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Elemental Tree of Life
The Tree of Life represents the interconnection of all living things. For the Celts, reverence for Trees lies at the heart of Celtic spirituality and the Ancients envisioned the entire cosmos in the form of a tree whose roots grow deep in the ground, branches reaching high into the heavens. The Elemental Tree links and connects the earth below, and the heaven above, with the ancient four elements of life – earth, water, fire and air, four directions and seasons that circle around the strong pillar axis of the World Tree. The triskele spiral An Thríbhís Mhòr at her center, is a profound spiritual symbol for the Celts. The triple form spins at the heart of Celtic culture, patterning their mythology, religion and art – representing birth, death and rebirth, and the three realms of sea, land and sky. Traditional Celtic dances weave intricate patterns of circles, spirals, squares in arrangements of threes and fours – a dynamic expression of the eternal knot – the Elemental Tree of Life.
Original Design and Text by Jen Delyth ©1989/2000
Male and female energies are intertwined in many aspects of life, and within our psyche. The Celts perceived the presence of divine forces in all aspects of nature. Patterns of harmony and balance, of light and dark, summer and winter, male and female, are woven throughout Celtic tradition. The lovers bring the two energies into harmony within the loving passion of the heart. The heart is a symbol of human love since medieval times – the lovers are interconnected within the sacred vessel. In Wales, a wooden spoon – Love Spoon – was elaborately carved from wood as a token of lasting affection by a Welsh suitor for his cariad – sweet-heart.
Original Design and Text by Jen Delyth ©2009
TREE SONG Cân Goeden
The Birds of Knowledge sing their songs of wisdom within the heart of the Tree of Life, whose branches whisper their gentle poetry with the wind. Roots grow deep into the ground, drawing the sweet music of life up into our hearts. Interlacing branches reach high into the heavens. They carry the prayers of the earth: the Song of the Trees. The interlacing roots and branches symbolize the Celtic belief in the Continuity of Life.
Artwork and Text jen delyth ©2015
Healers –
Three things never at rest:
The heart in working,
the breath in moving,
and the soul in purposing.
— Celtic Folk Triad
Our hands are our tools – as artists, healers, mothers, lovers. Through touch we manifest creativity or destruction,
express our love, or defend our boundaries. The healing power of touch has been intuitively known to people since the earliest times.
We are all Healers. Sometimes we need the gifted ones, who channel this gift through their hands, hearts and experience
to help and support those in need. Here the triskele – the triple spiral – also known as the Triple Goddess – intertwines
with the creative power of the hands – through which we hold, shape and heal. The triple spiral is a profoundly mystical figure for the Celts,
depicting the rhythms and cycle of life. The three pointed triangle balances and focusses the flowing energy spiraling around and through the center – and out into the world.- the Healers touch.
Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth © 2010
Epona The Horse was of tremendous importance to the early nomadic Celts, a major symbol of energy, power and fertility. Epona is the White Mare Horse Goddess, also known as Rhiannon (Wales) and Macha and Etain (Ireland). The Belgae who worshipped Epona, probably carved the famous White Horse — 370 ft long —into the chalk at Uffington (in Berkshire). The fertility cult of Epona stretched from Spain to Eastern Europe and Northern Italy to Britain. Irish Kings were still symbolically united with a white mare in the 11th century, the White mare representing the land of Ireland, whose fertility is assured by her union with the mortal king. The horse symbolizes the soul’s journey to the Otherworld and Underworld —the land of the dead. The ghostly gray cloud horses were the steeds of Odin’s ‘wild hunt’ made up of the souls of the dead galloping over treetops. Another relic of pre-Christian horse worship is the morris dancer’s traditional horse-headed stick, or ‘hobby horse’ — the ‘cock-horse’ ridden to Banbury Cross to see the Goddess make her ritual ride as Lady Godiva. This design by Jen Delyth, is based on the Pictish carving of the Scottish Inverurie Stone. (thanks to George Bain).
Design & Text by Jen Delyth © 1993
CROSS OF LIFE – Croes Bywyd
Seed takes root in the warm earth – Love takes root in the open heart – Gentle Spirit seeks the light
– inhaling life from the soft wind.
– Celtic Folk Triad
In the Celtic cross, the center is where all forces come together. Embracing the mysticism of both the old and new religions, the central spiritual source is represented here by a triskele: a triple spiral motif symbolizing the mystical Celtic trinity.
Original design, limited edition print & text by jen delyth ©2000
A Welsh Goddess, Arianrhod appears in the medieval story collection ‘The Mabinogi’. She is ruler of Caer Sidi, a magical realm in the north. Arianrhod, whose name means ‘Silver Wheel’, was worshipped as Priestess of the Moon. The benevolent silver sky-lady come down from her pale white chariot in the heavens to watch more closely over the tides she ruled. The moon is the archetypal female symbol representing the Mother Goddess connecting womb, death, rebirth, creation. (Albion, the old name of Britain, meant “white moon”). In Welsh the constellation of Corona Borealis is named Caer Arianrhod – Arianrhod’s Castle. The Celts “know well the way of sea and stars” and counted time not by days, but by nights, and made their calendars – such as the famous Coligny Calendar, not by the sun but by the moon.
Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth ©1992
Brighid, daughter of the Dagda, Goddess of Poets, Healers, Smiths, is a well-known and loved patron saint of Ireland. daughter of the Dagda, the great god of Irish mythology, the ancient protector of the tribe Imbolc. She is also a revered Christian saint and pagan goddess of healing, poetry, smith-craft and midwifery. Her feast festival on Feb 1st (St. Brighid’s Feast – Candlemass), celebrates the beginning of Spring. It is traditional on the eve of Imbolc to weave a Brighid’s Cross, a whirligig pattern, from pulled rushes or straw. They are hung in the rafters, and by the door to protect the house. Within the Celtic tradition, birds are soul carriers between the worlds, connecting the realms of earth and sky. In this design, four white Cranes form the Brighid’s Cross – the White Crane is particularly associated with the spirit of the trees.
