symbol

Describe the image selected to go with the selected word.

This is a visual symbol in three parts. Someone added a heart, which I liked and used. But the symbol is six arcs from a circle, run through and turned upside-down in each part of three. The circles are connected and rely on the lines that connect each part. The symbol cannot be recognized or used if the three parts are separated. In fact, they can’t be separated.

There is a word for this symbol. It is a variation of something called triskelion. (Yes, I just looked that up. And not too well, so feel free to correct me.) The word sounds anthropological, and I imagine many cultures have a variant of this look. In Celtic Christianity, which dominated English religion until the seventh century, the symbol of three interlocking circle parts renders the Christian Trinity.

I picked this symbol because it represents my foundational belief in God, which is that God lives in relationship with us as God lives in relationship with God. In the traditional Christian worship service, all the senses are selected and employed. We see the Word; we hear the teaching and the music and in our greetings with each other. We smell incense. We touch the Host then taste it with the wine. So our parts in what this symbol means are interlocked as well.

There are many traditions, certainly, and those who follow no tradition. This symbol is for what I think, feel, and believe. I’m sure there are well-made symbols and well-used in many traditions and practices. And for those who follow none.

Four. One of my six words. And the image of the Celtic knot with imposed heart. What do they mean, and how do they work together? A paragraph about this is the assignment, I think.

Four

There’s a fancy word for that Celtic sign, which reminds of the fancy word for phobia of the number thirteen. I chose the word because it implies existing through relationship. Four is not one and certainly is not zero. Four is more, and four works because it is in companionship. Four have come together. Four isn’t that important symbolically in religion or folklore. I mean, there are things it can represent, though other numbers do more and are better known. So four can be more personal and intimately appreciated. The Celtic symbol of the Trinity is old and represents a merging of two ways: an ancient world of many gods and the world of the one God come to be known and loved. The Celts themselves had to give way to the Romans regarding religion—I mean the Roman Christian Church that made the Celts give up their Christian understanding—and for a time this symbol went away. Or was hidden. But it’s back, telling us that worlds and understandings deserve their time. And older insights need not be thrown away because something new, even better, comes. After the first day, I chose the symbol with a heart imposed upon it. The heart for me is paradoxical. It is vital for understanding faith and life, I do believe. But my heart is diseased and struggles to function in the center of me.