Back in the day when my friends use to ask me if I had to choose one super power what would that be? Many of them would say “invisibility, flying, super strength “, but I would find myself saying I choose time traveling. To go back in time and bear witness to all type of people and culture! Great video. Through you I get to see fascinating places.
I think time viewing would be best. For we don’t introduce disease into each other’s time periods and even the smallest effect such as making someone pause for even a second can butterfly effect into a world of hell. Including you never being born immediately.
Agreed! Also, similarly, anytime someone asks, "if you could travel to anytime in history when/where would you go"? and I'm like, "100% pre-Christian Europe and pre-colonialized turtle island/North America, of course!" but I know I'm supposed to say something like, "The roaring 20s" or some shit. 😅
@@fernsmosslichens I’d probably go back to 2009. Buy a bunch of Bitcoin. Be rich by this point then I can buy land and have people live on it in community. Never having to worry about money for any of us
My fathers parents were from Scotland, and they always told me that the Picts , were Scotland’s version of the fairies 🧚🏻 ! They brought my father back to Scotland from USA as young boy, & kept him inside, because they thought that the Picts , would steal him away.!! His grandfather served in the Black Watch , for 50 years … They always kept up the legend of the Picts ,in our family. I think they were kind of a kin to leprechauns , the Wee folk… It seems very logical that the symbols, the animal symbols that you show , were of different sects of people, and that it seems a natural progression into the clans . The etching on your hand looks like a symbol for the rising Sun 🏴🦄
The Picts WERE Celtic. Their language, culture and genetics all point to them being Brythonic Celts, historical sources also tell us, they were Brythonic Celts (Welsh sources specific; they claim the Picts were like themselves, just without Roman influence to any great extent, e.g. Britons, not Romano-Britons.) When wanting to reconstruct Pictish beliefs, which is very possible, we can just look at motifs of theirs and how they relate to Welsh and Gaelic mythologies which are very similar yet very different in some ways. For the Picts, we can presume them to have been more similar to the Welsh mythologies. There are some good lectures on youtube about the pictish mythologies and gods depicted on early stones.
I'm watching a lit of pictish thongs, do you know the name of the videos on the TH-cam please I'm scottish, and wanted to learn gaelic, then I found out that it was never really our lanuage to begin with that we spoke similar to old Welsh, so I've watched a few videos of leaning weldh.
The Celts are germanic q- "celtic", the Picts were the indigenous Britons who were dark haired, like the Cymraeg speaking a P-"celtic" language, The ancient Britons were descended from Iberians who travelled to the islands and settled here as the. ice receded. The Gaels genocided the Picts supported by the Roman Catholic church using outright war and divide and rule. The same tactics used through the ages
The animal symbols could likely be clan totems. Here in Canada, there is a flourishing indigenous population in my city and the Ojibway people identify with various animals as clan totems. There is an inherent similar belief system with many indigenous groups worldwide. It feels very natural.
@@wulver810 I dont know much about the Ojibway specifically, but I know the Haudenosaunee use them as tribal totems, and use standard Archetypes in animal forms for their teaching stories. Native American tribes have been fighting cultural appropriation since the 60's, theyve been very protective of their ritual knowledge for a long time, and dont often teach outsiders.
This was my thought as well. Totemism is the second oldest religion in the world, after Animism. There were 7 Pict Kingdoms. 6 of the symbols are explicitly animals. I think, the "crescent" could be a stylized bird. That would make 7 totems for 7 tribes/clans/kingdoms. The other two symbols are problematic anomalies to our explanation.
Going to be in Edinburgh in 2 weeks. Looking forward to be back in Scotland again. Together with my brother we will honour our dad and celebrate his birthday. He passed away 3 years ago.
Hi there. Excellent video. I would ask one thing, however. It's important and culturally significant that the word "Gaelic", as pronounced with a long A, is only said that way in Ireland. In Scotland, the word is pronounced with a short A, as in the name Alec (originally being spelled "Gàidhlig"). I've been accused of nit-picking on this subject, but as a proud Scottish woman, it does indeed matter. Many people confuse or even group the Irish and the Scottish together as having the same culture. While they are similar, they are also quite distinct and unique. I appreciate your shared knowledge on the Picts and look forward seeing more.
Dalriata or scots irish was east to west migration do not get it twisted ireland or ourland was populated by picts. In fact ireland had no hustory outside the Picts until the "catholic church" invented it, read Agricola or Ceaser on the history even better refer to modern blood studies 😮
Scottish people don't speak Gaelic. So stop talking out yer Rab C Nesbitt. Never have, and we never did. Glasgow and Strathclyde is Welsh. Wallace means the Welsh man. Llanark Lanark. Linlithgow Llanlitjgow. Glasgow accent is due to the heavy Welsh influence. Britomic speaking peoples. Cumbric to be exact. A language sub of Welsh. It's why the north Welsh, Lancashire (Llan?....) all the way through Carlisle and into southern Scotland accent isn't to dissimilar in pitch and flow. No one born and raised Glasgow or Edinburgh has ever spoken Gaelic, at any time in history. No one.
The most amazing thing I find about your films is that you come from so far away ! I do believe that the soul of ‘old souls’ calls to us regardless of the human time passed
@@PictofthePines yes, absolutely. I find it amusing and infuriating how historians can't seem to understand that people in our past didn't put such huge physical effort into mouments that had only an esoterical meaning. It is technology, perhaps it was given a spiritual meaning to disguise it's use from the uninitiated, or perhaps science and worship of heavenly bodies was at one point more intertwined. There was a greatly skilled mathematician on TH-cam that used seasonal numerics to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Cresent and v rod were to chart the beginnings of spring (when to sow) and the begining of autumn (when to harvest). We in the 21st century take time keeping and predictions of the seasons for granted thanks to the ease of which our technology allows us to track them. To the ancients such knowledge would be the difference between life and death, and it's predictions would be a true form of priestly authority. Many of the ancient monuments had a technological use. If ever I can find the video were the uploaded used mathematics to prove his hypothesis I'll be sure to share it here
@@M05tlyHistorically we cared not for time in a day we woke at light and went to sleep in the night we knew the seasons and equinoxs by the stars do not lie on subjects you fail to understand. Our holiest day was hogmanay as the winter solstice was the turn of the year and brought rejuvination this predates the viking invasions by over 400 years regardless of what you read online. The ogham script at Fortriu circa 250ad mentions this. The mirror symbol is a sign of High feminine. The seahorse is the water beastie ie kelpie, the most admired creatures were the boar, wolf, and owl. The lesser animals were salmon, pheasant etc these were family names.
We lived in crannogs and wattle and daub round houses. The bloodgroup is still present ie 1/5 in the north east Scotland we are not immigrants we are indeginous people. Pictish people still here we remember dunnicairn, dunnotar, tap o noth and mons grapius lol or bennachie as we call it. Children of the caledonia forests
@@heraldeventsandfilms5970 you can through dna testing. According to the human genome project there are distinct genetic markers for the picts. According to their findings… Clan Campbell, Clan McNeil and Clan McPherson are predominantly genetically Pictish. The marker is * R1b-S530 *
You seem cool. My last name is MacDonald and I live in Maine. I hope your channel blows up in a good way. I can just picture you being sick of a fake society and selling everything you have and looking for roots. New ERA time. No more watching TV commercials. Roots time. Soul searching. You are the answer and all the roots lead to you. Life adventure. Find some glimpse of strength and truth and authenticity. What is this life. They can't sell me spirit mon! I live and search for reality.
Being half Celtic (Scottish, Welsh) and half Germanic (English, Dane/Swedish) I really appreciate this video. I like to learn about the gods of my ancestors on both sides of the bloodline.
There are more Celtic DNA lineages in England than Scotland, Wales and Ireland combined. We only associate Ireland, Wales and Scotland with Celts today because the languages have survived, whereas in England only two Celtic languages have survived - Cornish and Cumbric. The Scottish DNA profile actually shows a higher percentage of Anglo-Saxon DNA than England.
the Picts were not the last Pagans of Scotland , these were in fact the islanders of Herta - St Kilda who maintained a mixed Druidic Catholic religion into the 1700s when a methodist minister arrived to steal this from them. They had many Pagan altars and holy stones as well as a stone circle complete with a resident Druid on a outer isle . While the stone circle was broken up most of the other Pagan sites remain , the milking stone and several holy springs can still be seen today .
I went there and wasn't allowed to walk any of Hirta , it is very much no Scots allowed only middle class Cambridge post grad students and gatekeeping SNH types.
That's interesting. I think the Islanders were evicted from the Island not because of disease but because the Government wanted to use the islAND for the military, they did have a communications facility there. The society was encouraged to implode as the islanders were encouraged to rely on charity rather than their own means and tradition skills. The Islanders fared badly away from their ancestral home. There is a very good book that outlines all of this about St Kilda.