Original Design and Text by Jen Delyth ©2003
Hunting of the Wren
“Fly little bird,
With your ribbons and prayers,
We hunted you down
Gave you cage and a crown.Fly little wren,
May your song never end,
In darkness your sight –
Gave your life for our light”.
Excerpt from Song “The Hunting of the Wren” by Jen Delyth
The Wren – Drwy – is a deeply mystical divine bird for the Celts.
In Welsh the name of the Wren is connected to the word for Druid. – Drwy, and in Irish Gaelic, Drui-en – the Druid bird.
The wise and elusive Wren is the King of the Birds – a little bird, cunning, fertile, and with a strong beautiful voice that particularly inspired the Bards, and was sacred to Taliesin, and a voice of augury for the Druids.
There are many folk songs – especially in Wales and Ireland, about the Winter custom of “Hunting of the Wren – Hela’r Dryw”. This folk tradition has ancient roots, and potent symbolism around the Winter Solstice, when the Wren is sacrificed and given a ritual burial to ensure the fertility and light returning to the world, at the darkest time. In some customs the Wren is let free instead.
Around New Years’ Day, villagers hunted the wren, carrying her in a little Wren House cage, honoring “the King of the Birds” with ritual ceremony. Young boys decked in ribbons and representing the winter Holly King, parade the wren from door to door, singing songs, and they would be given gifts in return.
In this ritual, the Wren represents the newly crowned Holly King, who dies to ensure the return of the light – the “killing” of the old year, to bring in the new.
The yellow Gorse or Furze – represents the sun, with her rich yellow flowers, and is a voracious light seeker. The evergreen Holly tree with blood red berries, represents the Winter King, as the Oak and the Robin represent the Summer King – the seasonal cycles of light and dark.
The feathers of the Wren were thought to bring good fortune, and it was considered bad luck to kill a Wren, or steal her eggs, and that the wren’s nest was protected by lightening.
The “hunting of the wren” now typically takes place on St Stephen’s Day (26th December), as it was (unfortunately) believed that the Wren’s song betrayed St. Stephen, who was hiding in the yellow Gorse or Furze, leading to his martyrdom.
“Y neb a dorro nyth y dryw, Ni chaiff iechayd yn ei fyw”
Whoever robs the wren’s nest shall, Never have wealth in his life”
Design and Text by Jen Delyth ©2016
Celtic Kats – Kat Sidhe – Cats were of great significance to the Celtic people. In Scotland the Stewart clan had the cat as a totem animal and this totem covered the confederacy of a number of tribes, clans and families. Kataobh, cat country, now known as Caithness, is named after a Pictish tribe, the Kati cat people. In one of the Irish Otherworld voyages, a little cat is encountered as a guardian of treasure; in maintaining its watch, it turns into a flaming form, and leaping its way through a potential thief, turns him to ashes. The cat is usually a female totem, dating back to ancient Goddess worship. In this design, intertwined triple felines indicate the symbolically significant number three which is most sacred to the Celts. Cats are said to have nine lives – nine is a multiple of three. This design is adapted from a tiny fragment of the Book of Kells.
Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth © 1992
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. Blodeuewdd becomes the wise all-seeing owl whose intuitive vision peers deep into our psyche.
Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth © 2008
The Raven is the totemic bird of the Morrigan – Great Queen, also known as Badb, Crow – the ancient Celtic death goddess of victory, prophecy and battle. In Arthurian myth she appears as Morgan Le Faye, King Arthur’s witch half-sister, as a powerful and dark influence. The Morrigan ruled the Fortunate Isles with her nine sisters who are said to guard and tend the cauldron of rebirth in the depths of Annwn, cooling it with their breath. Ravens have a close affinity with the supernatural world, and appear often throughout Celtic mythology, featuring in the Welsh stories of the Mabinogi. Ravens are birds of omen – predicting the future by studying the flight of birds. Believed to possess oracular powers, the distinctive harsh voice of the Raven prophesied the future and the outcome of battles. Carrion birds, they are associated with death, and Celtic coins depict the Raven or Crow perched on the back of a horse, symbolizing the war-goddess Badb Catha, who could change shape from woman to death-crow in battle. 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 Raven is also blessed with clear vision, and is wise in the mysteries of rebirth and healing. Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth ©1998
Welsh Dragon – Ddraig Goch – the Red Dragon once represented the old Welsh God Dewi, who later became Wales’s mythical patron Saint David. The Red Dragon represents the sovereignty of Britain, and is the totemic beast of the greatest line of kings, the Pen-dragons. Ddraig Goch has one talon raised in defiance! The Celtic Nations have a proud history of resistance, surviving many invasions (Saxons, Romans, Vikings) in the Western extremities Brittany (Breizh), Cornwall (Kernow), Wales (Cymru), the Isle of Man (Mannin), Ireland (Éire) and Scotland (Alba). Ysbryd Tragwyddol y Keltiad – the Spirit of the Celts is Eternal! Saxon invaders, the Engles, renamed part of Britain England. Fortunately, St. George, patron Saint of England – who according to legend tried to slay the Dragon – has not conquered Ddriag Goch, who is still the official emblem of Wales. Y Ddraig Goch Ddyry Cychwyn refers to the ancient Welsh prophesy, that The Red Dragon Will Rise Again!
