The Enneasphere
and the Tree Alphabet
(by Frederick McLaren Adams)

Original Appendices to the Yearly Festivals:
Originally published as an appendix to the Festival of Oimelc.




The ‘Nine-Fold Sphere’ combined with the 13 Tree-Months
by Frederick MCLaren Adams, based on Robert Graves.




The Thirteen Tree Alphabet Months

The Tree Alphabet Calendar is Phydiac, which means there are 13 months of exactly 28 days, that is 4 weeks each. (There are 4 subdivisions between each big black mark in the diagram). This makes 52 weeks a year, or 364 days. An extra day/ tree is added at the end of the year to make up for the correct number of 365 days a year. At leap years a second extra day is added at the middle of the year.

1. Beth (Beith) - Dec. 24 - Jan. 20
2. Luis - Jan. 21 - Feb. 17
3. Nion (Nuin) - Feb. 18 - Mar. 17
4. Vearn (Fearn/ Fern) - Mar. 18 - Apr. 14
5. Saille (Sail) - Apr. 15 - May 12
6. Huath ((Uath) - May 13 - Jun. 9
7. Duir (Dair) - Jun. 10 - Jul. 7
8. Tinne - Jul. 8 - Aug. 4
9. Coll
Quirt (Ceirt/ Quert)		 - Aug. 5 - Sep. 1
- extra day for leap years.
10. Muin - Sep. 2 - Sep. 29
11. Gort - Sep. 30 - Oct. 27
12. nGetal (nGéadal) - Oct. 28 - Nov. 24
13. Ruis
Straif		 - Nov. 25 - Dec. 22
- Dec. 23; extra intercalary day.

There are different versions of this calendar around, the Feraferia Beth-Luis-Nion order corresponds to the original order of letters in the so called Ogham tree-alphabet.


The Trees of the Tree Calendar

The specific trees of the Feraferia Calendar are:

1. Beth :birch(Betula pendula/ Betula pubescens)
2. Luis :rowan(Sorbus aucuparia)
3. Nion :ash(Fraxinus excelsior)
4. Vearn :alder(Alnus glutinosa)
5. Saille :willow(Salix alba/ Salix fragilis)
6. Huath :hawthorn(Crataegus monogyna/ Crataegus laevigata)
7. Duir :oak(Quercus robur)
8. Tinne :holly(Ilex aquifolium)
9. Coll :
Quirt :		hazel
apple		(Corylus avellana/ Corylus maxima)
(Malus sylvestrus)
10. Muin :vine(Vitis vinefera)
11. Gort :ivy(Hedera helix)
12. nGetal :reed(Phragmites australis)
13. Ruis :
Ztraif :		elder
blackthorn		(Sambucus nigra/ Sambucus racemosa)
(Prunus spinosa)



Additional Trees of the Ogham Alphabet

To understand the system as explained by Robert Graves in better, it’s good to know that apart from the Feraferia Tree-Calendar, there more trees part of this tree alphabet:
Ailm (Ailim) :silver fir(Picea abies)
Onn (Ohn) :gorse(Ulex europaeus)
Ur (Úr) :heather(Calluna vulgaris)
Eadha (Eadhadh) :aspen(Populus tremula/ Populus nigra/ Populus alba)
Ioho (Idho/ Iodhadh) :yew(Taxus baccata)

Graves adds a blank ‘non-sign’; the so called unhewn dolmen arch which stands for a very important ritual plant:

(blank) :mistletoe(Viscum album)

Viscum album is the common mistletoe, which grows on all trees. However Loranthus europeas only grows on oak trees; and is the so called ‘Golden Bough’.


First row from left to right: Birch, Rowan, Ash, Alder, Willow;
Second row Hawthorn, Oak, Holly, Hazel, and Apple;
Third row Vine, Ivy, Reed, Elder, Blackthorne, and Fir;
Fourth row Gorse, Heather, Aspen, Yew, and Mistletoe.



The Ogham Alphabet




The Ogham tree-alphabet connects letters and trees in a series of straight marks on a vertical line. The traditional alphabet differs from the calendar use and shows the Beth-Luis-Vearn order in it’s sequence of marks. However the Feraferia Beth-Luis-Nion order corresponds to the original order of letters of the tree-alphabet.

The Ogham alphabet so far has only been found on the British Isles and dates from the third and seventh centuries. It was Robert Graves who re-discovered this ancient system for our times. Centered around the Holy (Aval) Apple Tree and the Golden Bough of the Holy Mistletoe, the Feraferia Tree Alphabet Calendar connects to the ancient sources of Western Nature religion.





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