#proto indo european religion

[looking-at-the-deiwos]

Proto Indo-European (PIE) Pantheon

Main gods

These gods are the most easily reconstructed and appear in different sources of PIE religion

Dyḗus Pətḗr ☁️

Diwónā 🐄

Dhég̑hōm Mā́tēr 🌿

Apṓm Népōts 🌊

Áusōs 🌅

Sā́wōl ☀️

Mḗnōs 🌕

the Diwós Sūnū́ 🏇🏼

Perkʷū́nos ⛈️

Páusōn 🐐

Aryomḗn ⚖️

Wéstyā 🏠

Ék̑wonā 🐎

Yemós 💀

Dā́nu 🏞️

K̑ólyā ☠️

Priyā́ 🌹

Other gods

Not as easily reconstructed and don't appear in all sources

Wēyús 🌬️

Ṇgʷnís 🔥

Wórunos 🌌

Wélnos 🧙🏼‍♂️

Préwyos 🍆

Rudlós 🌀

Wḷkā́nos ⚒️

Léudheros 🍇

Swépnos 💤

Sówəmos🍶

Ṛ́tk̑onā 🐻

For the full pantheon according to the most wide possible view of it check here, other sources are way much more reserved and give less gods for the pantheon, less than 20

I will be making posts exploring each deity and I'll be linking them from here too! Stay tuned!

[faith-of-the-wheel]

Part 3: Leudheros, Aspect or Son?

From Proto-Indo-European *h₁leudʰero ('belonging to the people', hence 'free'). God of viticulture, alcohol, fertility, and freedom. He also typically has a female counterpart, Leudhera, who is essentially, perhaps even literally, his twin in all aspects. The Senowera Document lists him as both an epithet of Rudlos and an entirely separate god with a separate lineage.

His cognates include the Roman deities Liber & Libera, The Norse Lóðurr, and the Greek words ’Ελεύθερος & Έλευθέρα, referring to the concept of freedom and island respectively. She may also cognate with Greek Dionysus, who resembles Liber and was later syncretised with him into his Roman characterization as Bacchus, and Gallo-Roman Sucellus. I'm unable to find any Indo-Iranian cognate, so he/they may not have existed in earlier PIE stages.

The main argument here is whether or not Leudheros and his domains are aspects of Rudlos, or separate deity. Keep in mind that in IE thought, the existence of a concept implies a deity of said concept, creating many gods that are deified abstractions. Xaryomen is an example of such deities formed from abstractions, albeit Xaryomen is likely much older, as he much better attested.

Let's take a look at these cognates.

Lóðurr:

Not much is known about Lóðurr. His name occurs only once, attested to in the Poetic Edda. He is mention alongside Hoenir and Odin in the creation of mankind. It's says the while Odin gave the first man and woman breath, and Hoenir gave sense/spirit, it was Lóðurr who gave flesh and blood.

"Lóðurr's friend" is used as a kenning for Odin.

It is possible that his name appears on one of the Nordendorf fibulae as Logaþore, along side Wodan and Wigiþonar(Thor). I personally find it interesting that he is the first of the three but that may not indicate much.

Many scholars considered Lóðurr to another name for Loki.

Liber Pater:

He was a patron deity of Rome's plebeians and was part of their Aventine Triad. His festival of Liberalia (March 17) became associated with free speech and the rights attached to coming of age. Before his official adoption as a Roman deity, Liber was companion to two different goddesses in two separate, archaic fertility cults; Ceres, an agricultural and fertility goddess of Rome's Hellenized neighbors, and Libera, his female equivalent(and sister in several sources).

Leudheros is primarily reconstructed from Liber. Latin Liber means "free", or "free one"; when coupled with "Pater", it means "The Free Father", who personifies freedom and champions its attendant rights, as opposed to dependent servitude. His patronage of Rome's underclass associated with plebian civil disobediance against the patricians, and his worship seems to have been associated with republicanism/the famous roman anti-monarchism of the republican era.

Liber also personified male fertility, which was "ejaculated as the "soft seed" of human and animal semen". His temples held the image of a phallus. The rites ensured the growth of seeds and repelled any malicious enchantment (fascinatus) from fields.

I could into detail about his syncretism with Dionysus but i'm just gonna copy-paste the wikipedia section on it because I feel it is more than sufficient.

"Liber's associations with wine, inebriation, uninhibited freedom and the subversion of the powerful made him a close equivalent to the Greek god Dionysus, who was Romanised as Bacchus. In Graeco-Roman culture, Dionysus was euhemerised as a historical figure, a heroic saviour, world-traveller and founder of cities; and conqueror of India, whence he had returned in the first ever triumph, drawn in a golden chariot by tigers, accompanied by a retinue of drunken satyrs and maenads. In some cults, and probably in the popular imagination, Liber was gradually assimilated to Bacchus and came to share his Romanised "Dionysian" iconography and myths. Pliny calls him "the first to establish the practice of buying and selling; he also invented the diadem, the emblem of royalty, and the triumphal procession." Roman mosaics and sarcophagi attest to various representations of this exotic triumphal procession. In Roman and Greek literary sources from the late Republic and Imperial era, several notable triumphs feature similar, distinctively "Bacchic" processional elements, recalling the supposedly historic "Triumph of Liber"."

Other Alcohol Gods

Dionysus presents a strong cause due to his fundamental connections to viticulture, wine, rebellion, individualism, and even frenzied violence. There is some solid linguistic evidence connecting them given that one of his most popular epithets is Dionysus Eleutherius, "The Liberator", derived from Ελεύθερος, shown above to be cognate with Liber. Eleutherius is also the aspect Dionysus specifically associated with rebellion against authority and freedom of personal expression, lining up closely with Liber's character as patron of the plebians.

Rugatis is a Lithuanian god of beer. He has a tentative etymological link to Rugiaevit, and thus Rudlos. We know he had very strong fertility ties, evidenced by etymology potentially relating his name to the "heat" of animals, and some rituals related to marriage, but not much else is known of him. We do known he had a wife whose name was the feminine form of his.

Earlier I said their were no Indo-Iranian cognates. But there just might be one. This is a BIG stretch though. The Vedic god Varuna, who we will talk about a lot more in the next part of the series, has a daughter named Varuni(Note: his wife, and the personification of his shakti are both also called Varuni, and the three are sometimes said to be one goddess) is a goddess of wine. I want to make note of this because we have shown a pattern of Leudheros' cognates having sister-wives who bear a feminine form of their name, and act as a female equivalent with all the same domains and characteristics.

Obviously, Varuna himself is not particularly associated with Alcohol in any surviving work, but in the next part of the series, I intend to show a potential link between him and Rudlos through yet another reconstructed PIE deity, Worunos. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

I feel this could either way. I think that what we have proven most concretely is the preponderance of alcohol deities in IE cultures(we haven't covered them because those had little to nothing indicating them as potential cognates. Vedic Soma, for example), and perhaps some common-ish formats for their characterization.

That said I personally believe that Leudheros should probably be reconstructed separately, most likely as Rudlos' son, alongside his sister-wife, Leudhera. Perhaps one could even use that as an epithet of his, Rudlosunu. I believe they are related for the following reasons:

Rudlos has very clear connections to alcohol, they madness that it brings, and it's origin. But none of his descendants are considered gods of alcohol, the closest is Odin, who is known to prefer foreign wines over mead.

Rudlos' cognates often work closely with sources of alcohol or gods of alcohol, cognate with Leudheros or not.

Dionysus is an excellent example of the overlap between the domains of frenzied violence and war, and that of alcohol and civil disobedience.

Rudlos is connected to alcohol because it enables(especially if laced with something fun) the induction of madness and frenzy in a person. He is associated with it, but not patron of it. But it would make sense for the patron of alcohol to be associated closely with Rudlos.

I'm going to create a separate post for information on the worship of Leudheros and Leudhera at a later date, at which point I'll just link this post to it for simplicity so stayed tuned for that.

[gwydpolls]

Time Travel Question 22: Ancient History X and Earlier

These Questions are the result of suggestions from the previous iteration.

This category may include suggestions made too late to fall into the correct grouping.

Please add new suggestions below if you have them for future consideration. All cultures and time periods welcome.

[castilestateofmind]

"Do not think of the Proto-Indo-Europeans as a people who died out a long time ago. They live, and their culture lives, in us; transformed by time and the influences of other cultures maybe, but still recognisable at the core of our values, language, and culture. By understanding them, we understand ourselves."

-Ceisiwr Serith.

[rrcraft-and-lore]

Tapati, who is she, and why is she significant?

Well, first, she is a river goddess, but daughter of the sun god, Surya. However, her name means the hot one, the burning one. Interestingly enough, her name is tied to the river she's said to rule over - HOWEVER, language time.

Agni, a vedic fire god, has a scythian counterpart similar in name (and the scythian's are the older culture that broke off to form the vedic, indo iranian/iranian, and levant people as well as others - mixing, breeding, invading).

Back to Tapati.

Her name is cognate with the Scythian supreme fire goddess, Tabiti. Very interesting.

