Celtic Symbols

Courtney Davis is an example of a contemporary artist who is reviving traditional Celtic symbols and designs and placing them into a modern form. His books are especially appealing to people who want to make art themselves, or perhaps get tattoos or decorate their homes with Celtic motifs, because he goes into detail about how to create and use these designs.

For example, in books such as the Celtic Art Source book, Courtney Davis discusses the history and traditional uses of Celtic crosses, spirals, knotwork and zoomorphic (animal) images. He gives examples of how these can be used as borders, mandalas or other decorations, as well as displaying fully formed colorful images he has created.

Courtney Davis has also created other books that specialize in particular Celtic symbols, such as spirals, as well as calendars and card decks with his work.

This video showcases some of Davis’ beautiful interpretations of Celtic art:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVqf2n7BFrg

Dragons are a mythical beast famous in both Asian and European tales. The national flag of Wales features a red dragon, so dragons have obviously influenced the Celtic lands.

In Celtic history and mythology, dragons represent sovereignty, or a chieftain, as in the word (and name) Pendragon, which means chief.

The idea of ley lines is popular among new age and occult researchers. These are the lines that connect sacred spots, and energy is supposed to flow between them. Ley lines have been compared to the idea in Asian medicine of meridians, which connect the various organs of the body. Ley lines have also been called “dragon lines,” suggesting that dragons inhabit the places beneath the earth where powerful energies flow.

An interesting source of ideas about the place of dragons in Celtic myth was written in the 19th Century by J.F. Campbell, Celtic Dragon Myth, which can still be found today.

This video features a haunting Celtic melody by David Arkenstone, entitled, The Dragon’s Breath, accompanied by some cool dragon images.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0tdt0oVQkA

In this Celtic Symbols blog we will be exploring, among many other things, Celtic languages. When you think of Celtic symbols, you may think of things like Celtic knots and spirals and we will certainly be discussing those too –and their application in art, jewelry and tattoos. However, languages are also based on symbols. In fact, language is the most common form of symbolism we use in everyday life.

There are many Celtic languages. Celtic languages are a distinct family of language (like Germanic and Latin languages), and part of the larger Indo-European classification of languages. They are not spoken by many people, but they are not dead languages either. There are people working to keep them alive. There are also Celtic musicians who keep the languages alive by singing in traditional Irish, Scottish, Welsh and other Celtic tongues.

This video is the first in a series of tutorials in Irish. I will not post all of them. If you are interested, you can find them on Youtube. There are other resources for Celtic languages as well.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSgwrCdOXdw

The Triskele is a triple spiral symbol is a Celtic and even pre-Celtic symbol that has been found on ancient megalithic and neolithic sites around Ireland, such as Newgrange. The number 3 and the triple spiral has had various meanings over the centuries. The triple spiral has been associated with the Sun. One idea is that the triple spiral represents pregnancy, with each of the three spirals standing for three months. Yet another, and not necessarily contradictory interpretation is that the triple spiral represents the three phases of birth, death and rebirth.

Modern neo-Pagans, such as Wiccans, recognize the Triple Goddess, which is probably the most common contemporary association of the triskele. It is likely that ancient pagans associated this ancient Irish symbol with some kind of divinity as well. The Christians, of course, later worshipped the Trinity.

The spiral by itself is an ancient symbol occurring in many cultures. It is usually considered to be symbolic of the universe or cosmos as it unfolds over time. Many consider it to be significant that the DNA helix has a spiral shape. The triskele, or triple spiral is a variation on this cosmic theme, reflecting the sacredness some cultures had for the number three.

The triskelion (which means “three-legged” in Greek) is a similar symbol, consisting of three interlocked spirals. These are also commonly found in Celtic lands. The triskelion is, in fact the official symbol of the Celtic land of Brittany. It is also found on the Isle of Man (yet another Celtic land, with its own language) and Sicily. This symbol has also been found on ancient Greek coins.

The ancient Irish symbol, the triskele and its counterpart in nearby lands, the Triskelion are sacred depictions of the number three as related to nature or the divine. They are being revived by fantasy and tattoo artists today, especially those who work with Celtic symbols.

Ogham is the ancient Celtic alphabet that was inscribed on stones and trees. The letters of this alphabet were all actually based on trees. Some researchers have connected this practice with the Druids, the pre-Christian priests of the Celtic lands and compared it to various forms of shamanism around the world. The poet Robert Graves bases a great deal of his book, The White Goddess on the intricate meanings of the Celtic Tree Alphabet.

One fascinating but controversial belief is that the ancient Celts visited America and left evidence of this in the form of Ogham. This blog will go into more detail about many of these subjects, but for now I wanted to post this short video about this. It is certainly not inconceivable that the Celts, like the Vikings, came to the New World at some point.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dsGYI7Yw4E

Celtic knots are probably the best known of Celtic symbols. They are attractive symbols in themselves, and are often used today as borders and decorations on other works of art or design. They are also very popular today in tattoos, as well as jewelry.

The Celtic knot is a symbol of infinity, and of the many connections that exist between all things. One possible analogy in the world of symbolism would be to the magic carpet, as in Persia and other places where intricate carpets were (and still are woven. The weaving of a carpet has been used to symbolize layers of reality, and the magic or flying carpet could mean many things, such as astral or interdimensional travel.

Can you draw a Celtic knot? It is no simple matter for most people. The bad news is that I cannot teach you this; I have trouble drawing stick figures in fact. The good news is that this cool little video shows someone demonstrating the technique to drawing a Celtic knot in under 3 minutes! She also discusses the history of the Book of Kells, a medieval manuscript that contains many Celtic knots and other beautiful designs.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_apTj-uIy0

Thanks for visiting the Celtic Symbols blog! This site is inspired by the beauty and enduring popularity of Celtic symbols such as knotwork, zoomorphic images (those depicting animals, both real and imaginary, such as sea monsters and dragons) and other images. These images are very commonly seen today in many art books, in jewelry, as tattoos and fantasy art (paintings, book covers, CD covers, etc.).

Celtic art goes way back in history, and I’ll be exploring some of this fascinating tradition. There will also be links to other interesting sites and resources. I think Celtic symbols and artwork has such appeal, not only for its intrinsic beauty, but because it expresses something of the infinite, as in a Celtic knot. There is both a spirituality and earthiness to Celtic art.

I’d like to explore the many ways Celtic symbols have been used over the centuries, including languages. For example, one of the earliest Celtic languages was the Irish Tree Alphabet, known as Ogham. This, and other aspects of Celtic or Gaelic languages have also become very popular recently, especially in music.

So please visit this site often and keep up with this fascinating aspect of Celtic culture!