Cernunnos (deity)

Symbol: Stag horns

Culture: Celtic

Cernunnos was the Celtic god known as the Lord of the Wild Things. He was associated with wild animals, the hunt, the forest, fertility, and regeneration. He was also associated with prosperity and the underworld.

Cernunnos had the body of a man and the antlers of a stag on his head. He was also known as the Horned One or the antlered god. His name means "horned." He was an important god, and some scholars say he was, in fact, the principal god of the Celts.

The Celts, also spelled Kelts, were an ancient Indo-European people. Their geographic region extended from the British Isles (especially Ireland, Wales, and Scotland) and Spain to Asia Minor.

Although the written name Cernunnos has only been found once on a French carving, the many depictions of an antlered god in art and literature are assumed to be Cernunnos. Cernunnos was frequently depicted in art wearing stag horns and holding a torque. A torque, also spelled torc, is a sacred metal neck ring. It usually signified nobility. The torque sometimes hung from Cernunnos’s antlers. Sometimes, the god had ram-headed serpents twined around his legs, or the serpents actually replaced his legs. He usually was surrounded by animals, especially stags. He was also shown with three flying cranes.

The antlers of Cernunnos are generally thought to indicate male strength and fertility. The antlers also represent prosperity. Cernunnos was often shown with other signs of prosperity and fertility, including bags of money and the cornucopia, or horn of plenty. The serpents that often accompanied his image were seen as symbols of fertility and regeneration.

In Mythology

There are no myths that use the name Cernunnos. However, scholars point out that horned gods appear in many myths and that these deities may represent Cernunnos.

The Irish hero Conall Cernach is thought by some scholars to be representative of Cernunnos. Both names contain cern, meaning "horn." Cernach is described in one myth as a man who has a snake wrapped around him; such an image is the way Cernunnos himself is sometimes depicted.

The myth of Owain is told in the Mabinogion, an ancient collection of Welsh tales. In the story, Owain encounters a black giant who rules the animals of the forest. Although he has no antlers, this black giant is identified with Cernunnos.

Cernunnos has been associated with Herne the Hunter, a horned god of the forest. Herne led a hunt through the forest at night and kidnapped mortals, who then had to ride with him for eternity.

Cernunnos has also been compared to figures in mythologies from other peoples of the world. When surrounded by wild animals and seated, for example, Cernunnos is said to resemble the Hindu god Shiva. It is said that Shiva loved the forest so much that he made himself into the horned Pashupati, Lord of the Beasts. Images of a seated horned god appear in the seals of the Harappan people of the Indus River valley civilization. This ancient Indian civilization existed from about 2600 BCE to 1700 BCE.

Sometimes, Cernunnos was shown as a three-headed god. This image may have shown his connection with Mercury, a Roman god of commerce, and also Jupiter, the principal god of the Romans. Sometimes, Mercury, who is depicted wearing horns, led souls to the underworld. Some suggest that the second god was actually Apollo, not Jupiter. As evidence to support this claim, they point to a sculpture from Reims, which shows Apollo to the right of Cernunnos, with Mercury to his left.

Cernunnos is also identified with the Greek god Pan. Pan likewise has horns and is a god of the forest and of fertility.

Pagan religions also have a deity similar to Cernunnos. The Green Man, for example, a pagan god of the forest, is often shown with horns and surrounded by, or clothed in, leaves and vegetation.

Origins and Cults

Cernunnos was worshipped by the Celts in both Britain and Europe. The Christian churches sometimes identify Cernunnos with Satan, or the devil, probably because of his horns. Wiccans, Druids, and Pagans, however, honor Cernunnos. Wiccans see him as representing the seasons of the year, dying in the fall and rising again in the spring. For the Wiccans, the god is a symbol of fertility and the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

One belief is that the horned god is born on the longest night of the year, the winter solstice. He dies on the shortest night of the year, the summer solstice. During these two times, it is said that there are no barriers that might prevent the deity from interacting with the mortal world. On May 1, or Beltane, which falls between the horned god’s birth in December and death in June, the deity marries the goddess of the moon. Beltane is an ancient festival that is still celebrated with bonfires, flowers, and Maypole dancing.

The image of Cernunnos has been found on a rock carving in Italy from the fourth century BCE. He is included on the Gundestrup Cauldron, a silver vessel found in Denmark that dates from the first century BCE. The cauldron is carved in great detail and depicts humans, animals, and gods. The cauldron itself was a sign of abundance. Among other figures, Cernunnos is seen seated in a cross-legged position, surrounded by two torques, a stag, and a ram-horned serpent.

The only place the name Cernunnos appears in writing is on the Pillar of the Boatmen, a stone pillar from 14 CE. The sculpture, which was found under the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, is believed to have originally been positioned on the left bank of the Seine River. It may also have stood on an island in the middle of the Seine. The pillar is believed to have been commissioned by boatmen of the Seine. Sixteen carved Roman and Gaulish deities are depicted and named on the pillar. The first letter of Cernunnos is missing, leaving only -ernunnos. The bottom portion of the carving of Cernunnos is also missing. His antlered head has a torque hanging from each antler, and he is depicted looking directly at the viewer.

Bibliography

Aldhouse-Green, Miranda J. Celtic Myths: A Guide to the Ancient Gods and Legends. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2015. Print.

Cotterell, Arthur. The Illustrated A-Z of Classic Mythology: The Legends of Ancient Greece, Rome and the Norse and Celtic Worlds. Wigston: Lorenz, 2013. Print.

MacKillop, James. Myths and Legends of the Celts. London: Penguin, 2006. Print.

Monaghan, Patricia. The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore. New York: Facts On File, 2004. Print.

Rutherford, Ward. Celtic Mythology: The Nature and Influence of Celtic Myth, from Druidism to Arthurian Legend. 1987. San Francisco: Weiser, 2015. Print.

Whittock, Martyn J. A Brief Guide to Celtic Myths & Legends. Philadelphia: Running, 2013. Print.