| In the spring of 2003, I spent three weeks in the | | | | We speak of a circle of friends and live in circular |
| city of Chennai, formerly known as Madras, | | | | cycles, such as the day and the season. Native |
| located in Southern India. Each morning, walking | | | | cultures throughout the world hold ceremonies in |
| before the heat of the day, I was amazed to see | | | | protective circles. A knot work pattern with |
| intricate knot work patterns drawn out free hand | | | | circles or variations of circles certainly has some |
| with flour in front of the driveways and gates of | | | | important keys to relationships and community. |
| homes. These artistic scrolls, I was told by an | | | | A square knot motif concerns structure and |
| Indian friend, were offerings to local gods, and | | | | stability, which is why buildings use the shape of a |
| were part of a tradition that stretched back into | | | | square foundation. Numerology has always played |
| the ancient past. | | | | a part in ancient cultures and there are many |
| I have seen knot patterns in my travels | | | | books on the subject. The number five, for |
| throughout many parts of the world. In Islamic | | | | example, represents the four directions and the |
| countries where iconography is prohibited, the | | | | center point, or the five senses. |
| mosques are heavily decorated with knot-like | | | | We also often see knot work shaped like an oval, |
| patterns. Stone-carved knot work motifs can be | | | | which is the shape of an egg. The oval has |
| found on ruins from the Americas to the Hindu | | | | something to do with generative creativity and |
| iconography of Bali, Indonesia. In Tibet, the | | | | birth. Planets circle the sun in an oval. And if you |
| "eternal knot" is a common symbol representing | | | | squeeze an oval together you get the |
| the endless cycles of existence. | | | | lemniscates, the symbol for infinity which is very |
| The knot work most familiar in the West is from | | | | prevalent in knot work motifs. |
| Celtic iconography. Though the Celts, before the | | | | Many knot work motifs also deal with vectors |
| Roman Empire, were spread throughout much of | | | | that travel in a certain direction. If you look at the |
| Western Europe, we're most familiar with their | | | | shape of an arrow, it's easy to understand why a |
| designs remaining today in England, Scotland, | | | | triangle might connote movement. |
| Ireland and Wales. On the moors, surrounded by | | | | Another common motif is the knot work depicting |
| winding rock walls and ancient neolithic bridges, this | | | | a trinity. In the Celtic tradition, many deities had |
| knot work carved in stone transcends time. We | | | | three forms. The Mother Goddess was |
| know from the writings of the Romans that the | | | | understood to the maiden, mother and crone. The |
| Celts believed strongly in the sacredness of place. | | | | universe was viewed as heaven, earth and |
| Similar to the beliefs of many in South India | | | | otherworld. We are born, we live and we die. |
| today, the land anchored a particular god or | | | | Certainly the trinity knot also illustrates the One |
| goddess that was meant to be honored, though | | | | being dividing off into the masculine and feminine, |
| we do not know whether the knot work designs | | | | or the mother and son- a mystical truth |
| were made as offerings. | | | | contemplated in many sacred traditions. |
| The broad spectrum of knot work designs found | | | | The cross is also a symbol rich in meaning. From a |
| in many cultures suggests that the motif is both | | | | simple point of view, two lines crossing |
| universal and rooted in ancient mystery. From the | | | | symbolizing a connection or meeting which can be |
| most general perspective, knot work iconography | | | | a point of creativity. Some mystics speak of the |
| can be viewed as a metaphor for our own unique | | | | horizontal axis representing the earthly plain, while |
| tapestry of experience. On a macrocosmic level, | | | | the vertical axis points toward the heavens. |
| the knots express metaphorically that life on | | | | While the above guide for understanding knot |
| earth is deeply interconnected, as illustrated in the | | | | work is not necessarily based on any scholarly or |
| Spider Women's web or the Great Hoop of Life in | | | | anthropological text on the meaning of knots, it |
| Native American stories. As one Native woman | | | | does provide a starting point that is based on a |
| told me, if you move a pebble on top of a | | | | universal perspective. Most knot work designs are |
| mountain, you can change the course of a mighty | | | | going to have some variation of these shapes. |
| river. This is also expressed slightly differently in | | | | Spending time contemplating the motif may yield |
| the Biblical aphorism, "We reap what we sow," | | | | some insight. |
| which is similar to the Eastern understanding of | | | | Lastly, there's an essential reason why the knot |
| karma. Even physics today speaks of a "unified | | | | work is so prevalent, and that is beauty. I will |
| field." | | | | never forget Jaisalmer, an ancient town in the |
| Yet it is also true that individual elements of knots | | | | desert of Rajasthan. This ancient city, where |
| hold specific meaning from the perspective of | | | | caravans used to stop and trade, is made from |
| sacred geometry. Look around you at different | | | | sandstone. Many of the buildings are carved with |
| geometric forms. Why is the earth, our eyes, the | | | | intricate knot work patterns. Strangers walked up |
| trunks of trees circular instead of square? How | | | | to me and said, "How do you like our beautiful |
| does the circle function in the world verses the | | | | city?" I could see clearly how art is life-giving and |
| triangle and what does that mean in terms of | | | | the need for beauty is something fundamental. In |
| knot work that uses circular patterns? Here are a | | | | the middle of the desert, the beautiful knot work |
| few hints to help you with these blueprints. | | | | in golden stone brings joy to the heart. |