THE
WATCHER
The Celtic races
of ancient Europe nurtured an abiding belief in life after
death. A number of scholars hold that the Celtic peoples
could accept death with no trepidation because of the
Druids, who taught that death was only a phase in a long
and continuous journey, and that the soul, would rid itself
of accumulated, inherited impurities, until it finally
achieved the goal of perfection.
As with all ancient cultures, many symbolic elements are to
be found in the Celtic artwork which has survived. In this
highly personal piece I have combined a number of those
symbols in an effort to illustrate that “passing on” is
just as the phrase suggests, a transition from one stage of
life to another, and constitutes just one part of a
continually changing scene of many differing chapters.
GLASTONBURY TOR
Situated in
the Vale of Avalon, Somerset, Glastonbury Tor rises
strikingly from the surrounding plain. It has long been
thought of as a place with mystical qualities and is often
seen as a portal between the world of the living and the
Otherworld.
THE RAVEN
In legend,
the raven is deeply linked to the Crone Goddess Babdh (a
name which means ‘Crow’ or ‘Raven’) and also to the
Morrighan; the red-haired triple goddess combining the
energies of life and death, sexuality and conflict in one
all-powerful incarnation. The Morrighan, as the goddess of
battle, is said to have collected the life-forces of slain
warriors and delivered them to the Tree of Life, there to
begin the next stage of their journey.
TREE OF LIFE
All trees
were sacred to the Celts as symbols of longevity and
rebirth. Legend has it, that buried in the roots of the
Tree of Life is a chalice, protected by serpents. The
chalice contains the life-forces of all things in the
earthworld. In Spring the contents of the chalice are
absorbed by the roots and travel through the tree to be
released by the new buds. Birds collect the essences and
distribute them across the countryside. In the Autumn the
process is reversed and the life forces are returned to the
chalice, ready for another Spring.
SPIRAL
The spiral
is the natural form of growth. It has become a symbol of
eternal life. The whorls so predominant in Celtic carvings
and paintings represent the continuous creation and
dissolution of the world; the passages between spirals
symbolise the divisions between life, death and rebirth. At
the center of the spiral is complete balance where all
three become as one.
DOLMEN
Dolmens, consisting of two or more upright stones topped
with a heavy horizontal capstone, were the burial places of
the dead. Originally covered by a mound of earth, dolmen
sites were considered sources of energy, where this world
and the otherworld met.
STANDING STONES AND
STONE CIRCLES
Standing
stones occur singly or in alignments. They were monuments
to mark boundaries and burial places, and came to be
regarded as memorials of famous legendary events. They were
focal points for clan gatherings and festival celebrations,
and their shadows were measured to plot the path of the
seasons.
WATER
Water has
been regarded as a sacred commodity since time immemorial.
The Celts appeared fascinated by rivers, lakes, bogs,
springs and the sea. Water could be beneficial as a
life-giver, healer and a means of travel, but it also could
be destructive. Water itself was seen as essential to life
and fertility and, as the life fluid of Mother Earth, it
had a direct alliance with her powers.