Fascinated by Ogham, the author was determined to discover whether the system's intimate links with nature was a vital part of Britain's spiritual heritage. He came across an old countryman who had never heard of Ogham. When it was explained as a tree alphabet that formed a seasonal cycle, he exclaimed "I've not heard of your ogham, but I do know the order of the trees and the birds". His 'order' of the trees matched Roberts Graves' reconstruction set out in The White Goddess; except that muin, the vine became the blackberry, ngetal the reed, became wheat straw, and ailm the silver fir, became the scots pine. He had no knowledge of any Celtic language, or clue that the trees had the slightest link with any alphabet, but he did know the folklore and symbolism of each one, and how to divine the future with wands cut from them. This knowledge of the trees, birds and divination that is passed through the pages of this book.