Celtic Jewelry

Long, long ago, when the earth was young and elements were divine, the Storm God lolled about, playing amidst the wind and clouds in his luminous sphere. Amid the lightning strikes, with black clouds riding the mountains and plains like emboldened dragons, the sunlight broke through the darkness. A rainbow appeared. The storm god grew angry and jealous of the rainbow's power. In a moment, he petrified it. Pieces of rainbow fell to the earth, becoming opals.

Ivy is the Celtic Tree for Sept. 30 - Oct. 27. he symbolism of Ivy fits well with this time of year. Though it is not a tree, it has remarkable resilience and intimacy with its host trees, as it spirals up in the primordial double helix pattern. This spiraling movement of ivy, like our own DNA, symbolizes the soul’s sojourning, seeking experiences though life both within, through introspection, and outwardly in the world. The Celts considered this the time of the Ivy Moon.

Bushels of apples, patches of pumpkins and burnished leaves underfoot herald the approach of the Celtic celebration of Samhain (pronounced “sow-en”), better known by most folks as Halloween. The Gaelic word “samhain” means “summer’s end,” and October 31 lies exactly between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice. This is a special moment when the veil between the worlds of the living and dead is at its thinnest, so we may connect with this other realm.