Original Design and Text by Jen Delyth ©1991
Solstice Raven – for the ancient Celts, the Mysteries of life and death, darkness and light, and the turning of the cosmic wheel were intrinsically connected to their everyday lives. The life giving qualities of the sun – life, light, healing, inspiration, strength, (inner) fire, illumination – were considered divine, and seasonal rituals at the solar Solstice and Equinox festivals, and the four fire festivals, encourage the fertile life-giving force, marking the journey and return of the sun. As life follows death, at the darkest day of the Mid-Winter Solstice, the sun is reborn and the days grow long again, as the longest day of the Summer Solstice, marks the beginning of the slow waning of the sun’s power back into the darkness of winter once again.
Ravens are attracted to bright shining things, often hoarding them as sparkling treasures, and a Native American creation myth tells of Raven stealing the sun from the darkness, and releasing it into the world. The gleaming black Raven of the Celts is the totem bird of the magical dark goddess the Morrigan. Raven is the carrion eater of death – of the darkness – and is wise in the Mysteries of rebirth. She embodies the divine qualities of the sun with her bright eyes and keen intelligence, possessing a sharp clarity of vision into the shadowy unknown. So Raven is a poetic guardian of the solstice sun as it dies and is reborn once again.
Artwork and text by Jen Delyth ©2012
The Stag god is one of the few early animal spirits for whom we have a name — Herne the Hunter – 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 hunter identified with the stag — this is a very ancient mystery: Hunter and hunted are one. Horned animals, especially stags were associated with male sexuality. 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. Stags are associated with shape-changing and appear throughout celtic mythology as supernatural beings. In the Tale of Culhwch and Olwen, the Stag of Rhedynfre is able to speak to Arthur’s man Gwrhyr, Interpreter of Tongues. In the Mabinogi, a stag is the agent through which Pwyll and Arawn meet. In the “vita merlini” Merlin transforms into lord of the animals. Stag artwork is collaged with photograph of Carnac menhirs, Brittany.
Original Design and Text by Jen Delyth ©1993
The Triskelion is the triple-triangle form of fate – three rings were said to invoke the three fates in several ancient traditions. Throughout Celtic mythology and folk tales, Celtic Goddesses appear in triple form, and from ancient times the Great Earth Mother was the Triple Goddess representing her three aspects, Maiden, Mother and Crone. Spirals are the design of nature, of our universe. Snail shells, water flows, star systems – our very DNA is patterned in the sacred spiral thumbprint of life, the Spiral Dance. They are among the most ancient symbols created by our ancestors, carved on bone amulets and cave walls, appearing on megalithic monuments, entrances to caves – sacred places of worship, all over the Continent and the British Isles, such as Newgrange in Ireland, and the Gavrin’is in Brittany. These mystical triple patterns symbolized the womb, death and rebirth, and the coiled serpent or dragon, both regarded as sacred in the old religion, representing the Earth energies.
Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth ©1991
Warrior – Freagarthach the Answerer is the Sword made for Lugh of the Many Skills by the makers Goibhnui, Creidhne and Luchta. A finely crafted magic sword containing all the sorcerors’ symbols of the warrior. Forged in the heat of a lightning bolt, and imbued with the ferocity of the Boar, the deadly knowledge of the Raven Morrigan, and the golden strength of the Sun Horse. Freagarthach the Answerer was fearless, invincible, and sought the blood of the enemies of any whose grip was strong enough to keep the sword from leaping into the fray with a battle lust all of its own. Forged in light and the strength and fertility of the sun, the protective power of the bull, the boar and the horse, the sharp sword cuts through the tangled energies of psychic disturbances, held with clear intentions, of the honorable warrior who wields it. This sword form is loosley based on a Celtic Bronze Age Tesson sword with anthropomorphic hilt 1st Century BC. Century BC.
Original Design and Text by Jen Delyth ©2007
Yggdrasil is the World Tree of Norse Mythology, the Giant Ash tree that links and connects all the known worlds, the earth below, and the heaven above. Also known as the “Tree of Knowledge”, the “Tree of the Universe”, and the “Tree of Fate”, Yggdrasil is the axis, the center of the creation of the Universe. Three roots connect the World Tree to the three wells that flow beneath. The well of Mimir whose waters are the source of all wisdom, the Well of Fate – Urdarbrunnr, guarded by the Norns, the well of Hvergelmir – Roaring Kettlle, the source of many rivers that nourish life. The World Tree is a symbol common to many societies. Within Celtic tradition, the Great Oak tree is most revered, and the Druids are said to have worshipped amongst the ancient groves. The great forests of our world help create the oxygen we breath. They are vital to our planet’s diverse ecosystem.
Original Design and Text by Jen Delyth ©2002
Tree of Life – Y Goeden Bywyd. Britain was once covered in extensive oak forest, and reverence for Trees is at the heart of Celtic spirituality. Druids had their teaching centers in the midst of Oak groves, and the words for wood and wisdom are similar (Welsh gwydd and gwyddon). The Celtic Druids, priestesses and healer-women encoded their deep knowledge of trees and herbs into an ancient cryptic Tree alphabet – an Ogham cipher — Beth Luis-Nuin. The ‘Tree of Life’ is an esoteric philosophy common to many cultures and mythologies. The Ancients envisioned the entire cosmos in the form of a tree whose roots grow deep in the ground, branches reaching high into the heavens. Also known as the World Tree, the primal Mother Tree was regarded as all-nourishing, all-giving, involved in the creation of the universe and the origin of the first man and woman. Creatures representing the elements – the sacred Salmon, Heron, Horse, Dog, and Human folk are entwined within the greening vines of life. In the border motif (from the Book of Kells — a medieval manuscript) the pot represents this Source, or Earth Womb, also symbolized as the Grail, or Cauldron of Regeneration in Celtic mythology. The interlacing branches symbolize the Celtic belief in the Continuity of Life.
