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.