The Celtic Horned God of Fertility
"The Horned One" is a Celtic god of fertility, life, animals, wealth, and the underworld. He was worshiped all over Gaul, and his cult spread into Britain as well. Cerrunos is depicted with the antlers of a stag, sometimes carries a purse filled with coin. The Horned God is born at the winter solstice, marries the Goddess at Beltaine, and dies at the summer solstice. He alternates with the Goddess of the moon in ruling over life and death, continuing the cycle of death, rebirth and reincarnation. Paleolithic cave paintings found in France that depict a stag standing upright or a man dressed in stag costume seem to indicate that Cerrunos' origins date to those times. Romans sometimes portrayed him with three cranes flying above his head. This was the image that was used to symbolize Satan in the Christian religion. To the Celts, Cerrunos (or Herne, as he is also known) was the the Lord, the consort of the Lady, and not even remotely a symbol of evil. He is one of the principle Gods worshiped today among Pagans.
Cerrunos was worshiped by the iron age Celts all across Europe as late as the first century AD, and his worship must have begun centuries before that. The Celts had no written language of their own, and although their druids could write in Latin and Greek they were forbidden to write down any of their knowledge. The classical writers themselves never mentioned this particular Celtic divinity, and so we have nothing in writing about him at all. Everything we know about him can only be guessed at from the iconography: the images of him created by the Celts themselves. The Celts made numerous models, or icons, of their various gods, and there are over 60 depicting Cerrunos, from all over Europe. We only know his name because it is carved on a single one of these, made by sailors from the Gallic Parisii tribe (from whom Paris got its name) in the first century AD, by which time Gaul (modern France) had become a Roman province. The earliest image of him that has been found was carved on rock in Northern Italy in the 4th century BC. We do not know how widespread the use of this exact name was: it is possible that this was the name for this antlered god to no-one but the Parisii themselves, but the structure of the name suggests otherwise. Cornu in modern French means "horned, because modern French has grown from the Latin language imposed upon them by the Romans. The Latin for horn is also cornu. The Romans had a habit of changing local names to fit the Roman pattern: most Roman names end in us. So Cerrunos is a Roman name meaning Horned One. It was probably the new Romanized name given by the Gauls to all their very old horned gods, in which case its use may have been widespread through out Gaul after it became a Roman province. The images of him are unusually consistent. His main attribute are his horns, those of a stag. He is usually portrayed as a mature man with long hair and a beard. He wears a torc: this was an ornate neck-ring worn by the Celts to denote nobility. He often carries other torcs in his hands or hanging from his horns. He is usually portrayed seated and cross-legged, in the meditative or shamanic position. Cerrunos is nearly always portrayed with animals, in particular the stag. He is also frequently associated with a unique beast that seems to belong only to him: a serpent with the horns of a ram. Less often he is associated with other beasts, including bulls, dogs and rats. The ram-horned serpent is particularly interesting. The serpent occurs in myths all across the world, and is nearly always associated with knowledge. Usually these associations are purely pagan, but remember that it was a serpent that tempted Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge. It is also commonly associated with death and the otherworld, and is hence described as cthonic. Cerrunos carries it in his left hand, and in his right he carries a torc, the Celtic symbol of nobility, the symbol of having been initiated into that special state. Was Cerrunos the Celtic god of initiation?
The Song of Amergin
I am a stag of seven tines,
I am a wide flood on a plain,
I am a wind on the deep waters,
I am a shining tear of the sun,
I am a hawk on a cliff,
I am fair among flowers,
I am a god who sets the head afire with smoke.
I am a battle waging spear,
I am a salmon in the pool,
I am a hill of poetry,
I am a ruthless boar,
I am a threatening noise of the sea,
I am a wave of the sea,
Who but I knows the secrets of the unhewn dolmen?
Origin obscure but certainly Celtic
Because of his frequent association with beasts he is often referred to as The Lord of the Animals. Because of his association with stags in particular (a particularly hunted beast) he is also known as The Lord of the Hunt. The Stag Lord, The Horned God of the Hunt, The Lord of the Forest...of all the Celtic divinities (with the exception of Danu) none has caught the imagination of modern pagans so much as Old Horny himself.
The Green Man is the ever-returning energy of vegetation and wild Nature. His magic is celebrated throughout the world, but he is most often associated with northern Europe and Celtic cultures.
The great cathedrals of Europe are adorned with thousands of Green Man gargoyles and carvings. The Dark-Ages, the Middle-Ages and the Renaissance saw European indigenous religions and Nature under constant attack by the Christian church.
During the church's most virulent wars on the people's belief in the sanctity of Nature, stone masons carved images of the Green Man and Sheela-Na-Gig into Christian cathedrals as part of the ornamentation. The presence of the Green Man and the Sheela-Na-Gig remained strong and constant source of strength to the people. The Green Man's image silently echoed the spirit of the Sacred Cycles of Nature.
Today the Green Man is re-emerging into our consciousness, along with the Goddess. His presence brings balance and energy to the reclaiming of our ancient heritage. Throughout the ages the Goddess has often appeared with a male aspect in the form of Horus, Tammuz, the Horned God, Green Man and many others.
It is through the Green Man that many men come to understand Nature's mysteries and connect with the Goddess.
The return of the Green Man brings new hope and understanding of the true strengths of balanced masculine energy. For too long, men have been isolated from that part of themselves that honors the Sacred Mother, the divine in Nature, and the true divinity in themselves.
Drumming, piping and chanting draws the Green Man close. The slow, steady healing rhythm of drumming opens the psyche and expanded awareness, attracting the playful and powerful aspects of the Green man.
Cerrunos
He dances the Moon with power and grace
Amidst the hills and trees, in His sacred space
A dancer moving swiftly between the realms
There in the leaves . . . . what do you see?
If you honor the Old Ways ~ it may be He
Stonehenge is accepted as an Ancient Druid Stone Circle. It is the best known of the many ancient ritual sites in the British Isles. The Druid Priests and Priestesses were the most learned and respected visionaries, seers, healers and astronomers of their time.
The Druids presided over the spiritual well being of the community and at Tara, even the High Kings spoke only after the Chief Druid had spoken. High Queens also played an important role at Tara. The High Kings were granted their authority to rule only by the presence of their High Queen. She was the living embodiment of the Goddess and represented the will of the people to be governed. Without her blessing, a King could not govern or become a High King of Ireland.
The mysteries of Nature are waiting to reveal themselves to you, just outside the realm of the mundane. . . . . If you follow the path of the dancing Cerrunos, you may find that the world is a much more magical place than you ever imagined. . . . . Embrace a tree, relax in a garden, or sit in a wooded glen, to find the Green Man. Focus on the mystery of a single clump of grass or a leaf. . . . . . If you are patient and engrossed in your appreciation of simple nature, the Green Man will come to you!
