A. Venefica’s Weblog: Symbolic Meanings

I often get questions from folks asking for Celtic symbol meanings as they consider various Celtic designs for tattooing purposes.

One such question came from a gentleman wanting to know if there were any Celtic symbols for protection.  To which I respond:

Dear Inky Celt Man:

As you are wanting a quick list of Celtic symbols for protection - I’ll provide these here:

• Griffin
• Aspen (Edad of the Ogham)
• Sigel (of runes)
• Fire
• Moon
• Hawk

Legend has it that the soothsayer of a particular Celtic clan would create personal designs for a tribe member.  These designs were specific to that warrior and his family line, and were considered highly protective in battle and throughout life.

You may want to consider taking a spirit journey - a time of introspection and spiritual contemplation to discover your own unique designs that signify protection for you.  These could be your own personal designs of protection that you could bear as tattoos.

I would also encourage you to do your own research on the ancient Celts in order to fully appreciate all the diversity and symbolism their culture provided humanity.  I think you’ll find their ultimate protection came from an unshakable faith/belief system. 

Better yet, take some time to meditate upon that which you are trying to achieve in obtaining such a protective emblem.  Often when we invoke the energy of our Celtic forebears we find these ancient energies are forthcoming with incredible insight and enlightenment.  Perhaps such insight will provide you with more substance and meaning than just picking a random Celtic symbol that might not be as personal as it could be.

You may also find more information on the Celtic Symbol Meanings page of my website.

Whatever your action, I wish you the very best of luck on your journey.

Regards & blessings to you Celt Man,

A. Venefica

Some people are naturally attuned and sensitive to certain number frequencies.  

Those who vibrate with certain numeric frequencies will have certain number sequences show up in their lives very often -       sometimes these numbers only stay with them for a phase - sometimes they stick for life.

I’ve had so many readers tell me they continually see the number eight.  So many in fact, that I’ve decided to publish this entry on the symbolic meaning of the number eight.

Quick Symbolism of Number Eight:

• Opportunity
• Observation
• Balance
• Intention
• Abundance
• Repetition
• Continuation
• Infinity
• Prosperity

The symbolism backing number Eight deals largely with business, success, and wealth. This is primarily due to the fact that Eight represents continuation, repetition, and cycles. Such elements are seen in arenas where success is obtained simply because of dogged determination and repetition by the practitioner. Also, matters of business and wealth largely depend on cycles to fulfill their manifestation. It’s like the snowball analogy: As it continues to roll, in gets bigger and bigger with each revolution.

Symbolic meaning of the number Eight also deals with terrestrial and celestial energies that are in constant circulation from top to bottom and regenerate themselves.  Or, better said, the eight represents primordial & prime energies - male/female, life/death, dark/light, etc.  This makes it an ultimate balance symbol (think yin & yang).  So where there is continuation, there is also evolution in all areas of energy - the either is an incredibly intense number as it embodies the concept of connectivity between polar opposites of energy.

The ancient Myanmar Monks understood this concept and their entire branch of astrology is based on the mystical number eight.  Read more about Mahabote, Myanmar (Burmese) astrology and zodiac meanings here.

I trust this information helps you on your path.  Click here for my other post on the number eight, and putting number meanings in proper perspective. 

You may also find this essay on the number eight interesting.

Below is a brief summary of the meanings of colors.  These little tidbits are useful as we become more aware of the symbolism provided in every-day events in our life.  By deriving meaning in the common - we discover the uncommon.

Red: Think fire and blood - Red rushes to us with messages of passion, primal urges, action, pleasure, vibrance, radiance, and love.

Orange: A nice subdued blend between the aggressive red and the high-pitch of yellow - Orange is about harmony, aspiration, sociability, contentment, and intelligence.

Yellow: Worshipped in the form of the sun - Yellow is all about radiating creativity, protection, intellect, positivity and clarity.

Green: The fresh start of spring brings oceans of Green and with it comes attributes of youth, sentimentality, nature, adventure, growth and health.

Blue: Look to the sky for the meanings of Blue - open spaces, freedom, imagination, expansiveness, inspiration, and sensitivity.

Indigo: Similar to the attributes of blue, but Indigo’s energy runs very deep - consider the unknown depths of the sea along with emotion, strength, fluidity, persuasiveness, expressiveness, and pervasiveness.

Violet: The hue of fragile flowers and sleepy sunsets, Violet reminds us of spirituality, communion, grandeur, high-ideals, devotion, and peace.

Brown: Anybody who has squished their toes through the rich moist earth has got Brown down - groundedness, earthiness, tangible, practical, stable, nurturing, and solid.

