Celtic symbols
The Celts probably originated in Central Europe in 1500B.C., and from there, they started to colonize most of the Western world from Asia Minor to the Atlantic Ocean. It was the Greeks who first called them “Keltoi” which means “the hidden ones”. However, the Celts referred to themselves as “the people”.
Today we can find many Celtic ruins in many places of Western Europe, such as GB, Spain and France. Examples of this ruins are “Stonehenge” in Wiltshire, it’s believed that it was designed as a huge cosmic amphitheatre; the “Uffington White Horse”, which is a chalk hill carving. It’s in England too. The “Peña Tú Idol” in Puertas de Vidiago (Llanes), and many others.
Stonehenge
Uffington 
White Horse
Peña Tú Idol 
Furthermore, we know about myths and legends such as “Tristan and Iseult’s story” or “the Knights of the Round Table, Merlin and King Arthur’s adventures”. Also, the Celts had symbols connected with animals, trees, which were very important to them, because trees gave the Celts food, wood and protection. Some trees, like the oak were considered sacred. Also, druids used forests like classrooms where they passed on their knnowledge. Moreover, the Celts had symbols related to numbers.
For example, 1, it’s the origin of the creation.
CIRCLE: it’s the simplest symbol. It represents the course of the sun in the sky and symbolizes eternity.
SPIRAL: one of the oldest symbols. The spiral represents the sun, however, when the spiral spins to the right it represents the sun during winter and the sun gets smaller as the spiral spins; then, when the spiral spins to the left, it represents the sun in summer and the sun gets bigger as the spiral spins.
2: it’s the balance between opposite forces, for example: Good and Evil, Life and Death, Light and Darkness, etc.
DOUBLE SPIRAL: this picture symbolizes 3 things:
- It’s the representation of duality.
- Moreover, it represents the physical and spiritual growth in relation to the movement of the cosmos.
- And it symbolizes eternal life too.
3: this number was the most important, it was sacred.
TRISKELE OF LIFE: it’s a triple spiral. it represents the belief that life moves in eternal cycles.
TRISKELE or TRISKELION: it comes from the triskele of life. As you can see, the lines grow in opposite directions. Its arms simbolize the union of the 3 fundamental elements in Celtic culture: earth, water and wind.
4: four corners of The Earth.
TETRASKELE 
THE WHEEL OF BEING
They both symbolize the union of the 4 directions of The Earth.
5: it represents the 5 elements of the Universe: earth, water, wind, fire and spirit. Also it can represent the 5 phases of life: birth, youth, adult age, old age and death.
There are other symbols that look like knots:
KNOT OF TRIQUETRA which is also called KNOT OF ETERNITY. It represents a closed cycle between life, death and reincarnation. This symbol is like the one in the TVSerie “Charmed”.
KNOT OF TUIM: the four seasons; the 4 elements: earth, wind, fire and water.
(The knot of Tuim is the picture inside the cross).
They also had LABYRINTHS, which represented the inside of the human being.
Or the CELTIC CROSS, which is quite similar to the Catholic Cross but with Celtic pictures.
By Rita Mª González.
