CELTIC MYTH & SYMBOL
JEN DELYTh
Page 10
WILDE - NATURE
I am a stag of seven tines.
I am a wide flood, a wind on the deep waters.
I am a shining tear of the sun
I am a hawk on a cliff
I am a fair amongst flowers
I created the fire in the head
I am a battle waging spear
I am a salmon in a pool
I am a hill of poetry
I am a ruthless boar
I am a threatening noise from the sea
I am a wave from the sea
Who but I knows the secret of the unhewn dolmen.
Song of Amergin — Attributed to Amergin (ancient Irish Poet – 1500 BC). Arranged by Robert Graves
HERNE THE HUNTER
Herne the Hunter the Stag god is one of the few early animal spirits for whom we have a name Herne, Cernunnos, the Horned One, or Lord of all Stags.
He is especially associated with the lordship of horned and hoofed animals, and with the wild hunt in which spirits of the dead were carried to the Otherworld.
The horned god appears in British folklore as Herne the Hunter. The hunter identified with the stag – this is a very ancient mystery:hunter and hunted are one.
To the Celts, the stag symbolized wild nature.
His alertness, speed, aggression and potency during the rutting season made him an object of reverence, his spreading, tree-like antlers seemed to epitomize the forest.
WOLF MOON
In Gaelic wolf is Madadh Alluidh, or Mac Tire
meaning “Earth’s Son”.
Faoilleach – the old Gaelic/Irish winter month means the Month of the Wolf. The cold January Wolf Moon lightens the path of the hunters, showing the way.
Although Wolf is often associated with war and destruction, these are ancient mysteries of
death and rebirth as guides to positive change.
Fierce, shy, loyal and cunning – wolf communicates power and leadership through eye, voice and body language to the pack.
The hungry wolf calls to the moon – for change will come.
The Wild Places – the dark untamed forests of wolf and wild boar, the great mountains of ancient eagle and bear, and the unfathomable deep lakes and oceans – were a primal landscape for pre-industrial man.
In an animist universe each rock, spring, plant, animal and star has its own powerful rhythm and symbolic resonance. Man is not separated from the creatures and landscape.
WOODLAND FOX
Woodland Fox is the cunning shape-shifter creature of the woodlands. She peers through the tangled woods, long red tail curling through the bracken ferns, poised, sniffing the autumn air as the resourceful squirrel gathers nuts and the wise hunter owl watches over the mice hidden in the undergrowth.
Wild, shape-shifter Fox is the wise and shrewd guide through the Mysteries – illuminated by the silver light of the feminine moon. Owl is the solitary wise bird of the night, whose keen sight penetrates the darkness as Squirrel collects the sacred nuts from the Oak Tree – doorway to the Mysteries.
Woodpecker’s sharp beak taps into the Tree of Life for sustenance as the timid yet resourceful Mice peep out from their burrow in Mother Earth, carrying her secrets from the Underworld.
Celtic Poets describe the interconnectedness of nature and the mythic world of belief rooted in a deep, esoteric wisdom tradition.
“The Song of Amergin” is one of the oldest, attributed to the ancient Irish Poet Amergin when he first set foot on Ireland.
OWL - BLODEUWEDD
In Wales the owl is called Blodeuwedd – which means flower face. In the Medieval Celtic tale the Mabinogion, Blodeuwedd is magically created by magicians from stone and flowers for Llew, who is cursed that he should have no human wife.
She was beautiful, fragrant as the wildflowers from which she was sculpted.
However, one day when Llew was away, Blodeuwedd offered hospitality to a group of huntsmen, and she fell deeply in love with Gronw.
By choosing her own lover, Blodeuwedd was in grave danger, so with Gronw’s help, they tricked and killed Llew, and escaped into the wild forests to live happily together – for a while.
When the magician Gwydion heard the story of her betrayal, he changed Blodeuwedd into an owl, banishing her into the dark wooded night.
Blodeuwedd becomes the wise all-seeing owl whose intuitive vision peers deep into our psyche.
MORRIGAN - RAVEN
Ravens have a close affinity with the supernatural world. They are totem birds of the dark Celtic Goddesses the Badbh and the Morrigan, who possess the ability to appear as one or three beings and to shapeshift into Raven form.
Appearing often throughout Celtic mythology, they feature in the Welsh stories of the Mabinogi.
The Triple Raven alights on Cu Chulainn’s shoulder at his death, to symbolize the passing of his spirit.
As death is closely intertwined with life, the bright-eyed Ravenis also blessed with clear vision, and is wise in the
mysteries of rebirth and healing.
WILDE HARES
The Hare is considered sacred amongst many ancient traditions, representing fertility and rebirth, associated with the moon, and the festivals of Spring.
From the earliest times, people have seen the image of a hare when they look at the full moon.
The Hare was sacred to the moon goddess Andraste, the Celtic goddess Ceridwen and the Earth Mother.
Considered to be a royal animal, the warrior queen Boudicca released a Hare as a good omen before each battle with the Romans, and it was said to have screamed like a woman from beneath her cloak.
Eostre (or Ostara) was an Anglo-Saxon Goddess of Springtime (from whom we derive the name for Easter), and she was believed to have taken the form of a rabbit, or white hare, which is her totem creature.
WREN - DRYW
The Wren is a deeply mystical divine bird for the Celts. In Welsh the name of the Wren is
connected to the word for Druid – Dryw, and in Irish Gaelic, Drui-en – the Druid bird.
The elusive Wren is the King of the Birds – a wise little bird, cunning, fertile, and with a strong beautiful voice that particularly inspired the Bards, and was sacred to Taliesin, a voice of augury for the Druids.
All living forms interconnect, indeed are created from a common source of energy and matter – this is a profound philosophy that was deeply understood by the ancient Druids. Through the Wild Places, the Celtic Folk-Soul draws her inspiration.
Text & Illustrations from Jen Delyth’s Full Color Hardbound Coffee Table Book
Celtic Folk Soul – Art, Myth and Symbol
Signed Copies Available Here
Design - Publishing - Licensing
Oakland California
Ninth Wave Publishing LLC
JEN DELYTH
ARTIST, AUTHOR, DESIGNER
Since 1987, artist Jen Delyth has illustrated and designed a wide range of books, textile products, stationary.
Celtic Art Studio is HOME STUDIO SITE of Jen Delyth – and Celtic Mythic Line
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The Horse was loved and worshipped by the Celtic people. Horses decorate bronze, gold and silver objects as creatures of grace, intelligence and beauty. Horses also serve as solar symbols, embodying the sun’s divine qualities of strength and fertility – and golden Celtic Coins were often minted with images of the Horse, and solar symbols such as the wheel..