Celtic Tree of Life is an Original Design by Jen Delyth ©1989/2000
Antlers are an ancient archetype representing male energy, strength and fertility. The Horned God is a powerful symbol to the ancient people, named Cernunnos, Herne, Lord of all Stags. The great branching horns manifest the Spirit of the Forest – the esoteric mystery of the Tree of Life. The growth and shedding of his antlers are a seasonal symbol of regeneration. The moon is an ancient archetypal female symbol. Arianrhod, the Welsh goddess whose name means Silver Wheel was worshipped as priestess of the moon. The moon is mistress of the rhythms of tides water, emotion, psyche and womb cycles, life, death, creation. This weave of Antlers and Moons balance together the potent symbols of male and female energy. Both archetypes represent rebirth and regeneration, together they contain the Mysteries of earth and sky.
Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth © 1998
The Celts have an ancient lore and wisdom tradition reaching deep under the green waters of the land of Manawyddan ap Llyr. The Lord of the Sea is Guardian of the Blessed Isles, a master of humor, wit and wisdom, weaver of illusion and magic. Manawyddan’s country is the Land Under Wave –- he is Protector Lord of the Isle of Man, said to have caused great mists to rise around the Manx Isle so invaders could not find its shores. He rides upon the seas in a golden chariot with a helmet made of flames and a cloak that renders him invisible. His ship, Wave-sweeper, can steer itself by thought alone, moving without wind or oar, and his horse, Enbarr of the Flowing Mane, can travel over water as easily as land. In Ireland he is known as Manannán Mac Lir, and is said to ferry souls on their sea journey to the Otherworld. Manannán governs storms and is predictor of the weather. He is a master magician, possessing the fabulous crane-bag, holder of all his treasures including language. Sometimes he can be seen as a wise solitary Heron, standing watch along the fringed waters of river and shore.
Original Design and Text by Jen Delyth ©2007
Triskele – the Celtic triple spiral patterns flow into the center, and out again, a spiral dance of life. Triple spiral designs are amongst the most ancient symbols created by our ancestors. The Aois Dana – the Weavers – are the inspired poets. They draw from the well of wisdom and knowledge, and drink from the waters of life – represented here by the triple spiral border design. The leaves are of the great sacred Oak Tree, doorway to the Mysteries, revered by the ancient Celtic Priests – the Druids.
The Ravens symbolizes rebirth and regeneration, showing that life and death
are interconnected, that one is not possible without the other.
Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth © 2018
BARD SONG – The Celtic Harp is a wooden stringed instrument – often intricately carved with bird and animal designs.
The Harp is traditionally played by the Celtic Bards – the poets and musicians – who sing songs of enchantment, love and loss,and beauty and darkness. Music is the song of life, and the Celts say the Universe was created with sound. In Celtic mythology, the Silver Branch from the Tree of Life, is the totem of the musician. Brought back from the Celtic Otherworld, it is said to make enchanting music that heals and soothes away our pain and sorrow. The bird headed harp is played by the ancient Celtic Goddess Rhiannon, whose magical birds are said to sing enchanting songs, that “Lull the living to sleep, and awaken the dead.”
Artwork and Text jen delyth ©2016
Wolf Moon – Lleuad Blaidd – The hungry wolf calls to the moon – for change will come. 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.
Intuitive, shadowy, Wolf is often connected with the Moon and her cycles. In Celtic mythology, Wolf is companion to the fertile white moon goddess Cerridwen. Although Wolf is often associated with war and destruction, these are ancient mysteries of death and rebirth as guides to positive change. In Gaelic wolf is Madadh Alluidh, or Mac Tire meaning “Earth’s Son”.
Fierce, shy, loyal and cunning – wolf communicates power and leadership through eye, voice and body language to the pack. He is one of the totem guardians of the Celts. Cormac – the Irish King – was suckled by wolves, and wolves appear on the Gunderstrup Cauldron, with Cernunnos – the forest stag god. In Norse mythology, the wolves Hati and Sköll chase the sun and the moon across the heavens – creating day and night until the end of the world – Ragnarok.
Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth ©2017
Cwn Annwn – the Hounds of Annwn – are a pack of red-eared, snow-white spectral hounds from the Celtic Otherworld. In Welsh folklore Arawn Lord of Annwn rides with his pack of hounds through the skies in autumn, winter, and early spring. Annwn is the Celtic Otherworld, the world behind the veil/mask. The Hounds of Annwn haunt the fringes of this world as the Wild Hunt and are feared to be the Hell Hounds whose baying is heard on the howling winds. In Wales, where they are also known as Cwn Mamau – Hounds of the Mothers, they were associated with migrating geese, whose strange call sounds like the Cwn Annwn of the night. Within mythology, such as the Welsh medieval tale the Mabinogi, they run with Gwyn ap Nudd – another Lord of the Otherworld – also appearing with Bran, or Arthur, and are the Hounds of Herne the Hunter.
Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth © 2006
The Lindisfarne Gospels, made in north-east England less than a century after the introduction there of Christianity, is one of the world’s greatest masterpieces of manuscript painting. The four holy men who made it are documented as Aldred, Eadfrith, Ethelwald and Billfrith. The monastery of Lindisfarne was founded in ad 635 on a small outcrop of land, now known as Holy Island, lying among the sands a mile and a half off the Northumberland coast. Named Keltoi by the Greeks, the Celts were the tribal peoples of western Europe in the pre-Roman period, whose crafts-people created a brilliant art style. The monks of the early Christian Church incorporated these distinctive intricate weavings and knotwork patterns into their illuminated gospel manuscripts. Celtic patterning reflects the Celtic belief in the continuity of life, the interconnection of all things. Plants, animals, Otherworldly divinities, the elements themselves are venerated in these magical weavings. This design is a re-interpretation of an original design from the cross carpet page of the Lindisfarne Gospels – the Gospel according to Mark
Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth © 1994
Music is the song of life. From the first simple reed instruments, the first beating of an animal skin stretched upon a frame, folk have created music as naturally as breathing. Wherever folk gather, music resonates. Wood and bone, tightly stretched sinew and gut strings,
sing of joy and sorrow, love and loss, beauty and darkness through the skillful hands of the folk musician. We celebrate together with music at our festivals, at ritual gatherings. Around the hearth, long Winters nights are passed to the music of the fiddle, whistle, and the beat of the bodhran drum. With distinctive patterns and cadence of rhythm and harmony, traditional Celtic music continues to flourish throughout the modern celtic world, and wherever her people have travelled. In Celtic mythology, the universe is said to be created from sound, with three great shouts – represented by the Awen symbol of three dots with three rays. In this design, the ancient iron age Carynx horns symbolize the creative force of Awen. The mythic silver branch with her golden apples, is the emblem of the musician. Brought back from the Otherworld, it is said to make enchanting music that heals and soothes away our pain and sorrow. The magical Birds of Rhiannon sing enchanted songs that lull the living to sleep and awaken the dead.
Artwork and Text by Jen Delyth ©2013
Ravens Heart – The tribal heart beats with the blood of the Ravens – who show that life and death are interconnected, the one not possible without the other. True love balances the dark and the light, beginnings and endings. The strong heart is renewed through the wisdom of the Raven. Ravens are totem birds of the dark Celtic Goddesses the Badbh and the Morrigan, who shapeshift into Raven form. The Raven is associated with death and rebirth. Celtic coins depict the Raven or Crow perched on the back of a horse, symbolizing the war-goddes Badb Catha, who could change shape from woman to death-crow in battle. A 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 Raven is also blessed with clear vision, and is wise in the mysteries of rebirth and healing.
Original Design and Text by Jen Delyth ©2011
Pentacle Knot – as with other knotwork designs, the magical weaving of an unbroken line was believed to form gateless protection, and as a protection symbol, the pentagram is used as a magic charm within many ancient cultures. The five pointed star represents the sign of man/woman, connecting the five body-mind elements together. A mystical combination of points and circles, male and female, the pentacle interlaced with five rings creates a flower and star pattern, representing earth and heaven.
Original Design and Text by Jen Delyth ©1993
There are many similar folk stories told of magical faerie women living below the lakes of Wales that thread back to ancient Celtic myth and belief.
The Lady of the Lake of Llyn Y Fan Fach in Myddfai Carmarthenshire, is interwoven with a later twelfth century legend of the Physicians of Myddfai, whose skills as herbalists were renowned from up until the 18th Century in Wales.
The Physicians of Myddfai – and some of their descendants – were said to be eminent healers, who inherited the magical healing powers of the Lady of the Lake.
In the Welsh folk tale, a faerie woman leaves her home beneath the Lake, and agrees to marry a young local man who is entranced with her beauty – bringing him a dowry of magical cattle – with the condition that he does not strike her three times without cause – or she will return to the waters of Llyn Y Fan Fach.
They had three sons together, but when her husband accidentally gives her three causeless blows, she keeps her promise and disappears – with her magical cattle – to her home beneath the Lake.
She gifts her eldest son Rhiwallon with her medicinal knowledge of herbs, plants and cures, and foretells that his descendants will continue to have the skills of the Healers. Myddfai was indeed a well respected healing center in medieval Wales, through the 18th century.
Art & Text by Jen Delyth ©2022
Melangell of the Hares. In a remote valley in mid-Wales, lies the village of Pennant Melangell. According to legend, in 607 CE an Irish princess was, against her will, arranged in marriage to a local chieftain. She was devoted to God, and so fled across the sea to find sanctuary in the Welsh mountains, where she lived humbly, sleeping on a bare rock in the woods. One day, the local prince Brochfael Ysgythrog – the Tusked – was out hunting with his hounds, when they scented a hare which they pursued into a dense thicket. There to the prince’s surprise, in a sunlit clearing, was the beautiful maiden Melangell, quietly praying as she faced the baying hounds…. The hare had taken refuge amongst her skirts. The howling dogs were crouched, ears flattened, tails between their legs, and the Prince found his horn stuck to his lips, unable to move. Brochfael fell humbly to his knees, impressed by her courage, and recognizing her divine presence. He granted her the valley as a perpetual refuge and place of sanctuary for all people and animals. Hares are still called wyn bach Melangell – or Melangell’s little lambs, and the church of Pennant Melangell contains St. Melangell’s shrine, which is visited by pilgrims today.
Original Design and Text by Jen Delyth ©2005
The Journey is the movement into the unknown. Heroes and monks adventure Beyond the Ninth Wave, into the uncharted realms. The Soul Journey and the cycle of life and death lie at the heart of Celtic philosophy. The maze pattern, or key knot designs represents our path through birth, life and beyond. These patterns are amongst our earliest sacred designs, appearing from as early as 25,000 BC. The Ancient Celts believed that the soul journies to the Otherworld, and buried their dead with ritual objects and food. This image is modeled on a small gold votive boat from the deposit at Broighter (Ireland) 1st century B.C. Saint Brendon the Navigator, also known as Brendan the Bold and Brendan the Voyager, was the greatest traveler of the Irish Saints. He was both a monk and man of the sea who made many journeys, establishing monasteries wherever he landed, such as on Arran and other remote islands in the Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. Brendon set out on his mythic quest upon the sea with a company of intrepid monks to find the Land of Promise, Hy-Brasil. Sailing a simple curragh boat—a coracle of wood and leather—they set out into the unknown upon the great ocean, putting their faith in God, the elements and their great instinct for navigation by the stars (the Celts navigated by the movements of the Pleiades). This epic journey would take seven years. Finally, they arrived at the beautiful land they called the Promised Land of the Saints, having had many adventures along the way. We hear details of their journey in a popular book written by a monk in the ninth century, The Navigatio.
Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth © 2007
Awen is Welsh for poetic inspiration. A flowing essence, this spiritual illumination is known in Irish as the Imbas. Awen is the spark of life, creativity, wisdom, the living principle. Said to be the name by which the universe calls God inwardly. Awen is the breath of the God Dagda, who bestows this gift of power and knowledge to the Chief Bard of the Druids. Since the Barddas in the 19th century, Awen is symbolized as three rays, sometimes emanating from three small dots, symbolizing truth, the balance of life and existence. The Awen is said to represent the letters OIU, from which all others are obtained. Bards and poets greatly revere the mystical divine knowledge. According to the ancient Welsh tales of the Mabinogion, Bard Taliesin Radiant Brow receives Awen with gifts of knowledge, prophecy and poetry from Ceridwen’s cauldron. In this painting, Celtic symbols and creatures represent the elements of nature and of creativity – salmon of wisdom, hounds of loyalty, solar horse of strength and intelligence, hare of fertility, serpent of rebirth and regneration, the boar of valor, the shaman crane, the Tree of Life, Sun, Moon, River, Mountain, above, below, between. The palm of the hand is inscribed with the mark of the Awen, the creative source.
Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth © 2008
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. Intelligently negotiating the forces and challenges of the Wilde, the elusive fox is aware and adaptable, providing well for her cubs in her carefully hidden den. Both predator and prey, the skillful fox was known to symbolize the struggle of the ordinary common folk against the feudal barons. 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. These are our companion guides as we find our path through the often dark, tangled woodlands of our psyche. Llwynog Coch – the beautiful and cunning Red Fox!
Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth ©2011
The Garden is a perfumed sanctuary of flowering beauty and green verdant life. Her creatures are the butterfly, whose painted wings reflect the vivid colors and patterns of the flowers and herbs she visits for their sweet nectar. The Bees gather pollen from the lavender to create golden honey for their Queen. Dragonfly, master of illusion, is shaman of the air, as the frog is of his watery pond among the rushes. The humble snail carries the sacred spiral symbol upon his back. His is the shady realm of undergrowth and tender shoots. The Green Man and his bride watch over the Garden. He is of the earth – the green vines spill from his mouth taking root in the fertile soil. She is Blue Mistress of the flowers and winged creatures. Together they dance in the garden of creative possibilities.
Original Design and Text by Jen Delyth ©2006
Eiocha – Before the beginning of time, before the gods and people lived upon the land, all lived beneath the sea – “Tir fo Thuinn” – Manannán’s land beneath the waves. Eiocha – ancient Celtic Goddess of the Deep Waters – is a white mare made of sea foam – born on the shore between the land and the sea. Eiocha ate the white berries (mistletoe) – the tears of the sea – that grew on a giant oak tree on the shore, and then gave birth to Cernunnos the Stag God. Together they made the sacred mare Goddess Epona – who created horses in memory of Eiocha. The sea horse represents strength and creativity – as they change colors when threatened, and with their strong tails wrapped around the seaweed and sea plants, they resist the pull of the tide and currents..
Original Artwork and Text by Jen Delyth ©2014
Wolf Moon – Lleuad Blaidd – The hungry wolf calls to the moon – for change will come. 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.
Intuitive, shadowy, Wolf is often connected with the Moon and her cycles. In Celtic mythology, Wolf is companion to the fertile white moon goddess Cerridwen. Although Wolf is often associated with war and destruction, these are ancient mysteries of death and rebirth as guides to positive change. In Gaelic wolf is Madadh Alluidh, or Mac Tire meaning “Earth’s Son”. Fierce, shy, loyal and cunning – wolf communicates power and leadership through eye, voice and body language to the pack. He is one of the totem guardians of the Celts. Cormac – the Irish King – was suckled by wolves, and wolves appear on the Gunderstrup Cauldron, with Cernunnos – the forest stag god. In Norse mythology, the wolves Hati and Sköll chase the sun and the moon
across the heavens – creating day and night until the end of the world – Ragnarok.
Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth ©2017
Jen’s original design “Celtic Tree of Life” represents the interconnection of all things. Roots and Branches create the circle of life.
Britain was once covered in extensive oak forest, and reverence for Trees is at the heart of Celtic spirituality. Druids had their teaching centers in the midst of Oak groves, and the words for wood and wisdom are similar (Welsh gwydd and gwyddon). The Celtic Druids, priestesses and healer-women encoded their deep knowledge of trees and herbs into an ancient cryptic Tree alphabet – an Ogham cipher — Beth Luis-Nuin. The ‘Tree of Life’ is an esoteric philosophy common to many cultures and mythologies. The Ancients envisioned the entire cosmos in the form of a tree whose roots grow deep in the ground, branches reaching high into the heavens. Also known as the World Tree, the primal Mother Tree was regarded as all-nourishing, all-giving, involved in the creation of the universe and the origin of the first man and woman. In the border motif the pot represents this Source, or Earth Womb, also symbolized as the Grail, or Cauldron of Regeneration in Celtic mythology. The interlacing branches symbolize the Celtic belief in the Continuity of Life
Celtic Tree of Life – an Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth ©1989
Sun symbols belong to the oldest of all symbols that people have carved on stones, rocks, and bones. The solar wheel as sun symbol was worn as a talisman and buried with the dead. Celtic coins were struck with sun symbols associated with the Horse, a solar creature in the Bronze Age and the Celtic period. The circle with a center is still used today in astronomical calendars as the sign for the sun. The celts did not worship the actual physical sun, who was not represented by any one particular god or goddess. The venerated spirit and power of nature in all things, and many gods and goddesses embodied the divine qualities of the sun- life, light, healing, inspiration, strength, (inner) fire and illumination. Some of the main solar divinities are Sulis (from Suil, meaning both ‘eye’ and ‘sun’) and Lugh- Welsh Lleu (Bright one). The Welsh sun god Hu is a bull called ‘the mighty Hu’. The four great celtic festivals (Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane and Lugh-Nasadh) were perhaps markers of the solar year, with fires lit at Beltane (means ‘bright fire’) to mark the return of the sun, and encourage the fertile warming force. In this design, the twelve fiery rays of the sun represent the modern zodiac. The double spiral and rhomboid patterns are ancient dynamic sun symbols, representing the seasonal growth and then waning of the sun’s power. The chain of joined rhomboids is the symbolic image of the ongoing chain of sun years.
