The Wind in Ancient Ireland
From A Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland 1906
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CHAPTER XXVI....continued
8. The Wind.
In some old Irish descriptions of the universe, a curious belief is recorded, that the wind blowing from each quarter has a special colour. God made "four chief winds and four subordinate winds, and four other subordinate winds, so that there are twelve winds." The four chief winds blow from north, south, east, and west, and between each two points of these there are two subordinate winds.
"God also made the colours of the winds, so that the colours of all those winds are different from each other." The old writer then enters into details; and the whole fancy is shown very clearly in the diagram.
FIG. 200. The colours of the twelve winds constructed from the description in the Saltair na Rann.