Celtic
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1157 creative works found
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Watercolor on watercolor board, original available I’m honored and happy to announce that Imber has selected this image for the Pay It Forward group. This is what Imber wrote: ” “I wish I could have painted it!!!!!!!!!! She is so talented!!!!!! All those explanation marks made me laugh – its so nice to be appreciated now and then, isnt it? Thank you, Imber! Im a sinsere when I write that this was a great surprise and really made my day, and week. Everybody, click on the link and check out Imber’s beautiful imagery!!! Rhiannon is a Welsh goddess known by many names and in many manifestations, associated with light, summer, warmth, abundance, white horses, and birds to name a few. She has many faces and turns up again and again in the great mythic cycles for she is the primal force of nature and life itself. One of her better known manifestations left the realm of Fairie and her marriage celebration with a god in order to elope and wed a mortal. For this she was banished from the fairie dimension, lost immortality, and most of her powers. Still, Rhiannon maintained some relationships with the Fae,small birds, and wild creatures. If you’ve read the Mabinogion, you know she kept herself focused and centered during the many dark years that followed,never abandoning hope. The shadows in the painting are included because as we live, we acquire knowledge of what dwells within those shadows. Like the fairies, shadows may appear to be one thing and later prove quite another. Passing through dark forests in life sometimes leaves us bitter or unteathered spiritually, we might feel aimless, frustrated, or angry. Holding sacred the inner heart light enables us to take both the bitter and sweet of our existance and expand inner vision by seeing beyond our immidiate needs and sensations. Life can and will still hurt, very much so at times, but rather than destroy us the experience can prove transformative. The white dove is sacred in many spiritual traditions, and is included because she’s also associated with Rhiannon (and Aphrodite). Behind it burns the inner fire of Rhiannon’s being. Text and image copyright Helena Nelson -Reed
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A montage of my photographs, the traditional Scottish Croft was photographed on the magical Isle of Ulva, Scotland and the woods were photographed on a misty morning in July on the Isle of Mull, Scotland.
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went to the Brecon Beacons in South Wales at the weekend and photographed these beautifull, mystical trees coverd in moss and lichen. They inspired me to do a bit of artwork :-) Doorway comes from St. Konan’s Kirk, Loch Awe,Scotland
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Inspired like a lot of my work, by the book The Secret Garden. I am facinated by / the notion of secret doors which may lead to magical experiences or new adventures.
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Samhain is here, and so I’ve put this image on my page. While it doesn’t look like a typical Halloween image, the text below explains why this is an appropriate time to share its story. There’s more to this holiday than black cats and ghosts. Celts believed (and many still do) that earth is alive, intersected by a web of energy currents, or ley lines. The concept is similar, but not identical to the Chinese tradition of feng shui. Shorelines, hilltops, groves, wells, springs, and burial mounds (cairns) were believed to serve as points of entry into the fairie world. On certain dates the portals are either wide open or entered easily when the traveler used the correct incantation or ritual gesture. During Samhain veils between dimensions were thought especially thin, a time when spirits and ghosts may entered our world with ease. Samhain was a ritual period when one’s dead were honored and restless souls placated. Depending on the community, it could be a time for casting fortunes and auguring. Sensible folk stayed indoors close by the fire, for strange mischief was afoot and mysterious energies rode the winds. For mortals, crossing dimensions wasn’t without danger. The risk included not returning to one’s original place in time and geography with body, mind and soul still intact. Many entered faerie and never returned. Others returned but lost their minds along the way. Examples of some mythic imagery and personal symbolism follow. On the left side, is a faerie hill, the entry to Faerie. The woman represents the intuitive self, or soul, and the hill is the unknown. The entrance is luminous and beckons in the dark. At night the wilderness can be mysterious and frightening, it’s easy to get lost. Setting out to find a Hollow Hill and doing so with only stars lighting the way infers the traveler is serious about his/her quest, and is brave (or foolhardy) enough to take risks. Birch is a word descended from a Sanskrit and Indo-European word meaning “bright” and “shining”. Some state it’s directly derived from an Anglo-Saxon term meaning “to protect or shelter.” For this reason birch trees protect and disguise the entrance. Their bark is shining in the night, indicating no ill will befall the pure of heart who enter here, but to survive and avoid being lost the traveler must stay focused upon her goal, just as she will this distant light in the darkness. She might detour or tarry along the way, but it’s frightening, difficult journey that purifies and strengthens the spirit, not the destination or Fairie itself. We can’t reach The Hollow Hill without first undergoing The Quest. Text and Image copyright Helena Nelson – Reed
