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CELTIC WHEEL OF LIFE (CATHERINE WHEEL)
The old Celtic word for the solar calendar was Bleidonii, and
the passage of time was symbolized by a wheel. Today,
"The Wheel of the Year" is a very common metaphor for the
ever-turning cycle of life, death and regeneration.The
Celts viewed this wheel as being turned by a great Crone
Goddess in the Land of the Dead. In Ireland, this same
goddess is called Badb (The Boiling One) and in Wales she is
called Arianrhod of the Silver Wheel. Even though the main
characters in the Celtic myths from various regions
differed, the image of the wheel persisted.
The wheel has two conceptualizations in Celtic Paganism.
The first is circular, flowing clockwise through the
seasons, the second is shaped like a swastika, or sun wheel,
and the seasons follow a zigzag pattern. |
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