Post by Lady Silver Vixen on Dec 16, 2010 14:42:15 GMT -5
The Horned God.
The Horned God is the Goddesses Consort, and in some traditions is considered to be made from her own body. The actual phrase “Horned God” predates Wicca, and is a 20th Century term for a horned or antlered anthropomorphic (a resembling of human form) god. He is the symbol of Male energy in the form of the divine. He’s the Masculine to the Feminine, the Yin to the Yang. He’s present to help maintain the natural polarity and duality in nature. He is the lord of the woodlands, the hunt and animals. He provides for the tribe through the hunt and is honored or rewarded for his deed by being permitted to copulate with goddess through the great rite. He is also the animal that is hunted, in representation of hunted and hunter.
The Horned God is the lord of life, death and underworld, and is the Sun to the Goddess’ Moon. He alternates with the Goddess in ruling over the fertility cycle of birth, death and rebirth. He is born at the winter solstice, unites with the goddess in marriage at Beltane, and dies at the summer solstice to bring fertility to the land as the Sacred King.
The Horned God is not just a Celtic representation of the God, nor does he solely belong to Wicca, as he has been associated with many deities throughout the world.
Here are a few examples:
Cernunnos- the Celtic God of fertility, animals and the underworld.
Herne The Hunter- a specter of Britain
Pan- The Greek God of the Woodlands
Janus- the Roman god of good beings
Tammuz and Damuzi- the son, lover and consorts to Ishtar and Inanna
Osiris- the Egyptian Lord of the underworld
Dionysus- The Greek god of vegetation and vine
The Green Man- The lord of Vegetation and the Woodlands.
The God is also seen in some traditions as the beast who is sacrificed so that human life may continue, as well as the sacrifice, the one who sheds blood. He is also seen as the sun, eternally hunting the moon across the sky. The waxing and waning of the sun throughout the seasons manifest the cycle of birth, death, creation and dissolution, separation and return.
The Horns on the Horned God are believed to represent his domain over the woodlands, and his association with the bull and ram, the animal consorts of the Goddess. His horns also symbolize the crescent moon, the symbol of the Goddess, and represents the increase in all things and waxing fertility. The High Priest also personifies the Horned God in the performance of the two of his duties as the guardian and keeper of the coven. Performing these duties allow the high priestess to carry out the spiritual work of the coven.
Painting discovered in the Caverne de Trois Freres at Ariege, France provides evidence of the first views of the Horned one. Depicted as a stag standing upright on hind legs with the upper body of a man, the figure is celebrating what appears to be a hunt and wooing a woman.
Now the main thing that causes most controversy, and that’s the association with Christian Devil. Many pagans, and even historians believe that there is NO association between the two beings. Christianity has confusingly tried to make such a connection. Some of this confusion comes from some of the things that were stated and acted out the famous Satanist Anton Sandazor LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan, and a former carnival barker and mentalist. He annexed the shape, which references a creature with horns, as the symbol of Satanism, which is usually the God Baphomet, who is actually the true personification of the natural duality in nature. The head of a goat, the body of a man, the breasts of a woman, and the feet of a goat (this imagery slightly differs from culture to culture), with two fingers up, and two fingers on the other hand pointing down in symbolism of “As above, so below”.
The Horned God is the Goddesses Consort, and in some traditions is considered to be made from her own body. The actual phrase “Horned God” predates Wicca, and is a 20th Century term for a horned or antlered anthropomorphic (a resembling of human form) god. He is the symbol of Male energy in the form of the divine. He’s the Masculine to the Feminine, the Yin to the Yang. He’s present to help maintain the natural polarity and duality in nature. He is the lord of the woodlands, the hunt and animals. He provides for the tribe through the hunt and is honored or rewarded for his deed by being permitted to copulate with goddess through the great rite. He is also the animal that is hunted, in representation of hunted and hunter.
The Horned God is the lord of life, death and underworld, and is the Sun to the Goddess’ Moon. He alternates with the Goddess in ruling over the fertility cycle of birth, death and rebirth. He is born at the winter solstice, unites with the goddess in marriage at Beltane, and dies at the summer solstice to bring fertility to the land as the Sacred King.
The Horned God is not just a Celtic representation of the God, nor does he solely belong to Wicca, as he has been associated with many deities throughout the world.
Here are a few examples:
Cernunnos- the Celtic God of fertility, animals and the underworld.
Herne The Hunter- a specter of Britain
Pan- The Greek God of the Woodlands
Janus- the Roman god of good beings
Tammuz and Damuzi- the son, lover and consorts to Ishtar and Inanna
Osiris- the Egyptian Lord of the underworld
Dionysus- The Greek god of vegetation and vine
The Green Man- The lord of Vegetation and the Woodlands.
The God is also seen in some traditions as the beast who is sacrificed so that human life may continue, as well as the sacrifice, the one who sheds blood. He is also seen as the sun, eternally hunting the moon across the sky. The waxing and waning of the sun throughout the seasons manifest the cycle of birth, death, creation and dissolution, separation and return.
The Horns on the Horned God are believed to represent his domain over the woodlands, and his association with the bull and ram, the animal consorts of the Goddess. His horns also symbolize the crescent moon, the symbol of the Goddess, and represents the increase in all things and waxing fertility. The High Priest also personifies the Horned God in the performance of the two of his duties as the guardian and keeper of the coven. Performing these duties allow the high priestess to carry out the spiritual work of the coven.
Painting discovered in the Caverne de Trois Freres at Ariege, France provides evidence of the first views of the Horned one. Depicted as a stag standing upright on hind legs with the upper body of a man, the figure is celebrating what appears to be a hunt and wooing a woman.
Now the main thing that causes most controversy, and that’s the association with Christian Devil. Many pagans, and even historians believe that there is NO association between the two beings. Christianity has confusingly tried to make such a connection. Some of this confusion comes from some of the things that were stated and acted out the famous Satanist Anton Sandazor LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan, and a former carnival barker and mentalist. He annexed the shape, which references a creature with horns, as the symbol of Satanism, which is usually the God Baphomet, who is actually the true personification of the natural duality in nature. The head of a goat, the body of a man, the breasts of a woman, and the feet of a goat (this imagery slightly differs from culture to culture), with two fingers up, and two fingers on the other hand pointing down in symbolism of “As above, so below”.