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Watercolor and colored pencil / I’m happy and proud to announce that Ana of AnaCBStudio / nominated this painting to for the Pay It Forward Group. Here’s what / she wrote in the comments column: “Gorgeous details and composition…love it!” Masks are fascinating, I appreciate them as works of art and ritual objects and have a few tribal and Japanese Noh masks on my walls. When masks are being worn, however, I find them unsettling, even sinister. I painted this image around the time of Samhain, and at the time was thinking about the custom of wearing costumes and masks this time of year (and around carnival), and playing around with the concept of exactly what it is that makes them creepy (to me, anyway) This is from my notes: Shielding inner self from outer world by donning a mask, or guising, is a practice deeply rooted in social conditioning and survival instinct. In ritual and sacred theater, masks permit wearers to transform, channel, and manifest energies. During carnival masks obscure identities, allowing participants to act out and overthrow the established normal behaviors of their communities before entering the annual Christian ritual of Lent, a period of self denial and sacrifice. In every instance the act of donning a mask suppresses or conceals true identity, enabling a wearer to adapt and project a desired personality. Often the nature of guising allows uncharacteristic behavior and aspects of behavior not normally practiced. Shamans, priestesses, entertainers and celebrants of Carnival and Halloween are masked for limited time with clearly defined roles and boundaries of time and space. In daily life, masks are more subtle and not so easily removed. This painting depicts what seems to be a pretty child wearing a mask, but much of her face is hidden. The visible portion reveals nothing and might as well be paper mache or leather for it lacks expression. Only the eyes are alive, watching us just as closely as we are watching them. Who, or what, is really behind the mask, and what is her, his, or its intent? Things (and people) arent always what they first appear. Expect the unexpected. Text and image copyright Helena Nelson – Reed. Please do not use without written permission.
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Lady of the Wildwood portrays the second, mother aspect of the Great mother (virgin, mother, crone) and is based on ancient Celtic myth and spirituality. When creating her I incorporated an alchemical formula for gold (wholeness and balance), a form of blessing on anyone who studies the image and the places where she hangs. Most of the elements represent images of alchemical symbols used during the early Dark Ages. Her consort is the Stag King, another painitng on my Red Bubble page. Here’s a portion of the material I’ve written about her: “I am the feminine spirit of the wildwood; past, present, and future. I sprout the fertile acorn, guard the pregnant doe heavy with fawn, and personify life energy emanating from the primordial forest itself. Withing my womb you see the Royal Child, my future dancing baby. We represent a visual doorway opening into the circle: embrace the poetry of my closed system in which all is connected, the great web of creation is my being. Nothing is simply a thing; all has life and properties of its own. Beware; don’t make the mistake of assuming this doesn’t exist. Think of the pentagram and its five points: the elements of earth, water, fire, air and the fifth essence, ether (the quint – essence); life quality made by a sentient, universal creative force. Pale and luminous against deep forest shadows, I am light itself, ruling the kingdoms of nature. My heart glows with life, rosy with health. Within the shadows are my creatures, my beloved hares and deer, birds and salamanders, all composed of graceful, vine – like patterns. This represents their wild environment and interconnectedness. You can understand me on many levels, all true, for I represent Queen of Fairy, the feminine energy of the wild and untamed wood. The Lord of the Wildwood, masculine energy perfected and personified, is my consort. I am the goddess in her guise as Earth Mother and protect the feral and freeborn. I am metaphor and allegory for certain truths, yet just as easily convey a personal meaning only you understand”. Text and image copyright Helena Nelson-Reed. Please don’t use without written permission.
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Poulnabrone dolmen is a 5,000 year old portal tomb in the limestone Burren area of County Clare, Ireland. The dolmen consists of a massive flat capstone supported on several upright pillars, and would originally have been covered by a mound of earth. Archeological excavations found several traces of human remains at the burial site, which now stands as a stark reminder of an ancient civilisation. Looking back through the mists of time, who knows what ancient religious rites took place at this barren and windswept scene?
