Thursday, June 18, 2009

Meaning behind my Necklace




I got this from my mil about eight years ago. I notice that the design was from a possible celtic background. She didn't know if it had meaning or importance. After asking a complete, stranger at a baseball game to find the meaning behind celtic heritage, I found this jewlery company that specializes in meaning and keeping the the traditions alive.

So, here is what the company said about my necklace..Yes a layout is coming from this.

"Well, looking at this design, it seems to not necessarily be a Celtic design but there may be some Celtic influence in it. It doesn't appear to be a weave pattern, but rather a filigree pattern, arranged to represent the Heart symbol.

The spiral and filigree designs are reminiscent of the organic shape of barley heads, though they could easily be another specific plant shape as well or even a simple vine.

The Heart symbol itself is an ancient symbol going back to Egyptian times. Going back to the region known as Cyrene, where a city once stood and a particular plant called Silphium, which is now extinct. The seed pods of the plant Silphium are heart shaped and it is thought that this was the source for the stylized design.

Later, the Catholic Church took it on as ascribing to holy or sacred love and still later, the Victorians picked it up as a symbol of romantic love.

Your piece is done I think in the style of Victorian design but as it is a Christian style cross, it probably signifies divine or sacred love. The vine like designs making the shape of the heart lend an Earthy dynamic and illustrate the concept of creating something spiritual through the process of the physical.

The spirals on the bail may be Celtic in nature, but the Spiral was hardly only Celtic. It also has a rich and varied history. In Celtic cultures it often represented the cycle of birth-death-rebirth. It also represented the process of manifestation from the unseen into the seen, or the creation of something from seemingly nothing.

The shape of the spiral also displays a relationship to divine movement, often referred to as the Divine Mean or the Golden Ratio."

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