Get the inspiration of the Bards from our Awen Moons Druid Altar Mat

Awen symbolizes inspiration but also much more than only inspiration. It represents three rays of light emanating from three points of light and symbolises, among other things, the triple nature of the Druid path, incorporating the paths of Bard, Ovate and Druid.

The central symbol with three circles and the beams of light, Awen is primarily a Druid or Celtic symbol whose creation is attributed to an 18th-century Welsh poet named Iolo Morgannwg. 

The first known reference to Awen occurs in Nennius’ Historia Brittonum, a Latin text from 796 CE, based on previous writings by the Welsh monk, Gildas. After referring to King Ida of Northumbria, who reigned from 547 to 559, Nennius says that: "Then Talhearn Tad Awen won renown in poetry."

Awen was  a concept at the time when Diarmait mac Cerbaill reigned as the last semi-pagan High King of Ireland, and only a century or so after St. Patrick’s mission to convert the Irish to Christianity. The feminine noun, Awen, has been  translated as ‘inspiration’, ‘muse’, ‘genius’, or even ‘poetic frenzy’.

According to a 19th century Welsh dictionary, Awen is formed by combining the two words, aw, meaning ‘a fluid, a flowing’, and en, meaning ‘a living principle, a being, a spirit, essential’.  Awen may be rendered literally as ‘a fluid essence’, or ‘flowing spirit’.

Product Details: Our Awen Moons measures 15cm wide and is 7.75cm and .5 cm deep when standing upright as shown. It weighs around 30g. It is finished in shiny black and white on a base printed in vegetable based PLA derived from corn.

All of our products are designed and individually 3D printed here in our home studio using a bio-safe, non-toxic, vegetable, wood fibre or sugar-cane based PLA. We then hand-finish each piece, usually smoothing and sanding them using a natural wood fibre material and then acrylic paints or glazes. The cured finishes are non-toxic but the metallic finishes do have the actual metals in them. This is a clean and local process and our materials are selected from those made in Canada or the USA. We are 100% NOT “Made in China” and take some pride in that. Through careful research and testing, we have found a great way to get around the toxic resin and moulding processes used in most of the statues on the market.