I recently visited Wemyss caves where the earliest Pict drawings were found. The guide disputed the theory that a mirror and comb would be related to a woman of prominence. That is very 21st century thinking. You only have to look at the Vikings to know that the men took great care of their hair and appearance and so a comb and mirror are not a necessarily a feminine symbol.
The animals symbology could well be related to the Norse symbols. Loki as a salmon, Odin as the snake and as the Eagle in stealing the magic back from the Jotuns, Gullinbursti the golden hog etc. But also, in ancient days was Tuan. He was an Immortal who inhabited Eire and in moving from one lifeform to another became each of those animals during a phase of shape shifting. (See The Book of Conquests).
Yes Harald, I know. But that's exactly my point. Symbolism of most mythologies is very similar. Symbols, picture writing, heiroglyphics, proto Norse, proto German, all come from the same source. The Indo-Aryan peoples came from the same root, the base of the tree if you will. We are all the same people, within that family. The Tuatha de Dannan, Danu's children arrived in " flying ships" according to the legends of the Fir Bolg. Our very Ancestors arrived from the sky, in flying ships. A fact the xtians have worked very hard to kill. The Extra Terrestrials are us, not little Green men. We came, we conquered and we molded and built. We ARE the Crown of Creation, not hayzoose of a minor desert tribe.
A culture of art. The loopy yarn I use in my woven garments is said to be created by the picts. The only mills that spin it on the planet exist inScotland.
I have a lot of respect for you Jacob! Sold loads of your valuables so you could travel to learn more about our belief. I hope your enjoying your travel and learning more! We appreciate the videos keep at it and thank you!
That means a lot! Thank you. Especially since I just spent an entire night trying to capture the northern lights for a video. I didn’t get back home till 7am 😂
@@TheWisdomOfOdin awesome man! I hope you captured them! I also got a few photos down here in the uk of the northern lights last week. Looking forward to the next uploads 🔥
My grandmother's surname Cowles, is one of the few Scottish surnames of confirmed Pictish origin. I can't wait to travel through Europe next year when I get my inheritance.
@@heraldeventsandfilms5970 "The current generations of the Cowles family have inherited a surname that was first used hundreds of years ago by descendants of the ancient Scottish tribe called the Picts. The Cowles family lived in Coull, a parish, in the district of Kincardine O'Neil, county of Aberdeen. "This place is supposed to have taken its name, which signifies a "corner," from its situation in the south-eastern extremity of the district of Cromar." - Council Of Scottish Clans And Associations. So be quite and go lose some weight Herald.
Ludicrous. Americans always buy into this sort of schitt. Cowles is neither a word of Pictish origin nor is it a recorded. Pictish name. Nobody can prove Pictish lineage. You've been cheated. And I hope you paid to be so.
the theory about the Salmon and Boar I've heard, and liked,.. Salmon represented wisdom and the cycle of life, and the Boar represented adulthood/warrior In legend, the Salmon is seen for its wisdom and long life due to its knowledge of were to spawn and getting there to continue the cycle.. ( we now know its just instinct but hey ho ) And the Boar was a dangerous beast that only the adults went to hunt, and your first kill would make you a man etc etc.. Like I say... both theories and legend and probably totally wrong ... but I liked them 🤗 But what I love about this video is the way you come across... you admit all of this could be wrong,..it just an idea you have by what you have learnt, and we may never know... Too many "experts" out there who try and say things are facts because they say so... Breath of fresh air to watch, thank you.
I hope your journey into ancient pagan history is bringing joy. Recent DNA shows that the Picts were related to the ancient Britain's of Cymry, Kernew and Rheged as documented and described by the ancient British history's by Wilson and Blackett which states that the Picts were allies of Arthur
Except those weren't Vikings he was fighting against if you're referring to the 2004 Arthur film and not the hilariously, over-the-top, silly 2016 version. The first Norse Vikings raids didnt occur until 793, although some allege it mightve been a few years earlier, in 790 C.E. On June 6, 793 the first Viking raid on British isles happened at the Holy Monastery at Lindisfarne and the raids themselves were due to a variety of reasons like over-population, civil war, famines, a desire by feudal, regional pagan old Norse Viking jarls and kings to force encroaching Christian missionaries, armies to back off. By the late 8th century C.E, most of continental Europe, except for Scandivinavia, modern Baltic states, parts of modern-day Poland, Hungary (Magyars), and the Rua, were mostly or nominal Christian or converted. Particularly most, if not all of the nomadic Germanic tribes who overran the western Roman Empire at the end of 5th century C.E. and lead to its collapse, except for some West Germanic Saxons. In the 2004 Arthur film, he was fighting off bands of roving, seafaring Vikings, he was fighting off an invasion of Germanic Anglo-Saxons (some of my ancestors)
As I was researching some of these Pictish symbols not long ago, I was particularly interested in the double disc and z rod. I came across a resource, which at this point id have to go and find again, that said some scholars believe it could have been a symbol for the winter and summer solstice or perhaps the sun and moon, or even the change of seasons. The rod would symbolize a connection between them, or maybe symbolize the time between them. Which makes sense to me if that is the case. Every season, or solstice has its relative opposite or complete opposite throughout the year. However, Im not too sure if the Picts were really thinking that metaphorically when it came to these symbols. It seems to me that the idea of them denoting a certain kind of status in their society may be far more likely, especially militarily.
I agree with you @kook1028. I think the double disc represents the sun and the moon, the Equinox's etc with the Z-rod depicting summer/winter coming or going. Where I live we are surrounded by Standing Stones, pictish stones, ancient burial/meeting grounds and lay lines. We're a highly spiritual area.
Z Rod and discs is thought to be connected to Sun observation and Crescent Moon and V Rod the Lunar , perhaps marking procession certainly I've read symbolic of time.
Living beside the Moray Firth all my life so far I believe the Pictish beastie to be a stylised Dolphin. If you can imagine your ancestors seeing these sea mammals from the shoreline they must have seemed very strange and mysterious to them.
Pretty interested in the Picts myself. Was a little surprised to find out that 20% of my DNA seems to come from Aberdeenshire, the last and greatest holdouts of those folk. Btw, we look like we could be brothers--it's kind of uncanny, in fact.
I live near an old Pictish fort. Also popped over to Sueno’s stone I love looking and the symbols and trying to imagine what those symbols meant at the time-instead of how we would interpret it now with hindsight and modern biases. The Z-Rod always fascinates me. I think it maybe signifies movement of opposing energies maybe? Like battle. Maybe like Zeus throwing his thunderbolts down. They channel the energy of war gods or something and it depicts the clash of opposing forces?
10:00 It is possible that these are like indigenous people's totem animals. Respected for the role that the animal plays, preditor/prey aspects, and how the local population needed these animals to survive.
There's little evidence that Picts ate fish, even those living next to the coast. This is mimicked by Celtic sites further south but it may be that they disposed of fish remains differently to other animals.
@@damionkeeling3103 fish remains are quiet small and could disintegrate unlike bones from the likes of Wild Boar etc But thats still an interesting read...Fish would be a free and ample supply of food, so it would be interesting to see why they wouldn't use it...Fish oil alone is very useful for survival in other parts of the World... Thanks,.. this will be a good subject to research 👍
The Wolf Symbol is a Symbol still used to this day in relation to my Clan. (The Wilson Clan - "Wolfson") so yes, the Animals are definetely related to Famous Clans, as these Wolf Carvings have been mostly found in Fife (Formely Fib to the picts) where the Wilson Clan is still to this day very prominent. What salso strange is for some reason, my Clan gravitated back towards this area, started practicing the trades they did in the past and started living very similar to our anscestors without any knowledge of these things. Im also covered in Pictish Tattoo's and my Favourite colour is Blue. Only just made the connections last year, Very Interesting stufff so thank you for the Video!
A wonderfully intelligent, thoughtful exploration of the ancient Pictish culture of Scotland. Thank you for providing such an interesting examination. I'm delighted that you are keeping the ancient ways alive.
Scotland is truly truly a beautiful magical place, proud to say I can trace back my blood line to Scotland 🏴. Thanks for the video and awesome new tattoo ❤
Your family name is famous in Scotland for being a famous clan of thieves and con men. They were the highwaymen of the Scottish Borders. Not so romantic ❤😛
Have you been there? My family comes from there and when we visited our last relatives clan house (Irving) we got to sign a special guest book for research purposes. It is a very small clan compared to others. You can't even find the clans Tartan in any of the shops. Anyway, each time we visited Scotland it truly felt like coming home.
