PART 1:  Lichen Oracle THE LICHEN
Graphis scripta is the most common of several similar lichens that grow on smooth tree bark in the eastern U.S., particularly the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain.  Graphis lichens form a thin gray coating with scattered linear black spore-bearing structures that look like ancient writing.  The "letters" (called lirellae) are only a few millimeters long.  This group of lichens is tropical to subtropical, with several genera.  Depending upon the species, the lirellae may form dots, straight or wavy lines, irregular glyph-like shapes, radiating clusters, or complex labyrinthiform patterns. Graphis scripta is one of the most variable species.  Along the Atlantic coast it often grows with Phaeographis inusta, a close relative that has broader, star-shaped lirellae.

THE ORACLE
Graphis scripta was one of the first lichens that I learned as a child, and I have always thought its mysterious glyphs were beautiful and compelling, and wondered how to "read" them and what message they might contain.  On a visit to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, I photographed the abundant lichens that grow on holly bark in the rare remnants of old-growth maritime deciduous forest.  In a couple of hours walk through the woods, I passed through ancient groves, vine tangles and coastal shrub thickets, black pools in freshwater swamps, sand dunes and maritime wildflowers, and eventually reached the Atlantic surf.  This journey, which has the essence of a sacred pilgrimage, suggested the theme of the oracle.  I studied the photos and carefully chose the glyphs, and was surprised to see them quickly fall into an order that seemed logical and natural.  Interpretations were assigned intuitively, by looking at the shape of the glyph and its place in the sequence.

Graphis scripta	Phaeographis inusta

The 28 glyphs (numbered from top left to bottom right in the chart) correspond to phases of the moon. Left column (New, First Quarter, Full, and Third Quarter Moons) is Phaeographis inusta, the rest are Graphis scripta. Lichen Glyph Descriptions

Some other lichens growing alongside Graphis: Pertusaria xanthodes (white dots) Pyrenula cruenta (red dots) Trypethelium virens (green/brown, lower right)

Island of the Morning PHOTO ESSAY More about the Outer Banks maritime forest. Artwork HOME