(A
work in progress)
I
will use some from dear departed Isaac Bonewits web site to start
off.
And
then as time allows add historic links to their use if I can find
them.
A::
Acorn:
Adder:
Anguinum;
glain y nidir; mân macal
The
Druid's Egg (also “glain,” “serpent's egg,” or “snake
stone”)
anguinum
> Ref. > Pliny's Natural History, XXIX.52.:
Awen:
by
Edward Williams (Iolo Morganwg) 1747-1826 From the Lebors "Barddas
1862
and 1874"
Edward Williams (Iolo Morganwg) 1747-1826
Much could be said
here but that is not our purpose now.
The
Order of Bards Ovates and Druids places the Awen inside a set of
three circles (right), representing Iolo’s three “stages of
existence.” Again influence from the "Barddas Lebors"
Almost
all of the folios of the Book of Kells contain small illuminations
like this decorated initial.
Stone
Celtic
crosses,
such as this, are a major source of knowledge regarding Celtic knot
design.
D::
The
Druid Sigils
Often
used by the "RDNA Reformed Druids North America"
ADF
"Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship" Sigal
Merlins-Sigil
Keltria,
a Neopagan Druid organization that branched off from ADF, has kept
the Druid Sigil as a wreath and added the Awen in the cente.
E::
Egg:
Anguinum;
glain y nidir; mân macal
The
Druid's Egg (also “glain,” “serpent's egg,” or “snake
stone”)
anguinum
> Ref. > Pliny's Natural History, XXIX.52.:
F::
Foot:
The
Druids Foot or Drudden
Fuss
A
serpentine stone with a hole in it is also called a Druid's Foot.
Also
in Hanover: A church with a pentagram
Some
also call a Pentacle a Druid's Foot.
A
dissertation upon the Druids
by
M. Esaias Pufendorff, of Chemnitz. Translated from the Latin by
Edmund Goldsmid
Publication
Date: 1650; this translation published in 1886.
H::
Hazel
Nuts and Trees:Celtic
Irish myth of the Well of Segais (Well of Wisdom), a well or pool
surrounded by nine hazel trees.
These
hazel trees dropped their nuts into the water and the water sustained
the trees.
In
turn the Salmon of Knowledge ate the nuts that fell into the
water,and to eat the salmon
meant
that the person was granted knowledge and poetic inspiration.
O::
Oak
Trees:
P::
Pine-tree
: symbolic of responsibility, valour, protection of the tribe and the
social order.
S::
Salmon:Bradán
Feasa > Irish The Salmon of Knowledge.
Celtic
Irish myth of the Well of Segais (Well of Wisdom), a well or pool
surrounded by nine hazel trees.
These
hazel trees dropped their nuts into the water and the water sustained
the trees.
In
turn the Salmon of Knowledge ate the nuts that fell into the
water,and to eat the salmon
meant
that the person was granted knowledge and poetic inspiration.
Snakes:
There
are many references to Snakes and old Celtic Gods and Goddesses, also
Druids having a special relationship with them. I will only go into
one here that I often use. As it seems many Neo Druids still have the
Christian phobia of snakes even as they walk the Druid's Woods.
In
a poem of Taliessin, translated by Davies, in his Appendix No. 6, is
the following enumeration of a Druid's
"I
am a Druid; I am an architect; I am a prophet; I am a serpent"
(Gnadr).From the word "Gnadr" is derived "adder,"
the name of a species of snake. Gnadr was probably pronounced like
"adder" with a nasal aspirate.
“Ophiolatreia”
is a interesting read and has a section on Druids and their special
relationships to snakes.
“Ophiolatreia”The
Rites and mysteries connected with the origin, rise, and development
of serpent worship in various parts of the world, enriched with
interesting traditions, and a full description of the celebrated
serpent mounds & temples, the whole forming an exposition of one
of the phases of phallic, or sex worship.|By (Anonymous) [1889]
Staff
and Stang:
Distaff
> Weaver’s distaff.
