Friday, March 26, 2010

Discovering the Celtic Cross

As history tells it the Druids had large circular carved stones that they placed to mark their territories and also used them for worship. When St Patrick came to their Islands to teach them of Christianity he learned of these stones and to show or integrate Christianity with the Druid religion he placed a Latin straight cross within the circular stone and blessed it, thus giving the familiar look of a Celtic cross that we know of today. The cross of today represents a no beginning and no end (eternal life). The Celtic cross has become a large representation of Irish culture and history. You can see many examples of the Celtic cross through jewelry worn today. Ornately designed with intricate carvings geometric in nature but highly invoking to the eye and mind. The Celtic high cross is probably the most important achievement in the entire history of Irish sculpture. Generally carved from sandstone and reaching heights of twenty feet. The  cross has been associated with the peoples of Ireland, Wales, Scotland and parts of Britain as a symbol of heritage. However, the history of the Celtic cross is one that is rich in speculation and interpretation. Tradition has the Celtic cross with religious connotations because of the crucifixion but the Celtic Cross has been in evidence way before the Celts were introduced to Christianity in the fourth century
        Some of the oldest Celtic cross designs incorporated knots, spirals, and key patterns. The sculpture is also shown in various religious versions. The artwork shown on the cross is often a mix of the supernatural and nature and includes carvings of humans and animals, plants and mythical figures.
        Early interpretation or explanations of the history of the Celtic cross include the use of Celtic symbols and symbolism from ancient peoples in which the cross stood for the four directions, or the four corners of the earth. The circle was the symbol for the moon and then combined with the cross was thought to be a symbol for the sun. Some believe that the horizontal and vertical parts of the cross came together to imply the joining of forces such as Heaven and the Earth. Today the Celtic cross is believed to have a protective influence and is used as a symbol of ethnic heritage as much as a one of faith.
If you would like to see a few examples of our interpretation of the Celtic cross and designs at our Web site Celtic Page HERE 

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Is Silver the next Gold?

We have all seen the ad's on TV about companies buying your gold items for money right? So why do you think they are spending their money to buy your gold? I have a thought on that.  Gold prices right now are going up and soon to be in the $1000.00 per ounce range so it makes sense for a company to buy as much gold as they can.  Melt it down and extract as much top grade gold out of it as possible. When gold reaches peak dollars they will resell it for a huge profit! Is this news to you? So my question is, since gold is going to be outrageously expensive what is next for the jewelry wearing public? My thought is silver what is yours? And just so we are all honest here, I do have a stake in the jewelry market I have a sterling silver charms web site. You  can visit it with this link and shop the beautiful items in there. But I would really like to know your opinion on this subject. Post a comment and let me know where you think the precious metal industry is going

Monday, March 1, 2010

Celtic Charms and Symbols

       Well lets first start with the Shamrock Celtic Symbols.
Legend has it that way back in the days of Celts and Druids a Bishop from the Catholic church came to them to convert the Druids to Christianity we now know his name was St Patrick. As the legend has it St Patrick plucked a shamrock from the ground to show the Druids about the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) The plant became reputed to have mystic powers for when a storm was approaching it petals would stand upright to warn of the approaching storm. The shamrock still remains to this very day as one of Ireland most famous Celtic symbols. While studying Celtic symbols in history the scholars have discovered that the shamrock was used as a charm to ward away evil. Although the factual true origins of the shamrock as a Celtic symbol are lost. In today's circles we still think of them as lucky And a four leaf shamrock being rare in nature is considered very lucky indeed so wear your four leaf clover silver charms proudly. Seeing that Shamrocks are a type of clover it is genetically only a three leaf plant and the growth of a fourth is just a defect. So if you do find a field of shamrock clover you'll have to look pretty hard to find your lucky four leaf shamrock Celtic symbol. If you have any research on this as well please post your findings or read more at this link

Tell me about your fashion sense

Okay Ladies I am a guy and as such need help in what charms to buy the ladies in my life. I have my Mother who is in her 70's I have two sisters in their 30's and Female friends all enjoy sterling silver charms. They wear them as necklaces and bracelets. So my question is what do I get them and what questions do I ask them so I do not get them the wrong charm? I like buying charms for my ladies. I like listening the stories behind all of them. Help me please.. I have found a site that contains silver charms to get ideas for me