Fourth Mythology Synchroblog Reminder

A quick reminder for anyone who would like to participate in the Mythology Synchroblog Four (Topic: Otherworlds)

Wrestling with my Shadow-Self

One night, eight or so years ago, after a period of (what is known within Christian circles as) backsliding, I was reading a recently acquired translation of the Upanishads, when I came upon the opening Upanishad in a translation by Juan Mascaro. You can read the Isa/Isha Upanishad here, but here’s a brief excerpt from Mascaro’s translation:

The Spirit filled all with his radiance. He is incorporeal and invulnerable, pure and untouched by evil. He is the supreme seer and thinker, immanent and transcendent. He placed all things in the path of eternity.

Mascaro, Juan ‘trans’, 1965, ‘The Upanishads (Isa Upanishad)’, p.49 (Penguin classics)

During my reading of the Isa Upanishad, I had a ‘revelation’ of a sort, a spiritual re-awakening that God was indeed very real.

you can check out my first Christian encounter with the divine, if you want.

In Mascaro’s translation he uses the word “Spirit,” referring to The Absolute, the Brahman, Atman, that is, the Supreme Self, that according to Hindu belief, is ultimately what we truly are. In my mind I was still thinking Holy Spirit and therefore the God of the Bible.

Up until this point I was basically living to feed my own desires, which sadly amounted to nothing more than playing endlessly on the Nintendo 64 and Playstation and smoking vast amounts of cannabis.

I knew I needed to get back to God, and so there and then I decided to quit smoking (which I managed to keep up for three months.) That night I had a dream that I was wrestling with a ‘demon’ (the only way I could describe it at the time) that had seized control of my body. And it was damn realistic. I remember banging on the wall screaming for my neighbours to help me as this ‘demon’ continued its attempt to seize control over me (as no one came to my rescue I can safely assume I was in fact dreaming). I find this very reminiscent of Aquilla’s recent post: Crystal Veil, where she recalls her fear of encountering dangerous wild beasts in dreams (Which, I think she equated with the shadow-self, which is a Jungian concept: a dark component of our unconscious mind that is our repressed selves, I think).

Somehow due to my Divine Awakening and the Dream experience I became empowered, and was able to relinquish my own desires and ego and follow God, as it were.

Despite my SA, I managed to hold down a job for three months. Rather than describing myself during this period, read Slade’s post over at Shift Your Spirits: Channelling Spirit in Your Everyday Life. Basically that was what I was like! I wasn’t totally fearless. I wasn’t Jesus after forty days in the wilderness, or like Buddha after his encounter with Kama-Mara; I still had my Social Anxiety, but it wasn’t controlling me as powerfully as before.

Incidentally, over at Traditio et Virtus: Beliefs V: Principalities and Powers, blogger Griff, shares his insights regarding our struggle “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians (6:12).

To Be honest I’m not massively familiar with Jung’s concept of this Shadow aspect of ourselves, and so I did a little surfing and came across this statement:

The first thing we have to do in order to begin to see our Shadowsides, is to take 100% responsibility for our lives. This is a very difficult thing to do and no one does this overnight so we have to be patient with ourselves.

The Shadow Dance: Understanding Repetitive Patterns in Relationships (Taking Responsibility for Our Lives)

Well, for me, assuming I was wrestling, not with a demon, but rather my own Shadow-Self, it totally was an overnight experience…but it didn’t last. After three months I had totally burned out. And it was some time afterwards that I began to challenge Christian dogma and eventually reached the point were I was a liberal Christian. Still a believer, but without the power, that enabled me to fight my Social Anxiety so powerfully as before.

I could go on, but I think I’ll leave it there for now.

Shrine to Naapi (Old Man)

The First-Nation Blackfoot tribe once had quite extensive territory that overlapped Alberta, which is where we happen to be living at the moment (in Brooks.)

For quite some time I’ve been revering and praying to the Blackfoot (also known as the Niitsitapi = Real/original people) Creator-Transformer God Naapi (Spelt various ways), more simply known as Old Man (although I have read that this may be seen as a bad Idea by modern Blackfoots, due to his amoral (trickster) behaviour, although I see such myths as warnings not to transcend the social/moral order). I have set up a shrine (that I try to attend as regularly as possible) to Old Man on my balcony, where I burn incense, light the occasional candle, and offer Tobacco.