This video just bought such a flashback to childhood. In school we had a whole picts vs celts thing. I remember having fun drawing all the different symbols and I just loved all the designs and stuff ❤
They could relate to constellations. Straight off i can see refrences to sirius (wolf) Cancer (Hawk) Ophiuchus (the snake) Pisces (the fish) Libra (scales) the cresent moon with the alchemical shape of vessel and water (virgo) Boar (capricorn) monocerus (unicorn) and last one im not sure. Thats what i think anyway 😊
Agreed. The symbols he mentioned are viewed as badges, I automatically saw the tracking of sun and moon cycles. The first one being a lunar eclipse, then the snake is tracking the cycles of the sun and moon, creating a wave and in the circle in the center being earth and equatorial belt. The head representing the highest point of the ecliptic and the tail being the lowest. The third being the moons position and phase. The 4th being the halfway point between two suns or stars. Hard to tell the story without more context. That's just the basic jist of the symbols. Then I saw the animals as representations of the 4 fixed points on the zodiacal belt. Fish is pisces usually. Man Aquarius. Time.. it's telling us about time. All the stories everywhere. They're all telling time.
Good comment, and anyone that thinks that the mirror is representative of grooming is daft. Several rivers in Scotland are named Esk ...derived from Asp. The ones I know of are particularly meandering . Nechtan was also connected to the Snake symbol. I think snakes are symbolic of life and magic ...all life comes from water and water is very much the sacred in our early people. As it should be now.
Some theories I have heard of are that the V Rod represents the cycle of life and death. And the Z rod represents either a storm with the two circles representing clouds and the Z lightening, or, a musical event with the circles and Z being cymbals crashing together.
I live in Inverness where we have reminders of the Picts in street names, and in the shadow of Craig Phadraig, where King Brude had his fort. It is also said that St Columba converted the Picts to Christianity at St Michaels Mound in the city, where the Old High Church is now located. We also have Knocknagael Boar Stone, amongst others that can be viewed.
My theory is the Picts were the remnants of civilisation after the last global catastrophe and gave to the world over time how to use geometry amongst other things.. on another note they tuning forks carved into their stones yet tuning forks weren’t “invented “ until the 1700’s ?! 🤙🏻
I just finished Finlay’s book, “Color . . . “ and her chapter on Indigo discusses Celtic use of woad to color their bodies. Specifically, she mentions the Welsh warriors under Queen Boudicca.
I wonder if you are able to still see remnants of the roman Hadrians Wall they built against the Picts, even in those days they were formidable! The stone carvings remind me of Gobekli Tepe which are believed to be star charts/constellations
Thanks for the video, Jacob. Around Burghead in Moray, believed to be the capital of Fortiu, there's a large grouping of Bull symbols which supports the idea of the animal symbols representing a location, family or kingdom. There is also a suggestion that the V-rods represent the position of celestial bodies at the equinoxes with the cresent being the sky. But as you say, we may never know.
Great tat, great vid! ❤ Your style and knowledge really drew me in ^_^ Thank you. I hope we get to learn as much as possible about the Picts and other ancient peoples, to unearth all the remnants there are. I'd like to learn what they called themselves, at least (and maybe how to recite a few Pictish spells...!) 🎉
What about the symbols signify the trades available in the village. The snake a healer, the boar a butcher, comb and mirror a shop for necessities, the double circles a grinder of wheat, etc
I'm wondering if there is any mention of that one goofy-looking image with horn-like protrusions from its head to be a type of goat? Many cultures relied on the goat for several reasons like wool to keep the Pictish folks warm in that miserable cold and damp climate in modern-day Scotland. Thanks for what you do. These folks fascinate me as do the Celts and the Norse, especially the Old Norse.
Beautiful V-Rod and Crescent Moon tattoo!!! I’ve also visited Dunadd, we put our foot into the stone and jokingly called ourselves Dalriadan Kings afterwards, gorgeous views from Dunadd Fort! We’ve got some Ogham stones in Aberdeenshire if you’re ever visiting the area along with several Pictish Stones! Other museums I’d recommend that are specifically Pictish are: •Meigle Museum in Angus, all the stones are from the local area and hosts the largest local collection •Elgin Museum in Moray, has some of the Burghead Bulls •Groam House museum, in Rosemarkie, Black Isle •St Vigeans, in Angus •Dunrobin Castle Museum, Dunrobin in Sutherland •The Meffan Museum in Forfar, in Angus Elgin Museum is free, the rest are a few pounds to visit (roughly £5). There are places to visit like Aberlemno which is a collection of roadside Pictish stones and free to visit, so I’d highly recommend Angus in general as it has a LOT of Pictish stones to marvel at.
I believe the last theory, the celestial one, makes much more sense than our unfortunate modern sensibilities. Our ancestors knew more about the sky and revered it in a way that is only just coming back to life. The serpent effigy could be Draco. Certain constellations eerily seem to be somewhat uniform across cultures and different continents, which is very interesting to say the least. Pisces is another that shows up across many cultures. The Eagle could be Scorpio, since Scorpio is represented by the scorpion and the eagle, across, once again, many different cultures in far away lands.
Great video sir! I have always been fascinated by the Picts! They have to be some of the first people to leave the Eurasian Steppe Belt and head west. I know that genetically they are related to the Basques peoples of northern Spain, though their language is very different. I read somewhere that the Picts may have entered into mainland Europe about 7000 years ago, and sailed to Scotland...so you are right there is a LOT of history there that is lost to time. Very interesting stuff Jacob...thank you!
I really enjoy your presentations. Have you moved to Scotland or just visiting. I moved to loch Lomond 2 years ago, I grew up in Hertfordshire but ran away to Scotland twice when I was young. I'm 43 now so I moved permanently. I think Scotland is my souls home. You know the Picts were supposed to be the last matriarchal society in Britain. Maybe Scotland will be the first to return to the mother. Scotia continues to bless this special land. All the best to you my friend.
I’m betting that the answer to the meaning of these symbols is an amalgamation of these different theories. Religion/spirituality wasn’t separated from mundane life like it is for most people now.
I found you in searching for pre-history information on the Druids and the Picts. Near St. Andrews the is a “hidden” Druid (and Picts) Sacred Space. It too has a carved footprint beside a font carved out that has a natural source from the brook below the crags. The steps are carved out of the stone and are the main pathway down to the crags. There are carvings in the stone faces, coins and colorful crystals placed in natural pockets of one stone face. It is purported to have been there since circa 4,000 bc. I say this from the research my travel agent and I found in her research. I will have the glorious opportunity to see it in person this Fall. It’s relatively unknown and is “off the beaten path”. There is an “alter” area where people have been leaving items for centuries. I plan to take a gem crystal from a Wiccan friend and place it while saying the note she will include with the stone . I am so excited to just layback on the rocks and listen to the energy of the ages. I’m a new subscriber and will enjoy getting to know more from you as it relates to belief systems of Scotland, Wales and Britain. That carved footprint in the stone got me very excited as there is also one at the place I will visit.
The Picts have been in todays Scotland for more than 3000 years, in the north west of Scotland there are many stories both Norse and Pictish there was a land bridge from Norway to Scotland during the iceage 10000 years ago, which in Norway and Scotland the people have green blue eyes, fair skinned, tall, red and blonde hair ❤
But folk descended from Picts and the description of Picts is olive skinned and dark or auburn hair and hazel eyes. The predominant colour of eyes in older genes in Scotland are grey eyes and fairer lighter brown hair , olive skin and brown or hazel eyes and darkish hair not black always a slight hint of auburn. Very different to South and West. These colourings are still in my family and we have done genetic testing we have absolutely no recent European ancestry of any admixture. The folk who settled in Scotland settled many many thousands of years before the last glacial period and unlike parts of England and central and southern Wales there is far less influx of other groups of people. Bugger etic testing has been confined to modern populations without taking in geneologic information and a lot of research has explored Shetland and Orkney for Norse percentages, they should have asked women as well as men to participate who have traced their roots to a high percentage of family members from NE and E of Scotland and Perthshire and Tayside and Angus, They forget in modern Scotland people left to find work or a life as well as previous centuries of expulsion and exile. They should test folk like my Dad . But he doesn't even live in Scotland now due to job hunting in the 1970s. Everybody of ancient Scottish lineage has moved around for hundreds of years and we are very much inter related, but visually and geographically there is pockets of ancient Brythonic people here now you just have to look a folks'faces.
Although not very scholarly, my fascination with Pict culture started after hearing a song by Pink Floyde which happened to be the longest title of any song ever released. It is called, "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In a Cave and Grooving With a Pict". In the spirit of research and digression... off the record "Uma Guma".
If the z-rod is a ritually bent spear then the z-rod that appears with the double disc appears to be a barbed spear, perhaps the Gae Bolg that CuChulainn used.