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I love hornets, I don’t like being around them but I’ve always thought that there are much worse jobs if you have to be reincarnated as an insect. / Nobody messes with a hornet. I was thinking of the Book of Kells when I got the idea for this. I worked for about a month burying small details in it so it’d be a decent conversation piece. 100% from scratch in 3DsMax and PS Image copyright © 2008 Simon Deevy. Copying and displaying or redistribution of this image without permission from the artist is strictly prohibited. Closeups / / - /
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Watercolor on board, colored pencil. Ravens are intellegent, interesting birds with distinct personalities. Last year I taught a watercolor workshop in Yellowknife NT, 100 miles south of the arctic circle, a place that must be the raven capital of the world. Many women I met there also like them and had stories illustrating just how special these corvids are. Raven flies through the spiritual traditions and myths of Celtic and First Nations peoples. Sometimes with positive associations, other times not, depending on the culture telling the story. This painting was created a few years ago and the exerpt is taken from the portion of my notes describing the way I personally relate to ravens. My father died a few months ago, prior to that he was cared for by my mother and myself, with home health (hospice) nurses coming by every three days. Watching a loved one slowly depart mind and body over a course of days, weeks, months and even years is something many women (and men) are doing these days. Our children grow up, but within a few years we begin caring for aging parents. This painting celebrates not only raven and the waning moon, crone phase of life but the way observing the decline and death of loved ones can sober a person. We look death straight in the eye, realizing that the empty darkness within the skull’s socket is our fate as well. This realization, once it hits you in the gut, is strangely liberating and can shed new light and perspective. Sometimes, at the end of those long days taking care of dad and witnessing all that transired, I’d stand outside in the Texas night. I’d breath in the cool, cedar scented air, gaze up at the moon and try to process it all, just like the woman in this painting. “From birth, when we enter the world of light, until death, when we journey outward through the center of the Big Dipper and onward to the land beyond the pines, women own the power to perpetuate tradition and culture. Worldwide, regardless of patriarchal society’s efforts to negate, steal, and belittle this truth, woman is the cohesive balance within the family. Our caring hands deliver new life, and often escort life out of this world as well, when we care for and accompany our dying relatives to the very end. Our love and actions weave the strands of life within family and community into a cohesive net. When society convinces us otherwise, or prevents women from doing so, the net frays and unravels. The burdens are often heavy, yet women endeavor to perpetuate their powerful role within family and community. All women are sacred, carrying within the promise of future generations. Nothing and nobody can take this away. “ Text and image copyright Helena Nelson -Reed. Please do not use without written permission.
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Inspired by the beautifull song of the same name by Enya. Several of my own photographs merged together in photoshop CS2.
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This painting depicts beloved Brighid, Celtic goddess and saint, who walks the land, on the eve of Imbolc, February 1st. Its still bitterly cold but the light has returned, and the people know spring is on its way. Ewes are dropping their lambs, and soon the boring diet of old root vegetables will be enhanced with the addition of dairy products, and farmers begin preparing the fields. On Imbolc Brighid walked the countryside, passing through the communities along her way. Outside their doors people left offerings of milk, cloth, and food for her to partake of and bless. Brigit’s crosses (originally symbolizing the four elements and four directions, but later given Christian significance) and corn dollies were made, and local rituals followed. Every community had its own manner of celebrating. Goddess Brighid was associated with blacksmiths, poetry, fertility, fire, milk, sheep, white cattle, boars and swans, but most of all she had the mother goddess’s compassion. Here Ive portrayed her hair of flame and gown flowing in the bitter winter winds. She walks a remote field, blessing it for the coming season. The tree of life grows in this field, symbolizing spring and the new life that will soon be abundant. Text and image copyright Helena Nelson – Reed. Please don’t use without written permission.
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Right now the woodland and prairie is a tangle of vines, leaves, and brambles. There’s a profusion of berry, blossom, pods and leaves. Insects are busy everywhere; butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, bees and flies all so plentiful that they could be jewels spangling the queen anne’s lace and ragweed. Birds are flocking and gathering in the smaller trees, all excitement and a – twitter about the journey south. The Canadian geese are honking and grazing in flockas so large they should be termed ‘herds.’ The hawks are moulting, and I’ve found two prime wing feathers for my collection, nicley barred and with plumes at the base of the shaft. On these walks I cant help but feel the soul of the land pulsing and shimmering. Fruits hang heavy on the vines, the air is dense with chamomile, wild mint, sweetgrass. This is the time of ripening and fullfillment ,and I’m right there in the middle of it. My favorite manifestation of the feminine face of divinity is the Celtic earth mother, and favorite male aspect, the Stag King. I paint them often and have even imagined a romance for them as the spirits of this divine couple pass through the various seasons of the year, leaving one painting and entering another in order to be together once again. They are the soul of the land personified, and when I walk in the lonely places, where birdsong and wind have replaced traffic and human voices, their presence is everywhere. This drawing is intended to be a painting, but has some tricky areas. Like the perspective of tilted head and caressing lips, or the goddess’s hand with its finger bones sending out roots and tendrils into the shoulder of the stag king, so I was working out these details on a sketch prior to painting. I was pulled into it and instead, drew them image on good paper and continued. In a day or so Ill add my notes, which need editing. Meanwhile, in this image you see the lord and lady in their prime, mature and wise. The passion of youth has ripened and improved with the passing season. Expereinced, they prefer loving wisely and well. Image and text copyright Helena Nelson -Reed. Please don’t use without written permission.