Shrine of the Old Man Naapi

So far, he seems to be looking out for me okay. He has a reputation as a trickster God, but (apart from the various occasions I’ve had a little too much to drink and lost my way home), he been guiding my steps across his landscape. Another deal I have with the Old Man is cleaning up the rubbish every once and awhile as I journey through the town. Although the trash soon reappears (Hmmm, I wonder if this is another one of the Old Man’s tricks?).

A Mythological Cosmic-Lunar Calendar (4 of 13)

Around March I devised a Cosmic-Lunar Calendar to help develop awareness of the cycles of the moon in conjunction with my own syncretic mythos through meditation and myth. Its going to be in thirteen parts, so I hope you stick around to the end. I’m hoping I can make at least two or three posts in the series every week. Please Stick Around and, as usual, I’d love to read your comments, questions, and any insights you may have.

For other posts in this series check out the Cosmic-Lunar Calendar Category

Lunar Wheel of the Year (Click To Enlarge)

4th Lunar Month: LughNuadu (Noah)

LughNuadu

This (slightly modified) material originally came an earlier post: The Proto-European Cosmogonic Battle Theme

It is during the first battle of Mag Tuired that Nuadu, the King of the Tuatha De Danann, lost his hand against the Fir Bolg, later replaced by a hand of silver, fashioned by the physician Dian Cecht. However, the Tuatha De Danann successfully defeated the Fir Bolg, and so began their rule of Ireland. Because a King must be without blemish, Bres was appointed their new leader. Under his leadership the people of Ireland were forced to pay tribute to the Fomorians, and the Tuatha De Danann became their slaves. Bres brought hardship and affliction to his people, and after ruling for seven years he was deposed. Nuadu regains kingship, but the Fomorian armies (which had been gathering for the last seven years), threatened to take Ireland by force. It was during Ireland’s most vulnerable period that the mysterious Lugh appeared to lead the Tuatha De Danann in battle against the Fomorians. Through a combination of Lugh’s skill (a totality of the divine powers), and imitative magic, the Fomorians are finally overcome.

Nuadu and Lugh are the central figures in a Welsh myth (a minor tale in the Mabinogion) called Cyfranc Lludd a Llefelys (The Encounter of Ludd and Llefelys), that first appeared in a thirteenth century translation of Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the British Kings) by Geoffrey of Monmouth. According to the myth, Ludd (Nuadu) Llaw Eraint (of the silver hand), King of Briton, seeks the aid of the king of France, his brother Llefelys (Lugh), to rid his kingdom of three gormesoedd (variously translated as oppressions, plagues, afflictions, etc). The theme mirrors the oppression of the Tuatha De Danann by the Fomorians. Llefelys uncovers the cause of each affliction and emancipates Ludd’s kingdom from his enemies, much like Lugh in ‘Mag Tuired.

In the Cosmic-Lunar Calendar, the two figures Nuadu and Lugh represent two mythological aspects of the divine. Nuadu represents the temporal and imminent aspect, that is often related to the cycle of the moon, and upon which the mythological cosmic cycle (aeon) is based. This is further symbolized by the loss of Nuadu’s hand, a wound motif, representing the waning/dying/wounded moon, while the replacement hand of silver symbolizes the waxing moon of cosmic rebirth. Lugh represents the eternal and transcendent aspect of the divine, that is often related to the undying power of the sun. The sun is the indestructible emblem of the unseen force within the threshold of the old cosmic-lunar cycle and the new, symbolized both by the Cyclopean eye of Balor and Lugh, a trait also inherited by Lugh’s son Cuchulain. A basic reconstruction of the myth is that of a god who according to his cosmic-lunar nature dies, while according to his indestructible solar nature simultaneously penetrates the gateway of the sun (the eternal reality that the solar god embodies), thereby obtaining the power to reanimate his cosmic self, who is also an embodiment of the entire cosmic order of things.

There is also another euhemerized version of the this myth in the Roman tradition, that again centres on two heroes that are largely responsible for defeating an oppressive enemy. Livy (History of Rome), and Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Roman Antiquities) both acknowledge Publius Horatius and Gaius Mucius for their exceptional heroics, during the Roman Etruscan war in the 5th century B.C. Horatius was named Cocles, ‘one-eyed’ (the solar champion), due to losing an eye in battle (Roman Antiquities 5.23), while Mucius (the lunar champion), after plunging his arm into the fire in defiance of the Etruscan King Lars Porsenna (who Mucius had failed to assassinate), was afterwards named Scaevola ‘left-handed’ (History of Rome 2.12).

The opposite month (10th) on the Cosmic-Lunar Calendar is OdinTyr, who again divide temporal and eternal aspects of the divine.

