Ceotha HAndfasting Cord Designs
All my designs have been conceived of by myself from scratch with much time dedicated to research. I pride myself in making cords that are both beautiful and have the potential to carry meaning. I began incorporating Celtic knots into my Design not out of a desire to be authentic (after all, we have no records of what handfasting cords would have looked like in Celtic times) but because their aesthetic symbolism matched both the profoundety and vagueness as well as the endurance and flexibility of the handfasting tradition. There is never any singularity in the meaning of Celtic knots. Any knot can symbolise a variety of things. What that means, I believe is, that although this is an Ancient tradition, we can also make it our very own. What better visual language to express the complexity and beauty of love? Here are a few examples of the knots I use:
Love Knot
This knot predominantly symbolises love, but it also is known as the eternal knot. One might say it expresses eternal love. This knot features in almost all my designs, including my Original Love Knot design (the first design I started making).
Infinity Knot
There is a way to tie the cord around the couple’s hand during the handfasting ceremony that results in this knot being tied into the centre of the handfasting cord when the hands are slipped out. Some of my cords are designed with a loose section in the middle to allow for this effect…
Infinity knot (cont.)
others feature it as a decorative knot (see the distinction between the different types of tying the cord).
Prosperity Knot
This beautiful weave features in some of my latest designs
Josephine knot
This knot is often the starting knot for other knots in Celtic designs, but it is also known as a love knot. I often use it either to frame other knots (as in this example)…
(Cont.)
… or to connect two knots
The number Three
In Celtic cosmology, everything important comes in threes…
Number three (cont)
… or, even more potently nines