Tabiti is the supreme goddess of all things in the Scythian culture, primordial, the first flame, and much like Ianna (from Summerian mythology I talked about later) went on to inspire entire god/goddess roles, and had mantles inverted as interestingly enough, there's evidence some first/supreme deities were feminine, later flipped to male as cultures evolved - their places/roles attributes assigned to male gods and their places changed - made wives, daughters, so on a similar sort of flipping happens out of the Scythian culture/ proto Indo Europeans (that I've talked about) where the root word for a divine (doesn't mean good just divinely powered) being evolved along languages the ahura, asura, and asir (Norse) come from an older proto Indo-European/Scythian word.

In the Vedic stories, the daevas are good, the asura evil. In the Avestan and Iranian texts...the ahura/asura are good, and the daevas are evil.

We know the Norse asir and vanir warred also very interesting. And interesting how gods/goddesses are changed, subsumed, adopted and more, no? Tabiti was never represented in/by art, btw. Her representation was always an actual fireplace -- a flame. That's what you used.

There's historical written evidence in places of Agni's animal form being both referred to as a bull, AND a cow in places - different genders. And his flame being referred to as female in places.

In the Hindu bronze age, Agni had way more of a prominent role as fire did before later dwindling...as fire does (ooooo symbolic - okay that's just cuz of time and shifting priorities), but there are more similarities of these things in Baltic cultures -- but oh why?

(Why am I hopping around? Cuz gods/goddesses, archetypes, beats, stories all do too - all connected you muppets).

Well, did you know the closest cognate to Sanskrit is Lithuanian? It's kept so much of its proto Indo European roots.

Wait, a South Asian language and Baltic European language are cognates? YUH. WEIRD.

Almost like they both derived out of an older culture, language, their practices, beliefs and more.

And most of human history is just migrating, fucking, invading, and settling in new places and staying long enough until your features continue to change due to bow chicka wow wowing and environment.

Funny how that works.

Here's some Scythian clothing (oh btw, women were warriors/could be too - congrats you learned that).

Does this style look familiar? Yeah, you can see the evolution/adaptation from this to later styles (bearing similarities) in Iran, India, Mongolia, the Baltics.

Cuz....y'know, that's where the proto Indo Europeans went about their biz and got jiggy with it and settled. Wow-wow-wee-wah! Okay now I'm done. Circular ish convo to get there but started with a fire goddess, it's relevant, but it all comes back to this.

Btw, this is also an important lesson for fantasy authors.

Because of all these connections and how old a bad ass fire goddess is, many of the oldest cultures are regarded as fire worshippers (like the Zoroastrians) did you know some keep an eternal burning flame? -- one is in Udvada Gujarat in India.

This flame has been said to have been kept burning for 1,500 years.

FIFTEEN HUNDRED.

And again, while most of the surviving Indo Iranic sun gods are male, there is evidence the ORIGINAL sun deity (including in/from the German, Baltic, and Slavic religions) was FEMALE.

[eagle-longing-for-rostau]

[swedebeast]

As someone who can spend hours reading on this kind of stuff, this has been an incredibly fascinating and educational video on the timeline and similarities between Proto Indo-European and ancient Semitic mythologies.

[child-of-frigg]

Ostara/Ēostre: The Spring Equinox and The Sun Goddess Héwsōs.

The Spring Equinox like many other Solar and Lunar events, was a significant marker as to the passage of time for the Northern tribes. On this day the sun rises and sets directly from east to west in the Northern hemisphere, marking a significant change in weather as summer quickly approaches and the sun begins to thaw the frozen ground. The deity associated with the Spring Equinox is now commonly referred to as Ostara or Ēostre, this was not always the case though.

Saint Bede of the seventh century was the first to make a written account of the Goddess Ēostre, where he states Pagan Anglo-Saxons held feasts in her honour during the month of Ēosturmōnaþ, the Germanic equivalent of April. For the Germanic tribes this event was to signify the beginning of the summer half of their year, for the Norse this would kick off the last month of winter, Einmánuður. Sources tend to agree that in both cases a Goddess by the name of Ostara or Ēostre was hailed during these months, representative of the sun and the essence of Spring, however this deity seems to be largely absent from Norse mythology barring Idunn who has only recently been associated with the spring season.

The Goddess Ēostre seems to be based on the Proto-Indo-European Héwsōs, meaning 'the Dawn', who scholars agree was the inspiration behind similar deities such as the Greek Eos and the Roman Aurora. Due to the consistency of her characterization she is considered one of the most important deities worshipped by the Proto-Indo-European people, and this firmly suggests an importance in Norse faith as well. The significance of spring flowers is also consistent throughout the worship of Héwsōs, with an emphasis on the colours blue, purple, and yellow which were considered sacred to the spring season by the Nordic, as well as some Western Germanic tribes; be for the colours of spring flowers or the colour of the sunrise itself this seems to be the same for many of the deities inspired by Héwsōs.

[faith-of-the-wheel]

I saw this wonderful post, and decided to piggyback off of it to talk about an important and often understated aspect of Indo-European theology. It has been argued convincingly by actual academics(and Ceisiwr Serith if you don't want to drown in sesquipedalian nonsense. Also, you're welcome for giving you a new word to google) that the Proto-Indo-European religion(as we have reconstructed it, anyway) deified abstractions.

Put simply, they believed that the existence of a concept implied the existence of deity who ruled over it. Take jokes for an example. Jokes are not a material thing but they are a concept unique unto themselves and all people across all cultures recognize them in some form or another. Therefore, there must be a god of jokes. While I can think of some rather humorously characterized deities, I can not think a historically attested or reconstructed god of jokes worshiped by ancient peoples, but the existence means there is a being who governs/embodies them.

If a concept can not/is not rolled into a previously known/worshiped deity, and there is a perceived need to worship the being who embodies the concept, then a new cult centered around this deity is formed. This deified concept is often simply noun representing said concept as a name.

This system is perhaps most strongly represented by the Roman religion. The cults of Luna, Fortuna, and Salus, were all created in this way. The well reconstructed PIE deity Xaryomen is often thought to be this type of deity, representing IE society(or society at large today) as a whole, perhaps not all that unlike the many "National Gods" of the Ancient Middle East.

I've made a previous post about how I believe Ares is this type of god, wherein I suppose that the use of his name as a noun meaning 'war' may predate his cult entirely.

Ares’ name is often used in ways that make it clear that war is his realm, just as the sea is the realm of Poseidon, the underworld the realm of Hades, and the sky the realm of Zeus. In the Iliad, several characters refer to war as ‘the turmoil of Ares’. Nestor refers to a great clash of armies as a ‘deed of Ares’. The works of war are the works of Ares (Hom. Il. 11.732–36). The poet refers to war as ‘the strife of Ares’ (Hom. Il. 5.861; 14.149). It is at the hands of Ares that battles are endured (Hom. Il. 3.126–28), and it is by Ares that the combatants are slain: Nestor speaks of the many long-haired Achaians whose blood keen Ares has spilled around the river Skamander (Hom. Il. 7.328–30), while Priam tells both his household and Achilles that Ares has slain his many fine sons (Hom. Il. 24.253–62, 498).27 When the spears are flying, Ares guides their paths. The poet tells us how Ares causes spears to fall short from Meriones and Automedon (Hom. Il. 16.610–13, 17.525–29), just as he allows the spear to embed itself in the chest of Alkathous, robbing it of its momentum only once the man has been mortally wounded (Hom. Il. 13.443–44). In similar fashion, the sixth century poet Anakreon, as quoted in the Palatine Anthology, describes the battle-dead as being slain by Ares (Anth. Pal. 7.226 = Anac. fr.100D Diehl), as do the seventh-century Spartan poet Tyrtaios (Stob. Flor. 4.10. 6 = Tyrtaios fr.12 West) and a pair of Archaic inscribed epitaphs. To Anakreon, those who survive a battle do so because they have been spared by Ares (Anth. Pal. 7.160 = Anac. fr.100D Diehl). Ares was unique amongst all the gods of the ancient Aegean in being a god whose name was used as a metonym for war. While divine warriors, patrons of warriors, protectors in battle, and bringers of destruction could be found throughout the Near East, only Ares was identified directly with war. The Classical Attic tragedians inherited the idea that Ares was both synonymous with war as its anthropomorphic personification and also its divine ruler, responsible for all deaths in battle and for the survival of all those who walked away. In this, Ares filled a distinct niche, more specific than Zeus and Fate, who ruled over all walks of life, and less partisan than the many warrior-protectors who stalked each battlefield. Stories about and cults for Ares therefore enabled the Greeks to engage with the idea of war as an independent force with a distinctive character. - Alexander T. Millington, Worshipping Violence, in Brill's Companion to Greek Land Warfare Beyond the Phalanx

[looking-at-the-deiwos]

Páusōn

Or as I write it, Páuson. Also known as Páhuson (with a hard h like the h in loch) or Péh₂usōn. His name means "Protector".

Páuson is the god of shepherds, nature, doorways, roads, paths, traveling, animals, forests and hunting; He also acts as a psychopomp.