Noah

The secondary mythical figure of the month of LughNuadu is Noah in his lunar aspect, which in the opposing Month of OdinTyr. As I said in Solar Beasts, “The wounding of the ‘lunar’ Noah is attested in the Sefer ha-Zohar (13th Century A.D), which states that Noah was bitten by a lion in the Ark and permanently lamed.”. Gilgamesh is the secondary mythical figure in the opposing month, functions as the Solar Hero, who (again quoting from Solar Beasts, “Before entering the scorpion gateway and crossing of the waters of death, Gilgamesh likewise wore lion skins, to (it would seem) attain the undying nature of the sun god Shamash (Sumerian: Utu), as the journey towards the Island of Immortality (source of all rivers) could only be accomplished by the sun god himself.”

Divining my way into 9rules or not?

I intending to submit my blog to 9 Rules Today. A few days ago I used the Tarot to gain some insight, if I had any chance of succeeding or not, and asked for some advice regarding the whole thing.

I used a basic spread of my own, that I named ‘the sacred mountain spread,’ which consists of a central card (corresponding with the World Mountain/Axis Mundi) and four surrounding Cards (corresponding with four surrounding mountains/directions/quarters that mark the boundaries of Cosmic Space.

The Spread

Centre: Nine of Wands

This card seems to have a double meaning. First I should mention that this figure is isolated (either through his own actions or those of others, or a bit of both). He has built a fence, using 8 of the wands, between himself and his enemies (or his perceived enemies at least, as he does look very paranoid), and holds the remaining wand as a weapon to fight of potential intruders. Reading up (mostly from my Beginner’s guide to Tarot and Learning the Tarot: An On-line Course, this card carries the idea of inner determination/strength (reinforced by the Strength card), and that I shouldn’t give up. Yet, I think this central card is addressing my Social Anxiety Disorder. I am isolated from others (both online and off). I set up defences through fear of attack or rejection, due to experiences I’ve had in the past. Would jumping into a community such as 9rules, be too much for me to handle?

East: Eight of Cups

Again another isolated figure walking away from 8 cups, that are symbolic his emotions. The lone figure has set off on a journey towards rocky and mountainous regions under a waning moon. The nine of cups doesn’t really support a reading of inner strength leading to success. I wonder if becoming a member of 9rules will be too emotionally draining.

South: Strength

With the Eight of Cups in mind, this card, symbolizing strength, may indicate that I’ll need great inner strength to succeed as a member of the 9rules community. Strength that (If I’m honest) I really do not have.

West: Five of Swords

Again, this card depicts another man on his own, holding triumphantly the swords of his beaten opponents. I found a revealing statement for this card at the Learning Tarot site: “You are defining your interests too narrowly. If you try to get ahead in isolation, your actions will come back to haunt you later, one way or the other.”

North: Ten of Cups

At first I found this card to be out of place with the other cards, but after reflecting on the spread for some time I think I understand what it is trying to tell me: “Rather than look to the larger blogging community, remain closer to home. You don’t need to be a part of the religious 9rules community either, lumped together with followers of other faiths. You’ve identified yourself as Pagan. Now, while ‘Pagan’ can mean a variety of different things you obviously have a connection with other Pagans, so why try to become a part of a community outside of your Pagan ‘family,’ when you only know its going to be a real struggle?”

So, I’ve decided against submitting my blog for 9rules.

Introducing Mythology Synchroblog Four

It’s been a while since A. Venefica at Symbolic Meanings, organized the last Mythology Synchroblog on the topic of Duality.

The Topic for This month’s Synchroblog is Journeying To Otherworlds.

Basically it’s up to you what you would like to write about. It could be about ancient mythic journeys to the underworld or sky realms, or Enchanted Islands (like in the Odyssey). Mythic journeys as found in various modern mediums of storytelling, or you can write your own myth of an Netherworld Journey. You can also write about your own experiences of journeying to other realms. Or you can write about beliefs of paradisical realms of the afterlife. Just a few suggestions.

Hope you can participate

The posting date is the 25th August

Everyone Who Has Contributed to Previous Mythological Synchroblogs

If you would like to add your name to the list of Mythology and Pagan bloggers who would like to participate this time around, leave a comment.

