Gooseberry
Iphin
(Spirit flowing)
Iphin pronounced: IH-feen
Ogam letter IA or IO in the Ogam alphabet and is associated with the Gooseberry. This symbol represents the living Spirit flowing universally.
Powers: Living Spirit universally flowing.
Keywords: New opportunities, power objects, women’s cycles.
Deities associated with Gooseberry: Venus, Brigid, Arianrhod.
Interesting Spiritual Information: The sweetest of wood/life, wonderful taste, divine influences which surround us in the sweetest ways, kindred spirits of nature.
Folklore: Gooseberry has traditionally been used in childbirth and for menstrual problems. For this reason, gooseberry was considered sacred to the goddesses Brighid and Arianrhod who oversaw matters of childbirth and women’s cycles.
Interesting Spiritual Information: The sweetest of wood/life, wonderful taste, divine influences which surround us in the sweetest ways, kindred spirits of nature.
Ogam Healing: Access your inner wisdom; Engage in new opportunities; Good for psychological stress -during menopause; Guilt and incompleteness with the inability to have children or nurture them; Inner Guidance; Lacking confidence; Low self-esteem; Mental uncertainty; Turns fear into engagement with life; Tuning to your inner knowing; Working with power objects; Ageing; Maintaining strength; Body resistance; Infection; Eye sight; Conjunctivitis; Glaucoma; Hair growth and colour; Intra ocular tension; Improves body resistance and protects against infection; Diabetes; Fever; Heart disease; Lower cholesterol; Reduces blood sugars in diabetes; Respiratory disorders including tuberculosis of the lungs, asthma, chronic cough, cold and bronchitis; Digestive complaints; Scurvy; Monthly period; Rheumatism; Tones up all organs and boosts body energy; Renews body energy…
More Medical information and in-depth healing suggestions can be found in my book The Beginners Book of Ogam Tree Healing, or by attending one of my workshops.
Notes: There is not much information to be found on the noble gooseberry, apart from recipe books. There are no obvious ties to myths, legends or much to be found in folklore. What there is I have included below. An elusive little number but with much to give as in food and in healing.