Do you know the Celtic cross?: The Celtic cross is one of the most common and well-known Celtic symbols and has a great cultural and religious significance significant. It is a petroglyph originating from the ancient Celtic peoples of Great Britain, Ireland and France. There are many theories to explain its origin, but because the Celtic tradition was transmitted only orally, it is impossible to confirm any.
Due to its resemblance to the Latin Christian cross, it is widely used by believers of this religion. But its history originates long before Christianity existed. Having a meaning based on its four arms, which can be interpreted as the four elements (air, water, earth and fire) or as the four cardinal directions (north, south, east and west).
The union of the meaning of four elements in the same symbol is something recurrent in Celtic culture, as it is also found in other symbols such as the triskel and the triquetra (when they are inscribed in a circle) or the solar cross.
the sun wheel
One of the most corroborated theories considers it as a advanced sunwheel bypass, which was of great importance for its protective power against witchcraft. In the oldest Celtic societies, the circles were used for represent the moonwhile the cross symbolizes Sunso it is likely that this cross refers to a pagan sun as the masculine principle and the moon as the feminine principle.
It is said that in Europe, the Celtic culture used the cross even on its coins centuries before Christianity, and it is now considered a symbol of the Neolithic (eight centuries before Christ).
In Spain it is repeated over and over again in cultures of Celtic origin, but with slight variations, such as accompanied by the three-armed cross or trisquel (representing love, light and wisdom), and the Roman labarum was very common in Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria and the lauburu in the Basque Country.
Celtic cross meaning
For the Celts, the cross has the same symbolic association as the Tree of Life, as it refers to the energy of the four elements, which are united thanks to the circle, which intertwines and connects them, acting as a bridge between divine energies and man. It was also the symbol of the four seasonal festivals that marked the Celtic year.
- The Imbolcthe first of February, which celebrates the awakening of nature and the fertility of the earth, asking for success in future projects.
- The Beltanethe first of May, when the virility of the gods is awakened and the fertility of the cattle is requested.
- The Lughnasadhthe first of August, which celebrates the beginning of the harvest festivities, collects fruits and blesses herds.
- The Samhain, the last day of October, when the last festival and the last harvest of the year are celebrated, as well as the end of the Celtic wheel cycle.
For this reason, the crosses made for these events were adorned with drawings, braids and figures typical of Celtic art.
In the earliest ones, the engravings that were made were limited to the interlacing and geometric designs typical of the native art of the British Isles, but from the 9th and 10th centuries they appear in figurative representations of biblical scenes. These crosses are called scriptures crosses and their complexity is so overwhelming that they have come to be defined as “sermons in stone”. The decorations or knots inside symbolize infinity, eternal life. Each of the directions marked by the cross is also linked with the deity that lives in them, so that we find ourselves:
- In the East the god is found Lughrelated to the air and that granted protection with his spear.
- For him South is the goddess nuadarelated to fire and whose sword made him a defender of emotions.
- In the West the god lives Dagdarelated to water, who protected and controlled the mind and thought.
- In the North is the headquarters of the Stone of Destiny L’a Fáilthe Stone of Tara, linked to the earth and where only the legitimate kings are crowned and approved by the Druid gods.
The Legend of Bran «The Blessed», a colossal pagan god who ordered to cut off his own head once dead in order to protect and watch over the borders of Celtia, could be another possible mythological origin of this symbol, since this being was represented with a X inside a circle.
Celtic Cross Legends
Most people mistakenly think that it has a Christian origin, however both ancient and modern cultures have used it to identify the symbol of the four elements or four directions.
It also expresses the interpretation of two of the opposing realms such as the heavens and the earth where paths cross, that of the living and that of the dead.
In addition, it is used as a representation of the number five, taking into account the midpoint.
In Roman culture it was used to hang thieves and thus cause death, that is why Christianity took the image of the cross as a symbol of the passion and death of Christ and the redemption of his faithful but not before this event.
In ancient times the cross was used as an instrument of torture and punishmentsymmetrically with its four ends of equal size in contrast to how it was used by the Romans who adapted it to take the shape of the human body.
When Christianity came to Ireland and mixed with its Celtic culture, it brought its symbols with it. Like the cross and the addition of the circumference or circle surrounding the intersection of the axes.
The Celtic cross in the tarot
The Celtic Cross represents movement. We must observe it as a living organism that develops coherently. Here we see our internal state and its reflection in external situations. The Celtic Cross shows us the richness that a situation contains and in this way it becomes a discovery tool.
Meaning of the Positions
- Situation. The card that describes the main theme. What’s happening.
- How is this situation expressed? How the situation represented by position 1 is experienced.
- Trigger. deeper needs.
- Where we come from. Last. What we have experienced so far.
- Goal. What we want to achieve. What we are thinking.
- Where are we going. The immediate future. What is in the process of manifesting.
- Oneself. How are we affected by the issue?
- The way others perceive us. How others feel in relation to oneself.
- Expectations. What we fear and what we hope for.
- Impact. Where is the situation going in the long run?