I really enjoyed your video. I'm glad that you've decided to share the wonderful things you're learning on your travels with the public- thanks for that! Personally, I suspect that the double-disk and Z-rod symbol represents the interconnectedness of this world and the other world. This is only a guess, because most of my knowledge about the ancient pagans in that part of the world centers around my own ancestors, the Irish Celts. I the Irish tradition, the presence of the other world was accepted as a vert real fact of daily life, and a huge amount of the religious practices used by the people had to do with maintaining a peaceful and profitable relationship with the other world and its inhabitants. I know that Scotland as well has many areas of its landscape that seem to contain portals, or crossing-over points into the other world, so I can't help but speculate that perhaps the twin disks in the symbol mentioned above might well have had to do with the harmonious balance with the other world -a balance which doubtlessly had a profound impact upon the quality of life experienced by the ancient peoples of that land. That's enough from me for now. Best of luck to you. Beir bua agus beannacht! Slan go foill! --N
If there are any people who claim to be descended from pics it might be fun to run their dna against others from surrounding areas. I have always been interested to find out if picts were different in their bodies as well as their culture.
The double circle is linked representing a shield with a broken arrow. I'm a Celt proven by language as I'm Welsh and by DNA through Oxford ancestors and back home in Wales we have many stones similar to this.
Not saying you're wrong but this is one of the symbols that appears on an earring from the Norrie Law hoard. It would be a strange choice of symbol for a woman to wear.
Sadly, like all invaders the Romans wrote their own view of the ancient Brittons when they took hold of the island which is probably way off the mark. What amazes me is the overwhelming history we Celts have, yet very little is brought to attention in schools. Our history should be a big part of the cariculum but instead we are educated otherwise in different historical matters. The Picts were the Brits that used the mountains to keep the Romans from taking hold of their land just as we Welsh did the same. What is clear is that when the first wave of Romans arrived, all the Brits were painted using wode. By the time later Romans came to Britain the south Celts had given up their culture and adapted to Roman ways whereas the northern Celts remained as they were. Thus Picts being the painted ones. Dna from recently dug skeleton remains proves they were the same as us Welsh and Cornish people, not to mention the Celts absorbed into the Saxon era.
@@damionkeeling3103 not the Pictish tribes women were involved in battle and could also be head of household. At the Battle of Dunnichen it is said the women lured the horses into boggy ground which allowed the warriors to attack them from the higher ground hidden by the trees.
Interesting note... the mention of the fort... in the second set of information you displayed in words spoke of Fergus. My father's family is from Scotland, my grandfather from Edenborough, and we are part of the Ferguson Clan. The name carried down the male line Ferguson as the middle name.
The picts were not the last pagans in scotland. The heathen Norse from scandinavia raided and occupied lots of land on the east coast and in the islands. Some of the famous dcottish clans even had vikings married into them. One clan is even partly named after a norweigan king.
I did a DNA test and was shicked and proud to find I am of Pictish descent. The information pointed to nothern most points of Scotland. I just wiah we knew more about my ancestors. So far, what ive learned im proud to know Ive deacended from the Picts.
@@janetgallacher7552 very hard and expensive to get a test that has that much detail only University studies go into such depth and they haven't done a good study of Pictish descent they were more interested in Norse and ignored mtDNA
@haraldtheyounger5504 That theory is now out of the window afaik, with no archaeological or other evidence of any large-scale migration of peoples from Ireland in ancient times. Rather that there was a gaelic/celtic population living in both countries and who had a shared language and culture.
There can never be the last of anything to a belief for as long as there is people, there is always those who are willing to practice for long as the faith is remembered.
Symbology is a fascinating endeavor. The symbols, as language, like Egyptian hieroglyphics, are often indicative of clans. Or as warnings to intruders. Thank you for your insights. You've inspired me to do some research.
I wonder how many others first heard the word "Pict" on the 1969 Pink Floyd album "Ummagumma" and the song called "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict"?
No we don't. Images show small round or square shields but the double disc could represent an older type shield that lived on as imagery. One symbol looks like the hilt of a Celtic sword, another is possibly a stylised chariot and another a cauldron as seen from above. The weird animal one could be based on dolphins leaping high above the water.
I love your “history of” videos ☺️ Another amazing opportunity to learn about a culture we’ve all but forgotten 😊 and it’s crazy how they literally left their mark behind for us to try to unravel. Thanks for taking us with you 😊
The Cresent and V rod looks very much like a face to me. The double disk and Z rod seems to have a harp or other stringed insturment at its base and strikes me as a symblo of the Fili or other such.
Last two weeks have been a whirlwind. Two weeks ago I read some Bran Mak Mor, a Robert E Howard character that is leader of the Picts and also learned that day what the word "heath" means. Only later that week did I make the connection between Heath and Heathen (as well as gentile!) And literally was just talking to my uncle about the story and etymologies, hop in the car and find you posted about the Picts. The continuous "revolutions", circling back, Synchronicities have just been off the chain and it's been a blast. Thanks for the work you do 🍻 🍯 🍖🥓 and my mom just did her DNA and we found out she's way more Scottish than French as we all assumed, so I'm literally scots Korean, a contradiction!
Best of both worlds, you can have a cool looking kilt but toss the haggis for some delicious BBQ There are some Picts in Howards Kull the conquer, Brule Spearslayer was one I remember.
@@bluebird3281 so Bran is a descendant of Brule I believe, as his timeline is set in the Roman empire period. There's a big coalition of Northmen, Picts, Britons, all gearing up for a big war against Roman army
Back in the day when my friends use to ask me if I had to choose one super power what would that be? Many of them would say “invisibility, flying, super strength “, but I would find myself saying I choose time traveling. To go back in time and bear witness to all type of people and culture! Great video. Through you I get to see fascinating places.
Invisibility whole time traveling would be very useful I feel like 😂
I think time viewing would be best. For we don’t introduce disease into each other’s time periods and even the smallest effect such as making someone pause for even a second can butterfly effect into a world of hell. Including you never being born immediately.
Agreed! Also, similarly, anytime someone asks, "if you could travel to anytime in history when/where would you go"? and I'm like, "100% pre-Christian Europe and pre-colonialized turtle island/North America, of course!" but I know I'm supposed to say something like, "The roaring 20s" or some shit. 😅
That's probably my ultimate dream
@@fernsmosslichens I’d probably go back to 2009. Buy a bunch of Bitcoin. Be rich by this point then I can buy land and have people live on it in community. Never having to worry about money for any of us
My fathers parents were from Scotland, and they always told me that the Picts ,
were Scotland’s version of the fairies 🧚🏻 !
They brought my father back to Scotland from USA
as young boy, & kept him inside, because they thought that the Picts , would steal him away.!!
His grandfather served in the Black Watch ,
for 50 years …
They always kept up the legend of the Picts ,in our family. I think they were kind of a kin to leprechauns , the Wee folk…
It seems very logical that the symbols, the animal symbols that you show , were of different sects of people, and that it seems a natural progression into the
clans . The etching on your hand looks like a symbol for the rising Sun 🏴🦄
These Pict stealing away tales ,maybe inspiration for
Peter Pan …🧚🏻🖖🏻
The Picts WERE Celtic. Their language, culture and genetics all point to them being Brythonic Celts, historical sources also tell us, they were Brythonic Celts (Welsh sources specific; they claim the Picts were like themselves, just without Roman influence to any great extent, e.g. Britons, not Romano-Britons.)
When wanting to reconstruct Pictish beliefs, which is very possible, we can just look at motifs of theirs and how they relate to Welsh and Gaelic mythologies which are very similar yet very different in some ways. For the Picts, we can presume them to have been more similar to the Welsh mythologies.
There are some good lectures on youtube about the pictish mythologies and gods depicted on early stones.
I'm watching a lit of pictish thongs, do you know the name of the videos on the TH-cam please I'm scottish, and wanted to learn gaelic, then I found out that it was never really our lanuage to begin with that we spoke similar to old Welsh, so I've watched a few videos of leaning weldh.
I'd wear a pictish thong@@janetgallacher7552
The Celts are germanic q- "celtic", the Picts were the indigenous Britons who were dark haired, like the Cymraeg speaking a P-"celtic" language, The ancient Britons were descended from Iberians who travelled to the islands and settled here as the. ice receded. The Gaels genocided the Picts supported by the Roman Catholic church using outright war and divide and rule. The same tactics used through the ages
The animal symbols could likely be clan totems. Here in Canada, there is a flourishing indigenous population in my city and the Ojibway people identify with various animals as clan totems. There is an inherent similar belief system with many indigenous groups worldwide. It feels very natural.
Animism?
Are you sure they aren't spells, it seems all the ancients were magicians or some nonsense.
@@wulver810 I dont know much about the Ojibway specifically, but I know the Haudenosaunee use them as tribal totems, and use standard Archetypes in animal forms for their teaching stories.
