Decorative handmade ceramic Celtic owl tile set

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Owls and humans the world over have forever had a strong connection to one another. The very ancient goddess of death, Lilith is depicted with talons as feet, a horned head dress and flanked by owls. She was likely the inspiration for Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare able to assume the shape of an Owl. The many ‘Little Owls’ that inhabit the rock crevices of Athens and the Acropolis were believed to be embodiments of Athena. The Romans, who appropriated many of the Greeks beliefs, associated Owls with Minerva, goddess of prophesy and wisdom. Representations of Owls were used in Rome to ward off the evil eye and feathers as well as other Owl parts were found in many magical potions and pharmaceutical remedies. The Ainu of Northern Japan placed carved Eagle Owls on houses as protection from famine and disease. Although they revered the Eagle Owl and Screech Owl, who warned against danger, the Barn and Horned Owl were considered demonic.


The Owl was the emblem of a royal clan of Chinese masters of the thunderbolt and was also a symbol of too much Yang.

In the Middle East, a person who nags and complains too much is compared to an owl. There was a belief there that Owls represented the souls of people who died un-avenged.

The hoot of an Owl in Southern India was interpreted by number:

1) Impending death. 2) Success in anything started soon after. 3) A woman marring into the family. 4) A disturbance. 5) Travel. 6) Guests on the way. 7) Mental distress. 8) Sudden death. 9) Good fortune.

In Polish folklore women who die un married turn into Doves and Married women into Owls.

The Ojibwa of North America, along with many other indigenous tribes consider the Owl a guide to the life beyond for the spirit of the dead. The Pawnee people have a beautiful ritual involving the decoration of the ceremonial pipe with Owl feathers based on the following visionary instructions:

“Put me upon the feathered stem, for I have power to help the Children. The night season is mine. I wake when others sleep. I can see in the darkness and discern coming danger. The human race must be able to care for its young during the night. The warrior must be alert and ready to protect his home against prowlers in the dark. I have the power to help the people so that they may not forget their young in sleep. I have power to help the people to be watchful against enemies while darkness is on the earth. I have power to help the people keep awake and perform these ceremonies in the night as well as the day.” (Fletcher, 1900-1901)

Whether perceived as power possessing beings or harbingers of death, Owls, throughout history, wherever they are found, have inspired humans who continue to celebrate their aesthetic beauty, sense of mystery and sharp sensory awareness, much superior to ours.

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Relief carved and hand painted 21 x 29 ceramic tile set available to order from http://earthsongtiles.com.
The north wind blasts cold and rude,


boldly bearing down from snow capped peaks,

hurling icy fragments of discontent,

from a host of laden clouds.



The earth sighs a quiet requiem to the impotent sun

and drifts into slumber.

No creature dares wander the hills bleak and drear,

nor linger near the wild swell of the sea,

to be swept away

or pierced by sharp arrows of cold,

hissing through barren boughs

.

At length, fury spent,

wind, fog and mist gather in retreat,

leaving the pallid moon to luminate,

a frigid blanket of glittering splendor.



Snug in cranny and crevice,

life curls supine,

awaiting the docile Zephyr to return with spring.

~Shannon Gresham~

Decorative relief carved Celtic dragon ceramic tile set

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Relief carved dragon tile set with a Celtic knot border, available to order in a variety of colors and finishes from http://earthsongtiles.com/


Few human beings throughout history have cared to discover any more about dragons than how to av...oid them, or failing that, kill them. Yet humankind was always curious, and dragons eventually became a subject for scholars. Studying them was a daunting task, for the nature of dragons was confusing. The creatures seemed to defy sensible cataloguing and some were a monstrous rebuke to the idea that nature had organization. But later, dragons became somewhat more consistent in behavior and appearance, and various schemes arose for classifying them. In the west, dragons were described more by body type and defined by habitat. In China however, long a center for scholarship, distinguished lines of scholars devoted much systematic attention to the dragons that lived among them. They not only defined what a dragon was, but developed ways for categorizing the age, position in evolution, physical attributes, functions, idiosyncrasies, and where each existed in the hierarchy of the dragon world.

Carving decorative Celtic Boar ceramic tile

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Starting the carving for a bookmatched pair of 8x8 Celtic Boar tiles...

Decorative, custom handmade, Celtic ceramic tile set

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~In Memory of the Story Teller, Padraic O’Conaire~


They’ll miss his heavy stick and stride in Wicklow-

His story talking down Wine Tavern street,

where old men sitting in the wizened daylight

have kept an edge upon his gentle wit;

While women on the grassy streets of Galway,

will harken for his passing- but in vain,

shall hardly tell his step as shadows vanish

through archways of forgotten Spain.

Ah, they’ll say; Padric’s gone again exploring;

But now down glens of brightness, O he’ll find

An alehouse overflowing with wise Gaelic,

that’s braced in vigour by the bardic mind,

And there his thoughts shall find his own fore fathers-

In minds to whom our heights of race belong,

In crafty men, who ribbed a ship or turned

the secret joinery of song.

~FR Higgins 1933~

Decorative relief carved half round ceramic dragon tiles

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Somewhere in the mountainous region of Snowdonia in Wales lies the remains of the ancient city of Emrys, home of the Druid alchemists known as the Pheryllt. In the Welsh tradition, this city was also known as Dinas Affaraon- ‘City of the higher powers.’ There are many stories and legends surrounding this archaeological site dating back to the Iron age and inhabited during several different time periods after. It was at Emrys, the Mabinogion tells, where Ludd Llaw Eveint, Celtic god of healing and health buried two fighting dragons. Centuries later the famous exchange from the legends of King Arthur between the warlord Vortigern and a youthful Merlin took place there. The story has it that when Vortigern fled into Wales to escape Anglo-Saxon invaders he chose this lofty hill fort as a royal retreat. He began work in earnest on the first of many proposed towers, only to find each day’s labor mysteriously destroyed over night. This continued for some time until Vortigern was advised to seek the help of a young boy born of a virgin mother. The boy they eventually found was Myrddin Emerys (Merlin), who explained that Vortigerns tower could not stand because of two battling dragons trapped in a hidden pool beneath the fort. Merlin then went on to prophesize, that though the white dragon representing the Saxons was winning at present, upon their release from the pool, the red dragon representing Wales would defeat the white, and the British would be driven from Wales. Marlins prophesy eventually came true and it has long been thought by some that the connection of Wales to the red dragon, as depicted on their flag stems from this Arthurian tale.

Handmade relief carved Celtic dragon ceramic tile

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Relief carved 6x6 ceramic Celtic dragon tile, available to order in a variety of colors and finishes from http://earthsongtiles.com
Legend has it that Uther, father of King Arther, once had a vision of a flaming dragon. Upon inquiring of his Druids to explain the meaning of this striking vision he was told that seeing such a thing meant he would become a king. Because of this prophesy Uther took the name Pendragon, "Head of the Dragon" and the Dragon became the heraldic symbol and totem beast of the greatest line of British Kings, the Pendragons.
Fire Dragon energy was believed to be connected to leadership, rulership and mastery and the fire dragon still continues to be a symbol of authority and power, as well as vitality, enthusiasm and courage.