He is the god of the liminal, the in-between. He guards travelers, merchants, and other go-betweens. He guards herds, sources of wealth, as well. He may thus be prayed to both as an opener of the ways and as a giver of prosperity.

He is characterized as a liminal deity himself, being in a way an in-between between man and animal in the depictions of his descendants. The figure of the horned god corresponds well to how he would be depicted.

Finally, he seems to have had a connection to fertility and sexuality, especially granting sexual prowess

He also had the names K̑ṝnónos and Pṇtóspotis according to this source

Offerings

taken from here

Coins or pieces of valuable metals

Depictions or imagery related to goats

Goat's milk

silver and gold beads

Sheperd's crook

Depictions or imagery related to crossroads

goat horns, fur or leather (ethically sourced)

symbols of abundance

lantern (related to his dominion over travel and his role as psychopomp)

Devotional acts

Travel to new places

Go on hiking in nature

Take care of the forest

Pick up trash you see on the road

Take care of your financial security

Learn about nature preservation programs in your area

Associations

Goats

Forests

Shepherds

Roads

Travels

the Wild in nature

Money

Commerce

Yew

Wednesday

April

Descendants in later pantheons

Pan (Greek)

Hermes (Greek)

Faunus (Roman)

Mercury (Greek)

Pushan (Vedic)

Cernunnos (Celtic)

Finally, here's his wikipedia article

[faith-of-the-wheel]

Rudlós part 2.5: Additional possible cognates

Some other possible reflexes of Rudlos are much harder to prove and provide, in my opinion, little additional detail. They might corroborate previously shown characteristics. Many of these are Celtic(Gaulic) deities who are poorly attested but whose symbology may be more helpful than the very poorly attested, but linguistically relevant, Rudianos/Rudiobus. Many continental Germanic and Celtic deities are represented by kennings and epithets, rather than their 'original' names. As Ceisiwr Serith (2009) suggests in his book about ancient PIE religion, this may have been common for many cultures descended from the PIE language groups; to utter the name of a god was to attract their attention, which was not always desired. And to shower one in descriptive epithets was to prove devotion and knowledge of them in prayer.

Faunus/Silvanus

The name Faunus is generally thought to stem from Proto-Italic *fawe or *fawono (variant *fawōn(jo)), cognate with Umbrian fons(foner) meaning 'merciful'. It may ultimately derive from PIE *bʰh₂u-n ('favourable'), which also reflects Old Irish búan ('good, favourable, firm') and Middle Welsh bun ('maiden, sweetheart').

Another theory(Briquel, 1974, and Sergent, 1991) contends that Faunus is the Latin outcome of PIE *dhau-no- ('the strangler', thus denoting the 'wolf'. Somehow.), a proposition suggested by the fact that the two Luperci ("wolf-men", from Latin lupus, 'wolf') are commonly treated as temporary priests of the god Faunus.

He strongly associated with Pan, and would alter be depicted in a similar manner. However, the oldest depictions do not ascribe bestial features to him at all. It is believed that he was worshiped by traditional Roman farmers in another capacity before he became a nature deity. He was associated directly by the ancient, and at times seemingly identical, Lupercus.

The name Silvānus is a derivation from Latin silva ('forest, wood'). It is cognate with the Latin words silvester ('wild, not cultivated'), silvicola ('inhabiting woodlands') or silvaticus ('of woodlands or scrub'). The earlier etymology of silva is unclear.

He was associated with Mars, who is also sometimes depicted wearing a wolf's pelt, and seeing as Cato refers to him consistently as Mars Silvanus, giving him a warlike, martial aspect, and a solid wolf connection. Silvanus as an aspect of Mars combined with his association with forests and glades, give context to the worship of Silvanus as the giver of the art of forest(read ambush/mobile stealthy) warfare. In particular, the initiation rituals of the Evocati appear to have referenced Silvanus as a protective god of raiding for women and cattle. Some have argued that this could be Etruscan influence but it would line up very well with our already established character of Rudlos as a god of aggressive warfare, wild nature, and the village plundering, cattle/women stealing Koryos/Mannerbund.

Hraste and Vukovic connect Faunus/Silvanus to Rudra/Shiva. To qoute:

" Contemporary history of religion affirms that Roman Faunus and Silvanus represent the same divinity. This article argues for the Indo-European parallel between Faunus/Silvanus and Vedic Rudra/Shiva based on several similarities. They both possess two names that should be interpreted thus: one as wild and savage (Silvanus/Rudra) and the other as favorable and propitious (Faunus/Shiva). The male divinity can appear in both the plural and the singular, or he can have a homonymous female counterpart (Faunus/Fauna/Fauni — Rudra/Rudrání/Rudrás). They have a cult and abode distinct from other gods, closely associated with woods and wilderness. They are in special relation to animals, cattle, in particular. They have common abilities, such as healing all creatures. Their destructive character puts them in relation to the god of war. Poetry is the function of Faunus while Rudra's sons, the Maruts, accompanying Indra on his martial exploits, sing hymns of praise"

Cocidius

Silvanus as been identified in Romano-British religion with a northern Brittonic deity, Cocidius. He was also equated with Mars, in his capacity as a god of war and hunting, and also with Silvanus, as a god of forests, groves and wild fields. He was most likely worshiped by lower-ranked Roman soldiers, as well as by the Britons for whom he was probably a tribal god(a Genius Loci). The name may be related to Brittonic cocco-('red'), suggesting that statues of the god might have been painted red, and connecting him to Celtic reflexes of Rudlos, Rudianos and Rudiobus. His epithet Vernostonus connects him to Alder trees, which are associated with poetry, and the gods Apollon and Odin, and Dyeus Pter.

*U̯ātonos by Senobessus Bolgon

Visucius/Cissonius/U̯ātonos

Delamarre suggests a couple of meanings for Visucius, ranging from ‘Crow’ or ‘Raven’ from *uisuco or *uesākos to ‘who knows’, ‘who foretells’’ or ‘who sees’, possibly derived from *witsu. Olmstead however argues that it could mean ‘the Worthy’, coming from *Wesu. While the etymology is controversial, they all seem to point back towards a Rudlos-cognate. He is likely connected to the 'Gaulish Mercury' whose identity remains complicated but very well could be a transplanted Wodanaz. Senobessus Bolgon, a blog dedicated to Gaulish Polytheism, has a great article on the reconstructed Gaulish U̯ātonos you can read here.

Visucius was connected by by the romans via interpretatio with Mercury, and according to Miranda Green via epigraphy recorded byJan de Vries, with Mars as well. His name and associations could indicate him being a psychopomp and a deity of eloquence, trade, traveling, knowledge, oaths, magic. Mercury was also associated with the god Lugus, who shares all of the above qualities. If Visucius is similar or identical to Lugus, we may be able to assume that he is also similar to Germanic Wotan/Odin. This is likely because of the cultural cross-pollination between eastern Gaulish and continental Germanic tribes.

Not nearly as much is to be said for Cissionius, other than that the name is almost as common as Visucius in Belgic regions.  According to Green, Cissionius also had a doublet goddess by the name of Cissionia, much like how Visucius had one called Visucia. For these reasons, as well as Senobessus Bolgon treats both Visucius and Cissionius as the same deity, as will we. 

Lugh, Cu Chulainn, Oisín and Fionn Mac Cumhaill.

I forgot to add these last time, but I've finally remembered to return to this post. Irish religion, especially the details of its deities, can be very hard to nail down due their euhemerization or christian alteration. However, I think aspects/cognates of Rudlos can most certainly be found in Ireland.

I previously spoken about the connection between Odin, Fenrir, Lugh and Cu Chulainn, in Rudlos Part 2, Comparison of Cognates, under the section about Odin. For ease however, I'm going to paste it below.

"I also think this relates to the myths of Fenrir and Irish Cú Chulainn, who parallel each other in some interesting ways. And keep in mind that Irish religion before christian influence would likely be among the most conservative traditions. Cú Chulainn took over the role of a guard dog as a lad, like Fenrir was taken to Asgard to live among the gods despite the punishment of his siblings. He needed to be submerged in three vats of water to quell his war rage where he was dangerous to friend and foe, and Fenrir was bound three times. When Cú Chulainn is killed, after tying himself to the standing stone/menhir, a figure of sovereignty similar to Tyr, Lugh "of the Long arm" cuts his head off, then the sword falls from Cú Chulainn and cuts Lugh's hand off just as Fenrir bites of Tyr's hand after being bound to a mountain.

Here's the really interesting thing, the myth of Fenrir and Tyr was made around the same time as the Ulfhednar were banned and considered outlaws in the Norse kingdoms. This may also explain why his father is the outlaw/trickster Loki and not the heavily wolf associated god of the Ulfhednar, Oðinn. From this point of view, Fenrir might even be a hypostasis of Oðinn in his berserker, frenzy aspect."

This would all seem to make Cu Chulainn a cognate of Rudlos. His name meaning "hound" and his berserker rage makes it particularly clear to me. He is traditionally thought to be an incarnation of Lugh, and he is son. Lugh himself is famed for his use of the spear, as is the Welsh Lleu Llaw Gyffes, but his other aspects give him much more in common with Dyeus or the Hellenic Athena. He is commonly thought to be the Irish expression of the pan-Celtic god Lugus, however this has been questioned.