Stang
is an Old English term for a distaff which in its earliest form was
simply a forked tree branch with two or more tines. A distaff was a
tool for handspinning used every day by women for at least 2000 years
before it went out of fashion with the invention of the spinning
wheel and its introduction to Europe in the early 13th century and
then mechanical wheels during the industrial revolution. Raw carded
fibre is tied to the top of the distaff which was usually taller than
the spinner and the fibre was continuously pulled, twisted and spun
onto a spindle.
“The
so-called ‘sacred object’ held in such reverence by some witches
was in fact a weaver’s distaff–and could easily be mistaken for a
phallic symbol. The weaver’s distaff, bound with reeds or straw,
appears frequently in rural carvings and elsewhere. It again has
reference to the Craft and supreme Deity. It would appear that the
witches were not in the least influenced by Freudian concepts.”
(Add
Image)
So
now we have some historic roots.
Triple
spiral visible on entrance stone at Newgrange.
.
Familiar
as an ancient symbol of Sicily, the symbol dates back to when Sicily
was part of Magna Graecia, the colonial extension of Greece beyond
the Aegean.[8] Pliny the Elder attributes the origin of the
triskelion of Sicily to the triangular form of the island, the
ancient Trinacria (from the Greek tri- (three) and akra (end, limb)),
which consists of three large capes equidistant from each other,
pointing in their respective directions, the names of which were
Pelorus, Pachynus, and Lilybæum.
The
Celtic symbol of three conjoined spirals may have had triple
significance similar to the imagery that lies behind the triskelion.
The triple spiral motif is a Neolithic symbol in Western Europe. It
is considered a Celtic symbol but is in fact a pre-Celtic symbol.[9]
It is carved into the rock of a stone lozenge near the main entrance
of the prehistoric Newgrange monument in County Meath, Ireland.
Newgrange, which was built around 3200 BC,[6] predating the Celtic
arrival in Ireland but has long since been incorporated into Celtic
culture.
Rhine
Celts, electrum 'regenboogschoteltje' or rainbow cup with
triskele
Triskel
modelled after those of the Amfreville Gaulish helmet.
It appears
as a heraldic emblem on warriors' shields depicted on Greek pottery.
Neolithic,
Bronze Age, and Iron Age use in EuropeThe triskelion symbol appears
in many early cultures, the first in Malta (4400–3600 BC) and in
the astronomical calendar at the famous megalithic tomb of Newgrange
in Ireland built around 3200 BC,[6] Mycenaean vessels, on coinage in
Lycia, and on staters of Pamphylia (at Aspendos, 370–333 BC) and
Pisidia.
Ancient
Greek beaked jug decorated with triple spirals
Auspicious
carved stone from the hill-fort of Santa Tegra (A Guarda, Galicia)
A
modern labeling mark (Blessed by Druids)
According
to Ellen Evert Hopman of the Order of the Whiteoak (Ord
Na Darach Gile),
“this symbol, designed by
J.
Craig Melia,
is meant
to function as a Druidic equivalent to the Kosher marks used in
Judaism
W::
Well:Celtic
Irish myth of the Well of Segais (Well of Wisdom), a well or pool
surrounded by nine hazel trees.
The
Numbers:
1::
2::
3::
While
Three was the magic number of binding and establishing, nine
symbolized completeness and wholeness.
4::
Now
four is interesting and has many possibilities. In the Four Treasures
we see four items and four lost cities too. One could see many ways
to use these.
Four
magickal treasures from the four great ancient cities of the DTT
xxxxx:
The
Stone of Fal, from Falias;
The Spear of Lugh, from Gorias;
The
Sword of Nuada, from Findias;
The
Cauldron of the Dagda, from Murias.
5::
The
Fairy count by five:
While
the old man smiled, and Gwyn renewed his vow, the new wife began
to count by fives--one, two, three, four, five.
(
http://www.zeluna.net/welsh-fairytales-theladyofthelake.html)
Mythological
figures wore five-fold cloaks:
Some
also call a Pentacle a Druid's Foot.
So
do any or all of these symbols fit one Druidry, where, how and
why?
Each of us must answer that for our selves or accept what
ever Order if any we follows ideas.
Other Links, may be of value or not, you be the judge:
http://www.whats-your-sign.com/five-fold-celtic-meanings.html
http://www.symbolism.co/celtic_symbols.html
Moon Rising
TDK /
The Druid King
