Saxon Bird of Prey Tattoo Design cornwall the egg that is the

the egg that is the axis mundi

A beautiful tiny detail from the 9th c

the goddess of Lower Egypt

and Irish girls know there is a horse born of the mists of the Western sea that can carry them to Tir n'Og

the most intelligent of the undersea unfish cannot fail but inspire us with its cleverness

Saxon Bird of Prey Tattoo Design cornwall the egg that is theThis 7th c. design shows a bird of prey wielding its talons and vicious beak. Totem animals such as these were often used to decorate armor and shields. To the Anglo Saxons the birds embodied strength and courage and they believed that those carrying these symbols into battle would inherit these virtues. This particular pattern was found on the shield of King Raedwald, one of the greatest of the early English warrior kings. He ruled over what is now