Celtic Tropes
Dear Friend,
Welcome back to another episode of tropes! Celtic tropes this time!
If you haven’t already surmised from persuing my website and reading about my books, I love all things Celtic from the landscapes to the jewelry to the common symbols that represent this rich (though oft pagan) culture.
To assuage your fears, I only use Christian Celtic symbols in my books. But before I explain this further, take a look at these Celtic tropes I wove into Book 1-The Lost King’s Daughter!
What do you think?
It should be dually noted here that the Nature trope relates solely to lush descriptions of the Celtic landscapes, not nature worship.
If you’re not familiar with Celtic culture, there was a lot of pagan nature worship that involved the Druids, who were the Celtic priests and carried out this pagan worship. Obviously, being Christian, there is none of this in my books, nor do I support this type of worship or this Celtic piece of my ancestry. It’s just a fact, not something lauded or practiced, of course.
A word on the light magic trope…
In my book, this refers solely to things that glow. Think Lord of the Rings. There are no incantations, spells, sorcery or witchcraft of any kind spoken of or represented in my books. Only a glowing sword that changes colors based on the lighting, or a stone glowing in the light of the moon, or the Great Queen’s citadel glowing certain colors based on daylight or moonlight/starlight.
Other than this, there is no magic content of any kind in my books.
A Word on Triscele…
This is a continuous movement of a line that has 3-heads so to speak. It is an emblem that you will find in my novels, specifically utilized for scene breaks.
The triscele (or triskele in Breton) is said to represent the Trinity, as it is one continuous line that is unbreakable and connected without beginning or end.
Of course, this could all just be lore. A lot of Christian elements were placed on previously pagan symbols to “Christianize” them. So, it is possible that when you look up this symbol, you will see a variety of interpretations regarding it.
However, in my books, it’s a symbol that represents the Trinity.
A Word on the Celtic Cross…
Again, if you look it up this symbol, you may find some pagan ideas associated with it. But, as always, I chose to employ the Christian version of the Celtic cross.
This is a typical cross, highly decorative, with Celtic elements on the cross’s beams. Around the arms of the cross is a circle. The circle can represent several things: eternal life, unity, or the “halo” around Christ’s head.
I personally don’t believe in halos around Christ’s head. Unity is a definition I could claim for the depiction of the Celtic cross in The Lost King’s Daughter, as we are unified with Christ once we submit to His Lordship.
For my book series, however, I always had in mind that the circle about the cross’s arms represented eternal life.
Never heard of the Celts?
The Celts typically encompass the lands of Ireland, Wales, Brittany (in France), and Scotland. I do include the English landscapes in my writings as well. The Celts are a bit of a wild people, depending on where you visit, but they’re all great. If you’ve met a Celt, you’ve typically met a friend for life. And Celts instantly know Celts, even if they’ve never met before in all their lives. There’s an innate kinship there that doesn’t exist among any other people, I don’t think.
What are your thoughts?
Is this your first introduction to the Celtic culture? Do you like Celtic culture and landscapes? If so, then you will highly enjoy reading my YA medieval Christian fantasy trilogy, In the Shadow of Emerald Fire!
If you’d like to delve into more about my books and why I wrote them, go here.
Interested in purchasing them? Head to Amazon or my website.
Until next time…hope you enjoyed this segment about Celtic tropes in my books, and I’ll see you later. God bless xoxo
