Cernunnos
Intention: Honor the wild, the forest and the cycle of life
Offerings & Symbols
- An acorn, or an antler shed naturally
- A green or brown candle
- Bird seed or nuts left outdoors
Culture: Gaulish (Celtic) Also called: the Horned One, the Horned God (modern usage)
The name Cernunnos, meaning roughly "the horned one," appears on a single ancient inscription: the Pillar of the Boatmen, a Gallo-Roman monument from Paris dating to the early 1st century CE, showing an antlered figure. Similar antlered figures, often seated cross-legged and surrounded by animals, appear elsewhere, most famously on the Gundestrup cauldron found in Denmark, but almost no myths about him survive directly.
Associations
Wild animals, forests, fertility, abundance, the turning of the seasons.
Ways people honor him (modern)
- Walk quietly in woods or a park and leave the place cleaner than you found it
- Feed local birds and wildlife responsibly
- Keep antler, acorn or oak imagery on your altar
- Read scholarly discussion of the Pillar of the Boatmen and Gundestrup cauldron, since so little textual myth survives
Approach any deity with respect and do your own research. Practices vary widely between traditions, and modern devotional practice often goes beyond what survives in ancient sources.