• Dream Builders
• Quaker Pagan Reflections
• Executive Pagan
• Mythphile
• Aquila ka Hecate
• Symbolic Meanings
• ReligionThink
• Jewish Myth, Magic, and Mysticism
• When Isis Rises
• Pitch313
• FULL CIRCLE CENTRAL
• Druid’s Apprentice
• Paleothea: the Ancient Goddess
• the dance of the elements
• Manzanita, Redwoods and Laurel
• Druid Journal
• Goddess in a Teapot
• Politics and Polytheism

You can check out our previous Synchroblogs in the Mythology Synchroblog Category

The Simultaneous Existence of the Higher Self

A few posts back I wrote:

Now, I’m not suggesting (although much mythology seems to point in this direction) that we ourselves are ultimately destined to enter through the sundoor into paradise forever, or, as in the case of Genesis, that the current cosmic manifestation of death and life is a disastrous mistake, a by-product of the serpent’s cunning resulting in perpetual conflict, hardship and death (see Gen: 3:15 “he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”). Neither am I suggesting that our ultimate existence is non-existence as is the case with Buddhist philosophy. I’m not aiming for some kind of transcendent existence, as I have no way of knowing if such an existence is an option. But I do believe that the sacred/divine/holy/god/goddess/etc., is a light that fills the cosmos, even though (as the author of the Gospel of John reminds us) that divine light shining in the cosmic darkness is difficult and, for many of us, impossible to see. As Jesus is reputed to have said, the Kingdom of heaven is within or in our midst. It’s all around us, in us, in every living thing. Paradoxically It is us! Even death contains the seeds of life! This is the Grand mystery of mysteries!

Between Old and New Moons: Evolution of my Altar

A little while later I was checking out the blogs in my Google Reader (99% of them being Pagan) and came across a post over at Aquila ka Hecate, by Terri, expressing similar thoughts:

I have sometimes railed against the silly notion that this world is maya, nothing but illusion – and I will continue to do so, for this place we call home is real, solid, and bloody important. It’s our Being and our Body, on many levels.

Aquila ka Hecate: Thou Art Goddess Thursday

Now while, it’s true that “I’m not aiming for some kind of transcendent existence, as I have no way of knowing if such an existence is an option,” the post reminded me of a (probably heretical) belief I myself held when I was a Christian — and still consider a possibility — which is while we may indeed have a Higher Self (a transcendent/paradisical counterpart — although certainly not in the Hindu sense, back then, but rather, in terms of one of the Angelic Host: a sub-deity), who exists outside the ever-changing yin-yang of the universe. Terri, illustrated this ‘belief’ using imagery from the Upanishads (Mundaka Upanishad 3.1-4). Terri adds to her paragraph, regarding the validity of the cosmos, saying,

But also, I believe – and it’s not often I use that B-word – that we have a component of our Selves -not always accessible to consciousness, and never accessible to some people at all – which is the supreme observer.Which stands outside of time and space, looking on, recording, learning.
It is for reason of this belief, partly, that I call myself an Integral Pagan.

Aquila ka Hecate:Thou Art Goddess Thursday

My idea of the simultaneous existence of the self, dwelling in the boundless reality of the absolute in which our own cosmos is but a tiny bubble, is not exactly that of Classical Hinduism, but then again, it could be. For me it’s the paradoxical problem of the one and the many, that confuses. But if we can all, on an individual level, achieve a state of divine-cosmic awareness, then perhaps we can also retain our individuality within the Absolute, although I have previously expressed in a post…

Originally a response to a post at Druid Journal, Hearing the Song of the World (incidentally I also reference another of Terri’s posts: The Distraction of Illusion. haha, I’d forgotten about that ) .

…why this might be a problem, concerning the need for a world of forms, as opposed to a world (I.E., the Absolute ground of being) that is formless (or beyond form):

Music is a mythological and philosophical metaphor for the harmony of cosmos, which is pure (transcendent) magic. When we attach labels, and make distinctions, we can become ourselves, and so I think it is a necessary, though apparently tragic, loss. Kind of paradoxical, we cannot experience everything, without losing everything. The pure magic is still there, permeating reality, but we can only catch partial glimpses, that fill us with both sadness and joy, sometimes simultaneously. This glimpse into the ineffable beyond, is what C.S. Lewis called ‘Joy’: “an intense longing (Sehnsucht) for an object that is never fully given and cannot be fully present in the subjective experiences of persons in the space-time existence” (A. Demarest, Bruce & Russell Lewis, Gordon, 1994, ‘Integrative Theology’, p.156, Zondervan).

