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Lotti Brown Designs Celtic & nature art

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Celtic Art Tree of Life

21/4/2020

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Celtic Tree of Life Meaning & Symbolism

Beautiful Celtic Tree of Life art prints and arty products by Lotti Brown (2 different tree of life designs)...
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And a look at tree of life meaning, symbolism and history...
Celtic art tree of life
Celtic Art Tree of Life I by Lotti Brown
Buy Tree of Life I
Tree of Life Celtic Art
Tree of Life Celtic Art II by Lotti Brown
Buy Tree of Life II
I've been having fun with some tree of life designs and now have not one but two gorgeous Celtic art tree of life pieces to inspire you to feel connected with the natural world...

The Tree of Life is for the World

The tree of life is a popular and instantly recognisable Celtic symbol – but its origins go back hundreds or thousands of years and tell us something about our origins as a society and how we thought about our place in the world.

The tree of life is something that unites humanity. There is the concept of a tree of life in many cultures, mythologies and religions, especially Indo-European, Siberian and Native American religions.
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A young oak tree
A young oak tree that I pass each day
The tree of life is, of course, a very popular symbol in Celtic art and culture, but we also find the tree of life – which is variously known as the world tree, cosmic tree, or tree of knowledge – as:
  • Yggdrasil – the world tree of Norse and Germanic myth
  • Iroko - of Yoruba religion
  • Jianmu - of Chinese mythology
  • Ashvattha - of Hindu tradition
  • Eo Mugna – the great yew of Irish tradition
  • Yax imix che – a ceiba tree seen as the central world tree in the Mayan culture
…amongst many others.

An Ancient & Sacred Tree

In the Celtic world, our ancient ancestors lived amongst forests of oaks. The proto-Indo-European word for oak is ‘dorw’ meaning firm, strong, or enduring – which gives us words today such as durable or duration, meaning long-lasting.

The trees were very important symbols to our Celtic ancestors – in Celtic Ireland, a village would be based around an ancient, revered tree which would provide a gathering place for the village and represented the supply of food, shelter and warmth for the tribe. This tree was known as the ‘crann bethadh’.
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Trees were also held sacred by the Celts as it was seen that the trees took care of life on earth, underpinning the vital role that they observed the trees had – feeding and sheltering animals, birds, insects and even smaller plants and mosses.
A tree provides for life around it
A tree provides for life around it
The Celts may even have seen trees as the ancestors of people or viewed them as the guardians of the Otherworld where the spirits dwelt. It is thought that the Celts planted young trees over the graves of departed loved ones and saw the tree as taking on or representing the dead person's spirit as it grew...
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It is thought that the Celtic art tree of life symbol represents the forces of nature in balance – harmony in the world.

Tree of Life Meaning

The Celtic tree of life can be seen as a three-part symbol:
  • the branches reaching up to heaven above
  • the roots reaching down to the world below
  • the tree trunk remaining on the earthly plane
Designing my Celtic knotwork tree of life
Designing the Celtic knotwork on my tree of life design
The meaning of the tree of life in Celtic art also represents the enduring nature of the tree (‘dorw’ – oak) and symbolises longevity, wisdom and strength as well as a sense of rebirth.
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In the same way that the tree experiences the circle of the year – the seasons of leaves, fruit, decay, hibernation and regrowth – so we can hold hopes of re-birth in those ‘hibernation times’ of winter, darkness and emptiness.
Creating the Celtic art tree of life drawings
Drawing out the neat version from my original tree of life design
​Although in our modern Celtic art and culture the tree of life symbol is more akin to the oak tree of the Celts, in the Celtic crosses and manuscripts of earlier Celtic times, the ‘tree of life’ was often depicted in a vine-like form and often growing from a pot or chalice.
Celtic knotwork border drawings
Celtic knotwork drawings to create the borders
This is believed to have actually been a mistletoe and not a vine (A. Meehan – The Tree of Life).

​The mistletoe is thought to have been highly revered by the ancient Celts. The mistletoe grows on the oak tree itself – as a kind of green spirit dwelling in the oak – and the mistletoe stayed green all winter while the oak tree had lost its green – perhaps the mistletoe was seen as the true living spirit of the oak tree that brought new life to it each spring.
Creating the tree of life digitally from my drawings
Screen shot - I scan in my drawings and import them into Adobe Illustrator where I can put them together with other drawings and paintings and tweak the colours
Creating an alternative tree of life artwork from an old tree drawing
Screen shot - I also created an alternative tree of life artwork using an old drawing of a tree that I really like and tweaked colours digitally for a different effect
Which tree of life do you like best?
Celtic tree of life - knotwork design
Celtic tree of life - knotwork design
Celtic tree of life - 'living tree'
Celtic tree of life - 'living tree'
The Celtic art tree of life is an important symbol for all of us... 

Strength, a durability, a sense of safety and security within our world.

​An ancient strength and wisdom that fills our natural world and continues steady through the upheavals of the seasons of life.
Celtic tree of life art prints
Celtic tree of life art prints - click to see...
Tree of life art (green) art prints & products


How to Buy my Celtic Tree of Life Artworks
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Celtic art tree of life art prints
Tree of life art prints (framed or unframed) - click to see...
Shop Tree of Life (orange) art prints & products
Celtic tree of life design throw blanket for bed or sofa
Celtic tree of life design throw blanket - click to see...
Shop throws
You can buy a huge range of art prints, scarves, duvet covers, throws, cushions, notebooks, phonecases, T-shirts, and much, much more from my Redbubble print-on-demand store - worldwide delivery is available from your closest print centre (UK, Europe, Australia, USA, Canada) with a handy refund should you be unlucky enough to be charged for customs... 
Shop all tree of life (green)
Shop all tree of life (orange)
Browse all products (green design)
Browse all products (orange design)
Celtic tree of life floor cushion
Celtic tree of life floor cushion - click to see...
Shop Floor Cushion
Celtic tree of life design coaster set
Celtic tree of life design coasters - click to see...
Shop Coasters
Celtic tree of life shower curtain
Celtic tree of life shower curtain - click to see...
Shop Shower curtain
Celtic tree of life design T-shirts
Celtic tree of life design T-shirt - more styles & colours available (men/women) - click to see...
Shop T-shirts
Celtic tree of life design phone case
Celtic tree of life design phone case - click to see...
Shop Phone Case
All products - tree of life (orange)
All products - tree of life (green)

Also available at:

  • Redbubble (green design) and orange design here...
  • Society6 (green design) and orange design here...​
  • Contrado (all Celtic-inspired designs)
  • Artscase (green design) and orange design here...
  • Displate (green design) and orange design here...
  • Etsy (green design) and orange design here...
  • Pixels.com (both designs)
More info about stockists here...
Celtic tree of life hardcover journal
Celtic tree of life design hardcover journal - click to see...
Shop Journal

More Celtic Art

You can explore more of my Celtic-inspired art and designs here...

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And more of my wildlife and nature-inspired art here andBritish birds here...
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Explore all art here...
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