Triquetra

"There's nothing in this life but mists."  --Brother Aiden in the animated film, The Secret of Kells

This is a Triquetra:                

A Triquetra is a Celtic symbol for Trinity with a multitude of meanings in both pagan and Christian traditions.  One site on which you can read more about it is here: Celtic Symbol for Trinity.  

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       After my first visit to an "official" drum circle a few years ago and having heard a woman sing a beautiful chant invoking the elements, I was reminded of the "lorica" or breastplate prayer attributed to St. Patrick and a "caim" prayer (an early Celtic Christian prayer invoking the Trinity), as represented by the Celtic Christian band, Iona, that I used to listen to a lot as a teenager.  These prayers had very much the same feel as the "pagan" prayer sung by the woman at the drum circle so I began chanting the "lorica" and "caim" prayers sometimes at an attempt at adding spiritual ritual to my life.  I felt more comfortable with the  "Christian label" and the Christian content of the prayers that I was chanting as opposed to the "pagan" prayer that I had heard at the drum circle, though they seemed very similar and had the same "feel" to me.  (This was probably 2 years ago and my religious and spiritual beliefs and fears have changed and undulated from something to nothing to small glimmers of something based on experience that has fortunately become separated from a lot of subconscious association of spiritual principles with a certain religion that was instilled in me in the days of my youth.)  

         This is the band, Iona's, description of "lorica" or "breastplate prayers":

 LORICA
The early Celtic church had many
'breastplate prayers', or 'lorica', which
Declared the surrounding and
Encompassing of God. Such prayers were
Not to make God come - He is already
There - but to open our eyes to the reality.
In breastplate prayers, the person who
Prays seeks to become aware of what is
Already a reality.

Here is a link to Iona's version of St. Patrick's Lorica: 
Encircling Lyrics

Here is Iona's description of the Caim prayer:

CAIM
Along with the prayer of encompassing,
The Celtic Christians had a practice called
The 'caim', in which they drew around them
A circle ... this was a symbol of the encircling love of God.

And the Caim prayer, according to Iona:

The Mighty Three
My protection Be
Encircling me
You are around
My life, my home
Encircling me
O sacred Three

The other day I came across this spell about the Triquetra, which is very similar to the "Caim" prayer:

“Powers of high, listen to my plea

Three aspects of the Divine I invoke thee.

This magic time, this magic hour

I ask you to lend me your power.

Bless this symbol with your love,

Bless this symbol with your might,

I feel you with me day and night.

Hear my call, hear my plea

Three as One always with me!

Three as One forever be!”

This is the website from which the above spell was taken:
Tap into the Triquetra: A Power Awakening Spell

Who are the three of which the spell are speaking?  I sent an email to the contact person for the site a couple of weeks ago asking who the three are but haven't received anything back.  I guess the three could be any of the possibilities listed in the "Celtic Symbol for Trinity" at the What's Your Sign? website that I mentioned above and more.  This is the list of some possible meanings of the Triquetra from the "Celtic Symbol for Trinity" article, as well as the possible meaning of the circle that often surrounds the Triquetra:

Celtic Meanings for Triad/Trinity/Triquetra

• Spirit, Mind, Body
• Father, Son, Holy Ghost
• Mother, Father, Child
• Past, Present, Future
• Power, Intellect, Love
• Creator, Destroyer, Sustainer
• Creation, Preservation, Destruction
• Thought, Feeling, Emotion
• Mother, Maiden, Crone
• Other world, Mortal world, Celestial world

The Celtic symbol for trinity may also pertain to the three Bridgits. Bridgit is one powerful goddess (aspect of Danu), who embodies three aspects which are:

• Art
• Healing
• Metalsmithing

The circle often seen around the triquetra signifies the infinite and eternity. It also represents protection. Circles are often drawn around Celtic knots to represent spiritual unity with the devine - a connection that shall cannot be broken.

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     Now THIS is interesting.  This fellow, Mike Blume, is a Christian and in the following article, sites the pagan influence on the idea of the Trinity.  He says that the Trinity is a pagan idea that was incorporated into Christianity, adding an element of falsehood to the being that is God in Christianity.

Pagan Influence Upon the Trinity 

      For me, standing on the precipice of delving into the history of Celtic Christianity and paganism are where things start to get interesting for me.  Even with knowing next to nothing about it one can see the pagan influence in early Celtic Christianity which is manifested in the visual pagan symbolism that accompanies the usual Christian symbolism.

     I'm not going to add my opinion to this compilation; instead I will leave you all with two beautiful results of some of this history.  The first is a recording of Iona's version of a few of these early Celtic Christian prayers that I have come to appreciate very much: 

Iona-Encircling 

The second is a picture from The Secret of Kells, This is the tree bearing the symbol of the Triquetra to which a fairy, Aisling, leads Brendan, a young illuminator to find berries to make green ink for the illumination of the Book of Kells, which is an early Celtic "illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables" (Wikipedia-Book of Kells).




(I plan to write more about this topic, hopefully soon.)