Gray: When fog rolls in and we’re surrounded with the haze of Gray we understand its message of - uncertainty, neutrality, mystery, intensity, and austerity.

Black: Black is required for all other colors to have depth and variation of hue - it’s a forceful feature and represents formality, dignity, force, convention, stability, and zero-tolerance.

White: Contemplate the brilliance of a new white snow and how it pulls a blanket of peace over everthing it touches - White stands for peace, cleansing, illumination, purity, innocence and the highest kind of understanding.

 Get another layer of symbolic color meanings here, on my meaning of flowers color page.

Of course - these are just one perspective.  I encourage you to adopt your own special symbolic meanings of colors.

I recently had a discussion with a friend of mine who is practicing mandala therapy with her speech impared partner. 

The idea behind mandala therapy is that the process of creating a mandala is meant to engage the mind and soul in such a fashion so as to release intensely expressive creativity and communication..the likes of expression that is much more rich than typical artistic expressions due to the mandala’s circular & seemingly endless nature. 

She notice her partner’s mandala art looked very much like bullseyes and asked me if this might symbolize anything.  To which I respond:

Bull’s eye-type emblems are symbolic of focus or concentration.

Native Americans have been drawing these type symbols for eons.  For the Native American, these circles within circles represent various forces within the universe converging with The One…the one spirit, the one energy that animates all that is (God, if you will).

Other cultures have drawn concentric circles to illustrate the same thing. The inner circle may represent the self, consciousness, the soul, or the mind…with the external circles representing the waves of influence our center has over everything else.

The very nature of this symbol commands our vision to focus.  As we look at it our eyes tend to immediately concentrate to the center…that’s the beauty of this symbol (and primarily why it’s been used by sharp shooters of all kinds in competitions).  As such, this symbol stands for focus upon the center - focusing on the one thing.

The fact that your partner is gravitating to this type of design may be a signal that he is reaching out to obtain more conentration or focus in his life.

Other pages of interest:

Definition of Mandalas & Related Terms

Yantra Mandala Meanings & Examples

A frequent visitor at one of my websites was expecting guests from China to visit his home in California.  He asked me what kind of Chinese symbols he could put in his home to warmly welcome his guests. 

This is my response:

Dear Hesitant Host:

How very thoughtful and considerate of you to incorporate well wishes and special signals of greetings to your friends from China.

Here are some simple suggestions - items you can easily find this time of year that will symbolize your well wishes to your friends:

If they have not arrived already, I would recommend a light energy cleansing of your home with incense.  Sandalwood, lavender, lemon grass, or sage are perfect scents for cleansing and welcoming.  Simply burn one or two sticks in each of the four major corners of your home.  This is a practice that is very effective for clearing out stagnant/old energy, and welcoming new friends, family, laughter and bright energy in the home.

Yellow Chrysanthemums are wonderful to display in your home or present as a gift to your friends.  They symbolize long lasting relationships and durability.  They are also symbols of love, welcome, and good luck.

Oranges signify gold, and are seen as emblems of good fortune.  Present fresh oranges to your friends, and you will wish them good luck and fortune for the coming 12 months.  These are often given during the new year to wish luck for the whole year.

A bowl of fresh fruit in your dining room is a symbol of luck and prosperity to all those who dwell in your home.  It is a symbol that your friends and family will always be provided for by the most bountiful harvests.  Display fresh summer fruits.

As one of the eight auspicious Buddhist objects, the vase symbolizes a receptacle of blessings from the Buddha.  The vase is a symbol of peace and harmony - if you put your Chrysanthemums in a vase - this augments your message of well wishes.  Even empty - a lovely vase with happy colors will encourage happy times with your friends.

If you wish to assure complete good fortune to all your household, you may want to display all eight auspicious objects together to seal your intent for good times and good fortune for your house-guests.  They are:

• The Lotus - A symbol of purity and perfection - In Buddhism it represents the attainment of enlightenment.
• The Wheel -  Symbol of noble truth - and a symbol of the wheel of life, it represents the Buddha’s doctrines.
• The Jar - a vase with a cover - typically holding ancestral relics (memories and power of our forebears).
• The Mystic Knot - the knot that never ends - symbolizes no beginnings and no ends as well as a representation that we are all united or intertwined in our lives.
• The Conch Shell - Symbol of prosperous voyaging - great luck in travel. Also a symbol of royalty.
• The Double Fish - Fish are a symbol of wealth, abundance, harmony and bliss. When shown in a pair, it is a symbol of harmony between partners.
• The Canopy (or umbrella) - is a symbol of protection from negative influence, and is a show that the highest respect is being paid to someone.
• The Vase - whose symbolism I’ve conveyed above.