Lugus has no widely accepted etymology, however he has been connected to Hamel and Maier proposed a derivation from proto-Celtic *lugus ("lynx"), perhaps used allusively to mean "warrior", but an article by John Carey found the evidence for the existence of such a word in proto-Celtic lacking. Other etymologies derive "Lugus" from the name of the Norse Loki,  proto-Celtic *luc- ("mouse" or "rat"), and Gaulish lougos ("raven").  You may note that mice and ravens are animals closely associated with Rudlos, as is being a warrior. However, aside from the spear connection, I feel there are no solid grounds to call Lugh, Lleu, or Lugus a cognate of Rudlos.

Fionn mac Cumhaill, who will be referenced further as Fionn, is the leader of the Fianna bands of young roving hunter-warriors(very Koryos sounding, no?), as well as being a seer and poet. His famous tale of catching the Salmon of Wisdom is quest to gain said wisdom from a source of water(symbolically representing chaos in early IE thought), not unlike Odin's and Rudra's. He is often depicted hunting with his hounds Bran and Sceólang, and fighting with his spear and sword, and is himself rather young. Macgnímartha Finn is specifically about his boyhood exploits, adding to his youthful association. Water drunk from his hands is also said to heal even the most severe wounds. He is also said to have been taught the art of war and hunting by a woman called Liath Luachra("Grey One of Luachair"), who bears some similar it Scathach and her relationship to Cu Chulainn.

In Old Irish, Finn/Fionn means "white, bright, lustrous; fair, light-hued (of complexion, hair, etc.); fair, handsome, bright, blessed; in moral sense, fair, just, true". It is cognate with Primitive Irish VENDO- (found in names from Ogam inscriptions), Welsh gwyn (cf. Gwyn ap Nudd), Cornish gwen, Breton gwenn, Continental Celtic and Common Brittonic*uindo- (a common element in personal and place names), and comes from the Proto-Celtic adjective masculine singular *windos. The name seems rather generic but does bring to mind the descriptors used for Hellenic Apollon, and occasional Vedic Rudra. In myth, his mother initially named him Deimne(literally "sureness" or "certainty", also a name that means a young male deer) and several legends tell how he gained the name Fionn when his hair turned prematurely white.

He is also married to Sadhbh, who is also called Sive, pronounced the same. We're gonna get into her very soon in the second part of Rtkona series, but suffice it to say she is pretty convincing cognate and particularly my theory that Rtkona and Rudlos are lovers.

They had a son together, Oisín, who was regarded in legend as the greatest poet of Ireland, a warrior of the Fianna in the Ossianic or Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. His name literally means "young deer", in refernce to his mother. He is also considered a demigod, and given the age of his character and mythos, he reinforces the divinity of his parents.

Lets circle back to Bran and Sceólang, whose names mean "Raven" and "Survivor" respectively. Bran is typically male, while Sceolang is typically female, but their are a few variations. The hounds' mother, Uirne, was transformed into a dog while pregnant, hence the canine birth of her twin children. While Uirne is returned to full humanity after giving birth to her pups, Bran and Sceólang remain hounds throughout the duration of their mythos. As Uirne is the sister of Fionn's mother Muirne, Bran and Sceólang would be their masters' cousins.

I think the arguement for the relation of Cu Chulainn, Fionn, and perhaps even Oison is rather strong and more than worth updating this post.

Orion(also Dionysus, sorta)

This one is also a stretch but I feel there are some shocking connections when you dig into it.

Orion was a Gigas huntsman, companion of the goddess Artemis, who Zeus (or maybe Artemis herself) placed among the stars as the constellation of Orion.

The stories of his birth are numerous, his death even more so. I will link his wikipedia article here, as it covers most of the relevant details of one does not wish to go through each individual account.

The parts of most importance are this:

He was blinded and regained his sight(think of Odin's lost eye)

The star Sirius is called his dog(In India, it was associated with Rudra), As are Canis Major and Canis Minor.

Went to Crete where he hunted with Artemis and her mother Leto, and threatened to kill every beast on Earth.

Gaia (Apollon in some versions, disapproving of his sister's relationship with a male) objected and sent a giant scorpion to kill Orion.

It succeeded in killing him, and after his death, the two goddesses asked Zeus to place Orion among the constellations.

In several versions, Eos(very ancient IE goddess) falls in love with him and takes him to Delos, where Artemis kills him.

In one version, he plans to marry Artemis, before Apollon orchestrates his death.

Artemis mourns him greatly

His name may come from the ancient Greek word oros, which means "mountain". It may also come from the word horion, which means "boundary" or "limit". Both seem fair origins and either could reasonably relate to an epithet of Rudlos. However, it has also been argued, very speculatively, that it come from Akkadian Uru-anna, meaning “heaven's light”.

Orion had a hero cult in the region of Boeotia(the area surrounding Thebes). The number of places associated with his birth suggest that it was widespread. Hyria, the most frequently mentioned, was in the center of Boeotia. A feast of Orion was held there as late as the Roman Empire. Maurice Bowra argues that Orion was a national hero of the Boeotians, much as Castor and Pollux were for the Dorians. He bases this claim on the Athenian epigram on the Battle of Coronea in which a hero gave the Boeotian army an oracle, then fought on their side and defeated the Athenians.

I want you to keep in mind the panhellenic hero cult of Herakles, who is widely regarded as a cognate of the IE thunder god, Perkwunos, was also believed to have been a historic mortal man and even had several graves where his body was believed to have been laid to rest. Orion also had a grave in Boeotia, at the foot of Mount Cerycius(Now Tanagra), enhancing his mountain connection. Indeed, if Orion was once Rudlos, it is very possible aspects of his myth and cult split off from him and on to other deities, namely his more establish but originally Anatolian cognate, Apollon. Dionysus was similarly euhemerized although this happened much later.

Also keep in mind, Orion is not a human, but a member of the Gigantes, often translated as Giants, although they were no more than a foot taller than the average Greek, not the monsters that snap trees like tooth-picks they are often depicted as. Gigantes were known for their size and strength, and were considered the children of Gaia. Orion himself was considered to be the pinnacle of mortal hunting ability, and incredibly strong. The current consensus, backed up by Homer, is that Orion's name, myth, and cult, predate the naming of the constellation.

In Dionysus (1976), Karl Kerényi portrays Orion as a shamanic hunting hero, surviving from Minoan times (hence his association with Crete). Kerényi derives Hyrieus (and Hyria) from the Cretan dialect word ὕρον hyron, meaning "beehive", which survives only in ancient dictionaries. From this association he turns Orion into a representative of the old mead-drinking cultures, overcome by the wine masters Oenopion and Oeneus. (The Greek for "wine" is oinos.) Fontenrose cites a source stating that Oenopion taught the Chians how to make wine before anybody else knew how.

In some versions, he is the son of Poseidon, who grants him the power to walk on water.

Joseph Fontenrose wrote Orion: the Myth of the Hunter and the Huntress (1981) to show Orion as the type specimen of a variety of grotesque hero. He views him as similar to Cú Chulainn, that is, stronger, larger, and more potent than ordinary men and the violent lover of the Divine Huntress.

The Boeotian school of epic poetry was primarily focused with the genealogies of the gods and heroes. Several other myths are attached to Orion in this way: A papyrus fragment of the Boeotian poet Corinna gives Orion fifty sons (a traditional number). This included the oracular hero Acraephen, who gave a response to Asopus regarding Asopus' daughters who were abducted by the gods. Corinna sang of Orion conquering and naming all the land of the dawn. Bowra argues that Orion was believed to have delivered oracles as well, probably at a different shrine.

The stories surrounding Orion resemble those of several other mythical hunters of the Boeotian region. The hunter Kephalos (Cephalus), for example, was also said to have been seduced by the goddess Eos. Another, Aktaion (Actaeon), was similarly killed by Artemis while out hunting. And finally, the earth-born Boeotian giant Tityos attempted to violate the goddess Leto(just as Orion assaulted Opis/Artemis) and was destroyed by Apollon and Artemis with their arrows.

Now, as a Hellenist, I would argue the myth involving Apollon orchestrating Orion's death is one to be interpreted as illustrating the function of Apollon as the god who brings us back to reason. u/messageofapollo over on reddit made a small post in r/Hellenism that I feel sums up an excellent Hellenist reading of the story, which I will link here.

However, in the name of PIE reconstructionism I would also argue this interpretation of that same myth: It may also represent the cult of Apollon, who would become a symbol of Greek-ness(Hellenismos, if you will) itself and one of the most widely spread and consistent cults of Greece, overtaking what remained of Orion's and retaking what it had once been and much more. A cognate of Rudlos circumventing and usurping another cognate, albeit a small, euhemerized one, to great acclaim.

