The Tree Ogham


As I briefly noted in my last post, I have started a project of creating Ogham Tree cards for KIA to use as a visualisation development tool. The Ogham (the "g" is silent) was an early alphabet used by the druids. Each of the symbols, or fedha, represents one of the sacred trees or shrubs recognised by the druids. There are 20 in all. A chart of the fedha and corresponding trees can be found here. The druids believed that each of the trees contained special healing properties and individual wisdom. The spirit of a given tree was called upon for a variety reasons, everything from fertility to inspiration to clarity.

I have decided to respect this ancient wisdom and pass it along to KIA. Our goal is to introduce KIA to a very earth-centered style of learning. In addition to the silhouette Ogham cards, I also plan to carve the symbols into the corresponding wood for each of the trees (although not all of the trees grow around here so I'm still trying to figure out all of the details). This will be useful to KIA for touch and becoming familiar with each of the trees.

Some may ask why I feel the need to dwell in such ancient "mythology" or teach impractical skills. However, I believe that creating a closer bond with the Earth is exactly what many children lack these days. With the explosion of video game, music devices, cable/satellite TV, and the constant barrage of extracurricular sports and activities, children are drifting away from the magic of our natural world. As a parent, I feel it is my responsibility to teach environmental ethics, species identification, conservation, and an all around love and appreciation for nature. It's definitely a journey that I am willing to take.

Horror Movie Night

Since the "Nasty Cold" has still been lingering, I have taken up watching movies the past couple of days. One I rented last night was the horror film, no wait, documentary film Jesus Camp.

I saw the trailer online a couple months ago, but the film never made it to our pathetic excuse for a theatre. I was excited to see it already out on DVD. I won't give a movie review or plot summary, just a few of my observations.

First off, holy Crap. I knew there were sects of Evangelism that were very politically active and extremely right-wing, but I had no idea of how their children also played a role in their agenda. There was a scene where they had a pro-life speaker talking to children (as young as six) about abortion. By the end of his visit, he had them praying for GW Bush to appoint righteous judges. They were even chanting "Righteous Judges, Righteous Judges" over and over.

In another scene, on topic with my last post, the leader of the camp, Becky Fischer, mentioned Harry Potter. She went on to say, or shout rather, that "Warlocks are the enemy of God." All of the kids looked pretty freaked out. Of course none of the kids were allowed to read or watch Harry Potter, although one boy happily admitted to watching the movies at his Dad's. It's a good thing Becky didn't hear him. She would have thrown holy water on him or made him repent or something. I guess these are the types of parents we can thank for all of the book banning going on.

There were two ironic things I noticed in the movie. Most obvious was Ted Haggard's appearance in it. He briefly mentioned something against gays. I was also looking for a sort of meth gleam in his eye, but I'm not really trained in that. Of course, shortly after this movie came out, we all know of his fate.

The other irony was less clear. It involved global warming. In the film, there was a scene where a mother was homeschooling her child on creation as fact and evolution as "stupid". She also was saying that global warming is a political issue, similar to evolution I guess. However, not long after filming the movie, many evangelicals came out demanding more be done to fight global warming. I guess the scientists are okay to listen to sometimes.

So, if the Grudge 2 isn't scary enough, check out Jesus Camp. It's good to know there are such level-headed people out there teaching their kids The Truth.