Native American tribes have been fighting cultural appropriation since the 60's, theyve been very protective of their ritual knowledge for a long time, and dont often teach outsiders.
Similar type symbolism for tribes of Israel, so I agree.
This was my thought as well. Totemism is the second oldest religion in the world, after Animism. There were 7 Pict Kingdoms. 6 of the symbols are explicitly animals. I think, the "crescent" could be a stylized bird. That would make 7 totems for 7 tribes/clans/kingdoms. The other two symbols are problematic anomalies to our explanation.
Going to be in Edinburgh in 2 weeks. Looking forward to be back in Scotland again. Together with my brother we will honour our dad and celebrate his birthday. He passed away 3 years ago.
May you and your brother be blessed paying homage to your dad, may he rest in peace
Hi there. Excellent video. I would ask one thing, however. It's important and culturally significant that the word "Gaelic", as pronounced with a long A, is only said that way in Ireland. In Scotland, the word is pronounced with a short A, as in the name Alec (originally being spelled "Gàidhlig"). I've been accused of nit-picking on this subject, but as a proud Scottish woman, it does indeed matter. Many people confuse or even group the Irish and the Scottish together as having the same culture. While they are similar, they are also quite distinct and unique. I appreciate your shared knowledge on the Picts and look forward seeing more.
God bless nit pickers! Scot's history matters.
Dalriata or scots irish was east to west migration do not get it twisted ireland or ourland was populated by picts. In fact ireland had no hustory outside the Picts until the "catholic church" invented it, read Agricola or Ceaser on the history even better refer to modern blood studies 😮
Ir land = our land by CAT and CE picts. Dun, aber, pit, Fech, Fall all pictish words.
Dublin was Viking any provence with irm or erry is pictish
Scottish people don't speak Gaelic. So stop talking out yer Rab C Nesbitt. Never have, and we never did.
Glasgow and Strathclyde is Welsh.
Wallace means the Welsh man.
Llanark Lanark. Linlithgow Llanlitjgow.
Glasgow accent is due to the heavy Welsh influence. Britomic speaking peoples. Cumbric to be exact. A language sub of Welsh. It's why the north Welsh, Lancashire (Llan?....) all the way through Carlisle and into southern Scotland accent isn't to dissimilar in pitch and flow.
No one born and raised Glasgow or Edinburgh has ever spoken Gaelic, at any time in history.
No one.
in America we just say "gay lick", it's more naughty sounding
The most amazing thing I find about your films is that you come from so far away !
I do believe that the soul of ‘old souls’ calls to us regardless of the human time passed
That's my ancestors the pictish tribes
Imagine being an ancient graphic artist and all your art is now going viral.
That's real quality that is :)
The Cresent and vrod is an example of ancient time keeping technology.
Interesting 🧐 my first inclination was astronomical so perhaps a sort of seasonal time keeping?
@@PictofthePines yes, absolutely. I find it amusing and infuriating how historians can't seem to understand that people in our past didn't put such huge physical effort into mouments that had only an esoterical meaning. It is technology, perhaps it was given a spiritual meaning to disguise it's use from the uninitiated, or perhaps science and worship of heavenly bodies was at one point more intertwined. There was a greatly skilled mathematician on TH-cam that used seasonal numerics to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Cresent and v rod were to chart the beginnings of spring (when to sow) and the begining of autumn (when to harvest). We in the 21st century take time keeping and predictions of the seasons for granted thanks to the ease of which our technology allows us to track them. To the ancients such knowledge would be the difference between life and death, and it's predictions would be a true form of priestly authority. Many of the ancient monuments had a technological use.
If ever I can find the video were the uploaded used mathematics to prove his hypothesis I'll be sure to share it here
Nonsense its a family crest of matrilenal succession stop your lies we still use them in CE Aberdeenshire Kingdom of the 7 kings. Tap o noth
@@M05tlyHistorically we cared not for time in a day we woke at light and went to sleep in the night we knew the seasons and equinoxs by the stars do not lie on subjects you fail to understand. Our holiest day was hogmanay as the winter solstice was the turn of the year and brought rejuvination this predates the viking invasions by over 400 years regardless of what you read online. The ogham script at Fortriu circa 250ad mentions this.
The mirror symbol is a sign of High feminine. The seahorse is the water beastie ie kelpie, the most admired creatures were the boar, wolf, and owl. The lesser animals were salmon, pheasant etc these were family names.
We lived in crannogs and wattle and daub round houses. The bloodgroup is still present ie 1/5 in the north east Scotland we are not immigrants we are indeginous people. Pictish people still here we remember dunnicairn, dunnotar, tap o noth and mons grapius lol or bennachie as we call it. Children of the caledonia forests
"remember kids...
Scotland's windy"
that was funnny though to break up the more serious vibe
I have never clicked so fast in my life. I am 80% Scottish and can trace my ancestry back to the picts. Thank you for sharing!
Glad you enjoyed it!
That is SO badass!!!!! Omg.
NOBODY can trace their ancestry to Pictish people.
@@heraldeventsandfilms5970 you can through dna testing. According to the human genome project there are distinct genetic markers for the picts. According to their findings… Clan Campbell, Clan McNeil and Clan McPherson are predominantly genetically Pictish. The marker is * R1b-S530 *
That’s kool. I’m Scottish-Pict and Choctaw. 😊
You seem cool. My last name is MacDonald and I live in Maine. I hope your channel blows up in a good way. I can just picture you being sick of a fake society and selling everything you have and looking for roots. New ERA time. No more watching TV commercials. Roots time. Soul searching. You are the answer and all the roots lead to you. Life adventure. Find some glimpse of strength and truth and authenticity. What is this life. They can't sell me spirit mon! I live and search for reality.
Being half Celtic (Scottish, Welsh) and half Germanic (English, Dane/Swedish) I really appreciate this video. I like to learn about the gods of my ancestors on both sides of the bloodline.
My ancestry is the same.
Same here Irish/Scottish/welsh/danish
There are more Celtic DNA lineages in England than Scotland, Wales and Ireland combined. We only associate Ireland, Wales and Scotland with Celts today because the languages have survived, whereas in England only two Celtic languages have survived - Cornish and Cumbric.
The Scottish DNA profile actually shows a higher percentage of Anglo-Saxon DNA than England.
@@davidgreen6490 Cumbric hasn't survived
@@jackholloway1 Apparently they are reconstructing it.
the Picts were not the last Pagans of Scotland , these were in fact the islanders of Herta - St Kilda who maintained a mixed Druidic Catholic religion into the 1700s when a methodist minister arrived to steal this from them. They had many Pagan altars and holy stones as well as a stone circle complete with a resident Druid on a outer isle . While the stone circle was broken up most of the other Pagan sites remain , the milking stone and several holy springs can still be seen today .
Another half arsed researched lecture from an American who just wants to listen to his own voice.
I went there and wasn't allowed to walk any of Hirta , it is very much no Scots allowed only middle class Cambridge post grad students and gatekeeping SNH types.
That's interesting. I think the Islanders were evicted from the Island not because of disease but because the Government wanted to use the islAND for the military, they did have a communications facility there. The society was encouraged to implode as the islanders were encouraged to rely on charity rather than their own means and tradition skills. The Islanders fared badly away from their ancestral home. There is a very good book that outlines all of this about St Kilda.
I recently visited Wemyss caves where the earliest Pict drawings were found. The guide disputed the theory that a mirror and comb would be related to a woman of prominence. That is very 21st century thinking. You only have to look at the Vikings to know that the men took great care of their hair and appearance and so a comb and mirror are not a necessarily a feminine symbol.
Had to watch until the end, which led to me being late to work. Well worth it.
Haha epic comment!
The animals symbology could well be related to the Norse symbols. Loki as a salmon, Odin as the snake and as the Eagle in stealing the magic back from the Jotuns, Gullinbursti the golden hog etc. But also, in ancient days was Tuan. He was an Immortal who inhabited Eire and in moving from one lifeform to another became each of those animals during a phase of shape shifting. (See The Book of Conquests).
The clan badges theory is most likely, but I find the Norse theory very intriguing. 😮😮😮
The Picts predate the Vikings by hundreds and hundreds of years.
Yes Harald, I know. But that's exactly my point. Symbolism of most mythologies is very similar. Symbols, picture writing, heiroglyphics, proto Norse, proto German, all come from the same source. The Indo-Aryan peoples came from the same root, the base of the tree if you will. We are all the same people, within that family. The Tuatha de Dannan, Danu's children arrived in " flying ships" according to the legends of the Fir Bolg. Our very Ancestors arrived from the sky, in flying ships. A fact the xtians have worked very hard to kill. The Extra Terrestrials are us, not little Green men. We came, we conquered and we molded and built. We ARE the Crown of Creation, not hayzoose of a minor desert tribe.
