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The universal meaning of Celtic knots

In spring 2003, I spent three weeks in the city of Chennai, formerly known as Madras, located in South India. Each morning, walking before the heat of the day, I was surprised to see the complex knot work patterns drawn free hand with flour in front of the camera and access doors. These artistic scrolls, I was told by an Indian friend, have been offered to local deities, and were part of a tradition that dates back to the distant past.

I have seen models of knot my travels throughout many parts of the world. In Islamic countries where iconography is prohibited, the mosques are heavily decorated with patterns such as knots. Carved stone patterns work node can be found in the ruins of the Americas in the iconography of Hindu Bali, Indonesia. In Tibet, the node "eternal" is a common symbol representing the endless cycles of life.

The work of the West node is known in Celtic iconography. Although the Celts before the Roman Empire, it spread throughout much of Western Europe, we are more familiar with their designs are now in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. In the desert, surrounded by rock walls and winding old bridges Neolithic, this document Node carved in stone transcends time. We know from the writings of the Romans that the Celts believed strongly in the sanctity of the place. Similar to the beliefs of many southern India today, the land anchored to a particular god or goddess who was supposed to be an honor, but do not know if the drawings were made interlacing as offerings.

The wide range of working models is in node many cultures suggests that the reason is universal and rooted in the ancient mystery. From the perspective of the whole, the iconography of working node can be seen as a metaphor for our own unique tapestry experience. At the macroscopic level, the knots express metaphorically that life on earth is deeply interconnected, as shown in the web of the spider woman or the great circle of life in Native American tales. As an Indian woman me words, if you move a stone on top of a mountain, you can change the course of a river. It is also expressed differently in the aphorism Bible: "We reap what we sow," which is similar to the understanding of karma. Speaks today of the physics of a field unified.

But it is also true that individual elements of the nodes have a special significance in terms of sacred geometry. Look around you in geometric shapes. Why on earth, to our eyes, the trunks of trees circular instead of square? How does the circle in the world to the triangle and what it means in terms of knot work that uses circular movements? Here are some tips to help you with these plans.

We talked a circle of friends and live in circular cycles, like day and season. Ceremonies indigenous cultures around the world control environments protection. A knot work pattern with the media or variations of circles certainly has important keys to relationships and community.

A pattern the square knot on the structure and stability, which explains why buildings use the shape of a square base. Numerology has always played an important role in ancient cultures and there are many books on the subject. The number five, for example, represents the four cardinal points and the focal point, or the five senses.

As often see knot work shaped oval, which is the form of an egg. The oval has something to do with creativity generative and birth. Planets orbit the sun in an oval. And if you squeeze an oval, would create the lemniscate, the symbol of infinity which is very Common reasons interlacing.

Many reasons interlacing also deal vectors that travel in a certain direction. If you look at the form of a arrow, is easy to understand why a triangle might connote movement.

Another reason is the common task node represents a trinity. In Celtic tradition, many deities had three forms. The Mother Goddess was understood the girl, the mother and the elderly. Universe was viewed as heaven, earth and beyond. We are born, live and die. Certainly, the Trinity knot also illustrates that divides the reduction provided for men and women, or the mother and the son-a mystical truth in the most sacred traditions.

The cross is also rich in meaning symbolic. With a simple point of view, two lines crossing symbolizing a connection or meeting can be a point of creativity. Some mystics speak of the axis Horizontal Earth is normal, while the vertical axis points toward the sky.

While the above guide for understanding knot work is not necessarily based on academic or anthropological text on the meaning of nodes is not a principle based on a universal perspective. Most models working node will be some variation of these forms. Spending time contemplating the motif may give an idea.

Finally, there is a main reason why work node is so widespread, and that is beauty. I will never forget Jaisalmer, an ancient city in the desert of Rajasthan. This ancient city, where the caravans used to stop and trade, is of sandstone. Many buildings are carved with intricate tracery. Strangers approached me and said: "What about our beautiful city?" I could see clearly how art gives life and the need for beauty is something fundamental. In the middle of the desert, the beautiful stone work node gold brings joy to the heart.

About the Author

Marc Choyt is President of Reflective Images, www.celticjewelry.com, a jewelry company that practices socially responsible business.Marc authors www.fairjewelry.org a movement website for consumers and jewelers supporting green and fair trade jewelry. He also originated The Circle Manifesto, www.circlemanifesto.com, a business model based on indigenous traditions.

Irish Stone Carvings – Paul Haggins