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Main Character Profiles
Character profile for Aishling Bran O'Brian:
The Gaelic name, Aishling, means dream or one who dreams. Aishling is also the name for a dream-state brought about by faeries. Her middle name, Bran, is Welsh and means raven. She was named after Bran, the Celtic god of regeneration, but her middle name also contains part of her grandmother’s name, Branwen. Additionally, her middle name reveals that she is a member of the Raven family, a subdivision of the Cherokee Bird Clan. (Aishling is not only of Irish descent, she is part Cherokee.) Her last name, O’Brian, is Gaelic and means high, noble or exalted one.
In numerology, each letter of the alphabet represents a number; and when the numbers for the name Aishling Bran O’Brian are added together to determine her personal expression or destiny number, the sum is the number 11. She is very psychic, intuitive, and a dreamer. She is also spiritual, idealistic, and inspirational.
She was born during the Celtic Tree Month of “Ash” (February 18-March 20). The Ash tree is the tree of enchantment. It can guide you in and out of your dreams as well as in and out of all the worlds of existence.
Brief astrological information: Aishling was born at home in Robbinsville, North Carolina, on March 9, 1978. Her Sun, Moon, Mercury and Venus all fall under the sign of Pisces. She’s highly psychic, compassionate, and sensitive, but she can easily be misled since she wants to believe the best about others. Most people are unaware of her inner strength because she appears to be timid. However, she is the quiet warrior, and will sacrifice herself for family, friends, and humanitarian reasons.
Is there such a thing as symbol magick?
In Book 1, DEAD MOON AWAKENS, Aishling discovers a symbol from the Ogham (O-ham) Tree Alphabet. As explained in the Mystic Gates Glossary, the symbols in the Ogham Tree Alphabet encapsulate the “essence and energy” of certain trees. In the distant past, it was forbidden for Druids to convey their spiritual and magickal teachings through the written word, so they used symbols.
Even now, an Ogham few or fedha (symbol) could trigger a pathway for the subconscious mind to travel upon, wherein the subconscious would collect a certain “knowingness” and return this information to the conscious mind for processing. Yet, before one could really grasp the information s/he receives from a few or fedha, s/he would need to have a deep connection with and understanding of the spirit of the symbol’s specific tree. Look at the picture of the tree. Do you know what tree it is?
A Druid would not only know what type of tree it was, but would also know how it developed and cycled through the seasons, whether it was healthy or not, what medicinal purposes its bark or leaves could be used for, and much more. But, this is only part of the knowledge a Druid would need to know. After learning about the tree in a physical sense, s/he would need to commune with the tree’s spirit in a state of sincere gratitude and form an ethereal bond with the tree. Thus, s/he would truly understand its essence. All of this understanding forms the “block” of information and energy that can be transmitted through the tree’s Ogham few.
Few's name for the above tree...Duir. Here is its symbol:
By using the Ogham Tree Alphabet, Druids could secretly communicate with each other, transmit a large block of information, add a strengthening pathway and will (or intention) to the magick they conjured, or divine the future based upon interpretation of the Ogham few.
So, what we may consider magic and supernatural was for the Druids, in part, a natural ability because of their profound connection and spiritual communion with nature, in this case with the trees.
Nowadays, these ancient symbols are still used for magickal purposes or spellwork, and for divination.