Yew Stick
One of the essential symbols of the story is the yew stick carried by Diuran. The stick is covered with ogam markings. Ogam is the cryptographic script of the druids. Diuran leaves the stick with Mael Muire. The notches on the stick give an account of Mael Duin’s adventures. The author has Mael Muire take the stick as a sign that he will write of these adventures in the Book of the Dun Cow. The servant who waits on Diuran is called Aed Finn whose name appears in another manuscript as its author. This is the author’s way to imply that the ancient sagas are still very much alive and that she is doing her part in preserving them by retelling the stories.
The triple goddess
The lives of the travelers are governed by the triple goddess. As they are more Druid than Christian, they pray to her, offer sacrifices and meet her threefold identity. She rules birth, life and death as she is the maiden, mother and a crone. She is symbolized throughout the novel in diverse ways. She is in the vulva-shaped dolmens, the sacred streams, and the womb-like cave sheltered with megalithic spirals that spell out the endless cycle from birth to death.
White
Aakhus has incorporated the use of many elements to make this novel unique without superseding the authentic narrative. She has added melodramatic effects and one of the clear motifs to embellish the author’s individuality is the persistent use of white. The author uses “white” to describe the cat and the island to liven up the narrative. She remains true to the detail and spirit of the tale whilst using this symbol of white and natural dialogue to renew its atmosphere.
The Skull of Mael Duin's father
Mael Duin carries with him the skull of his father on his voyage. The Celts were head hunters. They would often take the heads of their allies lest they fall into enemy hands. The Celts believed that they could control a person’s afterlife through their head. They believed that the head was a whole person and could play a role in ancestral worship. Mael Duin’s act of carrying the skull with him is in keeping with the Celtic Cult of the severed head. It is a symbol that keeps alive the traditions through the story.
The role of women
Without upsetting the original flow of the narrative, the author has made alterations to few details that enable the readers to analyze the text from a feminist perspective. The mention of women is a recurring motif that shows the author’s predisposition to accentuate the role of women in the hero’s expedition. There are multiple allusions to the triple goddess and the line “We are in the hands of the goddess” has replaced the line “we are in the hands of the Lord.”