@@erikhoff5010We must of been exiled here like the Australians were.
Utter shite.
A culture of art. The loopy yarn I use in my woven garments is said to be created by the picts. The only mills that spin it on the planet exist inScotland.
I have a lot of respect for you Jacob! Sold loads of your valuables so you could travel to learn more about our belief. I hope your enjoying your travel and learning more! We appreciate the videos keep at it and thank you!
That means a lot! Thank you. Especially since I just spent an entire night trying to capture the northern lights for a video. I didn’t get back home till 7am 😂
@@TheWisdomOfOdin awesome man! I hope you captured them! I also got a few photos down here in the uk of the northern lights last week. Looking forward to the next uploads 🔥
My grandmother's surname Cowles, is one of the few Scottish surnames of confirmed Pictish origin. I can't wait to travel through Europe next year when I get my inheritance.
Interesting. I wonder what it means. I'm a McNaughton which comes from the Pictish "Nacten". (Spelling can vary).
My family is supposed to be Pictish, as well...
Drivel.
@@heraldeventsandfilms5970 "The current generations of the Cowles family have inherited a surname that was first used hundreds of years ago by descendants of the ancient Scottish tribe called the Picts. The Cowles family lived in Coull, a parish, in the district of Kincardine O'Neil, county of Aberdeen. "This place is supposed to have taken its name, which signifies a "corner," from its situation in the south-eastern extremity of the district of Cromar." - Council Of Scottish Clans And Associations.
So be quite and go lose some weight Herald.
Ludicrous. Americans always buy into this sort of schitt. Cowles is neither a word of Pictish origin nor is it a recorded. Pictish name. Nobody can prove Pictish lineage. You've been cheated. And I hope you paid to be so.
Love your red hair!!!!!!!!!! very nice...........Steady on ol boy, your in a magical land!!!!!!!!1
the theory about the Salmon and Boar I've heard, and liked,.. Salmon represented wisdom and the cycle of life, and the Boar represented adulthood/warrior
In legend, the Salmon is seen for its wisdom and long life due to its knowledge of were to spawn and getting there to continue the cycle.. ( we now know its just instinct but hey ho ) And the Boar was a dangerous beast that only the adults went to hunt, and your first kill would make you a man etc etc..
Like I say... both theories and legend and probably totally wrong ... but I liked them 🤗
But what I love about this video is the way you come across... you admit all of this could be wrong,..it just an idea you have by what you have learnt, and we may never know... Too many "experts" out there who try and say things are facts because they say so... Breath of fresh air to watch, thank you.
I hope your journey into ancient pagan history is bringing joy. Recent DNA shows that the Picts were related to the ancient Britain's of Cymry, Kernew and Rheged as documented and described by the ancient British history's by Wilson and Blackett which states that the Picts were allies of Arthur
Kinda coinsides with the movie Arthur. He allies with picts to fight invading vikings
Except those weren't Vikings he was fighting against if you're referring to the 2004 Arthur film and not the hilariously, over-the-top, silly 2016 version. The first Norse Vikings raids didnt occur until 793, although some allege it mightve been a few years earlier, in 790 C.E. On June 6, 793 the first Viking raid on British isles happened at the Holy Monastery at Lindisfarne and the raids themselves were due to a variety of reasons like over-population, civil war, famines, a desire by feudal, regional pagan old Norse Viking jarls and kings to force encroaching Christian missionaries, armies to back off.
By the late 8th century C.E, most of continental Europe, except for Scandivinavia, modern Baltic states, parts of modern-day Poland, Hungary (Magyars), and the Rua, were mostly or nominal Christian or converted. Particularly most, if not all of the nomadic Germanic tribes who overran the western Roman Empire at the end of 5th century C.E. and lead to its collapse, except for some West Germanic Saxons.
In the 2004 Arthur film, he was fighting off bands of roving, seafaring Vikings, he was fighting off an invasion of Germanic Anglo-Saxons (some of my ancestors)
As I was researching some of these Pictish symbols not long ago, I was particularly interested in the double disc and z rod. I came across a resource, which at this point id have to go and find again, that said some scholars believe it could have been a symbol for the winter and summer solstice or perhaps the sun and moon, or even the change of seasons. The rod would symbolize a connection between them, or maybe symbolize the time between them. Which makes sense to me if that is the case. Every season, or solstice has its relative opposite or complete opposite throughout the year. However, Im not too sure if the Picts were really thinking that metaphorically when it came to these symbols. It seems to me that the idea of them denoting a certain kind of status in their society may be far more likely, especially militarily.
Utter bullschitt.
I agree with you @kook1028. I think the double disc represents the sun and the moon, the Equinox's etc with the Z-rod depicting summer/winter coming or going.
Where I live we are surrounded by Standing Stones, pictish stones, ancient burial/meeting grounds and lay lines.
We're a highly spiritual area.
Z Rod and discs is thought to be connected to Sun observation and Crescent Moon and V Rod the Lunar , perhaps marking procession certainly I've read symbolic of time.
Living beside the Moray Firth all my life so far I believe the Pictish beastie to be a stylised Dolphin. If you can imagine your ancestors seeing these sea mammals from the shoreline they must have seemed very strange and mysterious to them.
Pretty interested in the Picts myself. Was a little surprised to find out that 20% of my DNA seems to come from Aberdeenshire, the last and greatest holdouts of those folk. Btw, we look like we could be brothers--it's kind of uncanny, in fact.
Did you do the Living DNA brand?
Welcome to Scotland!
I live near an old Pictish fort. Also popped over to Sueno’s stone I love looking and the symbols and trying to imagine what those symbols meant at the time-instead of how we would interpret it now with hindsight and modern biases. The Z-Rod always fascinates me. I think it maybe signifies movement of opposing energies maybe? Like battle. Maybe like Zeus throwing his thunderbolts down. They channel the energy of war gods or something and it depicts the clash of opposing forces?
I think the Z rod means that Zorro was there
Thank you for this video! I am part Scottish and hadn't even heard of the Picts until last year. I appreciate learning more about them.
Who do you think Hadrian built the wall for. It was to help keep picts out & Roman's safe. Got Scottish heritage & quiet proud of it.
@@lonniemonroe2714 Never heard of it.
@@AnneliseBlackbriar it's a Roman wall built close to the modern Scottish border. You can see it in the 1991 film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves
10:00 It is possible that these are like indigenous people's totem animals. Respected for the role that the animal plays, preditor/prey aspects, and how the local population needed these animals to survive.
There's little evidence that Picts ate fish, even those living next to the coast. This is mimicked by Celtic sites further south but it may be that they disposed of fish remains differently to other animals.
@@damionkeeling3103 fish remains are quiet small and could disintegrate unlike bones from the likes of Wild Boar etc
But thats still an interesting read...Fish would be a free and ample supply of food, so it would be interesting to see why they wouldn't use it...Fish oil alone is very useful for survival in other parts of the World... Thanks,.. this will be a good subject to research 👍
The Wolf Symbol is a Symbol still used to this day in relation to my Clan. (The Wilson Clan - "Wolfson") so yes, the Animals are definetely related to Famous Clans, as these Wolf Carvings have been mostly found in Fife (Formely Fib to the picts) where the Wilson Clan is still to this day very prominent.
What salso strange is for some reason, my Clan gravitated back towards this area, started practicing the trades they did in the past and started living very similar to our anscestors without any knowledge of these things.
Im also covered in Pictish Tattoo's and my Favourite colour is Blue. Only just made the connections last year, Very Interesting stufff so thank you for the Video!
My man, I hope you well on your travels
I’ve studied this topic as well… I highly recommend checking out the Aberlemno Stones.
Merlin dances in my head its magical when watching it also shows him making soilders fly in all angles, then it showed roman wars in bird vision.
A wonderfully intelligent, thoughtful exploration of the ancient Pictish culture of Scotland. Thank you for providing such an interesting examination. I'm delighted that you are keeping the ancient ways alive.
Thank you for trying to bring some light to this! Love it but gosh it's so upsetting to think about all of the lost history/knowledge.
Scotland is truly truly a beautiful magical place, proud to say I can trace back my blood line to Scotland 🏴. Thanks for the video and awesome new tattoo ❤
Your family name is famous in Scotland for being a famous clan of thieves and con men. They were the highwaymen of the Scottish Borders.
Not so romantic ❤😛
Have you been there? My family comes from there and when we visited our last relatives clan house (Irving) we got to sign a special guest book for research purposes. It is a very small clan compared to others. You can't even find the clans Tartan in any of the shops. Anyway, each time we visited Scotland it truly felt like coming home.
The quality of this video is great Jacob. Good job! 👍
Thank you! Scottish win doing its best to stop me!
My dream is to visit Scotland someday. Fantastic video.