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Watercolor on Board / We form a living bridge of time, connecting the previous century with the upcoming on, and are becoming the elders. Leave on this century’s shore any tattered, faded clothing sewn of worn out cares and sadness’, brittle anger, and festering resentment. Drape yourself in a flowing garment of new life, all gossamer dreams and flowing, tranquil thoughts. The stuff of star and comet exists at the center of every cell in your body. The blood flowing through your veins is remarkably similar to ocean water. We are spiritual beings who have forgotten our origins. Reclaim your birthright. Text and image copyright Helena Nelson – Reed, please dont use without written permission.
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SAMHAIN / Entry for The Spirit Walks contest / (Halloween , All Hallows Eve, All Souls Night) Celtic New Year / Beginning of Winter Festival of the Dead,ruled by the Crone aspect of the Goddess. Now in her wise woman aspect she returns to the underworld with the energies of the earth to rest and digest the years growth and lessons.The nights grow longer in the dark grip of winter untill the Sun is re-born at Yule (Winter Solstice) and the Goddess will return re-newed and virginal at Imbolc (Feb 2nd)
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Watercolor and pencil on drawing paper. “My people are the Tuatha de Danann, and I’m the lover of handsome Caoimhin, he of the long, curling locks. Bored with those around me, I fell for this wild man. Driven from my land of Fianna for wanton behavior he was immoral even by our lax faery mores, but when he held in his arms, I cared not. And so I left the fairy dimension, accompanying him to the human world. We made love and laughed by the sea without cares until one day the magical wave sent by my father, Manannan Mac Lir swept me from mortal shores. I’d fallen asleep and was napping on the warm sand and pebbles of Glendore Bay in fair County Cork, when it caught me unaware. Trapped in its swift undertow I was returned to Fianna. For such and more I’m now a goddess of the otherworld, afterlife, and physical beauty, a goddess of the sea, often called the ruler of the waves. Fairy humor! For who knows better than I the sea’s great strength, the myriad hidden paths meandering beneath the western oceans, and that there is indeed life after life after life? From my lover I learned the deception of fair appearances, a graceful wave’s hidden power, ways of crossing one realm to another and back unseen. While forbidden to leave Fianna ever again, there are secret ways by which I travel to the earthly dimension, my still body lying as if asleep while spirit flies abroad. Often I don the guise of sea bird or shapely earth woman accompanied by three brightly feathered birds. These magical little creatures are always with me, and I feed them apples plucked from the World Tree that grows in the Otherworld. Their sweet singing charms the ailing to sleep, and waves of healing wash away pain and sickness while they dream”. Text and Image copyright 2007 Helena Nelson -Reed. Please don’t use any part or form without written permission.
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Watercolor on board, sold. Painted in honor of Arianrod, whose name means ‘Silver Wheel’. Arianrod lives in a secluded castle by the sea, and is sometimes associated with Morgan Le Fey, also called Argante. While Robert Graves linked her to the moon and named her a lunar goddess, all earlier sources that Ive found consider her a sort of semi – divine sorceress. Welsh scholars state that there are no written sources, anywhere, that direct or indirectly name her a lunar goddess. Alas, like many independent, powerful women she’s complex and misunderstood. I used the chambers of the nautilus shell to symbolize Arianrod’s depth and complicated, hidden aspects. There are three spirals, aspects of the triple goddess…virgin ,mother, crone. They are intertwined because all things are connected and we each have these same connected aspects within ourselves. Arianrod lived near the seashore so a shell seems an apt metaphor. When I was little, I thought that a multidimensional chambered spiral was what the human mind looked like, and that it was located inside the heart. For a woman like this enigmatic enchantress whose psyche is complicated and multi faceted, a heart with many compartments seems appropriate. If you’ve read translations of the Welsh Mabinogion you know Arianrod had her shadow aspects. Author Evangeline Walton wrote a series of novels following the Mabinogion storyline, and it was while reading this book I first met and fell in love with the Celtic path. Text and painting copyright Helena Nelson-Reed. Please dont use without written permission.
