Why do some crosses have a circle

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Celtic Symbols. Blarney Collection. Contemporary Irish Designers. Discover the ancient Celtic symbol. All Gifts. Irish Makers. Wonderful memories of Ireland. All Homewares. Most stylish and intricate designs. Nourish and hydrate your skin. Clearly although it may have had practical convenience for the sculptors the circle is a symbol of holiness, such as is used universally in Christian art. I visited this page hoping for some info about the symbols carved on the crosses — the groups of figures etc.

My first post on this vanished so apologies for any repetition. Many such combinations appear, as this site shows and the reader note. Rather, the true Celtic cross is distinguished by the four little circles that appear at the junctions of the arms of the cross, and how the four arms of the cross narrow at their base to form the circle shape. See the first picture in the Gallery above.

These little circles trace to much earlier forms of Celtic monoliths in which those four circles appeared alone. Four circles in this array strongly suggest solar references, either diurnal or seasonal, but not Roman ones. They long predate the Roman period, for one thing, and emphasize a cyclical cosmology rather than a central patriarchal cosmic power, for another.

The big circle that is today wrongly considered to distinguish Celtic crosses was formerly the circle within which the four small circles appeared; it contributes to the pagan symbolism by completing the outer sides of the little circles. Thus the old solar references are embedded in the Christian figure. Or maybe, depending on the era and individual reactions, it was both. Nobody has a monopoly on the circle and it was and still is used by all Religions.

The Celtic Cross is no exception. Based on Architectural and Scientific discoveries, the Celtic Cross in this region has been linked to the Celts. I found this cross in many places in Northern Portugal, Galicia, and Asturias. In pre roman times, and perhaps early medieval influence, Celtic tribes dominated the North West of the Iberian Peninsula and they left behind several undoubtably Celtic ruins.

Well, they never left, the blood of the Celts is embedded all over Western Europe. Christian hatred of native Irish culture is still on display in the comments. Their ignorance of history and hatred of anyone not Christian is the foundation of their criminal cult.

The Celtic cross is ancient and from the stone age. The cross is even an original part of them. Here is a Scottish cross. This is called evidence, Christians, and you are wrong. Just as you are wrong about creationism and flat earth. The Celtic cross is wholly animist in origin and Christians adopted it. They do not own it, hence it not being seen in middle eastern Christianity. People are so feeble minded that they cannot create their own symbol or identity.

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Top ten handcrafted Irish gifts for your loved ones this Christmas. The symbolic meaning of the Celtic cross According to legend, the ringed cross was introduced by St Patrick when he was converting pagans to Christianity.