MEANING: Here Coop carves an even armed Cross reaching out beyond a wide banded circle with a Triskelion within the very center. The even-armed cross within a circle has been ascribed many meanings by many groups & cultures. An ancient beginning of the Wheel Cross is the stone circle at Calanais, on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. It is formed in a rough circle, with an even-armed cross within it. This is believed to be a sun symbol to the creators of the stone circle, which became a sacred shape to the Celts. Original Celtic Crosses could be found throughout the land. They were inscribed on an upright rock, such as the cross marker near Gallerus Oratory in Ireland. It is a slab of stone, erected & carved with a Celtic Cross on the surface. The Celtic Druids worshipped both the sun & the moon. The circle is often used to represent the moon & the cross, the sun. The circle signifies infinity...no beginning & no end. St Patrick is said to have taken this ancient sun symbol & extended one of the lengths to form a melding of the Christian Cross & the sun symbol, & thus the birth of the Celtic Cross. Even Native Americans use a form of this as a symbol for their Medicine Wheel. The sun wheel has also been called Odin's Cross, a symbol in Norse Mythology. Our Triskelion is a form of the Triple Spiral Triskele where the movement is inward. This Triskelion in the center of the Pre-Christian Celtic Wheel Cross stands for the aspects of the Threefold Goddess, which reflect the phases of woman: Maiden, Mother, Crone. As the ancient Celts never wrote anything down, there are various meanings attributed to the Wheel Cross. The four arms extend out from a distinctive center point. This can be interpreted as: The balance & harmony between male & female... The four corners of the earth from one source... The eternal cycle of the four seasons... The eternal connection of all things in the Heavens & the Earth... The meeting place of the divine energy of self, nature, wisdom & divinity ...while the arms themselves can have the different meanings of... The Four Elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water The Four Directions of the Compass: North, South, East & West The Four Parts of Man: Mind, Soul, Heart & Body Stages of the day: morning, noon, evening, midnight. THE CARVING: Our carvings are single pieces of western red cedar, designed & carved to be wall hangings. Each carving begins as a 1 X 12 inch cedar board. While we use power tools (Scroll Saw, Rotary shaft Tool, handheld detail sanders etc.), we use no laser's, CNC machines or computer operated cutting machines. All work is done with our hands & eyes... We cut the 2 dimensional blanks with scroll & jig saws (double-sized custom orders have to be cut with jigsaw). Carving is done with rotary shaft tools & disc grinders. The 80 grit sanding is the final phase of the carving process, removing the nicks & gouges from the carving tools, & finishes the shaping of the weave. The next 2 sandings with 120 then 220 grit finishes the smoothing & polishing. They are finished with Clear Danish Oil to seal the piece, bringing out the grain & the color. SIZE: One picture has the piece on a quilting board, lined up on the 1 inch marks. The quilting board, at its simplest, is a one inch grid. So with the piece on the board, you look at the top & follow the line to the left & look at the right side at the widest point & follow the line to the bottom & you have height by width...but wait! It's not that easy! The way this board I have is laid out, if I lined it up on the zero points it would cover up the numbers & on some pieces you wouldn't be able to see them...so, I line it up on the 1 inch marks which means when you get the numbers, you have to subtract 1 inch... TA DA! Measurements may vary slightly from piece to piece. Celtic Wheel Cross Wood Carved Even Arm Circle Triskelion Triple Goddess Druid Sun Moon Irish Scottish Wiccan Pagan Wall Decor