Between Old and New Moons: Radiant glimpses of divine reality

I’m vaguely familiar with the/a Neo-Druid belief in a paradisical realm that is divided into that of Absolute Being and individual being (I’ll have to research that idea a bit more, as this comes from a single source I can no longer reference). Perhaps something like that is a helpful way of making sense of the problem mythically, but I dislike it when our mythic beliefs become problematic and so we start dissecting different mythical explanations of the afterlife and start splicing them together into one systematic whole (On the other hand if it helps us to understand the Afterlife by creating a single mythical system, then splice away!). I had similar problems within Christianity of different conceptions of the afterlife (sheol, hades, tartarus, etc.,), when trying to understand them all when you believe that the whole Bible is an infallible and systematic document, when in reality it is a product that evolved over time and contains different opinions about the Afterlife*. That’s what happens no matter what pile of dogmatic mess we might believe in. Sometimes we have just got to except the fact that we just don’t know.

Note

*Similarly, the Greek Underworld is populated with all kinds of differing afterlifes, which probably come from many different tradition and ideas that evolved over time both within and beyond Greece, although the Hades myths make clear that these different realms are distinguishable from each other.

Learning How to Navigate Reality

Thank You Grian for responding to my post So who is this Cernunnos dude? (A to Z).

This post was originally a comment in response to Griane’s comment, but as is often the case it evolved into something worthy of posting status. Griane (Lee Hutchings of Panthea: All Things Are Goddess) has also posted her comment on her blog:

What follows is my interpretation of Cernunnos based on the image on the Gundestrup Cauldron – which I have looked at many times seeking answers about this God.

Panthea: Interpreting Cernunnos

It looks like Grian has stared as intently at this scene on the cauldron, as I have .

Iconic representations such this one can be just as revealing as the mythic tales that accompany them. Every detail counts and means something. Nothing should be dismissed or overlooked. And there is so much here! Yeah, I’ve stared and pondered and wondered about this scene quite a bit! Still much of it eludes me, as do the images on the other panels of the cauldron.

The Antlered God Cernunnos depicted on the Gundestrup cauldron.

Because of his antlers I have come to see him as a bridge between humanity and nature/the Divine and nature, and also the immanent force of Divinity in all life. He is a symbol for everything wild or untamed in us – a direct connection to the natural world.

Panthea: Interpreting Cernunnos

I’ve heard Orthodox Christian icons referred to as “windows to heaven,” and I think they are. They are also sacred mirrors reflecting back at us the divinity within: “the immanent force of Divinity in all life,” that Grian calls the All Goddess, and I call… well, I’m still working on a name .

While reading an introduction to the Bacchae by Paul Woodruff, I came across an adage, originally found somewhere in the works of Plato, regarding a person who has developed self-control having both a little man inside of him and wild beasts, and that this little man (or inner-self) has complete mastery over the beasts (thoughts, passions, ego related stuff), kind of like the example found in the Upanishads of one who has control over his senses being like a warrior in total control of his chariot.

Plato’s saying was mentioned in contrast to the unbridled animal-like practices of the bacchic revealers, that (according to the introduction to the play and certainly reflected in the play itself) scared the shit out of the City-Dwelling Greeks. In this representation of the Antlered God I think we have a representation of both the wildness of nature as a manifestation of the divine and the divine’s absolute control over nature (both its wild and tamer aspects, darkness and light “illustrated by the animals surrounding him,” as Grian observes: “Most of the prey animals are on his right while the predators, much more violent in appearance, are on his left.” ). The cosmic realm emanates from/is the divine mind, it’s the divine living nightmare-dream.

This divine emanation I would say, is also symbolized by the antlers sprouting from Cernunnos’ head. They are symbols of seasonal (ultimately cosmic) decay and regeneration, and due to their branch-like appearance (world trees and the like, sometimes sprout from the body of a sacred being, or divine-vital head) also invoke the image of the Cosmic World Tree (that in Norse myth was also in a constant state of ecological flux, heavily populated by all kinds of creatures, Like those surrounding Cernunnos, the two most prominent being the Stag situated at the top of the Cosmic Ash munching away constantly at the leaves of the tree, while below a dragon-serpent gnawed on the roots below (near the wisdom well belonging to the decapitated Mimir). Both were prime threats to the tree’s existence.

Compare the symbolism of cosmic sustenance with the the stag and serpent flanking Cernnunos on the cauldron. The Stag who could be interpreted as feeding from the upraised torc, and the serpent’s head, it’s tongue, we can imagine, almost licking against Cernunnos’ lips, in a cosmic kiss generating both deadly poison and divine ambrosia (like in the Hindu myth of the churning of the cosmic ocean). The scene (for me) is about cosmic sustenance and, as revealed elsewhere in the iconography of the God, being himself both Stag and serpent, he also feeds, as it were, from himself.

