Five Fold Symbol – History And Meaning

The Five Fold symbol is a popular and important symbol representing Celtic heritage, culture, and spirituality. 

However, the Five Fold is not exclusive to the Celts. Practically every ancient culture across the globe had symbols for the elements in our world and their connectedness. 

If you want to learn more about the Five Fold symbol, read on to find out the meaning, history, and significance of this Celtic symbol.

Five Fold Symbol – History And Meaning

To this day, the Five Fold remains one of the most prominent Celtic symbols.

Five Fold History

Records of Celtic mythology are rather scarce. What little we learn about the Celts and their religious beliefs and customs are almost only based on the surviving mythology and a plethora of symbols and images they left behind.

For ages, the Five Fold has been sullied by false beliefs that it is a demonic symbol, which it is not. Commonly seen as a pentagram, it is symbolic of the function key of life.

The Celtic people were spiritually ahead of their time pitted against their contemporaries. They overtook other cultures of the same time period when it came to esotericism. The Celts saw the Five Fold’s symbolic value in the central circle, which was the ether or the “fifth element.”

The number four was widespread and important not only for the Celtic people but in different cultures as well. For example, number 4 represents the four elements: Fire, Earth, Wind, Water. It also symbolizes the four directions (North, South, East, West) and four seasons (Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn). But the Celts also saw the significance of the fifth element that united them whole. 

These people believed in the power of 5. The Five Fold symbol joins the energies together, creating a perfect balance in the universe. This symbolism also denotes the importance of balance in a person’s life.

Spiritual leaders in the Celtic faith always taught the Celts to tap into their deep-seated state by invoking the Five Fold symbol. They believed the Five Fold bestowed awareness and led to enlightenment, just like all their other spiritual rituals. 

The Five Fold Symbol

Also known as a Borromean Cross, the Five Fold symbol is comprised of five rings with its four outer rings bound together by a ring in the center.

This symbol is illustrated as four circles that create the shape of a cross inter-looping with a circle in the middle. This design is said to denote concepts of interconnectedness and harmony.

The Five Fold symbolism can be interpreted in many ways. Each circle in this symbol was assigned a number, mimicking the perception of time. The Celts assigned the number 1 to the uppermost loop, with the numbers rising to the East, and the center circled by North, East, South, and West. The central circle serves as the pivoting point for a clock’s hands, or for the Celts—the middle point of a sundial. 

The Five Fold is also symbolic of the five basic elements of the universe—fire, earth, wind, water, and the spirit—and the center fold is the universe itself, surrounded by said elements. 

Five Fold Symbol Meaning

The Celtic Five Fold symbol has many different meanings. It is a representation of Celtic heritage and is connected with numerous Celtic beliefs. It is commonly identified with the number 5, which is a sacred number. This is evident in religious symbols like the pentagram.

The Five Fold symbol, although not quite unique to the Celts, is a fundamental part of Celtic mythology and spiritual beliefs. It is a religious symbol denoting heaven, faith, spirituality, and God. 

This symbol was used by the Celts to demonstrate the required balance of nature—the basic elements which are fire, water, air, and earth encompassing the circle which symbolizes the universe.