Gabriola’s spiral triskele
Oh, Gabriola. Every time I think I’ve seen all the strange and wonderful things you could possibly leave in the forest, you surprise me again.

(For more information about spiral triskels, see the Wikipedia spiral triskele entry.)
January 31st, 2011 – UPDATE: Gabriola’s spiral triskele – mystery solved!
Filed in Gabriola Island,trails 4 Comments so far
4 Responses to “Gabriola’s spiral triskele”

Andrea on 23 Aug 2010 at 4:32 am #
That is AMAZING!
It looks to me like it is meant to be walked as a labyrinth. You find such great things in the woods.
Joan on 23 Aug 2010 at 11:55 am #
I have seen this, but thought it was just a pretty pattern – should have known better. Do you suppose this is from the Galician nationalists or the Irish Air Corps faction on Gabriola, or just a simple expression of Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism?
Andrea on 24 Aug 2010 at 9:10 am #
Some further thoughts about the triple spiral. I read the wikipedia link about the spiral triskeles, but it’s a bit focused on nationalistic stuff and not so much on other meanings. In the course of some reading last night about the symbology of Celtic knotwork, unrelated to your post, Gabriolan, I stumbled over this, about the meaning of spirals:
“Spirals – usually reflects personal spirit, and an individual’s attainment of balance in the inner conciousness and outer self. May also represent the cosmos, heavens, and water (waves). A common spiral type pattern would be the Triskel, thought to represent the Holy Trinity or the Triple Gods/Goddesses of the ancient Celts like the Trinity Knot.”
Doesn’t the first part of that sound like a worthwhile goal? The quote is from this web site:
http://www.aon-celtic.com/trade_history_meanings.html
Gabriolan on 24 Aug 2010 at 8:02 pm #
Andrea – thanks for the extra info!
Joan – ha! Well, who knows, though I suspect a neo-pagan thing, or just a fondness for the pattern. Me, I’m hoping it’s the Irish Air Corps. We are frequently buzzed by low-flying (and very noisy) helicopters in the summer. They disturb one’s afternoon naps, and make one leery about snoozing naked on the back deck. Might the Irish Air Corps have arrived to defend us from such noise and annoyance? I can only hope!