Scáthach Symbolism

The symbol of our Order originated back in the early 1990s before I wrote any of my Warrior books and was experimenting with a training coven. The name of that coven was the “OODC”, which stood for “Our Own Damn Coven”. It was a name that started as a joke but stuck. The OODC was what got me thinking of the concepts that I needed to develop for the Order of Scáthach to become a reality. When I sat down to create a symbol for this concept, this is what almost immediately came to me. Looking back at it now I see that it encapsulated much of the meaning that has become the Order of Scáthach now.

What does that symbolism mean to me? The moon represents the divine feminine. It represents the intuition and psychic power that directs and inspires us on our path as Warriors. The branch silhouetted against the moon is a symbol of the divinity which shines through us and illuminates our Warrior path. The upright branch represents the divine masculine. It represents the life energy, chi, that flows through us and helps us to grow and achieve on our Warrior path. This branch, with it’s three leaves, represents our growth as Warriors through our three degrees: From Novice to Squire to Knight and, ultimately, to Master.

The three leaves also represent the dubbing ritual that forms part of the Arming ritual that makes us Knights. This is where the Grand Master taps the initiate with the sword first on the right shoulder, then the left shoulder, then the right shoulder again.