Cernunnos

Cernunnos

The primordial God has been represented in many ways over time, it has incarnated many times among men, being one of its most popular incarnations that of Cernunnos as regent God of certain parts of Europe Centuries before Christ.

Cernunnos is one of the main incarnations of the Sun God on earth, son and at the same time consort of the Mother Goddess, is the deity that protects us when we entered his territory and which we pray to in the hours that the Sun shines in the firmament.

A major facet of the Father God both in Wicca and in the diversity of neo-pagan religions is Cernunnos, the God of abundance, fertility and wild animals, the complex King protector of the forests and everything that inhabits them, Lord who rules over all the beasts and rules equally over men and mostly the masculine.

Cernunnos is represented as a fairly large, muscular man with long, thick beard, ears and antlers of “Cervidae” (deer), and carrying a Torque or closed metal collar, is very common in older representations to find him accompanied by a snake with horns that symbolizes renewal and change.

Cernunnos is presented to us in the form of a bald old man with a beard, dressed in skins and usually carries a stick of dark wood that is usually his partner snake in a more discreet manner, is rigid in its rules and very demanding with his devotees but highly protective of those who worship him.

Cernunnos protects forests and the animals being who ridicule or lose hunters who enter his lands, as the God of nature also protects men provided they do not hunt for competition or pleasure.

It was the ruling deity of Denmark and Scotland before these countries received the names. In fact Cernunnos was adored by shamans from the first two centuries before the advent of Christianity.

As deity rules over men and wild animals alike, being the ruler of all living things that move by air, land and water while the Moon Goddess rules above plants and gardens and over certain specific forest creatures who act as their messengers, such as butterflies, frogs, rabbits and lambs.

Cernunnos is worshiped while the Sun is on the scene at any time of day, before sunset and after sunrise. He is worshiped in forests, rivers and fields. Meals are prepared out of fruits and grains to decorate his Altar and they are serviced between dawn and noon. In his Altar are often placed leather garments and representations of various wild animals like the lion, the bear, the deer and the ox.

Cernunnos especially protects the wooden houses, the homes surrounded by woods and gardens and the men who work with their hands as blacksmiths, mechanics, hunters, artists and craftsmen. In order to receive his protection, some people tattoo an image of God or a solar symbol on the wrist, abdomen or neck.

From the Book "Rites of Happiness"
Author: Elhoim Leafar
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Available in: CreateSpace and Amazon Kindle