The underlying theme is that of cosmic chaos (Wild nature). The serpent is deadly, but Cernunnos restrains it with minimal effort (or becomes/is the serpent incarnate: the serpentine world soul). The single cosmic coil of the serpent, like the torc, upraised in the deity’s other hand (I also see “the torque as representing cycles”), represents the ever-regenerating manifestation of our existence (along with the wisdom that must accompany it). And, despite the hazardous realities of Cosmic existence, the God indeed offers it (like Griane said) to us.

Cernunnos has achieved mastery over it all (After a lifetime of hunting stag, I presume). Now, as a Cosmic Master, probably not as much in the sense of the supreme effort or brute force of The Charioteer (one of the Major Arcana in the Tarot) or the warrior myth of the dragon-slayer, such as Marduk’s defeat over Tiamat and her chaos army, but more like one of the representations of another Major Arcana called The Strength, which depicts a woman effortlessly prying apart the ravenous jaws of a lion. To achieve mastery (or enlightenment) over reality and the elements, like The Magician), is no small task. But here, Cernunnos (who has already navigated the cosmic circle and is therefore entitled to spend a great deal of time just sitting around), like Yu the Great in Chinese myth and philosophical and practice, has every atom, every particle under his control, yet we still, like The Fool, are in danger of walking mindlessly of the edge of the cliff.

Dangers surround and permeates us, but (and this is my desire and prayer for myself and everyone): “Let us seek the guidance of the divine, however you may perceive it.” The divine alone holds a map (and we but fragments) and is ever-willing to unfold it for us, so we may also ourselves learn how to navigate reality (understand the order and chaos both within us and around us and accept the necessity of it) and become what we are truly meant to be: beings who live in a state of complete awareness that is known as “the Living Freedom.”

Yu himself (who surely and paradoxically learned effortlessness through much effort), while journeying throughout the land, transforming chaos into order, took note of everything around him, not only what was good but also the bad, which manifests itself in myth in many monstrous chaotic forms, such as the Norse World Serpent or Typhon in the mythology of the Greeks. The Chinese Yu had fashioned nine bronze vessels (nine symbolic of the nine provinces of the Chinese world), and decorated it with all he had seen on his painstaking journey (of death and self/cosmic transformation) to the ends of the earth, including the chaos monsters, so that the people would be aware and ready in each and every situation as they, in imitation of Yu, made journeys of their own. It was this gift of Freedom, I believe, that was the grand purpose of the ancient and classical Mystery Cults. To quote Plutarch (according to “Stobaeus, Anthology [Anthologion] 4.52.49″ [Meyer: 1999]), who may or may not of been referring to the Eleusinian Mysteries:

At first there is a wandering, and wearisome roaming, and fearful travelling through darkness with no end to be found. Then, just before the consummation (telos), there is every sort of terror, shuddering and trembling and perspiring and being alarmed. But after this marvellous light (phos) appears, and open places and meadows await, with voices and dances and the solemnities of sacred utterances and holy visions. In that place one walks about at will, now perfect and initiated (memuemenos) and free, and wearing a crown, one celebrates religious rites, and joins with pure and pious people. such a person looks over the uninitiated and unpurified crowd of people living here, who are packed together and trample each other in deep mud and murk, but who hold onto their evil things on account of their fear of death, because they do not believe in the good things that are in the other world.

Meyer, Marvin W, 1999, ‘The Ancient Mysteries: A Sourcebook of Sacred Texts‘, p.8-9 (University of Pennsylvania Press)

…or indeed this one.

Thank You Grian for inspiring me to write this post

So who is this Cernunnos dude? (A to Z)

It’s been a while but I’ve decided to continue on with the A to Z of Mythological Figures series. Everything you read or comment (yep, you can play along too!), is/must be from memory. It doesn’t matter if a few mistakes are made along the way. Also, if you know anything about Herne, you can post that as well (I’ve forgotten how the story goes). Even sharing you experience/s with the God would be interesting and perhaps helpful in understanding this mysterious and complex deity. My understanding of Cernunnos derives from my studies into comparative mythology.

Okay, here goes…

Hang on a minute…there isn’t actually any ancient written mythology about this deity. All we know about him comes mostly from Roman-Celtic iconography, stone statues and the like, and what’s more, his name only occurs on a single inscription, somewhere in France, either above or below the partial remains of a statue of a horned deity. All that’s left is the Head. It’s said that the God must of been in a sitting position, because there isn’t enough room on the monument for Cernunnos to be standing, and so all seated horned gods have inherited the name, including the antlered god depicted on the famous (OK, I’m going to have to check the spelling) Gundestrup cauldron.