It also like to you to take a look at this article by Michael Janda, specifically section 2 which starts on page 4. It compares a myth of Rudra defending Ushas from Prajapati to the myth of Orion, specifically the version involving Eos. They're connections to the same stars, the same symbols, and a remarkably similar narrative. I do not agree with all of his conclusions, including his statement that a parallel between Greek and Indic sources = it's definitely PIE, but they're both archaic enough I'm also not too worried and about mutual influence. I don't think the PIE's drank wine either, although they almost certainly had some form of alcohol.

I'd also caution that while I see his point, I do not believe Artemis to be all that reflexive of the Dawn Goddess. Rather, I think the relevance is in her being his sister. And while Eos/Ushas and her earlier incarnations could have held a consistent nocturnal role, I don't see strong evidence for it.

Later in the article he makes an argument for the reflexive nature of Dionysus, which I feel is largely adequate. I'm not personally motivated much by Dionysus as a cognate, even if he indeed is. He has been altered so heavily I don't feel he adds much to the table.

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Let's take a step back, look at all the cognates. We have very well documented, direct attestations, in the Germanic, Vedic, and an Anatolian/Greek cognate that backs up both very well. A pair poorly understood potential cognates in the Roman tradition. A whole series of Celtic cognates, back up by linguistics, comparative mythology, and by Interpretatio romana. And a possible Greek reflex, not of Rudlos himself, but perhaps his relationship with Rtkona.

[astroyongie]

🐈‍⬛ ྀི Goddess Worship: An Introduction of Freyja 🐈‍⬛ ྀི

Note: Day 17 of our October calendar! Today we have an introduction of deities I work with/worship. This post is to provide some information about the deities but also how I work with them personally. Everyone has their own methods with the Gods, and you should do whatever feels right with you while also respecting the bases of the religions.

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Historical Background:

Freyja (or Freya) is a major goddess in Norse mythology, belonging to the Vanir tribe of deities, which are associated with fertility, prosperity, and nature. (Vanir and Aesir are different deities in the Norse Mytho). She is the daughter of Njord, the sea god, and sister to Freyr (Twins), the god of fertility, peace, and prosperity. Her hall is known as Fólkvangr which welcome half of the warriors who died in battle. She is also the goddess of love, beauty, war, death, and magic (her magic is known as seidr associated with prophecy and shape-shifting. she could see into the future and use the power of runes). Freyja’s worship may predate Norse mythology, with roots in earlier Germanic or proto-Indo-European traditions second the archeologists studies.

Attributes and Symbols:

Cats: Freyja’s chariot is said to be drawn by two large cats, symbolizing fertility and domesticity. She has been long symbolized through cats and usually people who. worship her will use cats to connect with her Boars: She also rides the boar named Hildisvíni, a symbol of fertility, protection, and strength. Brísingamen: Her famous necklace, a symbol of fertility, sexuality, and beauty. The Brísingamen was often considered an object of great power and desire as in the mytho many creatures and gods have fought to have it. Falcon Cloak: This magical cloak allows Freyja to shapeshift into a bird, symbolizing freedom, the soul’s flight, and her connection to magic. Amber and Gold: Amber, known as "Freyja's tears," is associated with the goddess due to the myth where she weeps golden tears for her missing husband, Óðr.

Worship and Rituals:

Seidr (Magic): Freyja is a practitioner and teacher of seidr, a form of Norse magic involving divination, trance states, and influencing fate. Women (and men) who practiced seidr would invoke her for aid. this pratice is still used in the Nordic countries but it needs to be taught through initiation. One cannot learn to practice Seidr magic without initiation by another Seidr. One way of worshipping her is through the practice of Runes. Love and Fertility: As a fertility goddess, Freyja was worshipped by those seeking love, marriage, and fertility. Offerings of gold, honey, and flowers were made in her name. A lot of people would also use sexual intercourse as a way to give away their energy to the goddess in exchange of love and pregnancy. Battle and Death: Despite being a goddess of love, Freyja is also a goddess of war and death. Half of those who die in battle are said to go to her hall, Fólkvangr, while the other half go to Odin’s hall, Valhalla. One can worship her not only for love but also for strenght in battles. She is fierce when it comes to help protect those who pray her. Now in the modern times, her worship of battles have been adjusted with internal battles, challenges in life and even justice. Festivals: Freyja was likely honored during seasonal festivals like Dísablót (mostly done during winter seasons), where offerings were made to the dísir, female spirits or ancestors, who were linked to fertility and protection. It involves sacrifices (not animals but instead sacrificing something of you in return of something else) and ritual offerings to Freyja or the feminine ancestor spirits. Unfortunately there isn't many source of information about the norse mythology as Norse People didn't especially write it.

-> When worshipping Freyja, do not take her for granted. Her energy is pure and warm but she wishes for attention. Make a small altar for her, give offerings every friday (and of course offerings during spells were you invoke her energy or help). The important here to feel connected to the deity and respect her as a whole energy. Everyone has their own way of praticing, so do what feels right. But remember to do your own research. Get out of TikTok and READ! archeological revues and works are important.

-> Ideas for offerings: Wine, honey, bread, prayers, cat symbols (statues, whiskers, furr, ect), same with boar figures, jewelery, gold, coins, amber, red fruits, apples, incense, candles, anything else that feels right to you

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

"Freyja, Lady, Vanadis: An Introduction to the Goddess" by Patricia M. Lafayllve

"The Viking Way: Religion and War in Late Iron Age Scandinavia" by Neil Price

"Gods and Myths of Northern Europe" by H.R. Ellis Davidson LA MITOLOGÍA, Y. E. C. D. THE MYTHOLOGY AND CULT OF FREYJA AND HER IMPORTANCE TO VIKING AGE WOMEN. Bellows, Henry Adams (Trans.) (1923).

A Edda Poetica. American-Scandinavian Foundation

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[chthonic-sorcery]

The Ars Goetia didn't originate from "King Solomon" as it claims.

If it did, it wouldn't be heavily influenced by fucking Greek magic, since Solomon supposedly lived thousands of years before that period.

Medieval monks, who really wrote the Ars Goetia, had a very well documented habit of assigning parentage of magical texts to apocryphal figures like Solomon to make them seem cooler or more powerful. Particularly to christian adjacent figures, since otherwise these books would be considered hersey.

Even the word Goetia itself derives from the Greek Goêteia, meaning sorcery, specifically sorcery utilizing chthonic powers, or the Underworld: Gods, Daemons, and the Dead.

Goêteia comes from the proto Indo-European word goos, meaning to mourn, cry, or to wail; it comes from ancient funeral laments and mourning practices.

Also, Solomon likely never existed, hate to burst your bubble, but there has been zero archeological evidence found to support his, or his "father" king David's existence. Unlike other real kings of roughly the same periods, like King Nebuchadnezzar II.

Even the fact that the magic circles within the Ars Goetia utilize the same coiled serpents and five-pointed stars that Greek goêteia uses, stemming from EGYPT and Egyptian practice, not some psudeo-biblical figure like Solomon.

But wait, there's more

Even the use of demons isn't Solomonic, nor is it Jewish or christian.

It's also fucking Greek.

The word demon itself derives from the Greek daemon, meaning earthly divinity (rather than heavenly/ouranic) or a messenger of the Gods.

It was taken and absorbed into early christian theology like many other concepts such as Tartarus due to early christianity rising in the same region.

Particularly the use of daemons in magic through evocation, or even invocation (calling them within yourself to become possessed, a hallmark of Daemonism and the Engastraitai) through ritual incantations of voces magicae and nomina barbara.

All of it is fucking Greek, no Solomon to be found.

I'll add a step further: even the use of Jewish aspects of magic within the Ars Goetia stems from Greek goêteia, as Greek goêteia was a syncretism of Greek, Jewish, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian magical and spiritual practices.

Fuck, just take a look at the Greek Magical Papyri sonetime if you don't believe it.

Hell, even take a look at the Coptic Magical Papyri, which was a syncretism of early christianity and what we would call "ancient Egyptian" religion and Magical practices:

See the similarities?

Solomon my ass.

☆ ☆ ☆

Learn more here

[thevixenwitch]

Cernunnos - A Confusion of Aspects

Introduction

This was supposed to be a simple bit of research that I was going to do as a devotional act to Cernunnos, but over the course of the night I kept encountering the same dead ends that pointed to the same singular source of misinformation. So do not expect this to be entirely objective.

Let's begin with a simple question: Who is Cernunnos?

A Gallic deity, with difficult to trace roots. Depicted sparingly, there is debate on whether or not various depictions can actually be attributed to him. Particularly, one of the most famous supposed depictions – the Gundestrup Cauldron – has been theorized by Celtic scholar John Matthews to depict a Shaman and not the god himself, according to his book The Celtic Shaman. Depiction variation and debate is not uncommon in discussion of older religions and cultures, particularly when Romanization and Christian censorship were at play. Not to mention Wiccan appropriation and repurposing of beliefs without regard for earlier context.

Others have made fantastic deep dives into potential depictions and discussed them at length, and I am no historical scholar, so I have little to add in this case. I highly recommend the essay The gods of Gaul: Cernunnos by @mask131 [1] for a piece regarding depictions through history.

