The Celts believed trees were ancestors of human beings. They planted or kept one large tree in the centre of their fields where they held special meetings and it provided shelter and food for wildlife. As well as being a doorway to the spirit world, it acted as a guard on the land. The Celts believed that their enemies were rendered powerless if their sacred tree was felled. Celtic knots and their meanings are varied but one of the most beautiful is the Dara Knot.
This intricate knot resembles a tree and gets its name from the Irish word doire which means oak tree. It first appeared in the 3 rd and 4 th centuries and Celtic Knots such as the Dara Knot were used on monuments, in manuscripts and temples from the 8 th century. It is one of over eight basic variations of the Celtic Knot.
The Dara Knot is characterised by intertwined lines with no beginning and no end. It is a knot said to show the tree and root system of the sacred oak, a common theme through the varieties of this knot.
Oaks, as previously mentioned, were considered sacred in Celtic culture, particularly by the Druids, and the intricate root system is represented in the Dara Knot. The ancient Celts are believed to have called upon this symbol for strength and wisdom in difficult times and situations. It represented strength, wisdom, power and leadership. Other meanings of the Dara Knot include. This 9th-century Christian symbol of the crucifixion of Christ is composed of both mixed Christian and Celtic pre-Christian concepts.
It is made from four triquetras or four Celtic unity knots and is a braided variation of the Everlasting Cross. It is often called the Triquetra Cross. Other meanings include. The Celtic Cross predates Christianity and is believed to be a symbolic compass. It represents the four cardinal directions of Earth, Fire, Wind and Water. It also represents mind, body, soul and heart. Typically, the Celtic Cross is comprised of a Latin cross with a nimbus surrounding the intersection of the arms and stem.
Legend says that the Celtic Cross was introduced to Ireland by either St Patrick or St Declan and that the circle was used to denote the sun to pagans.
Early examples date to around the 9 th century and the oldest High stone crosses still standing in Ireland date from between the 8 th and 12 th centuries. Notable High crosses with Celtic shapes in Ireland can be viewed at. A lesser-known Celtic symbol is the Serch Bythol, which is Welsh for everlasting love between a couple.
It is one of a few Celtic symbols for family. Probably the most noticeable being the Olympics of course! The Celtic 5 fold is also known as the Borromean cross. It is five rings arrange as four outer rings are joined with one central ring. While you can compare it to the Olympic symbol, it is very different.
The Olympic symbol represents the five continents coming together in unity for the Olympic games. Whereas the Celtic five-fold has one central ring holding the others together God in this case. The number five is also often associated with protection. This is an interesting one. It actually overlays into a lot of other histories and even seen in Tibetan Buddhism. Their understanding of it is quite similar to the Celts.
At its centre rests a Celtic triskelion. Wow, that is a lot of meanings! You can read more about it on the main Wikipedia page. Irish people around the globe still celebrate this day.
Which, in Irish Celtic Mythology, is known as a life-giving goddess. Brigid is celebrated on the 1st of February. Be sure to pin this Celtic Symbols image to your Pinterest board, and if you enjoyed these, be sure to browse some incredible Celtic Jewelry here :. Liam intelligently planted two different pine trees species in the shape of this giant Celtic cross design ten years ago in the woods of County Donegal.
You can discover more about these secret Celtic Symbols in my article on them here. If you enjoyed this article and are in the mood for some Irish humour , I have 30 of the best Irish jokes for you to read here or 15 more Irish jokes here. I have decided to update this article every week with a new Celtic symbol.
When I first published this article five years ago in , I only had 10 Celtic symbols. Over the years, I have regularly kept it updated, and you will find only the most up to date information here from an Irishman.
S Love all things, Irish? Get your weekly dose of Irish straight to your inbox here. If you enjoy a good Irish joke, you can read these 30 Irish jokes or these 15 more Irish jokes. Higgins — Top Irish Poems. I recently bought a Celtic crosses at a garage sale. I'm wondering what this cross or the symbols on it represent?
I am looking for the Celtic symbol for honesty. Want to be sure I have the correct symbol. Would you know? I have a celtic symbol which I am hoping an expert can take a look at and maybe give me some information about its meaning or absolutely anything at all! I'll leave my email below and if you're happy to I can send over a picture of the symbol! I really appreciate any help at all, so thank you!!! Lammas day typically fell at the very beginning of August. Beltane was the Gaelic May Day festival, held around 1st May.
