=Celtic cross - (sdic.net) preChristian variation of the Solar cross. dates as far back as 5000 BCE known to be an early symbol of the Gallic sun god Taranis. After conversion to CHristianity the Celtic Cross became an emblem of the Celtic Christian Church. Legends say the cross was introduced to Ireland by St. Columba, so it is sometimes referred to as Columba's cross, or Ionic cross, after his monastery on the isle of Iona.
(cooper) phallic; life; fecundity.
-(cirlot) an inversion of the tree of paradise; like the tree of life, the cross stands for the world axis
(oconnell) circle emphasizes the cyclical nature of the seasons, while the four arms represents the shadows cast by the rising and setting sun at the two solstices. The neolithic structure in Loughcrew in Ireland was made in the shape of a cross with a central passage aligned to the equinoctial sunrise.
the Celts combined the basic cross and the circle in a distinctive pattern that originally had links with fertility - the cross signifying the male generative power and the circle the female. In time, the celtic cross was used as a christian symbol to represent the union of heaven and earth.
the celtic cross symbolizes the four seasons and the four directions was positioned over a circle symbolizing the earth.
(heinz) stands for the world tree (prechristianity); with its four limbs it holds the underworld, the earth, the vaults of of heaven together, and thus prevents chaos. may have evolved from a swastika to portray the sun, the full moon and the stars as a circle of constellations. the circle symbolizes protection. Cu Chulainn's technique for catching birds and salmons involved moving in a circle. the high cross survived to the 12th century.
(DK) the circle symbolizes holiness or a halo and unity; represented the sun
(m.gauding) from pagan era dating back to 5000 BCE; might be an early symbol of the Celtic sun god Taranis. In the earliest periods, the cross was entirely drawn within the circle and was without decoration. image of sexual union, with the arms representing the four directions and the flow of time, and the circle with the cycles of birth and rebirth. the center is where time stands still [or rather seem to stand still from the physical point of view; it is the realm of timelessness] and the point of entry into the underworld [otherworld].
********
celtic wheel cross - (d.j.conway, celtic magic) a prechristian symbol, a representation of the magic circle mandala. THe equal armed cross surrounded by a circle symbolizes the balance of male and female forces and the four elements, the four winds, and the four cardinal directions.
In the center where the lines cross is the hidden fifth element of spirit. The surrounding circle is the manifested universe contained within a circle of infinity. In magic, a properly drawn circle becomes an invisible boundary, having power in this and other realms. The energy of that boundary keeps out negative influences and contains the power you raise until you are ready to release it.
The most characteristic of the Celtic shaped crosses have a vertical ornamented axis with a wheel cross on top and a square base. The symbolism is powerful: a square earth linked to a round heaven by a shaft symbolizing the world axis.
(h.beare) - the Gaelic wheel cross predated christian era and represented the cosmic balance of opposites, the four seasons, four points of the compass, four corners of the earth, four universal elements; the circle concentrated within its circumference the energy of the universe (the circle is bound with power all around) and the point where all radii cross marked the core sustaining all things, sometimes alled the fifth element, spirit. considered a cone of personal power. Over centuries christians replaced the overlay of primitive magic with symbolism about spirituality and the wheel of the Celtic cross became a halo behind the intersection of the arms of the cross pieces, the central empty point being where the head of Jesus, now resurrected, had been.
*at some point, and this is way before Christianity, the four arms of the cross went beyond the boundaries of the protective circle. This was seen to signify the aggressive action of the manifest world to overcome the spiritual world, or perhaps it boded the separation of the manifest world from the spiritual world, which also meant the awakening of the male power and the resting of the feminine power, a shift that takes place in an evercontinuing cycle that renews every 4,000 years in certain cultures and 12,000 years in some.