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Writer's pictureKristina

Healing with the Ancient Celtic Tree Ogham: Holly (Tinne)

Updated: Jun 15, 2023

This is the fourth in a series of posts about learning and working with the Ancient Celtic Tree Ogham, their energy and Spirit, use during meditation, and healing energetically.


Holly, or Tinne, is the Ogham spirit that comes in following the fiery energy of Beltane and the strength and stability of Oak. This Ogham tree represents protection and restorative energies. Holly is associated with the eighth lunation from the Celtic New Year and is used in the Ogham system to represent the letter "T". Typically between May 16 - June 12 we honor the Holly tree. The Holly tree is a sacred tree with white wood, shiny green leaves which are leathery and have thorny points around it's edges. The tree also produces berries, typically bright red to reddish orange which are produced preceding the flowers that bloom on them.


I am lucky enough to have Holly trees lining an entire side of my property, and they are simply gorgeous year round providing protection, and greenery that never wilts and falls. Of course, as this tree is known for its protective properties. It is a protective energy meant to assist the weak or vulnerable, so calling on the Holly spirit for protection can be helpful when you are feeling that you might be exposed to attack or negative energies. When Holly spirit comes to you, know that it may be guiding you to stand up for yourself or someone who is enduring hardship, abuse, or is being taken advantage of.


Holly is also a strong masculine energy that can be valued by warrior-spirited people and can be valuable to supporting the paternal instincts felt by men who have become fathers. Holly energy also embodies unconditional love so using this Ogham can be especially helpful for healing father wounds and restoring one's purpose, direction and vigor. If there is any inner turmoil that you have been struggling to bring to the surface for healing and detaching in order to move forward, this Ogham tree can be especially helpful.


Holly represents unconditional love and is also known for uniting opposing sides, creating the ability for compromise and restoration of balance. Balance can allow for unconditional love and compassion to be more available when coming to compromise. Since balance is a central theme of justice, this is also an aspect of the tree that can be worked with for returning to neutral ground, or enabling one to take the higher road when it comes to questions of fairness.


Sometimes it is not external balance that needs to be restored. Where Holly may also be a helpful guide on your healing journey is where it may help with clear communication with our inner self. Sometimes, when we do shadow work we forget that at times these shadow aspects can still be mirrored back at us without us even recognizing them because we became comfortable with where we have healed something previously. Holly can show you that you are not at odds with a particular person, but it is actually your shadow self surfacing again for another round of healing, and integrating. It can be easy to forget that healing is like an ascending and descending spiral path where we raise consciousness and may experience a fluctuation in that frequency and need to retrace our steps.


As with my previous post about the Oak (Duir) Ogham tree, I have written and will be posting a relaxing and healing guided meditation with Holly (Tinne) on my YouTube Channel, Sun, Star and Spirit to further your connection with this enchanted tree. Check it out if you are using meditation for stress relief, relaxation or spiritual development.




Most importantly, enjoy your journey with the Ogham when it comes to you.





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