Beith is the first letter of the ogham alphabet, written ᚁ, and it is linked to the birch tree. As the opening few, it carries the meanings of beginnings, renewal, and fresh starts. This page covers the letter, the birch in Celtic tradition, and what Beith is taken to mean. For the full alphabet see the ogham letters guide, and for every symbol at a glance, the ogham symbols page.
The letter Beith
Beith is the first few of the first group, or aicme, and the very start of the ogham order. It is written as a single stroke to one side of the central line: ᚁ. Its sound is B. Everything in the alphabet is counted from here, which suits a letter whose tree stands for beginnings.
The birch in Celtic tradition
The birch is a natural symbol of new beginnings. It is a pioneer tree, one of the first to grow back on cleared or burned ground, quick to establish itself where little else will. Its pale bark and early spring leaves made it a marker of renewal and light returning after winter. Birch twigs were bound into besoms, the traditional broom, and used for sweeping and cleansing in both a practical and a symbolic sense, clearing away the old to make room for the new.
These associations come from folk tradition and from the tree’s own nature as a fast, hardy colonizer.
What Beith means in ogham
In modern ogham practice, Beith is read as new beginnings, renewal, and a fresh start, a clean slate and the first step of something. That reading fits both the birch’s role as a pioneer tree and its place at the head of the alphabet. It is honest to note the two layers, though: the birch’s link to renewal is old, while the tidy divinatory meaning is a modern reading. See the ogham symbols and their meanings page for the full set.
Birch in the Celtic tree calendar
Birch opens the Celtic tree calendar too, covering roughly December 24 to January 20, the turn of the year. That calendar is a modern system, traced to Robert Graves in 1948 rather than to ancient Celtic astrology, but it stays popular. If you were born in the birch period, the Celtic tree calendar and find your birth tree guides cover the sign in full.
FAQ
What does Beith mean in ogham?
Beith is read as new beginnings, renewal, and a fresh start. The meaning comes from the birch, a pioneer tree that is among the first to grow back on cleared ground, and from Beith’s place as the first letter of the alphabet. The birch’s link to renewal is old, while the specific one-line meaning is a modern reading.
What tree is Beith?
Beith is the birch, a hardy tree with pale bark that quickly colonizes open ground. It has long stood for renewal and fresh starts, and its twigs were traditionally bound into besoms for sweeping and symbolic cleansing.
Why is Beith the first ogham letter?
Beith opens the ogham alphabet, so it is written as a single stroke and everything else is counted from it. Its tree, the birch, stands for beginnings, which makes it a fitting start. The traditional letter order begins Beith, Luis, Fearn, and so on, not with the order of the Latin alphabet.