Celtic Cosmology

How Do Hallowfolk's Logos Capture Celtic Cosmology?

This section explores the sacred cosmology encoded in our logo—especially the role of Crom Cruach (say it: Krum CROO-ukh; also seen as Crom Crúaich, Cenn Cruach, or Cenn Crúaich in older Irish texts).  Crom means bent or crooked and Cruach means mound, stack, or heap.   His colloquial reference to “bent one of the broken hills," and “wizened old one of the mist," capture his essence, and he is one of the oldest of the old gods in Celtic lore (although some dispute his very existence, other oral tradition depicts him as a supernatural elemental deity of duality [life and death, day and night]).

It integrates folklore, clan oral history, archaeological references, and scholarly analysis of Irish mythology, historical records, and embedded symbolism.

THE OTHERWORLD & THE SIDHE PORTALS

The Otherworld is not the underworld of punishment. It is Tír na nÓg, Mag Mell, the land of apple trees and eternal youth, a shining silvery shimmering world where both the good and bad go after death awaiting reincarnation from Donn's Island (see Samhain Gods, Goddesses, and Queens👈)—accessed through burial mounds and sacred springs, caves, bridges, and hills.  These portals are called sidhes (say it SHEE).  Crom then, is the lord of the gates between worlds. 

Samhain and Beltaine were the two great liminal (marking the turning point between the dark and light half of the year) fire festivals. At these times, the aos sí (say it EES SHEE, “ees" like "geese", “shee" like “she," or people of the mounds)—the fae, spirits, and dead—could pass through sidhe portals into our world. Bonfires were lit, masks worn, and offerings made to avoid possession or mischief.

Crom, as a god of transitions, ruled both the mounds and the moments. His presence is strongest at Samhain, but his influence returns at Beltaine, when Eithne (in later folklore and Crom Dubh tradition, Lugh's mother is captured by Crom instead of Lugh), the seed of light, returns to Lugh.

THE TWELVE STONES AND THE CIRCLE OF TIME

The logo is modeled after the Killycluggin Stone Circle, where a carved stone head—believed to be Crom—stood among twelve megaliths (according to lore, but it appears from the archaeology of the encircling stones destroyed by Saint Patrick's cult).

The twelve stones echo the solar calendar, wheel of the year, and pre-Celtic cosmograms. Crom sits at the center—not as tyrant, but as axis. The still point around which time, harvest, life, and death turn.

At Samhain, the year’s end, sacrifices and bonfires honored him. At Beltaine (say it BYAL-tin-eh), people celebrated for the light to return, but in the fall they made offerings to Crom to ensure it did. 

Crom’s cycle was never evil—it was necessary.

**DISCLAIMER: COSMOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION THROUGH ORAL TRADITION & MYTH**

The following text mixes archaeology (the study of old things), folk beliefs, and myths from different cultures with old clan stories passed down by word of mouth.  Some gods, like Crom, Dagda, and Balor, are thought to be different versions of the same ancient god, remembered in different ways by different groups. These ideas are based on seasonal traditions, place names, and stories still told today by families and communities.

• Project Gutenberg: MacCulloch, J.A.  The Religion of the Ancient Celts👈
• Megalithic Ireland 👈
• J.D. Castle's Black Dragon Tavern.com  👈 and YouTube Channel 👈
• Chadwick: The Celts (Penguin History) 👈
• Wiki: The Mythological Cycle 👈