Apart from the horns (or antlers) and a desire to remain perpetually seated (or squatting), Cernunnos likes to surround himself with various animals, particularly stags and horned serpents. He also likes wearing a torc, or hanging them on his horns like a pair of Bet Lynch earrings.

The earliest possible depiction of Cernunnos is actually a drawing found in Italy (dating to something B.C.), although he’s standing up, the God is interpreted as another Cernunnos because he is accompanied by a serpent (and possibly a stag or he might have antlers).

While the horns indicate that Cernunnos has the ability to take on the form of a bull (another creature who is a part of his animal entourage), the antlers likewise show he can also take the form of a Stag, and parts of his body (such as his legs) are sometimes shown morphing into serpents.

He is doubtlessly a god who bestows abundance upon his worshippers. Horns of plenty, sacks overflowing with grain or coins, are also part of his iconography. One example shows a stag with a stream of coins issuing from his mouth.

He also made friends with some Roman deities: Both Hermes and Apollo have been known to hang out with him from time to time.

From Christianity to Paganism: An Interview

Mahud: Before I get into the Paganism, I’d like to ask you about your Christian beliefs. Did Christianity have a transformative effect on your life growing up?

Shanny: Christianity was really the essence of my life while growing up. When I was very young, my grandma took me to church every Sunday. She was and still is a huge role model to me by her love for others and her commitment to God. My parents weren’t Christians at the time. They partied most weekends and so my sisters and I stayed with her. When I was 6, my dad had a heart attack and the doctors told him if he didn’t change his lifestyle that he would be dead within the year. So, my parents started to go to church as well and became Christians. Seeing their transformation really made me want to have what they had. When I was 8, I decided to become a Christian as well. I was filled with so much faith in my heart towards God, that I never questioned anything. My dad passed away when I was 12. I tried to be the strong one in the family and my faith in God was what gave me the strength. I was baptized to declare my faith when I was 13. Also, I had a huge desire to help others, especially those in need. When I graduated from High School, I decided to go off to Bible College so that I could become a missionary in the Philippines to the street kids. It hurt my heart so much that others were suffering in the world and I really wanted to help them.

Mahud: I didn’t really have much of a religious upbrigging myself. I became a Christian in my early twenties which lasted on and off for 10 years. Due to my SA, I was unable to attend Church and most of my Christian education was confined to books read in my bedroom. Eventually though, I began questioning the Biblical Scriptures and began to accept that there were problems and inconsistencies. I still considered myself Christian for a couple of years after that, which was around the time I met you. How and when did your perception of Christianity change for you?

Shanny: After Bible College, I got married. The first few years, was the same for me. I didn’t question what I was taught and tried to be a loving and supportive wife to my husband. As the years went by, my husband (who was a Christian), was verbally and emotionally abusive towards me. We also went through a lot of financial struggles. I tried to connect with Christians in the city we lived, but I was never honest or myself with them, because I was ashamed of my husband and of our struggles. I started questioning what I believed and started searching for fulfilment, because everywhere I went, I couldn’t see any hope. We got to the point where we couldn’t afford rent or food. The church refused to help us and we ended up moving in with his parents for 2 years. I was completely disconnected from any social contact. I was just with my abusive husband and his parents. And whenever I tried to connect with other Christians, they would judge me and condemn me. I realized that this is not what I believed to be true. That what I thought was “Christian” really wasn’t what I thought it was. I started to observe more behaviour from Christians that threw up flags to me. Then I started to see other religions and way others treated people and noticed that some of the “Non-Christians” treated others the way I always thought Christians were suppose to treat others. So, I started questioning the Bible and was Christianity really the life changing experience I thought it was.

Mahud: I have similar experiences. Christians are promised to have dynamic power/spiritual gifts, etc, but it was only on very rare occasions I actually met people who truly had this power. Sometimes you can see the love beaming from their eyes. It’s individuals such as these that reveal to me that there is a true spiritual dimension, but I also see the same love in the eyes of believers of other faiths. For example my non-biological Grandmother, who was Muslim, had those same all telling eyes. Here was a woman with true spiritual power and a devout Muslim, who, on more than one occasion, made the pilgrimage to Mecca. She wasn’t a Christian but “you could say” she was a follower of Christ, in the sense that she fed the hungry, clothed the sick, the very qualifications that according to the Gospel of Matthew (25:31-46) is evidence that she was a true lover of God. My biological Grandmother, whose belief in God isn’t church orientated also taught me that true love transcends Christianity.

