Celtic symbols And How To Get Sidetracked When Researching - Hywela Lyn

Triskelion

I was wondering what to do for my post this month and happened to glance at a silver ring given to me by my dear friend Mary, when I visited her in the States, recently. It's designed like  a  Celtic knot, combined with triskelions, and for me, represents the 'power of three' symbolising the friendship between her, our late much missed friend, the talented American author Sharon Donovan, and myself.

This made me think of the research I did when writing 'Dancing with Fate', set in 5th Century Wales.  I enjoy finding pictures for my posts, and among some of the pictures I found in my file for the story, along with Greek gods and goddesses and war chariots,  were Triskelkions and Celtic knots.

Lovespoon

These designs are much used in Celtic jewellery and, of course, the traditional  Welsh carved wooden LoveSpoon.

A triskelion or triskele is a motif consisting of three interlocked spirals, or three bent human legs, or any similar symbol

It represents the concept of completion and progress. The symbol looks like a three legged wheel. There are basically two different components or meanings of the symbol.

Triskelion

According to the first derivation of the meaning, the triskelion, represents actions, cycles, progress, revolution and competition. In all, the triskelion was a representation of a sense of advancement.

The three legs or rather, the limbs of the triskelion often had several different meanings. The symbol was often used on armours, clothes, as a decorative pin for the clothes and also in jewelery. The meaning of the three legs, varied according to the person who was wearing it. Some of the prominent combinations of the meanings, are as follows: 'Spirit, Mind, Body', 'Father, Son, Holy Ghost', 'Mother, Father, Child', 'Past, Present, Future', 'Power, Intellect, Love', 'Creator, Destroyer, Sustainer' and 'Creation, Preservation, Destruction'.

Celtic Knot

They can also represent The Otherworld: Where spirits, gods and goddesses live, The Mortal World: Where we live,along with plants and animals, and The Celestial World: Where unseen energies live and move about. Like the forces of sun, moon, wind and water.

Celtic knots are perhaps the most notorious and recognizable artwork in Celtic history. They started appearing in history after about 450 AD.The Celtic knot symbol, is also referred to as the mystic knot.

Interesting as I found the triskelion and Celtic knots to be, they added very little to my story, and, indeed, did not even find their way into the narrative. A perfect example of how many happy hours can be spent finding information which has little or nothing to do with the subject one is supposed to be researching for one's novel.   There was a wealth of information I filed away, on clothing, jewellery and weapons which were used in Wales in the 5th century, along with similar information for their Greek counterparts.  As usual, only a small part of all the research I did was ever used, but I ended up with a lot of information to store away  for possible use in the future, having got happily sidetracked along the way.

So, what interesting things have you discovered in your research when writing - or indeed reading? Have you unearthed any interesting objects from history or your own heritage, and do you get as easily sidetracked as I do? 

Lyn

(Hywela Lyn)

You can find out more about Lyn and her books on her  WEBSITE

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Some of the above information taken From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia