CELTIC: Motifs (For your information)

Celtic motifs include: Spiral; Celtic cross; Tree of life; Labyrinth; Celtic knotwork; Triad; Fairies; and Irish Claddagh.

The Celts, it has been said, abhorred a vacuum. Their artisans left few voids in the pieces they crafted, filling empty space with intricate and enchanting designs. Even the most utilitarian objects became, in the hands of the Celtic craftsman, works of unparalleled beauty and style.

CELTIC SPIRAL: An ancient and perennial motif in Celtic art is the spiral, which seems to have been a magical symbol to the Celts. The triskele spiral appears to embody the sacred triad of power in the universe, which the pagan Celts revered in many forms. Just as the threefold powers of heaven, earth, and spirit come together in a central point to manifest the individual, the three arms of the triskele spiral come together in a central point that represents the soul. The arms of the triskele spiral whirl about its center, representing the past, present, and future as they whirl in a continuing creation and dissolution of experience in the dance of the soul.

CELTIC CROSS: Like the spiral, the Celtic cross is rooted in pagan beliefs. Centuries older than the Christian cross, the Celtic cross seems to be another magical symbol of the individual who is , again, at the scared center. The four directions - North, South, East, and West - come together out of the past and meet in a center crossroad that represents the soul at its present awareness.

TREE OF LIFE: The Celts revered nature. They worshiped the transcendent Divinity through its manifestations in the material world, and trees held special significance for the pagan Celts and especially their Druid priests. In its basic form, the Celtic Tree of Life is, once again, a symbol of the individual who takes sustenance from its Mother Earth and reaches for the heavens in a remarkable journey of evolution toward the infinite. Trees also represented life. Almost all trees had sacred associations. Fruit trees, especially apples, were reguarded as having their own personalities and were often guarded by fairies or spirits. "Knocking on wood" was a means of calling forth the tree spirits for protection.

LABYRINTH: The Celts used geometric designs like the key and step patterns to adorn many objects. As with other Celtic motifs, the keys and steps, which come together to form elaborate labyrinths, seem to embody pre-Christian, pagan Celtic religious beliefs. The labyrinth, or maze, symbolizes the Sacared Journey of the soul, which is a twisting, turning pilgrimage through many lifetimes and experiences. Each turn in the maze represents a lesson that takes the soul closer to the center vortex of enlightenment where the journey ends in the fusion of physical, mental, and spiritual planes.

The Chartres Labyrinth (see #S617 spiritual section), which was a meditative prayer tool that was laid in the floor of Chartres Cathedral (France) in the 13th century for pilgrims seeking union with God. Today, the labyrinth is enjoying a rebirth as a method of prayer and contemplation. Seekers walk the labyrinth in three stages: (1) Purgation, which is an act of release, of shedding thoughts and emotions to quiet the mind; (2) Illumination, which is an act of meditation and prayer at the center of the labyrinth; and (3) Union, which is an act of joining with God or the infinite.

KNOTWORK: Undoubtedly, the Celts knot had its origins in the ancient key and step patterns of Pre-Christian Celtic Europe. However, the curvilinear knot was essentially developed by Irish Christian scribes of the Book of Kells who used knots to adorn their manuscripts. Like their pagan predecessors, these Celtic Christians left few voids in their beautifully illustrated works. Though they were Christian, the monks who filled the Book of kells seemed to pull from the memory of their pagan forefathers a design which represented the Thread of Life. Twisting and turning, the Celtic knot symbolizes the infinite "Thread," which the soul weaves into a tapestry of experience through past, present, and future toward eenlightenment.

CELTIC TRIAD: The Celtic Triad is a magical symbol that captures the power inherit in the number 3, a number which was sacred to the Celts as the embodiments of the three-fold power existing in the universe: Spirit, Matter, and Thought (or Will). Originally, the triad symbolized the three dimensional world of Earth, Water, and Air, which were also three of the four elements recognized by the Ancients. (The fourth element, fire, belonged only to the gods.) The triad also represents the continuity of time as it flows through past, present, and future. It is there in the three-fold cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

IRISH CLADDAGH:Legends of the meaning of the Claddagh abound, but it is thought to have originated in a small, 17th century fishing village of the same name located at the confluence of the River Corrib and Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland, where it was said to symbolize the "Fishing Kings of Claddagh." To the people of the fishing village, the Claddagh meant, "In love and friendship let us reign."

The Claddagh was first fashioned into a ring around 1690 by goldsmith Richard Joyce, who had been held in captivity in Tunis by the Moors. In his gratitude for has safe return to his beloved village, he crafted the symbol of Claddagh's fishing kings into a ring, which over the centuries has come to symbolize love (the hear), loyalty ( the crown), and friendship and faith (the hands).

The placement of the Claddagh Ring on the finger reveals much about the wearer. If worn on the right hand with the ring's heart facing away from the wearer's heart, then the wearer' heart is unspoken for. If worn on the right hand with the ring's heart facing toward the wearer's heart, then the wearer's heart is already claimed. As a symbol of ture love and fidelity, the ring is worn in commitment or marriage on the left hand with the ring's heart facing inward toward the wearer's heart. A simple verse reveals the code" "My heart turned out 'til your love turned it 'round; 'til from my right to my left, with this ring I thee wed."

CELTIC FAIRIES: The word "fairies" comes from the earlier noun "fays," probably a form of "fatae." "fay-erie" was a state of enchantment or glamour. Fairies used the glamour to trap mortals in Fairyland. The primary use of the four-leafed clover enabled mortals to see through the fairies' illusions. The word "fay" describes one who has the "sight" or the gift of prophecy.