The Meaning of the Spiral

Front Kerbstone at New Grange, Country Meath, Ireland. c.3400 B.C.

This kerbstone is at the New Grange mound, passage grave, and temple. It is intricately carved with spirals, lozenges, and concentric circles. This kerbstone is an example of petroglyphs. It seems that the spiral is a constant repeating form in many earth art works. There is a lot of controversy over the true meaning of spirals in Celtic art. The direction of the spiral and the number of rotations is speculated to affect the meaning behind a particular spiral. The triple spiral, which can be seen on the left of the kerbstone I have pictured, symbolizes the three phases of the moon. The double spiral signifies balance. It is also believed to show the equinox, in which day and night are equal in length (balance in time). In terms of the direction of the spiral, a clockwise spiral represented the Sun. This representation of the Sun is quite interesting because the Celtic people tended to favor the Moon in their symbolism. A loosely wound spiral would symbolize the lengthening day while a tightly wound spiral symbolized the shortened days (i.e. the long winter nights).

For more information on Celtic symbols in art here is a link to my reference article:
“Celtic Symbols: Finding Meaning in Celtic Art”
http://www.articlesbase.com/art-articles/celtic-symbols-finding-meaning-in-celtic-art-338040.html