This video just bought such a flashback to childhood. In school we had a whole picts vs celts thing. I remember having fun drawing all the different symbols and I just loved all the designs and stuff ❤
Usual idiot-level stuff. By an idiot.
Yup so do i i loved the celts and picts and saxsons
Ancestral research and genetic memory is very interesting.
They could relate to constellations. Straight off i can see refrences to sirius (wolf) Cancer (Hawk) Ophiuchus (the snake) Pisces (the fish) Libra (scales) the cresent moon with the alchemical shape of vessel and water (virgo) Boar (capricorn) monocerus (unicorn) and last one im not sure. Thats what i think anyway 😊
Agreed. The symbols he mentioned are viewed as badges, I automatically saw the tracking of sun and moon cycles. The first one being a lunar eclipse, then the snake is tracking the cycles of the sun and moon, creating a wave and in the circle in the center being earth and equatorial belt. The head representing the highest point of the ecliptic and the tail being the lowest. The third being the moons position and phase. The 4th being the halfway point between two suns or stars. Hard to tell the story without more context. That's just the basic jist of the symbols. Then I saw the animals as representations of the 4 fixed points on the zodiacal belt. Fish is pisces usually. Man Aquarius. Time.. it's telling us about time. All the stories everywhere. They're all telling time.
Good comment, and anyone that thinks that the mirror is representative of grooming is daft. Several rivers in Scotland are named Esk ...derived from Asp. The ones I know of are particularly meandering . Nechtan was also connected to the Snake symbol. I think snakes are symbolic of life and magic ...all life comes from water and water is very much the sacred in our early people. As it should be now.
FYI: Oghams. Are actually pronounced as oh-ums.
Some theories I have heard of are that the V Rod represents the cycle of life and death. And the Z rod represents either a storm with the two circles representing clouds and the Z lightening, or, a musical event with the circles and Z being cymbals crashing together.
I live in Inverness where we have reminders of the Picts in street names, and in the shadow of Craig Phadraig, where King Brude had his fort. It is also said that St Columba converted the Picts to Christianity at St Michaels Mound in the city, where the Old High Church is now located. We also have Knocknagael Boar Stone, amongst others that can be viewed.
My theory is the Picts were the remnants of civilisation after the last global catastrophe and gave to the world over time how to use geometry amongst other things.. on another note they tuning forks carved into their stones yet tuning forks weren’t “invented “ until the 1700’s ?! 🤙🏻
I just finished Finlay’s book, “Color . . . “ and her chapter on Indigo discusses Celtic use of woad to color their bodies. Specifically, she mentions the Welsh warriors under Queen Boudicca.
Fascinating! Congratulations for selling all you had to go on this adventure to make wonderful discoveries!
There are many Pictish stones scattered around here in Scotland that you can see and touch and many still to be discovered
I wonder if you are able to still see remnants of the roman Hadrians Wall they built against the Picts, even in those days they were formidable!
The stone carvings remind me of Gobekli Tepe which are believed to be star charts/constellations
I believe there are portions of Hadrian’s wall still in existence!
@The Wisdom Of Odin iirc it's also the inspiration for the Wall in Game of Thrones! Would make a pretty cool video 😉
Hadrian’s wall still exists in many places
@@TheWisdomOfOdinLarge parts of it exist and it is in England, You are a moron.
Thanks for the video, Jacob. Around Burghead in Moray, believed to be the capital of Fortiu, there's a large grouping of Bull symbols which supports the idea of the animal symbols representing a location, family or kingdom. There is also a suggestion that the V-rods represent the position of celestial bodies at the equinoxes with the cresent being the sky. But as you say, we may never know.
They used a blue ink from the leaves of the Woad plant. woad has a yellow flower. McKay, McKiy, McCoy, McGee
Great tat, great vid! ❤ Your style and knowledge really drew me in ^_^ Thank you. I hope we get to learn as much as possible about the Picts and other ancient peoples, to unearth all the remnants there are. I'd like to learn what they called themselves, at least (and maybe how to recite a few Pictish spells...!) 🎉
What about the symbols signify the trades available in the village. The snake a healer, the boar a butcher, comb and mirror a shop for necessities, the double circles a grinder of wheat, etc
They aren't so long gone as some think, just last week I pict some wild berries.
I'm wondering if there is any mention of that one goofy-looking image with horn-like protrusions from its head to be a type of goat? Many cultures relied on the goat for several reasons like wool to keep the Pictish folks warm in that miserable cold and damp climate in modern-day Scotland. Thanks for what you do. These folks fascinate me as do the Celts and the Norse, especially the Old Norse.
Beautiful V-Rod and Crescent Moon tattoo!!!
I’ve also visited Dunadd, we put our foot into the stone and jokingly called ourselves Dalriadan Kings afterwards, gorgeous views from Dunadd Fort!
We’ve got some Ogham stones in Aberdeenshire if you’re ever visiting the area along with several Pictish Stones!
Other museums I’d recommend that are specifically Pictish are:
•Meigle Museum in Angus, all the stones are from the local area and hosts the largest local collection
•Elgin Museum in Moray, has some of the Burghead Bulls
•Groam House museum, in Rosemarkie, Black Isle
•St Vigeans, in Angus
•Dunrobin Castle Museum, Dunrobin in Sutherland
•The Meffan Museum in Forfar, in Angus
Elgin Museum is free, the rest are a few pounds to visit (roughly £5). There are places to visit like Aberlemno which is a collection of roadside Pictish stones and free to visit, so I’d highly recommend Angus in general as it has a LOT of Pictish stones to marvel at.
Fantastic quality as always 💪 love the style of video, very informative
I believe the last theory, the celestial one, makes much more sense than our unfortunate modern sensibilities. Our ancestors knew more about the sky and revered it in a way that is only just coming back to life. The serpent effigy could be Draco. Certain constellations eerily seem to be somewhat uniform across cultures and different continents, which is very interesting to say the least. Pisces is another that shows up across many cultures. The Eagle could be Scorpio, since Scorpio is represented by the scorpion and the eagle, across, once again, many different cultures in far away lands.
Interesting video. Thanks
Loved it, Ty. Been to Scotland 3 times, Ireland 2x. Beautiful!!!
Great video sir! I have always been fascinated by the Picts! They have to be some of the first people to leave the Eurasian Steppe Belt and head west. I know that genetically they are related to the Basques peoples of northern Spain, though their language is very different. I read somewhere that the Picts may have entered into mainland Europe about 7000 years ago, and sailed to Scotland...so you are right there is a LOT of history there that is lost to time. Very interesting stuff Jacob...thank you!
Have you heard of Doggerland?
@@brigidspencer5123 Yes I have!!!
Wow. So interesting. Always been interested in the Picts, from stone remnants seen in NE Scotland.
Great show...happy I came across you.
Was that the cadboll stone in the museum?
I really enjoy your presentations.
Have you moved to Scotland or just visiting.
I moved to loch Lomond 2 years ago, I grew up in Hertfordshire but ran away to Scotland twice when I was young.
I'm 43 now so I moved permanently.
I think Scotland is my souls home.
You know the Picts were supposed to be the last matriarchal society in Britain.
Maybe Scotland will be the first to return to the mother.
Scotia continues to bless this special land.
All the best to you my friend.
I’m betting that the answer to the meaning of these symbols is an amalgamation of these different theories. Religion/spirituality wasn’t separated from mundane life like it is for most people now.
Clans have been around in all ancient cultures all over the world, from very early times. In Native American culture there were clans within tribes.
The Video I needed.🌳
I found you in searching for pre-history information on the Druids and the Picts.
Near St. Andrews the is a “hidden” Druid (and Picts) Sacred Space.
It too has a carved footprint beside a font carved out that has a natural source from the brook below the crags. The steps are carved out of the stone and are the main pathway down to the crags.
There are carvings in the stone faces, coins and colorful crystals placed in natural pockets of one stone face.
It is purported to have been there since circa 4,000 bc.
I say this from the research my travel agent and I found in her research. I will have the glorious opportunity to see it in person this Fall. It’s relatively unknown and is “off the beaten path”.
There is an “alter” area where people have been leaving items for centuries. I plan to take a gem crystal from a Wiccan friend and place it while saying the note she will include with the stone .
I am so excited to just layback on the rocks and listen to the energy of the ages.
I’m a new subscriber and will enjoy getting to know more from you as it relates to belief systems of Scotland, Wales and Britain.
That carved footprint in the stone got me very excited as there is also one at the place I will visit.
