Wheel of Celtia

The fully decorated pages in the old Celtic illuminated manuscripts are frequently called 'carpet pages' because their complexity of color and design is reminiscent of ornate persian carpets. This design, with a spiral double wheel situated on a cross shape, is a new design in the spirit of the old manuscript carpet pages.

I wanted the dominant design elements to be spirals in this piece, to really give the feel of a turning wheel, so you'll notice that the central spiral rundle turns on a triple spiral hub, branching out into the 6 other spirals. Each spiral is interconnected... turning one spiral turns the other spirals it's connected to because nothing stands in isolation - turn one and the whole wheel turns. I use the cruciform shape behind the wheel to symbolize life, as the cross shape is one of the major ancient symbols used by many cultures to represent tetrads such as the 4 winds, the 4 directions, 4 elements, 4 essences of the body, etc. So my main wheel sits within life (the cross).

Nested around the cross are more spirals, which makes a second type of wheel shape around the main wheel... free, and not always connected, the wheel still turns even if we can't see how it connects with the visible part of our lives. Lastly I added some peacocks in the 4 corners and tiny dogs within the wheel.

• Wheel of Celtia
• 9" x 12.5"
• Adobe Illustrator
• NFS

Copyright Cari Buziak, 2005.