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Celtic Knotwork

© Virginia Marin

A very, very long time ago the story was told of Gordius, a peasant, who having been chosen the king of Phrygia, dedicated his wagon to Jupiter, and tied the yoke to a beam with a rope of bark so ingeniously knotted that no one could untie it. This did not go unchallenged, for Alexander, who was told that whoever unloosed the knot would reign over the whole East, decided that it was he who would perform the impossible: "Well then," said the conqueror, "it is thus I perform the task," and, so saying, he cut the Gordian Knot in twain with his sword!

Celtic Knotwork, like a Gordian Knot, is also extremely intricate and ingeniously formed. To untie some of the work, another sword would be required. Is it then possible that the Gordian Knot was, in actuality, Celtic Knotwork? An interesting hypothesis.

To understand the origin, meaning and intricacy of knotwork, other than a pure art form which portrays color, beauty and design, one must know something of Celtic religion life.

The Celts entertained belief in a spiritual dimension known as Otherworld, where life continued after death in a more perfect realm. Neither world could exist without the other. They were as though joined by a cord which, if broken, would allow the less perfect world to float away from the other, never again to be found. The intricate and unbreakable strings of knotwork represent how tightly the cords of life hold the two worlds together, and why.

The spiritual cohesiveness of this union was known as the Nexus. The overlapping or joining of the two worlds was known as a Plexus. The Plexus was a mystical union and therefore considered sacred. The seashore is one example of a Plexus. The shore is part of the sea and the land - a mystical union. Another example is twilight of night and the dawn, neither day nor night - a mystical union. Overlappings occur in place and time. Plexuses provided the opportunity for the Celtic people to commune with the Otherworld. How did they commune?

Music was considered a very powerful means of communication. Incense, offerings, incantations and art forms (which includes knotwork) were other means used for communion with the Otherworld.



The intricately interlaced patterns of Celtic Knotwork represent the borders joining a Plexus. The patterns consist of one or more separate threads which the human

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