Cernunnos

Cernunnos. Digital image. Gothambynight.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. <http://www.gothambynight.com/scion/cernunnos.htm>.jpg

 

“The horned one” or “God of the forest” Cernunnos is considered one of the most important gods in Celtic Myth. Supposedly the “Horned God” possesses the secrets of the universe, and knows all things, past, present, and future. He is connected with male animals, particularly the stag in rut, and this has led him to be associated with fertility and vegetation. With his mighty antlers he is the protector of the forest and in the form as “the green man” he is the god of vegetation and tree, he is also the god of “lust & fertility” and sometimes can be seen as the god of “death and dying” singing to the dead on their way to the spirit world. During the fall, the Horned God dies, as the vegetation and land goes dormant and in the spring he is resurrected to impregnate the fertile goddess of the land. That’s why we see tree leaves and vegetation drop in the fall and then they rise again beautifully in the spring. Cernnunos is sometimes misinterpreted as an evil god and symbol of Satan due to his long devil-like horns but this is not true.

Wiggington, Patti. "Cernunnos - Wild God of the Forest." About.com Paganism / Wicca. About.com, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2012. <http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/godsandgoddesses/p/Cernunnos.htm>.