It marked the beginning of Summer, the time that cattle would be driven out to the pastures. Bonfires and their flames, smoke and ashes were lit as part of rituals to protect the cattle, crops and people. Imbolc, later called St. Imbolc was originally a pagan festival which became a celebration of St. Brigid, a Christianization of an earlier Pagan goddess.
Yule or Yuletide is the historical festival of the winter solstice, originally celebrated by Celtic tribes in what is modern-day Germany.
Yule lent many customs to the later, Christian, Christmas festival at the same time of year. Customs like the Yule log, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others originated with Celtic Pagan traditions. Samhain is the name of a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of winter, after the autumn harvest. Celebrated from 31 October to 1 November, between sunsets. Samhain is Pagan in origin, celebrated since ancient times. Neolithic tombs have been found in Ireland aligned sunrise at the same time of year.
It marked the time cattle returned from the summer pastures livestock was slaughtered for the winter. The triple spiral is extremely ancient.
It may be older than the first Celtic tribes who used it. The symbol represents female power, femininity, motherhood, transition and growth. The double spiral represents balance between two opposing forces. It also symbolizes spiritual awakening, the concurrence of the physical world with the spiritual realm. Birth and death, creation and destruction exist in balance and are represented, also, by the double spiral.
In Celtic mythology Wheel of Taranis is the god of thunder who was worshipped primarily in France, Britain, and Ireland.
Taranis was the recipient of human sacrifice, according to the Roman poet Lucan. Usually depicted as a bearded man, often with a thunderbolt and a wheel in his hands. Awen is the symbol of the poet bards, a sort of personified creative inspiration, similar to the Greek muses.
The inspired individual would then be an awenydd. It is depicted as a circle containing three lines below three short dots. They are usually interpreted, for obvious reasons, as representing wholeness and purity. One especially popular circular knot in modern times is the five fold symbol. This is five circles, four overlapping with one in the centre.
This is said to represent the same four elements that square knots do, connected by a fifth unseen element. This is a perfect example of the importance the Celts placed on religion. As you might expect, there a huge number of more complex and intricate knots that include everything from animals and trees to hearts and various other imagery. The Dara Knot is an intricate type of knot that resembles a tree. Trees were very significant in Celtic life and oaks were considered especially sacred.
It represents wisdom, strength, power, and leadership. Before knots were around to further complicate things, simple spiral symbols were the main emblems that adorned all Celtic settlements. These mostly came in the form of stone carvings on special sites rather than in jewelry and artwork.
While knots were around from AD, spirals go back a lot further to BC, when society would not have been as developed and people would not have had such refined skills when it came to using tools. Triskel Necklace. Spirals are a frequent occurrence in nature; from snails right up to galaxies, so it seems like a natural motif for the Celts to pick up on. They were nearly always drawn in a clockwise manner, which some experts say is in keeping with the direction of the sun.
Therefore, the spiral is symbol of being in harmony with the earth and sun. There are of course exceptions, so the same experts say that anti-clockwise spirals were associated with spells and non-natural elements. The two used together create balance, and it is true that there are often equal numbers of both in ancient Celtic carvings, so who knows, they could be right.
Single spirals are the most commonly found type, found not only all across Ireland but all over France and stretching further into mainland Europe too. A small, widely drawn spiral is usually found at the entrance to various sites. There is a theory that tightly drawn spirals represent the summer sun and loosely drawn spirals denote the weaker winter sun. They could also be representations of star constellations. Double spirals were almost as common.
This design consists of two interconnected spirals which would have been much more difficult to draw. For this reason it probably had higher significance, and is said to mean universal balance in the same way as the yin and yang symbol. It is usually found on artefacts as well as carved in stone, on vases and various other things.
Because of this many people think it symbolises water or the sea. There is yet another theory that they represent night and day too. From our Workshop : Triskele or Triple Spiral. It is drawn in one single continuous line, flowing to and from the centre point. Each spiral is eternally flowing outward and returning to its starting point. It was likely only used for highly significant people and places. The Triskele is admired for is balance and harmonious pattern.
There are many other ancient symbols besides knots and spirals from the Celtic world.
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