"The suppression of Cernunnos was and is one
of [the] greatest psychological calamities. Had we
continued to be religiously hospitable to him, he might
have evolved into a gracious theranthropic divine
Patron of integration."
____John Moriarty, Turtle Was Gone a Long Time
Cernunnos (Ker-NUN'nos) is an antlered god surrounded by beasts and vibrant summer leaves like a shamanic, Celtic Orpheus, lord of the animals and master of life. Neither quite deer nor entirely man, his manifestations achieve in our own time. Because he is horned and holds snake, he was expressly demonized by early Christianity, although medieval Europe could not entirely shake off his abiding image and often depicted Christ as the hoofed and horned unicorn, a figure who also meditates between the two natures.
In many depictions, Cernunnos holds the torc or neck-ring of human achievement in his right (or conscious) hand, he grasps the ram-headed serpent of animal wisdom in his left (or unconscious) hand. His eyes are closed in an inward-looking attitude of meditation or ecstasy. For the Celtic world, this was the image of the guardian of life: not a macho or retributive deity, but one of quiet strength, an icon who protected the vital power of all living beings and mediated the powers of spiritual insight and enlightened knowledge. Cernunnos may have been excluded from mainstream religion but he remains wellspring of dynamic mediation among those who follow the old ways. He enables us to appreciate and be obedient to our dual nature: to human beings with the power of the mind, and as evolved animals with the power of the body. He stands between the worlds, visible at forest's edge and twilight, tide-turn and dawn, as a patient and protective figure in the borderlands of consciousness.
"Meditate upon your human and animal powers."
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]
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