "Devotee of the
Wheel." The opposing Druids are turned to stone following an episode of
Shamanic flight and visions during a series of battles. The name,
"roscadach" is also a descriptive name for a type of poetry that is
characterized by frenzied, dancing utterances. The structure of such
poetry is characterized as dithyrambic [fervent: passionately emotional
or wildly enthusiastic ( formal ) in Microsoft's Encarta] and named
after a Greek poetry of the same type (which was spoken by a single
individual and was performed at festivals to honor the God Dionysus). I
am reminded of the prophecies of Awenyddion, whirling dervishes, or even
Tibetan seers and shaman (as illustrated in the book and movie
_Kundun_). Roscadach is also associated with legal maxims and aphorisms
in the Auraicept and defined as "an extemporaneous dithyrambic
composition" by the Dictionary of the Irish Language (512, 101, 75). A
famous collection of such sayings was _Roscada Flainn Fina_. Another was
named _Dúil Roscadach_ for Roigne.
Wheels within Wheels
The Wheel Ogham of Roigne Roscadach is an image presenting wheels within
wheels that are spinning both clockwise and counter-clockwise. Mug's
half of the wheel is the South or "deasal" direction. This is the
pathway of the Sun, of honor, of positive workings and of harmony. Conn'
s half of the wheel is the North or "tuathail" direction. This is the
realm of conflict and battle. Tuathail motion is associated with
banishing, cursing, perversity, challenge and wickedness. The wheel
Ogham are grouped as "4" groups of "5." They spiral to the left and to
the right in their groupings, with a centerline dividing North from
South.
Roigne Roscadach is the name of the Poet of the Sons of Míl. He was the
judge who decided the initial divisions of the Land among the people.
These warriors and their people are representative of humanity's coming
into possession of Ireland. The people obtained the land from the gods
through battle and conquest, as well as through the powerful
incantations and judgments of Amergin their Druid. Since this Ogham
diagram is associated with prophetic utterance and vision (as well as a
division of positive and negative), it can be seen as being
representative of the sky, and the heavens including the astrological
signs (also matters of vision and division). It possesses both sunwise
and counter-clockwise flows, separated by north and south (just like the
zodiac). This division of the land into Conn's half and Mug's half is
also an indicator of both good fortune and misfortune. It is only when
we follow the central path, or the king's highway, that we can avoid the
whirlpools of Destiny and the pitfalls of Fate. The centerline of this
mandala is the most auspicious pathway for castings made for the purpose
of divination. Its east-west pathway across the mandala's center seems
to parallel the pathway of the zodiac and the planets across the sky at
night. If we look upon the Wheel Ogham of Roigne Roscadach, we can find
"What Will Be" among those things that might be, as surely as we can
divine the ways of the future through the arts of astrology and the
computation of natal charts. Into which part of fortune will our lots be
cast?
The Symbol of the Future
The symbol of the future is the Wheel Ogham of Roigne Roscadach. It is a
quartered diagram containing four spiraling Ogham strings, with a
centerline that faces to the east. The flow of its streams originates in
the cauldron of the west and is parted by the sword of the east. It is a
birth canal for the spirit and for destiny as surely as our own navel
strings have provided us with creative sustenance from our mother's
womb. The entryway of Brugh na Bóinne is like this. The times of change
in the seasons are like this. The end and beginnings of days are this
way. Dual attention is also this way. It is when we are none of the
things in the system that we can see all of its parts as an observer.
Only then do we see how the pieces can fit together. New births are
filled with this potential until a pathway is chosen. New ideas are the
same. It is the moment of change, when an idea or an inspiration is
first upon us that it contains within it all of the answers of creation.
It connects to everything. That is how the center and the edge are
joined. in the potential of the moment, when all things can be the same.
That is how one walks between worlds and sees the truth in a complex
system. That is how one is reborn. On the Wheel Ogham, the center
pathway is the navel string. It is the pathway of the Sun and the
reflecting pool of the Moon. It is the separation and the joining of the
seasons, the two halves of the brain and the four ways in which the
center connects to its parts. Its flow goes from that which is the
source to that which is unlimited. This is the pathway between *all that
is* and all that can be. When we walk this pathway to its completion and
return we have attained imbas and are prepared to take the next upward
step in our journey back from form and through flow to spirit. With the
knowledge of the winds and an awareness of the influences of the Gods,
an understanding of where it is that we've originated; where we are now
and the choices that are to be made. It is within these whirlpools of
probabilities and amid the nexus of necessary decisions that a Seer
seeks to stand and to also later interpret meaning. Clarity of vision
and preservation of memory are the twofold tools necessary to succeed in
this undertaking. |
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| Searles O'Dubhain |
| Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2004 2:32 pm |
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Typo is a powerful goddess. The word and name is is "Roscadach!"
Is mise le meas,
Searles |
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