First Aicme

Ailm

(Ah-liv / Ahl-um)

Latin Letter:
A
Element:
Air
Keywords:
clarity; endurance; elevation
Season:
Midwinter
Symbols:
torch; resin; cone
Colors:
evergreen; resin-gold
Tree:
Pine/Fir
Ailm

"I return to breath and clarity."

In-depth Interpretation for Ailm

Dec. 7, 2025

 

To receive your personal, in-depth interpretation, woven with the current season and moon’s rhythm, please log in or join the Circle.

Traditional Meaning

Clarity, breath, and high perspective. Return to basics; speak the vowel; expand your horizon before deciding.

Ailm is the clear voice of spirit, the resonance that lingers when the world falls silent. It speaks of clarity, inspiration, and divine connection. This feda opens the final aicme like a deep breath before prayer, calling the seeker to listen rather than speak.

Its tree, the fir or pine, reaches straight toward the heavens and remains evergreen through winter’s austerity. In the oldest Irish sources, ailm was associated with the sound “A,” the first note of a chant or hymn. This makes it both beginning and end, the sound that calls us home. Pines were planted near sacred wells and used as beacons or boundary markers, symbolizing endurance and the voice of the eternal.

Ailm invites us to reconnect with our higher purpose. It teaches that spiritual strength is not withdrawn from the world but rooted within it. Through its song, we remember that silence itself can be a form of communion.