The Triquetra ~
Triquetra is a Latin word that means “three cornered”. Some believe that the word originated from a Greek term meaning “three legged”. Originally, it simply meant “triangle” and used to refer to various three-cornered shapes.
In ancient times, the number 3 was sacred and revered as extremely powerful. Today the symbol is often a more complicated design with a circle that weaves through the three interconnected loops. The circle emphasizes the unity of the whole combination. The symbol is also known as the “Trinity Knot”.
A widely recognized knot for the past two centuries, it is uncertain what the symbol truly may have meant to the ancients. The Triquetra has been used as a sign of special things and persons that are threefold, such as Past, Present and Future - of spiritual, physical, mental – and especially the Trinity or triple aspects present in both pre-christian and Christian spiritualities.
Its meaning may also represent the three stages of the life cycle - the young, the mature and the wise elder or the threefold of nature - earth, water, and sky. The contniuous nature of the design implies an unending nature such as love for another.
In Celtic art the Triquetra has three distinct, yet interlocked points and is often found in Insular art, most notably in metalwork and in illuminated manuscripts (e.g. The Book of Kells). The Triquetra rarely stood alone in medieval Celtic art. It was more widely used as space filler or a design element in larger, more complex compositions.
To Modern spiritualists, the Triquetra symbolizes a variety of concepts and mythological aspects or figures. Celtic Redonstructionists use it either to represent one of the various triple cities in their cosmology and theology (such as the division of the world into the three realms of Land, Sea and Sky), or as a symbol of the triple Goddess.
Whatever its meaning may hold for each individual, it stands as a beloved emblem which conveys the ideas of continuity and eternity for many…
