Celtic Symbols

This is a short video I put together using the online tool Animoto. Eventually I plan to get into more sophisticated types of video production, but for now this is a good way to get started. These are some images of Celtic symbols such as Celtic knots and crosses, as well as landscapes, castles, dolmens and such from Britain, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The great music from this video is Poison Dwarf, by Neidfyre. Some images are from another cool Celtic site, http://www.aon-celtic.com.

The Cranberries are a popular Irish Pop/Rock group who released several albums, mainly in the 1990s. While their music cannot be called Celtic in any traditional sense, their sound, especially lead singer Dolores O’Riordan has a definite Irish/Celtic mood to it. The songs of the Cranberries, such as “Dream” and “Linger” are mellow, thoughtful soft rock, but too interesting to be dull the way some “soft” music is. The Cranberries are currently not performing as a group, as members have gone their separate ways.

I actually chose this topic because I found the following video that contains many interesting Celtic symbols, set to a Cranberries tune called Zombie.

The Holy Grail, while not necessarily a Celtic symbol per se, has long been associated with the British Isles. It is best known today from the legends of King Arthur. It is supposed to be the cup from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper. In a 12th Century story by Robert de Boron, the Grail is brought to Britain by Joseph of Arimathea. Medieval legends describe knights such as Percival on quests for the Grail.

There are also connections between the Grail legend and Welsh literature, especially the Mabinogion, in which the hero Bran has a life-giving cauldron.
Some authors and researchers, notably Lewis Spence The Mysteries of Britain (Senate Paperbacks)
connect the Holy Grail to earlier Celtic beliefs, such as Cerridwen’s Cauldron, from which the mythic bard Taliesin drank, giving him the gift of prophecy.

While the Holy Grail has long been a sacred symbol of Christianity, especially in Western Europe, the cauldrons of Bran and Cerridwen have more recently been resurrected by neo-pagans. It is difficult to prove one way or the other whether these two traditions are directly related –that is, if the Holy Grail developed out of earlier tales of cauldrons from the Celtic lands.

When it comes to symbolism, however, it isn’t necessary to find direct historical links in order to find meanings and similarities. The Grail, and its connection to Jesus, relates to the Christian sacrement of Communion, in which worshippers partake of Christ’s body and blood, symbolizing eternal life. This seems to connect with the cauldron of Bran.

J. A. MacCulloch’s The Religion of the Ancient Celts
connects the cauldron with earlier fertility gods and goddesses, such as Dagda and Cerridwen, and spoke of the “three properties of the cauldron –inexhaustibility, inspiration and regeneration. From this we can see that both the Holy Grail and the cauldrons of Celtic tradition were related in many ways.

Although my focus with the Celtic Symbols blog has been on more esoteric themes, the shamrock is probably the most obvious of Celtic, or Irish symbols. Shamrocks have a long history in Ireland. They are associated with good luck, St Patrick and leprechauns. In Irish, it is spelled seamrog (meaning “summer plant”).

At one time, the shamrock was a plant sacred to the druids. This is believed to be because the leaves form a triad, and this is very important in Celtic symbolism (see my post about the triskele, or triple spiral). St. Patrick was said to have used the shamrock as a way to symbolize the Trinity. Hence, the shamrock is a popular symbol for St. Patrick’s Day.

The plant most commonly associated with shamrocks is the white clover, but other plants with three leaves are sometimes called by this name as well. In the 19th Century, it became a symbol of rebellion against the English, and for a time is was forbidden to display it.

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!