Rowan & Ojo de Dios Crosses
Rowan Cross
Ojo de Dios Cross
A Rowan Cross is simply made with a couple of twigs from a Rowan tree, bound together with a red ribbon or red wool in the centre. These are currently popular with Neopagans, especially in Europe. On the other side of the pond in Central America, the Huichol people of northwestern Mexico have a similar amulet with the Ojo de Dios Cross, except the multi-coloured wool, braid or ribbon is extended and woven between the cross bars for added power.
Ojo de Dios means 'God's eye' (see also All Seeing Eye Cross), and the four cross points relate to the usual four 'classical elements' of life: earth, fire, air, and water. Like the Rowan Cross, the Ojo de Dios provides the bearer with health and good fortune.
For brevity on the remainder of this page, we refer to both crosses as Twig Crosses. The Brighid Cross is often made with straw and has a similar appearance to the Twig Cross.
Easy to make a mistake when they look so alike, but do not fall into the trap of confusing the Twig Cross and the Brighid Cross.
The Twig Cross is Pagan and the Brighid Cross is Christian. Do not fall into the trap of confusing Paganism with Christianity.
The Twig Cross is believed to bring the bearer good luck and offer protection from the evil eye.
And things like that.
The Brighid Cross is different. The Brighid Cross symbolises the sacrifice of Jesus when he was crucified to save mankind of sin, and through that salvation, secure everlasting spiritual life for believers.
And things like that.
How the Twig Cross brings good fortune
But how two twigs tied together with coloured wool can achieve good luck and protection from the evil, is seldom explained. The impossibility of being able to attribute any changes in circumstances to a Twig Cross makes such claims highly dubious.
But hey! Who cares 'how'? As long as the result is good luck and protection from the evil eye.
The salvation secured through the Christian cross, however, is explained in countless volumes of stuff (here's a quick summary in case you haven't read about it yet.)
So the two crosses are similar in that they claim to beneficial and we (you, me, and everyone else) can choose which of those two crosses to adopt. And here's a bonus: You can have both if you wish.
But first, let's compare them again.
The Twig Cross
The Twig Cross is supposed to bring you good luck. The luck is not specified. It might be a little bit of good luck, or it might be a whole pile of good luck. It might be money, romance, promotion at work or good health. It might be just once, or it might be last a lifetime. There are no specifics in any Pagan scripts, and interestingly, there is no evidence of anyone benefitting at all from Twig Crosses, except perhaps for the pedlars who sell each pair of twigs for $10 or so.
The Christian cross
The Christian cross is not supposed to enrich your life with money, romance, promotion at work or good health. The Christian cross symbolises the love of God. It's not the material that the cross might be made of, and it's not any accompanying ritual. It's not a couple of twigs and a short length of red wool, but the love of the God who created those twigs and short length of red wool. The God who created not only the twigs but the whole tree; every tree, billions of them. God created not only the whole ball of red wool, but He also created the sheep. All sheep. All people. You, me, and even those people who make Twig Crosses.
The choice
The choice is yours: Two twigs, a short length of red wool, crossed fingers and a bit of appropriate chanting; or instead, the acceptance of the love shown by God in the Crucifixion of His Son Jesus.
See the Meaning of the Cross.
