CELTIC SYMBOLS: DRUIDS AND THE SPIRALS OF LIFE

Celtic Spirals Some of the oldest symbolseither.
associated with the Celts are Celtic spirals.Then there are three objects of metempyschosis:
Prominently displayed on ancient artifacts datingto collect into the soul the properties of all being,
long before the written word in Ireland, Celticto acquire a knowledge of all things, and to get
spirals are second only to Knotwork designs aspower to conquer all evil. They are also, the Celtic
the symbols most associated with Celtic art.Druids say, three kinds of knowledge; knowledge
These mythical spirals are among the oldestof the name of each thing, of its cause, and its
symbols associated with Celtic art. They areinfluence. Three things that continually grow less;
believed to represent the spiritual balancedarkness, falsehood, and death. And three things
between inner and outer consciousness. Peoplethat constantly increase; light, life, and truth.
from many lands herald Celtic designs as theThe Number Three is a sacred symbol in many
emblem of their heritage because the peoplecultures all over the world.
known as "Celts" lived in many areas ofThe Spiral of Life The Triple-Spiral, otherwise
modern-day Europe.known as the "Spiral of Life", is found on many
The Triskele, or the Triskelion The triskele,ancient Irish stone carvings - the most famous of
otherwise known as the triskelion, is awhich is Newgrange, found in County Meath,
three-pronged spiral, and is often used as a basisIreland, which dates back to 2500 BC. Most
for more complex spirals. Some suggest ancientscholars believe the spiral of life represents the
Celtic triskeles represented the Triple Goddess ofcycle of life, death, and rebirth. Others say this
the three ages of womanhood. It later came todeeply mystical symbol represents the male,
represent the Holy Trinity in Christianity - God thefemale, and child on the path of life. Another
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Whatever its’interpretation is that it also represents the Triple
meaning, it is interesting that the motif is basedGoddess.
around The Number 3 - regarded as a highlyTrinity-Celtic-Knot or Triquetra The Triquetra,
sacred number in many ancient cultures, not leastcommonly known as the Trinity knot, takes an
The Druids.individual strand and wraps it into and onto itself,
Three is a Magic Number The Druids believed insuch that it becomes a three-lobed, yet singular
three worlds and in transmigration from one todesign. This design symbolized the connection of
the other: in a world above this one, in whichthe three planes of existence: mind, body, and
happiness predominated; a world below, ofspirit. To Christians, it illustrated the essential core
misery; and this present state. This transmigrationof Christian belief wherein one God was Father,
was to punish and reward, and also to purify theSon, and Holy Spirit. For both beliefs, the Trinity
soul. In the present world, said the Druids, goodknot symbolized the way in which three separate
and evil are so exactly balanced that man has theessences were vitally interconnected.
utmost freedom and is able to choose or reject