Celtic symbol mail

Hello Ron here
I received a mail this week about one of the symbols on my site from one of our readers
Ray as he had a slight concern about the meaning i had in place.
Below i have placed the contents of the comments and my reply for your enjoyment.
To an educational, site which gives precise archaeological evidence if you need it
I then go on to say

Like many things in history and in life, interpretations of Celtic symbols are down to the person translating them.
On this page I invite all of you to give me alternative meanings to the symbols and i will gladly add it to the site however, freedom is about choice so unless your meaning is racist sexist or otherwise (at my personal discretion), weather i agree or not with the historical basis, I will put it up. Every reader can then enjoy the site as much as i do.

Hey guys no one is perfect therfore

If you do not agree with details in the mail below then please send to me your information
however dont forget the specific dates and references like i have done below or no mention or research will be entered into and the mail will be deleted. I an confident you will appreciate how time consuming it would be otherwisw uuurrrgg hahah
so here we go with the mail :-)
Hiya Ray
Firstly, thank you Ray for dropping me a line
Now then to your comments

"The 'triple spiral' you refer to is actually called a triskele and represents death, the afterlife, and rebirth. The holy trinity references are irrelevant and incorrect, since this and other symbols were originated by the druids, well before the introduction of Christianity."

Well Ray yes I had this explanation up originally however I had a lot of mails telling me that this is only a small part of the symbol.
I therefore investigated further on this one and found that in fact, yes I was not explaining it correctly and this is why

Therefore, Ray the first part of your mail covers the triskele i.e.
"The 'triple spiral' you refer to is actually called a triskele and represents death, the afterlife, and rebirth."

Firstly, the word triskele did not exist until the 17th century AD.

Triskele is a word that is New Latin, from Greek triskel s, three-legged : tri-, tri- + skelos, leg.]

Noun 1. triskele - a figure consisting of three stylized human arms or legs (or three bent lines) radiating from a center For clarification you will see below the ages of latin

Ages of Latin—75 BC Old Latin 75 BC – 1st c.Classical Latin 2nd c. – 8th c. Late Latin
9th c. – 15th c.Medieval Latin 15th c. – 17th c. Humanist Latin
17th c. – present New Latin

As you will know Ray, the Druids were around a long time before this however,

The 18th century saw a Druid Revival in England and Wales, inspired by the writings of antiquaries such as John Aubrey (1629-1697), John Toland (1670-1722), and William Stukely (1687-1765). Aubrey was the first modern writer to put forward the idea that Stonehenge and other megalithic monuments were built by Druids. He was also the first person to make surveys of Stonehenge and Avebury. On the strength of this, some modern Druid groups whose origins lie in the 18th century revival therefore have claimed him as an Arch druid it possibly adopted the name triskele at that point.

This is why I reverted to the triple spiral name.

To the second part of your comments i.e.
"The holy trinity references are irrelevant and incorrect, since this and other symbols were originated by the druids, well before the introduction of Christianity".

Well Ray, as you will know Christianity was around long before the 17th century also and Latin is in fact the language of the Vatican City headed by the Pope, although it has its roots in indo-European language it is more localised to the areas in and around Rome historically.
I think that covers the fact that the word has some relation to Christianity however now to the Symbol.
The spiral is found all over the world in many cultures and religions however i believe new grange is the oldest representation of the triple spiral, what the future brings archeologically who knows.

You will recognise that Celtic Christianity and the great works such as the book of kells has triple spirals inside its covers
and that we now know that these great works of illumination were allegedly in many cases created by druids that converted to Christianity to save the ways and teaching of the druid sects.
It is writings of this nature that Christianity converted to use the symbolism of the holy trinity. Here in Scotland Ray there are many churches with the triple spiral markings on their entrance ways to show they were of Celtic Christianity.
Are we then to say that these Druids who created and named these great works to ensure the future of the druids after the changes and into the future are of no worth and irrelevant well that’s up to you to decide.

I am confident you will appreciate Ray that with many thousands of visitors to my site all from differing walks of life all with their own opinions on things many of whom have no family ties to the Celtic world like myself but just enjoy the cultural experience, are equally allowed to give their own interpretations of what ever they wish.

Therefore, to that end your and my first interpretation of the symbol is there for your enjoyment however there has been many many more asking for the second that i have provided for theirs.
In addition, Ray if you look a little further down that page you will find the threefold symbol which might be to what you are looking for threefold is a plain English representation of triskele.
The above are not opinions simply facts as presented through the following references
British order of Druids
Bennett, Charles E. Latin Grammar (Allyn and Bacon, Chicago, 1908) N. Vincent: "Latin", in The Romance Languages, M. Harris and N. Vincent, eds., (Oxford Univ. Press. 1990), ISBN 0195208293 Waquet, Françoise, Latin, or the Empire of a Sign: From the Sixteenth to the Twentieth Centuries (Verso, 2003) ISBN 1859844022; translated from the French by John Howe. Wheelock, Frederic. Latin: An Introduction (Collins, 6th ed., 2005) ISBN 0060784237



I will pop this on my blog also so other visitors may voice their opinion
If you require further information, visit the British order of Druids
at this address http://www.britishdruidorder.co.uk/

Thanks, again Ray for you comments if you have any other comments please
let me know, perhaps you would be kind enough to quote historical reference as above
so i can put them on the site
Take care
Ron