Upon reading the previous essay, I was inspired to dig deeper into Cernunnos, from historical contexts to meditating on my own UPG via my connection with him. My own connection with him was something that happened casually over time, ranging from dreamlike interactions to conversing directly through divination. I am an incarnate Fae, and worship him as the King of the Fae, in addition to other aspects and epithets such as:

Cernunnos

King of the Fae

Master of the Sacrificial Hunt, The Horned God, and other Wiccan Concepts

Master of the Wild Hunt

Pan

The Green Man

Herne the Hunter

This list is influenced by a resource post of druidry.org[2], but I will be researching each of these titles for further insights into their sources and how they do or do not connect to my own practice ahead.

[1] mask131, Tumblr

[2] https://druidry.org/resources/cernnunos - this is not a reliable resource

^ Cernunnos depiction on the Gundestrup Cauldron

Cernunnos

As learned in the previously linked essay, the name “Cernunnos” originates from the “Pillar of the Nautes” or the “Pillar of the Boatmen”, where the name is placed directly above a depiction of an antlered figure on the Block of Four Divinities[3] alongside the deity Smertrios. Many Gaul artifacts can be found in French museums. The Pillar of the Boatmen is attributed as a Roman-era inscription[4], so that gives us only enough information to hypothesize.

My takeaway from this is that the name Cernunnos is a modern approximation because of lacking, provable historical records, but rather serves a purpose as a modern placeholder. I came across information claiming that worship of Cernunnos as a deity was brought into modern belief by neo-pagans and popularized by Wiccans, particularly through Margaret Murray’s writings. During her studies of folklore in the early 20th century she put together a Witch-cult hypothesis that stated how a variety of horned deities were aspects of a “proto-horned god”[5]. In addition, this belief was adopted by Gerald Gardner and formed the basis of the concept of the Horned God within Wicca.[6]

“Sometimes also known as Carnonos, his name has firm Proto-Indo-European origins. It stems from the PIE word *k̑r̥no-, and is thus cognate to Germanic *hurnaz and Latin cornu, all meaning “horn”. In the Celtic Gaulish language, this word was karnon, and the connection with the name of Cernunnos is clear - it reflects the deity’s stag antlers, growing from his head. Thus, Cernunnos literally means “the horned one”.”[7]

Gallic history is sparse and difficult to pin down due to a lack of written records or literature. Multitudes of visual depictions dating from the Roman era have been attributed to Cernunnos by Archaeologists, having been retrieved from northern Gaul. These depictions are hypothesized to be this deity or others of similar archetypes. In addition, sites tend to use the words “Gallic” and “Gaelic” semi-interchangeably, despite the regional difference. Gael meaning a Celtic tribe from modern Ireland-Scotland, and Gaul meaning a tribe located in modern France. There is speculation that Cernunnos was a proto-Celtic deity, and could have had roots in any or all Celtic practices and beyond, but that is speculation because there is a lack of evidence to support the theory in any substantial direction.

[3] Name sourced from Athena Review, Vol. 4, No. 2, which also sources Huchard, V. (ed) Archéologica. 2003. “Le Pilier des Nautes Retrouvé. Histoire d’une Métamorphose.” Dijon, France. Éditions Faton S.A

[4] An observation attributed to Hatt, Jean-Jacques who recorded that the artifact was originally erected in 1st century AD.

[5] Margaret Murray, The God of the Witches

[6] Kathleen Sheppard Forced into the Fringes: Margaret Murray’s Witch-cult Hypothesis 21 April 2017

[7] According to Aleksa Vučković via ancient-origins.net

^Cernunnos's face as depicted of the Pillar of the Boatmen

King of the Fae - UPG

This title is predominantly UPG and relates to my own existence as an incarnate fae.

I find him similar but above other more location-based wild gods, beings like boar lords, and other guardians and rulers of nature. There is a loose hierarchy within fae politics, for lack of a better word, that is predominantly power based. Not as in subjugation over other beings, but rather quantified by expanse of control or domains. Finding the words for this section proves difficult, but he is simply above all of us, with a connection to all Fae. Cernunnos does not view himself as better than any of his subjects, he is not preoccupied with anything like that.

Does this title equate him with the concept of Oberon? No, I don’t believe so. He also exists outside of the seasonal courts, as he goes through a physical shift with the seasons instead of remaining in one form.

Master of the Sacrificial Hunt & The Horned God

Many modern depictions and associations with Cernunnos took their form via Wicca, as previously mentioned. The now heavily discounted Witch-cult hypothesis led to the adopting of the name as a common main aspect of Wicca’s concept of the Divine Masculine or the Horned God that absorbed many horned deities into one being, losing their individual status and becoming “aspects” of a central pillar. This is a theme often seen within Wicca and expands to their depiction of a central Divine Feminine deity as well, the pair often referred to as The Lord and The Lady. This is a simplification that I do not agree with. The epithet “Master of the Sacrificial Hunt” is unable to be sourced beyond the previous essay on Druidry.com and a repost of the same write-up on witchesofthecraft.com, so this title isn’t possible to verify. Although, mentions of Cernunnos identify him as a being that has a seasonal cycle of death and rebirth, which this epithet may be indicating. This belief appears to also have its basis within Wicca and lacks historical evidence. To quote from Wikipedia, “Within the Wiccan tradition, the Horned God reflects the seasons of the year in an annual cycle of life, death and rebirth

and his imagery is a blend of the Gaulish god Cernunnos, the Greek god Pan, The Green Man motif, and various other horned spirit imagery.”[8][9]

While I am large proponent of UPG, I do not abide by stating such concepts as strict facts. I will explore this further in future sections.

[8] Farrar, Stewart & Janet Eight Sabbats for Witches

[9] Doreen Valiente The Rebirth of Witchcraft pg 52-53

^The plaque I'm sure we've all seen in our local metaphysical store

Master of the Wild Hunt

The Wild Hunt is a concept that permeates the history of many European cultures, including the Celts.[10] Myths of Wild Hunts would most often include a central figure flanked by hunters all in pursuit of some kind of special quarry. Within Germanic legend, the mythical figure is often Odin, but there were many other figures that have been featured across cultures and belief systems, sometimes historical and other times religious. The hunters were often depicted as fairies, the souls of the dead, or otherwise inhuman participants. Witnessing the spectacle as a mortal was thought to bring calamity[11], death, or abduction to magical realms.  The concept and term were popularized by German author Jacob Grimm, originally as Wilde Jagd.[12]

This mythological concept existed in various aspects of Germanic and European folklore, across multiple cultures. Despite this, the lack of Gallic literature means that we are unable to directly connect Cernunnos to any historical uses. The prevalence of this type of myth, though, presents the obvious opportunity to incorporate our modern understanding of him into the framework to explore our own UPG. This is a topic I may meditate on further if I do further research into the concept of the Wild Hunt.

My own personal experiences with the concept are much more play oriented. If you’ve ever been to a Beltane festival, you probably know the heady feeling of being chased through the woods before being caught and celebrating the season. This interactive ritual-made-game is a fun staple you may find on the schedule of any fertility event these days meant to drive up sexually charged, excited energy. It’s a simple enough concept to incorporate into any individual practitioner’s holiday plan, if it suits your preference. Especially as a Fae, I find the concept of the Wild Hunt to be something fun to engage in with a special partner or community, and find no harm in inserting anyone into the role of Master of the Wild Hunt, as the prevalence of the format leaving the form of individual story to expand into a genre.

[10] Stith Thompson (1977) The Folktale University of California Press pg 257

[11] See, for example, Chambers's Encyclopaedia, 1901, s.v. "Wild Hunt": "[Gabriel's Hounds] ... portend death or calamity to the house over which they hang"; "the cry of the Seven Whistlers ... a death omen".

[12] Deutsche Mythologie (1835)

^Johann Wilhelm Cordes: Die Wilde Jagd (The Wild Hunt)1856/57

Pan

The conflation of Pan with Cernunnos appears to be predominantly based in the view of all male horned deities being simple aspects of a larger presence – the Wiccan Horned God. As previously stated, I do not support that concept and will use this section to study Pan as a separate entity and cover where in my UPG they overlap.

Pan is the Greek god of the wilds, music, and a guardian of shepherds and their flocks. He also was usually in the presence of nymphs.[13] Unlike the Stag depictions and associations of Cernunnos, Pan sported the legs and horns of a goat and appeared similar to a Satyr. His domain expanded to agricultural and wooded areas, as well as the realms of sex and fertility. The sum of those parts was to present him as a god of the season of Spring. He had a Roman equivalent in the god Faunus, and was also conflated with another known as Silvanus at times. Pan became a popular god during the 20th century neopagan revival[14].

Even before that, worship of him was brought back by a festival originating in Painswick, Gloucestershire by Benjamin Hyett, who also constructed various holy places in the god’s name.[15] Other popular occultists of the early 1900’s such as Aleister Crowley also crossed paths with Pan, as he built an altar to the god and wrote a ritual play about him.[16] After that point, his image and general description was absorbed into the Wiccan Horned God concept after Margaret Murray’s The God of the Witches posed the idea that he was simply one part of an overarching whole.

