Matheson Collection > Popular tales of the west Highlands > Volume 4

WEST HIGHLAND STORIES. ÒOÒ
the sun rise, and " whirl round like a mill wheel, and
give three leaps." But a peasant of a practical turn of
mind rebuked a friend, saying —
" Fool ! And dost thou think to see the sun rise
from there, when she rises beyond Edinburgh, and so
many hills as there are in the way ? "
The characteristic spirals, the circle, the wheel, and
the sun are thus associated by Celtic traditions and
devices. The design given below was traced from the
bronze vessel already mentioned, and it represents the
sun, with three lines starting from its centre. These
are not exactly the " Legs of Man," but they are drawn
on the same spiral principle, and the spaces enclosed
are filled by three human faces, rudely carved. The
design resembles that on the " Norrie's law relics " found
in Fife, and in the east it clearly related to fire or light.
But the design given above is only one of a great
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