celtichammerclub

This latest design is of the GREEN MAN! This frondescent fellow is very much a mystery, but it is widely accepted that he is a pre-Christian, Celtic nature spirit representing the cycle of life, and the rebirth of plants and nature in the Spring. The green man went into hiding with the spread of Christianity, but vestiges of his viny visage continued to appear in the carvings of churches, chapels, and cathedrals. In fact, there are more than 110 green men carved into the crevices of the esoteric Rosslyn Chapel (the cryptic chapel associated with the Knights Templar after they were disbanded and went into hiding). The oldest found carving of the leafy lad's foliate face dates back to 400 AD! The green man archetype is connected t...

The Celtic Cross is one of the most popular and enduring symbols of Celtic identity and culture. In the Dark Ages, as the Celtic populations of Britain and Ireland were converted to Christianity, they brought some of their older, pre-Christian style to the symbols of Christianity. What was born was the Celtic Cross. A unique blend of the Old Celtic religion and the new Christian religion.

Jörmungand (pronounced YOUR-man-gand), or Jörmungandr in Old Norse is the "Midgard (Earth) Serpent". He is a tremendous snake whose body is so long that it stretches around the Earth completely! Jörmungandr lurks beneath the waters of Midgard where Norse hero Thor is in constant pursuit of this slippery beast. The poetic Eddas of Norse mythology describe a variety of encounters between Thor and Jörmungandr with Jörmungandr always narrowly escaping Thor's wrath. Finally, in the events of Ragnarok, Thor and Jörmungandr have their final battle! Thor finally kills the phantom creature! However, the monster's deadly breath poisons Thor, and he staggers nine paces before falling over, dead. This artwork is Neo-Nordic, meaning it ha...

Do you love beer?? I do! Are you fascinated by the mysterious legend that is the GREEN MAN? You should be! For those that don't know, carvings of mysterious, leafy faces dot the corners, crevices and doorways of many medieval churches and castles. Is it just merely a decoration, or something more? Experts seem to think that the green man bears more significance than simply a stylistic choice. While the real story behind this viny creature will remain a mystery, there is no doubt that his influence has been felt for centuries. Legendary figures that we still enjoy hearing about today such as Robin Hood, Peter Pan, the Green Knight from Arthurian legend are all based on the green man archetype. The green man is also present in man...

Most are familiar with Thor, god of thunder, and his war hammer, Mjölnir, but from whence did this mighty, magical mallet materialize? Mjölnir was forged by two bristly dwarf brothers who lived deep in the caverns of the dwarf homeland, Svartalfheim. The artwork representing this story has many of the details from the mythology. If you look closely, you can see all the gifts created by the dwarves scattered around them with the mighty Mjölnir sitting at the center above the anvil. You can see the trickster, Loki in fly form near Brokkr’s eye. Mjölnor has such great weight and importance in mythology and in contemporary culture that I think the back story to its creation is important and interesting. I think this piece captures...

Tattoo style drawing showing a skull being split by Mjölnir, the hammer of Thor, the Norse god of thunder. The image is surrounded by old school, Sailor Jerry, style lettering to give it that old school tattoo look.

The "Brothers" theme is meant to reflect the important and especially strong bond between brothers. The writing on the shirt is meant to describe the meaning of the "Brothers" Celtic design that accompanies it.

In Celtic culture, the mysterious image of a horned being permeates from the Iron Age in the Gaulish La Tène culture all the way up to 19th century England in the legends of Herne the Hunter. In spite of several depictions of a “horned god” in Celtic artwork throughout the centuries, the answers to exactly who this horned being was is not clear. The name “Cernunnos” is found on an artifact known as “the Pillar of the Boatman”. It’s a carving from the first century CE, and it is the only time the name Cernunnos appears in reference to this horned being. However, the oldest image of Cernunnos is found on the Gundestrup Cauldron, an Iron Age relic of the ancient Celtic people of mainland Europe. Modern interpretation speculates that C...

The Norse/Germanic god of thunder, Thor was one of the most popular deities in the Medieval world. His popularity continues to the present day. In fact, you may even say that Thor is seeing a resurgence of popularity, and not just because of the Marvel movies that portray him as a sort of awkward frat boy from outer space. TV shows such as the Vikings, Game of Thrones, The Last Kingdom, etc. have stirred an interest in Thor and the other gods of old. So most people are now familiar with Thor and his mighty hammer that he uses to smash frost giants back to the icy depths from whence they came. However, not everyone knows that Thor's hammer has a name, Mjölnir (pronounced: myol-neer), and that the image of Mjölnir was worn as a pen...

This fictional Ale Haus is located in Heathentown, and it's mascot is the mysterious green man of European folklore. The green man can be found carved into the doorways and crevices of medieval churches and castles throughout Europe, but who is he?? Some believe he is a pre-Christian nature spirit. A steward of the old religion when man's relationship to nature was held with the utmost regard. Still others believe that he represents Saxon outlaws who waged a guerrilla war against the invading Normans. From Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to Robin Hood. The green man archetype permeates throughout legend and lore, and yet, he is still a mystery. Perhaps that is his charm. The Hop and Barley green man's face is made from the same p...

I absolutely love October. It finally cools off enough that I can feel comfortable again. I love the look of the leaves as they change color. I love all the pumpkin ales and Oktoberfest beers that are out, and I love Halloween. What I didn't realize until adulthood was that all the Halloween traditions that I grew up with had its roots in pre-Christian, Pagan, Gaelic Ireland and Scotland. Everything from witches to pumpkin carving to dressing in costumes and trick or treating comes from the ancient Celtic cultures. They called the holiday Samhain (pronounced "sow-in"), and it was a day that marked the end of the summer harvest season, and the start of the "darker" part of the year; the start of the winter. Celtic tradition held t...

Oatmeal Stout

The Irish immigrants made quite the impression when they landed on American shores. Their penchant for fighting and rowdiness has been immortalized with ideas of the "fighting Irish," the "Irish temper," and another famous phrase which has become mainstream. "Don't Get My Irish Up" means "don't provoke me, or my Irish temper will come out, and you'll know why we are known as the 'fighting Irish'!"