But who was Pan outside of this, particularly who was he before the Witch-god hypothesis altered how future generations would see him?

Pan is considered by some scholars to be a reconstruction of a Proto-Indo-European pastoral deity[17], as well as Pushan, a god originating from Rigvedic that also shared goat traits.[18]

Beyond these source hypotheses, there is evidence that Pan was first worshipped in the mountainous, isolated area of Arcadia. In that area, if a hunt wasn’t satisfactory, disgruntled hunters would scourge, or whip, the statue of Pan.[19] At this time, there were no formal temples to Pan, and worship was instead pursued in woodlands and other natural spaces. While exemptions from this rule did exist, they were few and far between.[20] He predates the Olympians, like many Grecian nature spirits. I won’t go too in depth regarding direct mythology, as its difficult to do that with the Greek pantheon without tangents.

Pan was viewed as a height of sexual prowess, and agricultural success. He had a history of dalliances with Nymphs, to put it lightly, often depicted as being controlled by his lust and anger. Such as in the myth of the Nymph Echo, whom he ordered killed when she denied any man. In some versions, the pair even have two children, or perhaps chose Narcissus over him, no matter the variation he is usually painted as rash and jealous. I’m sure we’ve all seen that statue of Pan and the goat that resides in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.

The word “panic” can trace its sources back to him, but I was surprised to find that “pandemonium” does not.[21]

In my personal view, Cernunnos ages with the seasons, being at his most virile in the Spring, then maturing into his form as a guardian of the dead come winter, appearing dead himself. This is relevant in that I find the depictions of the lustful, energetic Pan to be inspiring of how I see that Spring form. Beyond that, the agricultural and animal connections are similar, but seem to take very different forms upon closer inspection.

Within actual historical context, there doesn’t seem to be anything connecting Cernunnos and Pan in any way beyond neo-pagan labelling.

[13] Edwin L. Brown, "The Lycidas of Theocritus Idyll 7", Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, 1981:59–100.

[14] The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft, Hutton, Ronald, chapter 3

[15] Hutton, Ronald. The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft pp 161–162.

[16] Soar, Katy (2020). "The Great Pan in Albion". Hellebore. 2 (The Wild Gods Issue): 14–27.

[17] Mallory, J. P.; Adams, D. Q. (2006). The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 434

[18] H. Collitz, "Wodan, Hermes und Pushan," Festskrift tillägnad Hugo Pipping pȧ hans sextioȧrsdag den 5 November 1924 1924, pp 574–587.

[19] Theocritus. vii. 107

[20] Horbury, William (1992). Jewish Inscriptions of Graeco-Roman Egypt. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. p. 208.

[21] Coined by John Milton in his poem “Paradise Lost” coming from the Greek pan- “all” and daemonium “evil spirit”

^Mask of the god Pan, detail from a bronze stamnoid situla, 340–320 BC, part of the Vassil Bojkov Collection, Sofia, Bulgaria (It is shockingly difficult to find art of Pan where he's not rock hard.)

The Green Man

Viewed as more of a motif or concept than a deity, the Green Man originated in England and was usually depicted as covered in leaves and sometimes armed with a club. One might encounter these visuals in parades, festivals, or painted on the signs of many pubs come the 17th century. This changed with the introduction of Julia Somerset, who claimed in the Folklore journal that the design often seen on church walls actually had pagan origins as some kind of fertility deity.[22] There is no evidence to support this claim, and it has been contested by many folklorists.[23] This assertion by Somerset was then absorbed into the Wiccan Horned God despite being described as distinctly “20th Century Folklore”.[24]

That’s pretty much the extent of this one and was honestly one of the most shocking to read about. The Green Man was at best a regional icon used in local festivities but was never any kind of deity. That title was misrepresented and incorporated without research.

My personal association would be the visuals of Winter, but Cernunnos’ Winter form appears very differently to me. More skeletal stag, less old man with a holly beard.

[22]  Centerwall, Brandon S. (January 1997). "The Name of the Green Man". Folklore. 108 (1–2): 25–33.

[23] Livingstone, Josephine (2016-03-07). "The Remarkable Persistence of the Green Man". The New Yorker.

[24] Olmstead, Molly (2023-04-08). "Is the Green Man British Enough for the Royal Coronation?". Slate.

^A sign for the John Barras Pub Company

Herne the Hunter

After the last section, it is a relief to move on to something that has always been presented to me with its original fictional context intact. Herne the Hunter was a character originally depicted in The Merry Wive of Windsor written by Shakespeare in approximately 1597. Supposedly, Herne the Hunter is an antlered spirit that occupies the Royal Forest in England, occupying himself with tormenting cattle and rattling chains. While the character may have been based on local legends to some degree, it is unknown just how much verifiable connection has ever existed. Attempts to connection him to other deities or legends were made often after he was written.

There is an old tale goes, that Herne the Hunter

(sometime a keeper here in Windsor Forest)

Doth all the winter-time, at still midnight

Walk round about an oak, with great ragg'd horns;

And there he blasts the tree, and takes the cattle,

And makes milch-kine yield blood, and shakes a chain

In a most hideous and dreadful manner.

You have heard of such a spirit, and well you know

The superstitious idle-headed eld

Receiv'd, and did deliver to our age

This tale of Herne the Hunter for a truth.

— William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act 4, scene 4

Despite Herne being a location-based character appearing only in the areas Windsor Forest occupied, certain books published in 1929 and 1933[25] attempted to identify him with Cernunnos and other horned deities. This is again the connection through which Wiccans incorporated Herne into the Horned God.[26]

[25] The History of the Devil – The Horned God of the West by R. Lowe Thompson; The God of the Witches by Margaret Murray

[26]  'Simple Wicca: A simple wisdom book' by Michele Morgan, Conari, 2000

^Illustration of Herne the Hunter by George Cruikshank (1840s)

Romanizations

There are theories mentioned in mask131’s essay regarding attempts at identifying what Roman deity or deities was meant to be the equivalent of Cernunnos, but there is sadly only speculation on that front. Opinions vary from person to person, but parallels are often drawn to Dis Pater and Mercury for shared traits. I did find instances such as the Lyon Cup and an altar from Reims that feature Mercury and Cernunnos depicted side by side, so I believe it is safe to say that they were at least at some point considered fully separate beings.

^1st-century CE altar from Reims with Cernunnos, accompanied by Apollo and Mercury. Mercury has a cornucopia, while Cernunnos spills grain.

Aside – Misinformation is Rampant

This one book, this one fucking “hypothesis”, changed the entire face of what would eventually become modern neopaganism. The damage of the Witch-cult hypothesis is far reaching and permeates every resource I could find while writing this piece aside from the explicitly scholarly. It is extremely discouraging how quickly you can trace something that feels off back to this one woman’s massively disproven theory that was adopted by a man that wanted to make a religion based on occult foundations because he admired ceremonial magic. The frustration I feel as someone trying to do research now after this misinformation and pseudohistory has seeped into every aspect of the path has me constantly on edge and second guessing everything I read until I can find a source.

Stating UPG as undeniable fact that others must agree with isn’t great at the best of times, but the sheer level of ignorance to historical record seems to be running rampant within the modern Pagan community. I’m all for believing something unverifiable, something that’s only true for you, or for the world from your perspective, but there is and must be a difference between that and presenting easily disproven statements as unbreakable law, especially with they come hand in hand with any dressings like, “this is actually true because I was told so by this person, who learned from this other person.” And the process is traceable to the source they borrowed from and how it was completely disproven.

We must think critically within paganism, research beyond the books with flashy covers in Barnes & Noble and question the things we are told by others are just the way things are.

Your relationship with the gods is yours alone and can take any form you want it to. Don’t let yourself be trapped by ignorance. Learn about historical contexts, question sources, seeking mentoring from those who revel in your questions and help you find the answers.

Conclusion

Cernunnos is a deity that is beyond valuable to communicate with directly due to the lack of concrete historical and folkloric information, and the prevalence of blatant misinformation that uses his name. Context is important, and even if you choose to exist outside of it, which is a perfectly valid choice, it should be a conscious one.

In addition, while attempting to research this, I actually stumbled upon sites not just with AI generated cover images, but what fully appeared to be AI generated writing. Be vigilant against information that looks like someone just skimmed the surface and made an assumption, this page had a lot of almost correct or just flat out made up information that contradicts historical fact. Especially in this modern era where people use automatic programs to make summaries of summaries for a game of unverifiable internet telephone, be aware. No matter what your personal stance on AI is, I'm sure we can all stand against information atrophy.

To me, Cernunnos is a supportive, ever-present god that helps me through things in his own way, meaning that its usually something intense and then coming out the other side putting out a fire on the back of my head. He's hands-off, and wants me to admire the turning of the seasons from new angles. He's opened my eyes to a deeper respect for other belief systems, and encouraged me to do this research so that I could better understand him as well as our own connection. He wants me to be observant and always keep learning and questioning and growing in my faith, in my magic, in my role as a faery.

When it comes to the belief systems that you rely on in life, ignorance is not bliss. Seek knowledge deep in the forest and on the frozen boundaries of a lake or standing barefoot in a grassy meadow, but also in historical records. Anyone who wants the best for you will want you to research and learn more.