This is a small detail, but I really love the font choice for the title cards
The Picts have been in todays Scotland for more than 3000 years, in the north west of Scotland there are many stories both Norse and Pictish there was a land bridge from Norway to Scotland during the iceage 10000 years ago, which in Norway and Scotland the people have green blue eyes, fair skinned, tall, red and blonde hair ❤
But folk descended from Picts and the description of Picts is olive skinned and dark or auburn hair and hazel eyes. The predominant colour of eyes in older genes in Scotland are grey eyes and fairer lighter brown hair , olive skin and brown or hazel eyes and darkish hair not black always a slight hint of auburn. Very different to South and West. These colourings are still in my family and we have done genetic testing we have absolutely no recent European ancestry of any admixture. The folk who settled in Scotland settled many many thousands of years before the last glacial period and unlike parts of England and central and southern Wales there is far less influx of other groups of people. Bugger etic testing has been confined to modern populations without taking in geneologic information and a lot of research has explored Shetland and Orkney for Norse percentages, they should have asked women as well as men to participate who have traced their roots to a high percentage of family members from NE and E of Scotland and Perthshire and Tayside and Angus, They forget in modern Scotland people left to find work or a life as well as previous centuries of expulsion and exile. They should test folk like my Dad . But he doesn't even live in Scotland now due to job hunting in the 1970s. Everybody of ancient Scottish lineage has moved around for hundreds of years and we are very much inter related, but visually and geographically there is pockets of ancient Brythonic people here now you just have to look a folks'faces.
Although not very scholarly, my fascination with Pict culture started after hearing a song by Pink Floyde which happened to be the longest title of any song ever released. It is called, "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In a Cave and Grooving With a Pict". In the spirit of research and digression... off the record "Uma Guma".
If the z-rod is a ritually bent spear then the z-rod that appears with the double disc appears to be a barbed spear, perhaps the Gae Bolg that CuChulainn used.
St Peter be praised, stories aboot the Highlanders. 🏴
I just found out I have heritage from Argyll. So pleased and proud to carry Scots Heritage.
My family's ancestry is from Northern Scotland (Ross Clan) DNA shows Pictish in our bloodline ..
I really enjoyed your video. I'm glad that you've decided to share the wonderful things you're learning on your travels with the public- thanks for that!
Personally, I suspect that the double-disk and Z-rod symbol represents the interconnectedness of this world and the other world. This is only a guess, because most of my knowledge about the ancient pagans in that part of the world centers around my own ancestors, the Irish Celts. I the Irish tradition, the presence of the other world was accepted as a vert real fact of daily life, and a huge amount of the religious practices used by the people had to do with maintaining a peaceful and profitable relationship with the other world and its inhabitants. I know that Scotland as well has many areas of its landscape that seem to contain portals, or crossing-over points into the other world, so I can't help but speculate that perhaps the twin disks in the symbol mentioned above might well have had to do with the harmonious balance with the other world -a balance which doubtlessly had a profound impact upon the quality of life experienced by the ancient peoples of that land.
That's enough from me for now. Best of luck to you. Beir bua agus beannacht! Slan go foill! --N
Excellent video! Thankyou very much!
If there are any people who claim to be descended from pics it might be fun to run their dna against others from surrounding areas. I have always been interested to find out if picts were different in their bodies as well as their culture.
With all the war and grape and pillaging in the past thousands of years, I doubt you could get a definitive answer that way
The double circle is linked representing a shield with a broken arrow. I'm a Celt proven by language as I'm Welsh and by DNA through Oxford ancestors and back home in Wales we have many stones similar to this.
Not saying you're wrong but this is one of the symbols that appears on an earring from the Norrie Law hoard. It would be a strange choice of symbol for a woman to wear.
Sadly, like all invaders the Romans wrote their own view of the ancient Brittons when they took hold of the island which is probably way off the mark. What amazes me is the overwhelming history we Celts have, yet very little is brought to attention in schools. Our history should be a big part of the cariculum but instead we are educated otherwise in different historical matters.
The Picts were the Brits that used the mountains to keep the Romans from taking hold of their land just as we Welsh did the same. What is clear is that when the first wave of Romans arrived, all the Brits were painted using wode. By the time later Romans came to Britain the south Celts had given up their culture and adapted to Roman ways whereas the northern Celts remained as they were. Thus Picts being the painted ones. Dna from recently dug skeleton remains proves they were the same as us Welsh and Cornish people, not to mention the Celts absorbed into the Saxon era.
@@damionkeeling3103 not the Pictish tribes women were involved in battle and could also be head of household. At the Battle of Dunnichen it is said the women lured the horses into boggy ground which allowed the warriors to attack them from the higher ground hidden by the trees.
Interesting note... the mention of the fort... in the second set of information you displayed in words spoke of Fergus. My father's family is from Scotland, my grandfather from Edenborough, and we are part of the Ferguson Clan. The name carried down the male line Ferguson as the middle name.
The picts were not the last pagans in scotland. The heathen Norse from scandinavia raided and occupied lots of land on the east coast and in the islands. Some of the famous dcottish clans even had vikings married into them. One clan is even partly named after a norweigan king.
One of my direct maternal ancestral lines is the name Finn. Interesting to think that it may come from the Picts.
This is a really good detailed analysis
Excellent research :) I totally wish to walk where you have especially the sacered grove! ❤
I did a DNA test and was shicked and proud to find I am of Pictish descent. The information pointed to nothern most points of Scotland. I just wiah we knew more about my ancestors. So far, what ive learned im proud to know Ive deacended from the Picts.
I'm wanting to take a dna test, but I'm scared cos I really want to be from the picts,
@@janetgallacher7552 very hard and expensive to get a test that has that much detail only University studies go into such depth and they haven't done a good study of Pictish descent they were more interested in Norse and ignored mtDNA
I could be wrong but i believe the mirror and comb feature in Clan Murray's crest
I am descendant from the Picts. Very proud of that. My family is Celto Norse. Macdonald of Isle of skye, and MacNeil of barra in the outer hebrides.
If you're a MacDonald you are descended from Somairle (Somerled). Celtic Norse yes, Pict not. MacNeil were also of the Celtic Norse.
Interesting, I'm the think I'm the same, Irvine, Johnston magill are three celtic norse names?.
What about Clan Shaw of Tordorrach? Are they Pictish?
@@jessevanhalen6967 Off the Irish rather than Picts.
@haraldtheyounger5504 That theory is now out of the window afaik, with no archaeological or other evidence of any large-scale migration of peoples from Ireland in ancient times. Rather that there was a gaelic/celtic population living in both countries and who had a shared language and culture.
There can never be the last of anything to a belief for as long as there is people, there is always those who are willing to practice for long as the faith is remembered.
I had thought the ‘crescent and broken arrow’ depicted an early sextant, or some similar tool for tracking the sun and seasons.
Symbology is a fascinating endeavor. The symbols, as language, like Egyptian hieroglyphics, are often indicative of clans. Or as warnings to intruders. Thank you for your insights. You've inspired me to do some research.
The crescent and v rod makes me think of stone cutting. And masons
Enjoyed the video. Enjoyed the information.
Thanks for your time.
I wonder how many others first heard the word "Pict" on the 1969 Pink Floyd album "Ummagumma" and the song called "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict"?
Love that album. 🪓❤
stunningly beautiful...i admire the scots so much...
The double disc looks like a shield I've sometimes seen illustrated with ancient Celts. Do we know if the Picts use that sort of shield?
No we don't. Images show small round or square shields but the double disc could represent an older type shield that lived on as imagery. One symbol looks like the hilt of a Celtic sword, another is possibly a stylised chariot and another a cauldron as seen from above. The weird animal one could be based on dolphins leaping high above the water.
I love your “history of” videos ☺️ Another amazing opportunity to learn about a culture we’ve all but forgotten 😊 and it’s crazy how they literally left their mark behind for us to try to unravel. Thanks for taking us with you 😊
The Cresent and V rod looks very much like a face to me. The double disk and Z rod seems to have a harp or other stringed insturment at its base and strikes me as a symblo of the Fili or other such.
Last two weeks have been a whirlwind.
Two weeks ago I read some Bran Mak Mor, a Robert E Howard character that is leader of the Picts and also learned that day what the word "heath" means.
Only later that week did I make the connection between Heath and Heathen (as well as gentile!) And literally was just talking to my uncle about the story and etymologies, hop in the car and find you posted about the Picts.
The continuous "revolutions", circling back, Synchronicities have just been off the chain and it's been a blast. Thanks for the work you do 🍻 🍯 🍖🥓 and my mom just did her DNA and we found out she's way more Scottish than French as we all assumed, so I'm literally scots Korean, a contradiction!
Best of both worlds, you can have a cool looking kilt but toss the haggis for some delicious BBQ
There are some Picts in Howards Kull the conquer, Brule Spearslayer was one I remember.
@@bluebird3281 so Bran is a descendant of Brule I believe, as his timeline is set in the Roman empire period. There's a big coalition of Northmen, Picts, Britons, all gearing up for a big war against Roman army
Thank you for doing this!! ❤❤