As with most symbols – depending on where you look, you will get different answers. This is especially true with older symbols. Over time people, their spiritual beliefs and culture, shift. They grow and change as the people do. At the same time, the symbols they hold close to them start to shift and change along with it. This is why we have some many varying opinions on what old symbols mean.
Many people though want truth. What did they originally mean? What is the “truth” of their origin? The one thing we should accept though, is that we will never know. We gleam clues and ideas in their various transitions and growths, but the concrete “truth” you seek is just not there. Deities are very similar this way. We gleam various aspects and opinions on who They were, Their domains, what is sacred to Them, but it is only our personal journey with Them do we discover these things – and the way They are for us. Not a universal “truth” to hang onto, but an experience that is ours.
Depending on where you look and who you are talking to, the Celtic Cross will hold a variety of different meanings and stories. How it came about, what it symbolizes, all depending on the source you are choosing to look at.
I love Celtic Crosses. I always have. The meaning they hold for me has shifted and changed, as I have grown and learned new understanding along my own journey. We will never know the truth and intention of the original designer, but that shouldn’t stop us from making our own connections.
For me, in my current phase of growth, sees the Celtic Cross as this:
The Circle around the outside is the cycles, flow, and transformations between the seasons, elements, and the flow of life. Always in movement, always changing – connecting and flowing.
Each of the arms representing those aspects – the elements, the seasons, the stages of our life.
The knot-work connecting and binding them. Creating a flow between all of them. It represents the physical and spiritual together.
Does it align with what some say – yes. Does it go against others – yup. Does it matter to me which is true – nope. I know this bothers some people, but I am not here on this earth to please others and walk a path that is dictated by another. Spiritualism isn’t cookie cutter, one size fits all. It is personal, it is experienced, and it is ours alone. It is our personal connection to Divine, to nature, to the spirit and the physical. Mine is no less valid than other’s just because mine may be different – and that goes for you too.
The Triskelion is an even more convoluted symbol. Dating back farther than any written records, found in various places, and a lot of guess work again from looking at the people and cultures over time. Its original meaning lost to the ages, and each culture creating and transforming it through their own evolutions.
For me it has many symbolizations. The Journey inward, within ourselves, in one spiral – The journey outward, how we move through the world in another– The Journey with Divine, spiritually, in the last. One spiral represent Water, one Air, and one Fire – all the elements that act upon the earth. It represents the transformations of all of these, as well as myself. It is the symbol of my Goddess, The Morrigan, and Her core aspect of Transformation – never ending, always in motion.
Just because my views and interpretations may not align with another’s does not make the symbol any less sacred to me, or any less useful within my own path.
We need to be honest, that there is a lot of speculation and educated guesses when it comes to the ancient past. Most of what is written, was written way past the time of the event or the creation. Language is a good example of how things change over time with people and the culture. The words we use and the new meanings being placed on them all the time. What started as slang, becomes the actual definition people associate with it over time. The same happens with everything else. If we are honest – it leaves room for personal experience and meaning. It does not mean my personal meaning has to be yours – just respected as my own as I respect yours.
Just some thoughts to consider today.