Genuinely as I was finishing this up last night, adding this section to the post version the next morning, I considered becoming a YouTube essay person. Maybe someday! Perhaps an actual blog. Researching and writing this kind of thing was actually very fun. I never even did something like this while I was in school, so maybe I'm just not traumatized by the concept. Anyways, I hope this was informative and you enjoyed a peek into the journey I took while putting this together.

Now I'm gonna go light up some green in dedication to Cernunnos ✌︎︎♡⃛

^The Lyon Cup, sometimes identified as Cernunnos

[alpaca-clouds]

The Otherworld, Fea/Fey and what little we know about Celtic mythology

Okay. I was now asked more than once about this. Which is fair. What is the Otherworld? I have noted this word more than once in regard to Maria and her magic - and if you have read any of my writing on Castlevania you might have stumbled across the word as well, as I reference it fairly often there as well.

If you are one of those five people who came originally from Twitter to follow me here, you might also know that a friend and I work on a comic called Otherworldly. So, let me talk about the Otherworld.

The Celtic Otherworld

The general concept and name of the Otherworld comes from the celtic mythology. Once more we know most about it from the Gaelic mythology, because most of the oral tradition that has survived is from the Scots and the Irish. And you might even have heard at some point of Tír na nÓg, which was one of the names for the Gaelic variation of this myth. If you were at any point a fan of Lord of the Rings you might also be aware of the concept, despite Tolkien using another name for it.

Generally speaking the Otherworld is a world of eternal youth and beauty, in which the fae/fey, as well as the gods of this religion tend to live. But in some cases humans wander into the Otherworld as well. Maybe because they get invited into it by a fae of some variation of sidhe, or just because they get lost. In those cases we might have stories in which children get lost in the forest and years later stumble out of the forest not having aged a single day.

Something that is maybe specific interesting for Maria: The Gaulic mythology (so the one of the French celts) actually said, there were two Otherworlds: The White World and the Black World. The White World was a sort of heaven, the Black World a sort of hell - even though that is obviously just once more interpreting it through a Christian lense.

Generally speaking this was less of an afterlife. While the souls of the deceased would generally pass through the otherworld, most of them would then go on (possibly for reincarnation). Though we have some stories of heroes that remain in the Otherworld and become sorts of gods.

The Otherworld as a General Concept

This is the moment where I will once again talk about Indo-European mythology. As you might have heard: Pretty much all cultures that existed in Europe and around the Mediterranean and some part of Asia go back to one culture that originally lived in the area that is today's Ukraine, which in anthropology is called the Proto-Indo-European culture. And we are fairly certain, that the Otherworld at the very least goes back to the mythology that this culture has had - if not even further back, as similar concepts are even found outside of these connected cultures.

Basically, these cultures generally have a realm or parallel world in which the gods reside and at times all sorts of other paranormal creatures.

This is why some authors, like me, use this parallel in their writing. Of course we are well aware that anthropoligically speaking these parallels are there, because the cultures have the same root and have influenced each other. But of course, as a fantasy writer it is hard to not look at it and go: "Well, what if all these cultures have this concept because it is real?!"

Fae/Fey

Lastly we should talk about the Fae/Fey. Again, the wording goes back to the Celts. Fae/Fey is generally a word that is often used today as "fairy", though technically the fae in the mythology are usually not little humanoids with wings. Mainly they seem to have been a sort of spirit-like being, some of which showed as humans with otherworldly beauty and eternal youth. This is mainly where the elves in fantasy come from. Some could also appear as both animals or monsters of sorts.

The general thought is, that they probably anthropologically speaking fae probably go back to a spiritual religion, in which nature spirits were revered in different ways - and then got personified partly as fae or gods.

And if we are talking fantasy writers once more: Given those parallels with the Otherworld, especially Urban Fantasy does this little trick quite often, where pretty much all spiritual beings from all sorts of religions just get qualified as "fae", no matter from what culture they come. So Yokai from Shinto might also qualify as fae in this way of looking at it.

And that in the end brings us back to Maria, whose familiars obviously were originally based in East Asian mythology, while the way she summons them clearly is more linked to the celtic culture.

It will be really interesting to see (if the Netflix algorithm decided that it would be worth it for Netflix to let Powerhouse make another season) how this is going to tie back to Maria's backstory eventually.

[room-surprise]

do you know or have thoughts on why the dm characters sometimes reference ‘hell’ (as in ‘what the hell?’) given how the series handles religion? is that an anime thing or translation thing or…???

This is such a great question, and fun to answer, so thank you for writing to me!!! I think there's two things happening at the same time: What does hell really mean in English, and what are the characters actually saying in the original Japanese?

If the characters say hell in the original manga or in any translations, I think it is pretty safe to assume that they aren't referring to the Christian hell specifically, since it doesn't appear to exist in the Dungeon Meshi world. They are instead referring to the generic concept of a hell.

NON-CHRISTIAN HELLS

Hell is a word that can refer to a "bad afterlife" in many different world cultures. Obviously all of these cultures have their own names for these places, but when they are translated into English they are frequently referred to as "Buddhist hell", "Hindu hell", "Nordic hell", etc.

The word "hell" was adopted by Christians to describe something in their religion, but does not originate with them.

The modern English word hell is derived from Old English hel, to refer to a nether world of the dead. The word has cognates in all branches of the Germanic languages, and they all ultimately derive from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic feminine noun xaljō or haljō ('concealed place, the underworld'), and can be traced back even further to Proto-Indo European.

When the Germanic peoples were converted to Christianity, the word "hell" was adopted to refer to the Christian underworld. Before that time, hell was called many different things by the Christians, including "Sheol" (grave, death, pit, underworld), "Gehenna" (valley of wailing), "Hades" or "Tartarus." (The first two are Hebrew words, and the latter two are Ancient Greek. All of these words are attempting to describe similar things, a bad afterlife.) These Germanic cultures (most of Northern, Western and Central Europe) are the primary cultural influence of Dungeon Meshi's Eastern and Northern Continents, where the story takes place, and where most of the characters are from. So the word hel/hell would be native to the region, and logical for the characters to use both as a swear word, and also as a reference to whatever afterlife they might believe in.

WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERS ACTUALLY SAYING THOUGH?

Dungeon Meshi is, for better or for worse, written in standard, contemporary Japanese, without any particular emphasis or attempt to sound "old fashioned" or like it is "fantasy", so any changes or additions made in translation to make the dialog or narration sound that way are just that: additions and changes. The changes made during translation aren't inherently bad, but the original text is very neutral, and open to interpretation. For example, Yaad calls Laios "tono/dono" in Japanese, which is an honorific that has no direct English equivalent, but is used between two people of similar social status, when one wants to be extra polite to the other. It does not imply nobility, but respect higher than "mister" and lower than "lord." Most English translations have rendered this as "Sir Laios" which isn't literally what Yaad says, but conveys the idea with something that "feels right" for the setting. It may be that in Dungeon Meshi the characters are literally saying the English word "hell/heru" in Japanese (ヘル), the word jigoku (地獄), which is the Japanese word for Buddhist hell, another word for a specific different underworld or afterlife, they are saying a Japanese swear word, or just using casual/impolite language that doesn't have a direct translation into English, and so needs to be localized into something that will make sense in English.

The last one is most likely what is happening, and I can think of a couple of common phrases that would most likely be translated into "What the hell?":

The polite, neutral way to say "What's that?" or "What [should I] do?" is "Nan-darou? (なんだろう?) or "Nani?" (何), which just means "What?"

The more casual, aggressive, masculine way of saying it is "Nani-kore?" (なにこれ？) which doesn't mention hell in any way, but translates to something like "What the hell?" or "What the fuck?" It's more rude because it's casual speech, but doesn't literally use words for hell or fuck in it. It technically means the same thing as "Nan-darou?" or "Nani?" But translating it the same way would be ignoring the context and tone of the words.

Another thing that's often said in Japanese is "Uso!" (うそ！) Which literally means "lie" or "not true", but in conversation it’s often used to say things like "you're lying!", "For real?!", "really?", or "No way!"

Often these exclamations of "Uso!" don't have anything to do with lying or untruths, they are meant to express surprise (this can't be happening!) or a response to someone talking about an outrageous and terrible event they experienced, like saying "No way! I can't believe that happened to you!" It's also sometimes translated as "What the hell…" or "Unbelievable…"

If the translators tried to keep this sort of thing literal, the manga would be full of lines like:

CHILCHUCK, running for his life from a mimic: What's this?! (Nani-kore?!) (He isn't literally asking what the mimic is, he is expressing surprise, so he should shout some curse words in English like hell, fuck, shit, etc.)

MARCILLE, horrified by the chimera: Lie! (Uso!) (She isn't just saying the word "lie" with no context, she is expressing shock, horror and disbelief at what she sees, so she should say something like "No, that can't be..." or "Impossible...")

I am not an expert in Japanese, but I hope that all of this is helpful to you, anon, and anyone else that's interested in this sort of thing!