Celtic knots are a form of sacred geometry that symbolize the interconnectedness of all things. They represent the eternal web and the continuous cycling of existence. Because they are universal, essential to human experience, knot motifs are found throughout the world, from Europe to Tibet to the tribal cultures of Africa.

We are often asked what each knot signifies. If you meditate with a particular knot, you may get some insights. What a knot means to you is what is most important. To assist you, however, we offer the following overviews of our major knots, based on our personal studies of sacred geometry.

Aria Square Round Pendant

Aria Knot:This knot is formed from the intersecting lines of three circles. The three petals represent the connections between three related aspects of life, such as body, mind and spirit. In ancient Celtic goddess lore, this knot symbolized the maiden, mother, and wise old woman, and the earth, heavens and underworld. This knot also represents the notion of Trinity, three aspects from one unity. The symmetrical lines suggest harmonious and balanced flow between the three aspects.

	Aegis Knot: This is one of Helen’s more artistic and original contemporary knots. At first look it’s a flower. Look again and it’s a dancing image, and look again and it’s a shield. The movement in the lines is joyful and playful, aesthetic and expanding. Yet the bottom part of the knot, which is triangular, suggests focus and intention.

	Bridget Prague: Imagine over 2300 years ago some gifted artisan cast this design into bronze jewelry. The motif spread through several regions of what is now Italy, Hungary and Germany. The design resembles the curl of a plant’s stem or root, or the path of a river. No one can be certain as to what it means, but to us, it seems to symbolize the fertility and fecundity of the earth itself.

	Celtic Corners: The square is a shape not commonly found in nature. One exception is that of plant cells, which gives a hint as to what a square might mean. The knot work represents structure and foundation. Squares can be used as building blocks. A square can also deal with communication, since we have five senses and it is best if they work together in order for us to have ease in the world.

	Celtic Key:This geometric design shows part of a circle or arc triangulating toward a center. It is a “key” design and represents directed energy from the outside focused toward the core. It also shows how energy from the center can radiate outward. From another perspective, it illustrates gathering information and getting to the very essence or depth, from which greater insight can be had.

	Ceres Knot: This beautiful knot has a unique balance and graceful ease in its lines. From one angle, it looks like a human standing in peace with arms joined in balance. From another angle, it suggests a sublime sacred geometry, the lemniscate, or infinity sign, the building blocks of life, coming into focus and direction at its pointed end.

	Donegal: Gold in ancient times was symbolic of the sun while the receptive moon was often associated with silver. This motif, with its alternating gold and silver knot motif is bold and distinct. It basically symbolizes the weaving together of two paths, or the harmony of solar, masculine energies with the feminine, moon energies.

	Flores: The movement and circling of vines and flowers inspired this ancient motif. We called it, “Flores,” which is Spanish, for flower. To us, it symbolizes the verdant fertility of the plant world, the green thrust of life. The design itself was carved in rock and is an expression of Khmer culture from Angkor Watt, in Cambodia, which Helen visited in 2006.

	Heart Knot: The heart is our center, our way of seeing and our connection to creativity. We all want to be in our heart, because nothing is more meaningful than connecting from the heart. The knot work is eternal, with the interconnecting lines suggesting the eternality of love. It represents the unity with others we feel in any true act of love.

Helios Border Knot: This knot is one of Helen’s favorites for bordering or surrounding a piece of jewelry. If you trace the path of the line, you find that it flows in a gentle sine wave, and then suddenly turns back, zig-zags, and then continues on its way. This pattern suggests a way of moving through life. There are cycles of flowing gracefully ahead, and there are cycles of looking back and reviewing, and perhaps re-experiencing from a new viewpoint, integrating, or at least slowing down to really behold, and smell, the flowers.

	Interlace Knot: The Interlace knot combines linked heart shapes, straight lines, and 90 degree angles to create a unified whole. The four hearts, each of which represents eternal love, point toward a center. They form a cross, which symbolizes balance. The circular shape symbolizes the relationships. As a whole, this design represents harmonious relationships with oneself and the universe.

