Onn - Gorse - Broom
Onn, a vowel ogham, is associated with Ulex species, also known as gorse, furze, or whin. I associate it with the time of the spring equinox, the second ogham on the bottom branch or ‘mound’ of the dolman, and the letter O. Here in Utah with its high elevation, we see another member of the pea family more commonly, Cytisus spp. or broom – both genera flower in late summer/autumn, and again in the spring around the equinox. The spring equinox, also called the vernal equinox, Ostara, Eostre, or Alban Eilir is one of two points on the wheel of the year where night and day are of equal length. It is also the second of the five feasts of the goddess, the first being at Yule with Ailm (Pine). The phrase (from the Song of Amergin) that goes along with this feast of the goddess is "I am the blaze on every hill."
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Gorse and broom herald the coming of spring with their bright yellow blooms lighting up hillsides where they grow, an important source of fodder for bees early in the season. The blooms and the bees are a representation of the goddess – all the abundance and prosperity promised with the coming of spring as the days get longer and the light from the sun gets hotter as we approach summer. As members of the genus fabaceae, they are also nitrogen-fixing plants that help to enrich the soil with nitrogen which in turn helps other plants to grow. These dense shrubs also offer cover, protection and food to birds and other animals. Its flowers are edible and have been used in salads, teas, and wine making. It is also highly flammable – often known as a 'fire plant' - a plant that readily re-establishes after a brush fire. Its seed pods are opened by fire and its burned wood readily re-sprouts, allowing rapid regeneration after a fire. I also draw connections between broom and the spring equinox with 'spring cleaning' – a time to sweep out and burn down the old to make way for the new. Gorse, with its spiny thorns is a more intense version of this cleaning energy which can help to clear and maintain boundaries both around your physical home and energetically in your life and relationships.
MAGICAL PROPERTIES
Onn holds the power of initiation, change, renewal and rejuvenation. It teaches us about opening up to new things, and this can mean opening to the fires of initiation which burn down the old so the new can take root. Think again of the Tower card in tarot – these kinds of initiations bring about new information, new perspectives, and new growth, often in the wake of a profound experience as we saw with Nion. In contrast with Beith (Birch), which is about the initiatory activation of a cycle, a new beginning as the wheel turns again, Onn is about giving ourselves the permission we need to initiate to the next level of a path rather than having it granted by some outside authority. We can grant ourselves entry into new worlds of being through the self-initiatory mysteries that Onn can teach us. We can rebuild and rejuvenate ourselves after a wildfire in our life has burnt away the dead undergrowth, sweeping away the ashes with broom, armed with the wisdom from the ash spear, to rebuild ourselves stronger than before, ready to work on deeper mysteries in alignment with our soul’s purpose. Profound change is possible when we surrender to the purifying fires of life passing over and through us and allow these experiences to shift our perspective.
Onn’s ability to bear flowers multiple times throughout the year, and its close connection with the bees, the fae, the sun and the goddess associate it with energies of life-force, vitality, fertility and creativity – as well as eroticism, passion, desire, and sexuality. It lends itself well to love magic and can help us tap into our primal desire for the sweet pleasures in life through the sensual and instinctive knowing of one’s body and desires. It can help us move past the complexities of the mind and intellect and into a place of intimate knowledge of self with its ability to sweep away and destroy negative thought patterns and the beliefs behind them.
DIVINATORY MEANINGS
A catalyst for coming change, renewal or rejuvenation. New ideas/inspirations and the life-force energy to implement them. A need to give yourself permission to change your perspective, belief or understanding of the matter at hand. A need for cleansing and restoration of physical or energetic boundaries. May signify change in lovemaking, partnership or sensuality. Hope – the light of summer is coming.