Original Design and Text by Jen Delyth ©1998
Irish Roots – Celebrate Your Roots is written in Irish Gaelic and English translation,
circling Jen Delyth’s iconic Celtic Tree of Life artwork. The green flag featuring a harp, is an older symbol of Ireland dating back to 1642. It has been chosen to represent Ireland and her people, at the heart of the Tree of Life. The original phrase Éirinn go Bráth translates to Ireland Forever, expressing allegiance to Éire – Ireland. Our ancestral roots reach back through the generations, as we celebrate our heritage through an ancient culture that continues to grow and evolve as a living tradition in our lives today. The Celtic Tree of Life represents the interconnection of all living things.
The Ancients envisioned the entire cosmos in the form of a tree whose roots grow deep in the ground, branches reaching high into the heavens.
Original Design and Text by Jen Delyth ©2012
Annwn is the Celtic Otherworld – the world behind the veil/mask. It is the magical place of perpetual feasting, dancing and music – it is the land of the forever young. It is possible to travel between the human world and the otherworld, which exists out of time and space. In the Welsh Medieval tale “the Mabinogi”, Pwyll, Lord of Dyfed meets Arawn, King of the Otherworld, while both are out hunting. Arawn has a pack of shining white, red-eared dogs – the Hounds of Annwn are his totem animals. In the myth, Pwyll and Arawn resolve an argument over a white stag, by agreeing to exchange places for a year. They are magically transformed so that even Arawn’s wife does not know that Pwyll is living in her husband’s place. Shape-shifting is an integral element of the Celtic world: The Mysteries take shape in the flux between states, between light and dark, night and day, here and there. The head, as center of spiritual power, had overwhelming significance for all the Celtic peoples. It is conspicuous in their rituals, their warfare, in their stories, and in their art. This Mask is inspired by ancient Celtic bronze warrior masks..
Original Design and Text by Jen Delyth ©1994
Doves – Peace. Among many mythologies the dove appears as feminine symbol of soul, wisdom, re-birth and harmony. In the ancient world the concept of harmony was close to healing. Images of doves were offered to the Celtic healer-deities of thermal springs, multiple stone figures of doves were offered to the curative spirits presiding over shrines. Like ravens, doves were perceived as oracular birds, perhaps on account of their distinctive call. In classical iconography and mythology, doves were the attribute of Venus, goddess of love. Both dove and olive branch originally meant “the peace of the goddess”. Peace on earth is here written in some of the living languages of the Celtic Nations. Tangnefedd ar y ddaear (Welsh) • Shee er y talloo (Manx) Re bo cres yn nor (Cornish) • Air talamh sìth (Scottish) Peoc’h war ar bed (Breton) • Síocháin ar talamh (Irish)
Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth © 1994
The Serpent is symbol of rebirth, shedding its old skin and reemerging in the Spring from the Winter’s hibernation seeming to be immortal. The Great Serpent Ouroboros is the Earth Dragon living forever in the underworld. Many Celtic healers appear with snakes, often associated with water, rivers and curative springs (entrances to the underworld). Serpents are frequently found on torcs, the sacred neck ornament of the Celtic kings and divinities, embodying the power of the earth, and eternal life. Every ancient mythology has some form of World Serpent. To the Celts, a symbol of her cosmic world-creating seed was the round, spiny sea-urchin. The Serpent was one of the most ancient symbols of female power, since both seemed to embody the power of life. The coiled serpent with its tail in its mouth is a circle of infinity and eternity, representing cyclical evolution and reincarnation.
Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth ©1994
Tuatha Dé Danann – the People of the Goddess Danu, were a race of divine beings, said to have inhabited Ireland before the occupation of the Gaels or Celts. They were skilled in magic and in Druid lore. In Wales they are called the Tylwyth Teg – the Fair Folk. The circles in the grass of green fields are still called cylchau y Tylwyth Teg – faerie rings. Faeries were things under the earth, for they were generally supposed to dwell in the lower regions, especially beneath lakes. The people of Pembroke imagined that they inhabited certain enchanted green isles of the sea. After the coming of the Gaels, the Tuatha Dé were driven underground, to establish an Otherworld kingdom beneath the hills, Tir na nog the Land of the Forever Young. The Celts were a people who lived close to nature. The cycle of the seasons, cosmos, earth, elements, plants, animals, humanity, and otherworldly beings, are expressed throughout Celtic mythology and religion. In this design, the people of Danu are woven into the ancient cross-symbol creating a mandala celebrating the Spirit in Nature and inter-connection of all living things.
