Horned gods in neoPaganism
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- Опубликовано: 24 авг 2023
- Why are these deities so popular? Does a pair of antlers really make you look better?
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Firstly, thank you for making this video and sharing your insight Kris.
Cernunnous, or whatever we decide to call it, has been the most influential and 'real' deity in my own spirituality. I'd always just considered myself an 'eclectic agnostic type' until the horned god(dess) attracted my attention. I'd never heard of Caroline Wise's story but there's something about her story thay rhymes with my own experience.
Namely, what I'm calling Cernunnous was perceived by me while meditating (I'd never had such strong visions during meditation before) as a young bambi-like deer with emeralds for eyes and very short antlers. I couldn't get this strange image out of my mind. The next day i mediated again, as i do everyday, and had the most meaningful and strange experience of my life. The same deer was now a beautiful adult with antlers and clear green eyes and told me it 'carried the forest on it's head'; the forest was supposed to be it's antlers; every tree was something that had died and rebirthed, contributing to the 'forest' for which this deer was implicitly a guardian of. Then it showed me my great grandmother (died 2010, when i was a child) who was buried and had become a young willow tree. From that experience, I've been so interested in celtic deities, and these things are now very meaningful and symbolic to me.
The deer has never told me it's name until I asked after having done research - so my research bias may have kicked in at this point, but who knows. In any case, 'cernunnos' has taken many forms in my meetings with it, all somewhat resembling a deer (although one time i did get a highland cow - but Cernunnous energy was still there), I've never had a sense of its gender though - perhaps it doesn't have a permanent one. Nevertheless, its shown me huge kindness, great wisdom, and I've felt very blessed to have had these experiences and have access to quality sources of information on the topic (including this Channel!).
Great look into Horned gods. I think Daghdha is related to Cernunnos as one of his titles is 'antlered-man' (Fear-benn), like the Welsh character he is called Daghdha-Donn (Dark/black) and carries a club. His name would not be written the same since Ireland was not Romanised, however I think Cernunnos was later introduced as the character Cernach. He may also be the same character as St. Cornely patron saint of animals.
I think it's a huge assumption that Fear-benn means "horned man". It could mean man of the mountains, or man like a mountain (quite likely), or many other things. Dôn in Welsh doesn't mean dark, if that's what you mean.
I hadn't heard of St Cornely - interesting.
@@KrisHughes Huge-assumption - well i would not go that far (but i have said that in the past). The term 'benn' is attested to meaning stag 'horns' - look to eDil where it is even glossed in latin as 'cornu' (Latin. Horn). It can mean 'man of peaks' or 'pointed-man', the bull Fionn-bennach would be 'having white-peaks' (white-horned). Not to mention the character Furbaide ferbend (fer-benn, horned-man) who is said to have horns.
In Ireland Donn (also called Daghdha-Donn - not Dôn) is generally seen as the same deity, he is also called the 'Red-god'. St. Cornely was later replaced by the more popular St. Frances.
None of this is set in stone and i don't claim to known these things as fact but i do think they are worth keeping an open mind about.
Thanks for the detailed video, I think it did the topic justice!
I do honour Cernunnos as one of the horned gods you mentioned, and it's hard to explain my relationship with him as a deity, but it was very much more Cernunnos that led me to paganism than paganism leading me to Cernunnos. I'm comparatively recently pagan but almost my whole life I have felt a connection with what I believe Cernunnos represents (some of which you touched on in the sense of reconnecting with the wild and nature, but also liminality and mediation, rebirth of the natural world through death, and more), I just didn't have a name for it.
When I came across Cernunnos I was shocked that there was a deity who represented these things, and that led me to explore paganism further. For that reason Cernunnos is one of, if not the most important deity for me. I can't know whether or not he is the same god who was worshiped by some Celts in more than name, but I do believe he (and what he represents) has been around as a deity since ancient times and across multiple cultures, in one form or another. He has been a strong guiding influence on my life, and I try to live in balance with nature as a result, but I know there are some (many) whose worship of Cernunnos and other horned gods can present as more superficial and naive.
I always wondered about this. I’m seeing this on superheroes in action movies.
You mean the antler fad? It's insane.
in the case of the modern imaging of Cernunos gods have been reimagined many times throughout history to suit the place and time in which they exist I do believe their needs to be a distinction between the modern and historical incarnations of Cernunos but I'm not against the idea of reimagining gods to suit the times . Such is natural and keeps these things relevant to the people who revere them.
I think it's tricky to even make modern/historical distinctions with Cernunnos - as far as actual beliefs about Him.
Very informative thanks.
I come by way of Mhara's podcast, you seem a knowledgeable person, thanks for your works.
Thank you! I'm glad you found us both!
It’s hard to ignore the symbolic parallels of Indo-European deities like Shiva Cernnunos Hermes (or Pan) and even Wotan possesses similar traits considering the rune Algiz (the elk). All of these deities have a dual nature inspiring both fear (darkness) and wisdom (enlightenment).
Once again, great video fantastic analysis. I so do enjoy your knowledge and insights.
Thank you!
Thank you ❤
You're welcome!
This was interesting but why do you sound like an american trying to fake a scottish accent?
Not trying to fake anything. I am an American who lived in Scotland for several decades, and that's just what I sound like. I'm afraid you'll just have to adjust. Lots of folk do have mixed accents - maybe you should get out more.
@KrisHughes Well, I like it 😊