Mahud: So where did this questioning take you?

Shanny: I agree with you. True love surpasses all religion. It is the heart that matters, not necessarily what the doctrine teaches. This is what I started to discover in my searching. My faith in God kept growing, but my faith in Christianity was slipping away. I guess it was like I had a veil over my eyes and my naivety to the world was beginning to be pulled away. I had a lot of prejudice inside of me towards others. And it started to break down as well. I never wanted to have anything to do with people outside my faith, because I thought that they were evil. But with this veil leaving my eyes, I started to have more love for others and accepting heart.

Mahud: I’m convinced that all humankind is essentially good at heart, and born with the capacity (to varying degrees) to develop their “spiritual selves”, whether it be through Paganism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and other belief systems, and that we are all born connected with the sacred, rather than separation from God at birth through Original Sin. I was worried that you only became a Pagan because I did, but in reality, our Paganisms are quite different from each other. I came to Paganism through my study of comparative mythology and World Religions. Paganism interests me because it provides me with a spiritual foundation that I can build upon. I am also drawn to Paganism because of its organic nature and develops over time naturally, which allowed our ancestors to build upon tried and tested practices, while those practices that are no longer relevant to the community fall out of use. This is basically the way I’m living my Pagan Life. How about you?

Shanny: Before I met you, I didn’t know anything about mythology and still, I only know a few basics, but nothing to develop my faith around. My Paganism is derived more from nature around me. I have always had a strong connection with nature. Especially birds. Now, as a Pagan, it has deepened even more. I see God in all of nature and in the animals. The energy that it produces and the beauty is what really draws me in and brings my connection to the divine. When I first started my path towards Paganism, we bought this book by Scott Cunningham called Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. The chapter called “Exercises and Magical Techniques” has a section on “Energy Play” where it talks about rubbing your palms together and then placing your hand to a plant or tree. When I was walking home from work, I decided to try this on this big beautiful evergreen. The energy I felt from it was so intense that I felt this energy, tingling and heat through out my body. Then, all the nature around me almost transformed. I saw everything differently. I could see the divine in all the nature around me. In the clouds, trees, grass, birds and other animals around me. I tried it another day and decided not to do the rubbing of my palms, but just to focus on the energy inside of me and focus my mind on the tree. The results were just as intense. The trees energy just rushed into me. Then, in the spring, I could feel the new life flowing through the trunk. One of my favourite things to do now is to sit in a park and just listen to the nature and feel the energy all around me and just talk to God. It gives me so much inner peace and blows me away!

Even before I became a Pagan, I could feel this energy, but didn’t understand what it was. One time, while at a County Fair, I was looking at the different animals. And there was this goose that was looking at me. I stopped and it cocked her head to one side. I spoke to her and said “You know who created you, don’t you?” And the goose nodded her head and I felt this energy rush out of the goose and surround me. And when I hold your hand, Matt, I feel this energy, too. You have so much divine energy streaming from you and I know that is one thing that has drawn me to you and that our connection with each other is from the divine.

Mahud: You said: “I have always had a strong connection with nature…. Now, as a Pagan, it has deepened even more.” I find that quite a revealing statement. I’ve been influenced quite a lot by the forward-thinking Druid blogger Jeff Lilly, who I’ve quoted saying this before: “Different religions are better at different things” (How to Choose a Religion VII: Languages of Spirit). I think that seems to be the case here. Of course, Monotheistic religions promote a love and appreciation of the beauty of nature, but not a deep veneration, which is reserved for God alone (who, while understood as omnipresent, isn’t creation itself), and in the case of Catholicism, there’s veneration (I think) for Mary and the Saints. Like myself, your perception of God seems to be Panentheistic.

I also read Scott Cunningham’s Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, which is quite a good introduction to Wicca. I thought the hand rubbing thing was probably a bit dubious, I mean, if you rub your hands together, you don’t need to hold them close apart to feel them tingle. Still, “energy play” is not something I’ve really experimented with as yet, so what do I know, hehe .

Clearly, you have a natural connection with the divine energy that surrounds and permeates us (me included apparently, hehe). Unfortunately I’m not quite as tuned in to the sacred as yourself, which is something I need to work on and hopefully develop.

Thanks Shanny, for letting me interviewing you. I’ve enjoyed reading about your experiences, and I’m sure other readers will too.

Shanny: Yeah, I really enjoyed the experience. I found it really helpful to voice what I believe. Thanks for interviewing me Matt!