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A witch travels through the doorway into another realm
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More to see and buy at my website at www.celtic-photography.co.uk
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Watercolor on board. Many countries have myths about female spirits dwelling beneath the waves. Mermaids, selkies, pukas, sprites and more all lived in the watery mysterious realms. Like a selkie swirling in the translucent curl of a wave, what makes the beings of myth, magic, and other dimensions so special is the ease by which they move about unrecognized. Mortals possessing the sharp eye and instinct of wild things will detect movement, hints of color, noises and fleeting shadows when others notice nothing out of the ordinary. Mythic reality and beings are rarely noticed as the living tale spins out and when observed at all, it is only with hind sight. Learning to recognize mythic situations and extra – ordinary beings as they manifest is a matter of opening to new ways of thinking, self discipline, objectivity, and healthy skepticism. ‘Water Sprites’ is inspired by a fairy tale descended from Celtic myth. There are so many variations on these ancient tales describing women dwelling beneath the waters of springs, rivers, lakes, ponds, wells and the sea. These female entities were at one time goddesses and guardians, but after the arrival of Christianity were relegated to the less powerful roles of sprites, nymphs and others. Text and Image copyright Helena Nelson -Reed. Please don’t use without permission.
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Watercolor on watercolor board. Original available. / This painting has multiple interpretations, like many of my works. First level: I love fairy tales and myth, especially the Celtic fairie tradition. One topic seldom if ever portrayed in Celtic myth is pregnant fairie women. We read only about mythic beings having a fairie parent or being born in the land of the Sidhe. Always curious, I cant help but wonder if fairie babies concieved and carried within their mother like those of mortals and animals, or do they incubate in eggs like birds, fish and reptiles to name a few? Some say they’ve always been here, fallen angels awaiting the end of time. I prefer to think they are earth elementals, sentient beings of another, ancient dimension and not only exist but procreate and care for their young as we do. Sometimes the Fey take human babies and leave in their place changelings, but in my painting the gestating lifeform is pure fairie fire and light energy. Second Level: The creation and nurturing of new life is such a magical, mysterious act. Its sacred in all its forms, this painting speaks of honoring and caring for all life forms with compassion and respect whether that lifeform is mortal, animal, plant, or Earth herself. The imagery in the farie’s belly is organic, symbolizes the egg, the new life energy manifesting in this realm, and the baby’s connection to its mother as well as roots to past, present and future. Third Level: Tindering the life spark of seed and pod. A soul begins its journey when male and female energies unite. Tiny round egg meets sperm, and with tinder of nucleus and membrane, are kindled to life, creating new life energy – a new being. Pausing on occasion to tend the blossom glow within one’s own soul is reminiscent of this sacred process. When the heart flower bloats from too much moisture or shrivels from drought, ponder the collective, primal memory of a forgotten holy light. Ultimately the bedraggled bud will swell back to life, petals unfurling to reveal symmetry and color. Fourth Level: This is the individual’s intuitive response and the resulting interpretation, and comes from within yourself. What you feel says much about who and what you are – there are no wrong answers here! Text and image copyright Helena Nelson-Reed
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Watercolor On Watercolor Board This image was created during a period when I was interested in Welsh mythology. I liked the concept of gods and goddesses, fairies and otherworldly beings walking the land and interacting with mortals. Dragons slept beneath the earth and under lakes, guarding treasure and awaiting the time to awaken and arise. Another layer of interpretation regards what is hidden within ourselves, buried in the land of the psyche. The bones of experiences long ago are hidden deep within, alongside undiscovered treasure. Text and images copyright Helena Nelson – Reed
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The complete and real title is : “Poupée – InnerSelf”. I asked to myself : Stars… They bright the sky, our eyes, our mind & soul. They are inside of us. We always look for them, for these glimpses of lights and happiness. / Do we really know ourselves? / Do we realize that we have all of this inside of us? / What are we in fact? / As we don’t really look in the correct place, we don’t really know ourselves i decided to ‘almost’ delete the face. My gallery is Copyright © Wandering Soul. All rights reserved. / All the materials contained in my gallery may not be reproduced, copied, edited, published, transmitted or uploaded in any way without my written permission. My images do not belong to the public domain. / Please read the Etiquette Policy and respect it! / Modifying, tubing, cropping, using it for letters or stationeries, layouts, backgrounds, stock, copyrighting, stealing my work is not only against the law but unethical. / Altaring or using without express written permission is stealing. View More ART here!
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