You may display each of the eight Buddhist auspicious objects together or singly.

What is most important and effective is that you are mindful and willing to be a gracious host, and you are wishing your guests to have every comfort available to them.  These attributes you have are first & foremost the MOST auspicious elements your guest will appreciate.

I hope you this information helps you.  Enjoy your guests.

Regards & blessings to you,
A. Venefica
www.Whats-Your-Sign.com
A Guide to Symbols and Signs

www.TarotTeachings.com
A Guide to Tarot Symbolism & Interpretation for Growth

 I recently had a client ask me for the Egyptian Symbol for  Mother.  Here is my response:
 
Dear Nefertiti-Sweetie:

Here are two conceptual Egyptian symbols for mother:

1)  The hieroglyph for “vulture” was also the hieroglyph for “mother” for the vulture was seen as a model parent – nurturing and protective of its young, often at its own expense.

2)  Isis is considered by the Egyptians to be the mother of the world as she is the symbolic mother of the god, Horus.

For more information on this topic, go to my: Symbols for Mother page

Mermaids - divine creatures of the sea.

• Water is a symbol of unconscious, deeper thoughts, or dream thoughts.  As such, the symbolim of mermaids also deals with the unconsciousness side of perception. 

Specifically, mermaids are a symbol of subtle feminine power and mystery.  

Some Symbolim of mermaids include:

• Beauty
• Elusive
• Mystery
• Allure
• Private
• Persuasion
• Sensual 
• Love

Mermaids are often depicted holding combs (made of fishbones) - this is a symbol of power over nature (ancient sailors believed fishbones could divine or control storms at sea).

Myth holds that mermaids have beautiful voices, and were thought to lure any made within the sound of her lilting, melodic singing.  They were sometimes though to put sailors under the spell of their song.  This is symbolic of letting our hearts or passion rule our minds.  Sometimes this is a good things, other times not-so-good when we should let mental judgment rule over our primitive passion.

Along with unbridled passion, the symbolism of mermaid also deals with love as the mermaid is associated with love goddesses such as Aphrodite/Venus.

Said to be very beautiful, and sexually persuasive, the mermaid is also a symbol of the divine feminine, and feminine (ying) power.

The mermaid is said to be rarely seen, and is a private creature.  When seen, it is fabled her sightings were between the hours of dawn and dusk. These times are magical times - when nature is at its most calm, and when sight tends to become a bit fuzzy in the mellow colors of dawn/dusk.  This is symbolic of perfect timing to create magic in our lives - by relaxing our vision & letting go of our grip a bit - to come up to show ourselves in our true magical colors.

A friend of mine asked if I could confirm whether or not the dragon is a Chinese symbol for strength, and if I knew of any more animal symbols representing strength. 

I reply:

Dear Dragon Lady :-),

Absolutely - on top of the list of Chinese animals that symbolize strength is the Dragon.

The Chinese dragon is symbolic of:

• power
• courage
• ferocity
• wisdom
• balance
• good judgment
• protection
• loyalty
• good luck

The Chinese have long honored the dragon for these attributes, and call upon various types of dragons to bolster strength when needed.

Although the dragon is a major power symbol, there are other Chinese animal symbols that represent strength are:

• Horse
• Crane
• Tiger
• Bear
• Fu Dogs

I hope this helps you on your journey,

Regards & blessings to you,

A. Venefica

www.Whats-Your-Sign.com
A Guide to Symbols and Signs

www.TarotTeachings.com
A Guide to the Tarot

Recently I got an email from a woman who wanted a Celtic themed wedding based on an embroidered knot design she found on a vintage handkerchief which belonged to her great grandmother. 

After sending me an image of her knot, I was able to determine it was a quaternary Celtic knot design.  The image to left (thank you Cari at Aon Celtic )  is an example of a quaternary, or four-cornered Celtic knot design.

The following is my response the quaternary Celtic knot meaning:

Dear Knotty Bride-to-Be:

It’s difficult to gather accurate information on Celtic knots or Celtic symbols and their meanings due to sketchy remnants of written.

According to George Bain, a 20th century Scottish Celtic art professor, Celtic knots that have a closed path, (no end or beginning), are considered to be a symbol of eternity, or represent the infinite.  Those with open paths are said to signify a journey (both physical and otherwise).

Furthermore, knot work was performed as a means of displaying heritage. Just as plaids are an identification of clans in the Highlands, so too do certain knots identify certain Celtic families.

