Who were the Picts?
The Picts were comprised of some of the Celtic tribes of
Scotland.  Irish tribes had called them the Cruithni (lit.
the people of the designs) and the Romans called them
the Painted Ones.  Either way they definitely decorated
their bodies with designs (very reminiscent of the battle
scenes in Braveheart).

They actually post date a majority of the content in this
site, but documentation of their culture gives us great insi
ghts into the earlier generations of Celts.  If you are in
Scotland and come across a place name starting with
the word Pit, then you have probably come to a place
formerly inhabited by the Picts.
Pictish Symbols and their meanings
Arch
  • bridge between this world and the Other; immortality
  • Can be displayed with lines in a V formation

Boar
  • power, ability to feed the living and the dead
  • mythology reinforces these beliefs - look into the story of Gwydyon in the Mabinogion to
    see how wild pigs/boars were gifts from the Otherworld

Bull
  • strength, fertility, virility

Cauldron
  • regeneration, plenty, healing
  • Examples of this throughout Celtic mythology, for example cauldron used as a bride gift for
    Branwen in the Mabinogion.

Eagle
  • justice, truth, chieftain     

Goose
  • protection, vigilance

Horse
  • Goddess, power, magic, prophecy; traversing between our world and the Otherworld

Mirror and Comb
  • women from upper echelons of society
  • can be shown separately

Salmon
  • hidden knowledge, second sight    
  • these attributes probably come from the fact the Salmon travels freely between Salt Water
    and Fresh Water; so these traits were then applied to this world and the Otherworld

Snake  
  • wisdom, healing; rebirth and immortality

Stag
  • The Horned God, fertility, power, king

Triple Circle
  • the triple goddess         

Triquetra
  • Odin's Knot        

Wolf
  • cunning, predatory, voracious