Sources

The White Goddess: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. "The White Goddess: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-white-goddess-a-historical-grammar-of-poetic-myth.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). The White Goddess: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-white-goddess-a-historical-grammar-of-poetic-myth

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-the-white-goddess-a-historical-grammar-o,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {The White Goddess: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-white-goddess-a-historical-grammar-of-poetic-myth},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

The White Goddess is Robert Graves's own poetic argument, not a work of historical scholarship, and Graves himself presented it that way; it is the direct source of the thirteen-month ogham tree calendar and most modern ogham divination in use today. This atlas states plainly what its own history shows: professional Celticists have rejected Graves's reconstruction as historically unsupported, and it is cited here only as the documented origin of the modern divinatory scheme, never as evidence that the scheme reflects ancient Celtic practice. That is the honest reading of the book's actual track record, an immensely influential but historically rejected reconstruction. Use it to trace what a modern ogham divination system draws from Graves's own invention; it is not evidence for pre-Christian Celtic tree symbolism.

Facts

Assessment

Reliability Tier

Robert Graves's own 1948 book, the source of the thirteen-month ogham tree calendar and most modern ogham divination; Graves himself presented it as poetic argument and Celticists have rejected its reconstruction, so it is cited here as the origin of the modern scheme, never as evidence for ancient practice.

Notes

Source of the thirteen-month ogham tree calendar and of most modern ogham divination. Graves himself presented the book as poetic argument. Celticists reject its reconstruction. Cited as the origin of the modern scheme, never as evidence for ancient practice.

Citation

Author

Robert Graves

Publisher

Faber and Faber

Publication Year

1948

URL

https://archive.org/details/whitegoddesshist0000grav

Source Type

tradition

Claims Backed By This Source (129 claims)

This source backs 129 claims across the atlas. As facts: 61 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate, 1 popular myth - corrected. As cited relationships: 14 holds. Plus 52 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.

Disposition By Topic

Celtic Tree Signs, 39 claims: 13 well-attested, 13 holds, 13 general references.
Ogham Fews, 31 claims: 6 well-attested, 25 general references.
Calendars, 11 claims: 9 well-attested, 1 popular myth - corrected, 1 general references.
Deities, 11 claims: 6 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate, 4 general references.
Plants, 9 claims: 4 well-attested, 5 general references.
Articles, 8 claims: 8 well-attested.
Sources, 8 claims: 8 well-attested.
Mythical Creatures, 6 claims: 5 well-attested, 1 general references.
Historical Figures, 4 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 holds, 2 general references.
Doctrines, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.