Kells Knot: The Kells knot is based upon the square. The square is a shape not commonly found in nature. One exception is that of plant cells, which gives a hint as to what a square might mean. The knot work represents structure and foundation. A square can also deal with communication, since we have five senses and it is best if they work together in order for us to have ease in the world. With the square positioned as a diamond, the upward pointing vertical line represents spirit, and the downward pointing line represents matter or earth.

Konya: Consider where you see ovals and what they do. One of the most obvious places is that ovals are found in the shape of eggs and the orbits of planets. We believe that the oval represents creativity and fertility. In the case of this knot, the ovals come to a triangular point, which represents the intense focus of energy toward a goal. In combination, this design, which is like an atom, represents dynamic creativity coming into power and focus.

	Laura: This design shows paths of energy, working together, gathering forces from the outside in sweeping arcs like waves in an ocean. The connecting points, the intersection, create a harmonious blend. The symbolism suggests flow and ease through creative partnership.

Leaf: This knot, though small, is fairly complex. On the one hand, this knot has an oval shape, symbolizing creativity and fertility. Yet, the end of the oval design is pointed, which represents specific direction and intent. Within the design are two triangular knots which also indicate a strong direction. From a completely different perspective, the motif resembles a leaf, which grows and brings nutrients to plants through sunlight and water.

	Maya Knot: This knot resembles a balanced heart on the inside and a “pointing heart” on the outside. The heart is our center, our way of seeing and our connection to creativity. We all want to be in our heart, because nothing is more meaningful than connecting from the heart.

	Petra: This design shows intersecting triangular points. Triangles are about the focusing of direction and intent toward a specific goal. In this knot, however, the triangles oppose each other which create a kind of balance. This symbolizes dynamic creativity forming a greater holistic, harmonious pattern.

	Ravena: The Ravena motif is inspired from archeological remaining from Celtic tribes that lived in Central Europe, 2400 years ago. It shows the spiral, which has always symbolized growth, gathering into a circle. To us, this design represents creative action. We see similar lines in the root of a plant, eddies of a river, or any circle of communities amassing energy to make something new.

Renee: This knot is about intense focus through creativity, as shown by the triangular pattern. Triangles work to focus energy in a specific direction. Yet this triangular focus is integrated into personal structures, symbolized by the rectangle. Rectangles are used in building and creating structure. Another way of considering this is that it is a knot that represents going from one project or idea to the next – each distinct yet woven into a holistic, cohesive pattern.

	Rope: This design shows two gold pathways that weave into each other evenly and harmoniously. The design simply represents two paths, two people or even two energies that are able to work together to creating a common circle. Since they connect, the knot also represents the eternal connection of the two separate ways.

	Scroll: This rectangular knot symbolizes the development of personal foundations and structures that are complex yet functional. Within the straight edges, the triangular motifs and central, curvy design suggests the integration of complex and dynamic movement into a harmonious flowing whole.

	Shannon Knot: This knot, with its crisscrossing form, is oval in shape. The knot within the oval is harmonious. Ovals are about community and also creativity. If you consider the different strands as energy, then you see how in this knot, movement is endless throughout the pattern, always the same from any angle.

Sita Knot: This knot is circular, which represents community. Yet within it we see a spiral form, which symbolizes growth and movement. From another perspective, this motif creates four different space, symbolizing the interconnectedness of aspects of life which come in cycles of fours, such as the four seasons, the four stages of life (youth, adolescence, maturity, old age), and the four phases of the moon. The outermost lines form a near-circle, suggesting growth while weaving new experiences and relationships into understanding.

	Spiral Knot: Spiral knots are found in all cultures across time. Moving outward from the center represents the flow of the mysterious forces of creation into the manifested world. Moving from the outside into the center represents the inward path of growth and the exploration and unraveling of the mysteries of self and life.

	Tara: The origin of this design is 3rd to 5th century, BC, France. The Celts wore jewelry for adornment and also as a talisman, a power object, an anchor for remembrance, a way of connecting to the greater cosmos. This mysterious motif is clearly inspired by nature. Perhaps in it, you see a flame that rises from the earth, a river stretching across marshes, or a fern tip.

	Trinity Knot: The trinity knot represents three aspects from one unity. This knot also suggests a flow of creative energy from below our feet into the world of time and matter. From another perspective, the trinity in Celtic lore symbolized the maiden, mother, and wise old woman, and the earth, heavens and underworld.