Now you can begin to see the difficulty in tracking down the true meaning of your specific knot.  For every family there could be a unique knot to identify that bloodline…..potentially leading to countless different heritage emblems.

Furthermore, tracking down the meaning of one Celtic knot design also depends on the artist.  The ancient Celts were incredibly prolific artists…here again, there could be as many interpretations as there were Celtic artisans.

I can tell you that your knot is a quaternary design - meaning it has four distinct sections within the design.

Quaternary celtic knot meanings are upon the era, region, and artist of the design’s inception (yes, more variables).

Here are a few meaning possibilites of your Quarternary knot design:

• Indication of the four directions, North, South, East, West.
• Indication of the four seasons.
• Indication of the four great treasures of the Tuatha
• A more modern indication of the four Latin Gospels in the Book of Kells
• Indication of the four elements: Earth, Fire, Water, Air
• Indication of the four Celtic fire festivals, Samhain, Beltane, Imbolc, Lughnasadh.
• An emblem of Brigid, also known as the Queen of the Four Fires a she demonstrates her four-branched wisdom of hand, hearth, head and heart.

There are also insubstantial rumors that this design is a four-leaf clover design - a symbol of good luck.

There are also legends that the four-cornered Celtic knot design was created as a symbol protection.   In Druidic philosophies, there were four major energies, or Gods, if you will governing a specific quandrant of the world…this four-cornered emblem was used to invoke these powers for protection (in the home, corporeal protection during battle, etc.).

I always encourage people to meditate upon the symbols (in your case, your knot) they are wanting clarification about.  Sit quietly in the presence of your Celtic Elders - ask them for knowledge you seek.  Often the best (and most personal) indentifiation of symbols are derived from our ancestors in spirit.

I hope this information helps you has you journey on the path to clearer understanding of your Celtic Knot meaning.

With highest regards & blessings,

A. Venefica

www.whats-your-sign.com
A Guide to Symbols & Signs

www.TarotTeachings.com
A Guide to the Tarot

  
I got an email off my website from a gentleman who wanted to know the symbolic meaning of Chimera.  He’d had a dream about one, and was considering getting a Chimera tattoo.  Before making such an indelible commitment, he decided to ask me for insight on the symbolic meaning of Chimera. The following is my response to his question. 

Dear Chimera Curious:

Here’s a summary of attributes the symbolic meaning of Chimera:

• Strength
• Ferocity
• Mutation
• Impossibility
• Unpredictability
• Consumption
• Courage
• Diversity

Some history/background on the symbolic meaning of Chimera:

From the Greek meaning “she-goat” the Chimera is a fire-breathing creature that has a lion’s head, goat’s body, and serpent’s tail.  Chimera imagery can also illustrate three heads (one lion, one goat, and one serpent) and the body of a dragon or lion.  One thing consistent with the imagery though, is that this creature is certainly a fire-spitter.

The Chimera is one of the primordial creatures in Greek mythology. Claims have been made that the Chimera is a relative of the Sphinx - which could very well be true due to the fact that very often Greeks and Egyptians share a great deal of mythology.

In the eastern Mediterranean and southwest Asia, this creature oversaw certain phases of the calendar year with each animal aspect representing a season: Goat = summer, Serpent = winter, and Lion = spring. 

An astrological perspective the meaning of Chimera:

Associated with Cancer and the Fourth House.

The Chimera shares the elements Water and Fire.

Symbolic personality types of the Chimera:

Chimera personality types are devoted to friends and family and give total lolalty to these members of the group as well as those with like-minded ideas.   are motivated to turn their dreams in to reality.  They have a strong sense of community and strive to bring about communication and harmony within their environment. They are very protective of those they love and are both perceptive and intuitive regarding their needs.  Chimera personality types are also “practical dreamers” and they can be driven to turn their dreams into reality. 

Other thoughts on the symbolic meaning of Chimera:

According to Servius Honoratus’, writing in 4th century AD the fire breathing creature was a representation of a volcano, a mountain named “Chimaera” located somewhere in ancient Lycia.  This would correlate the fire-breathing attributes, and would make sense as ancient cultures often associated real as well as fictional characters with events such as volcanoes (earthquakes, floods, etc.).

In modern day - the term Chimera is used to describe that which is impossible - a dream, an illusion - because the Chimera was thought to be something that was a myth, a creature so incredible that only it could only live in dreams and legends.

I trust this information helps you on your journey.

Happy tattooing!

With highest regard & blessings to you,
A. Venefica

 www.Whats-Your-Sign.com
Guide to Symbols and Signs

 www.TarotTeachings.com
A Guide to the Tarot