Original Design and Text by Jen Delyth ©1991
Ddraig Goch – the Red Dragon once represented the old Welsh God Dewi, who later became Wales’s mythical patron Saint David. The Red Dragon represents the sovereignty of Britain, and is the totemic beast of the greatest line of kings, the Pen-dragons. Ddraig Goch has one talon raised in defiance! The Celtic Nations have a proud history of resistance, surviving many invasions (Saxons, Romans, Vikings) in the Western extremities Brittany (Breizh), Cornwall (Kernow), Wales (Cymru), the Isle of Man (Mannin), Ireland (Éire) and Scotland (Alba). Ysbryd Tragwyddol y Keltiad – the Spirit of the Celts is Eternal! Saxon invaders, the Engles, renamed part of Britain England. Fortunately, St. George, patron Saint of England – who according to legend tried to slay the Dragon – has not conquered Ddriag Goch, who is still the official emblem of Wales. Y Ddraig Goch Ddyry Cychwyn refers to the ancient Welsh prophesy, that The Red Dragon Will Rise Again! CCelebrate Your Roots is here written around Jen Delyth’s iconic Celtic Tree of Life symbol – in Welsh and English
Original Design and Text by Jen Delyth ©1991
Celtic Cross – Y Croes Geltaidd Often associated with the Tree of Life, the Celtic Cross predates Christianity, the oldest example from 10,000 BC. The first cross symbols represented the sun. In the megalithic age and in the Celtic epoch, the sun was considered to be the divine center of the cosmos, the ¨light of the world¨. The sign of the sun is the circle with a centre. The circle represents the whole, the encircling spirit, the sun illuminating – an all-embracing essence of light. In the Celtic Cross, it is the center where all forces come together. The central spiritual source is here represented by a triskele motif symbolising the mystical Celtic trinity. The cross is the cosmic wheel, representing the four seasonal positions of the sun – cosmic order – the four directions, elements, four seasons. The Wheel Crosses have round heads of large diameter and shortshafts and are peculiar to Wales, Cornwall and the Isle of Man. This design is based on the great wheel-cross of Conbelin at Margam Abbey, South Wales.
Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth © 1997
Within ancient and modern spiritual traditions, the Dance is metaphor for life, an ancient choreography moving with the rhythm of the Earth to the music of the cosmos. Within Celtic tradition the Ceilidh is a gathering, a celebration of music, storytelling and dance. The long winter nights are passed to the music of the fiddle, whistle, the beat of the bodhran drum. The traditional Celtic dances weave intricate patterns of circles, spirals, squares in arrangements of threes and fours – a dynamic expression of the eternal knot. In ritual dances such as the annual Beltaine Maypole dance, men and women weave ribbons in ancient spiral patterns around the phallic tree to raise and manifest the fertile earth energies. The Morris Dancers continue the tradition of the Shaman dances. They wear antler headdresses and costumes of red and white representing the colors of the Otherworld. Their clogs, sticks and bells stamp out rhythms in circle and square patterns on the earth in celebration of the ancient Horned God of fertility and strength. The Lord of the Dance is one of the oldest Gods of the Natural World. Within the Christian religion, he is still honored as the force at the center of our spiritual and metaphysical lives.
Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth © 1999
Scottish Heritage – Celebrate Your Roots is here written in Scottish Gaelic, and English, entwined around Jen Delyth’s iconic Celtic Tree of Life artwork. The Montrose Shield and Lyon Rampant was chosen to represent Scotland and her people at the heart of the Tree of Life.
Our ancestral roots reach back through history and generations as we celebrate the culture that continues to grow and evolve as a living tradition in our lives today.
COMHARAICH DO FHREUMHAN is Scots’ Gaelic for “Celebrate Your Roots”
Thanks to friends in Glasgow and Seamus for this special case translation, which required words that would give connotations of both botanical roots and familial roots. It required a “bardic” turn of phrase, using the old Gaelic love of double entendre and symbolism as opposed to a literal one.
For “roots” – choices were narrowed down to reumhach or freumhach over a number of other possible choices (such as preamh or stoc). Its meanings include being both plant roots and family lineage.
Original Design and Text by Jen Delyth ©2012
Ddraig Goch – Red Dragon symbolizes the sovereignty of Britain, and is the totemic beast of the greatest line of kings, the Pen-dragons. Dragons and serpents of the Celtic religion symbolize earth energies – the dragon lines/ley lines. The Red Dragon is derived from the Great Red Serpent that once represented the old Welsh God Dewi, Saint David. There is a legend that the British tyrant King Vortigern, was attempting to build a fortified tower, thought to be the hillfort of Dinas Emrys in Snowdonia, Wales, but the structure kept falling down. A young boy was brought to be sacrificed to save the tower. However, the young Emrys had powers of prophecy, and he saw that two dragons, one red and one white, were fighting in an underground pool below the weak foundations. Emrys prophesied that the red dragon would slay the white dragon, and the Saxons would be driven from Britain. Y Ddraig Goch Ddyry Cychwyn – The Red Dragon will Rise Again!
Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth © 2000
Anu is the Great Mother of the ancestor Gods the Danaan. An ancient figure, venerated under many names, she is often known as Aine, or Danu. She is the womb of life. As Aine, her name means “delight, pleasure, melody”. She is the spark and vitality of life, she is the seed of the sun in our veins. The Great Earth Mother is more ancient than the God of the Celtic Druids. She is the Mother whose breasts are the two hills called the Paps of Anu in Ireland. Her hair is the wild waves, the golden corn. Her eyes are the shining stars, her belly the round tors, or earth barrows from which we are born. Like the cat, the sow, the Owl, she eats her young if they are sick or dying. She is the cycle of life, the turning of the seasons. In this design the four elements of life are represented: air (birds), fire, earth (tree) and water.
Original Design & Text by Jen Delyth © 2000
CARE INSTRUCTIONS
Machine wash warm with like colors • Inside out • Medium Tumble Dry
Do not iron decorations • No dry clean.
STYLE
100% Heavyweight CottonPreshrunk • USA Regular Men’s Tshirt Sizing
Brands – Gildan & also Fruit of the Loom,Hanes