The Horned God - Cernunnos, Pashupati ?

Cernnunos, a nature and fertility god, has appeared in a multitude of forms and made himself known by many names to nearly every culture throughout time.

"Through the forest stillness they come, whispering wings and secret glide, rustling leaves, and silent step, the first Ancestors, the Oldest Animals, to gather around Him: Blackbird, Keeper of the Gate; Stag of Seven Tines, Master of Time; Ancient Owl, Crone of the Night; Eagle, Lord of the Air, Eye of the Sun; and Salmon, Oldest of the Old, Wisest of the Wise leaping from the juncture of the Five Springs. He welcomes them and blesses them, and they honour Him, Cernnunos of the nut brown skin and lustrous curling hair; the god whose eyes flash star-fire, whose flesh is a reservoir of ancient waters, His cells alive with Mystery, original primeval essence. 

Naked, phallus erect, He wears a crown of antlers limned in green fire and twined with ivy. In his right hand the Torq of gold, testament of his nobility and his sacred pledge; in his left hand the horned serpent symbol of his sexual power sacred to the Goddess. Cernnunos in His Ancient Forest, His Sacred Temple, His Holy Grove, Cernnunos and His children dream the Worlds..."

An ancient idol of Rudra ( Shiva )

SHIVA symbolises consciousness, the masculine principle. SHAKTI (or Prakriti) means energy, power, movement, change, nature. It is the maternal principle – the provider, abundance. In the human as well as in the animal kingdom the mother offers nourishment, warmth and security. There is no greater love than the love of a mother. The mother carries and nourishes the child in her own body. When it is born she provides it with mother’s milk and raises it at the sacrifice of her own self until it becomes self-reliant.

SHIVA (or Purusha), on the other hand, is pure consciousness – the unchanging, unlimited and unswayable observer. Purusha has no desires whatsoever; these are inherent only in Prakriti. Purusha is the empty, clear screen onto which Prakriti projects her colourful film.

Only when Shiva and Shakti combine can action, movement and creation arise. Until energy is impregnated with consciousness it is ignorant, disordered, aimless and “blind”. Energy alone can produce nothing; consciousness bestows upon it content, form and direction. Conversely, consciousness without energy is dormant power, sleeping energy, and on its own is unable to be the cause of anything. Just as Prakriti without Purusha is unable to act, and vice versa, Purusha without Prakriti is also incapable of creating anything.

The meaning of Shiva and Shakti is occasionally misunderstood when Shiva and Shakti are looked upon as “man” and “woman” and their union is regarded as a sexual relationship. Sexuality is something completely natural, and misunderstanding arises only when sexuality and spirituality are mixed.

• Sexuality is the union of man and woman
• Spirituality is the union of the human and the divine consciousness.

At the Sacred Centre, in the Grove of all Worlds, He sits with legs crossed beneath an ancient Oak. Entranced, connecting the three worlds Earth, Sea, and Sky, and the worlds behind the worlds, the god and the Great Tree are One, His immense limbs widespread, stretching into distant sky and starry space.

 He is perhaps best known to us now in his Celtic aspects of the untamed Horned God of the Animals and the leaf-covered Green Man, Guardian of the Green World. Just like Shiva of Vedic culture, he takes different material forms in earth as representations of different energies.

 Shiva is known by many names such Viswanathan (lord of the universe), Mahadeva, Mahesha, Maheshvara, Shankara, Shambhu, Rudra, Hara, Trilochana, Devendra (chief of the gods), Neelakanta, Subhankara, Trilokinatha (lord of the three realms), and Ghrneshwar (lord of compassion). Sometimes each names are seen as different incarnations of Shiva throughout the ages. 

Shiva is seen as a cosmic, almighty formless God, Parameshwara Shiva ( Purusha) who is the source of everything. The male aspect of Paramathman, the supreme soul while Parameshwari, Shakthi ( Prakriti) being his consort, the female aspect.

His massive trunk, spine of the Middleworld, is the heart of the Ancient Forest around which all Life, all worlds turn; His limitless root web growing deep into secret earth and Underworld.

When we see the above words, we can closely link this with the concept of Cosmic male, Purusha. Purusha is referred to as the very embodiment of the universe itself.

 The Horned God - Cernunnos, Shiva or Pashupati? For a long time the Gundestrop Cauldron has been hailed as one of the most beautiful examples of Celtic art, made in Thrace but found in Denmark. It is now considered possible that the image of the horned god is that of Pasupati, a Shiva prototype, found in the early Indus Valley civilization. 

Certainly a seal from the ancient city of Mohenjodaro in the Indus Valley looks remarkably like the scene depicted on the cauldron. Compare the cauldron image below with that of the Pasupati figure from Mohenjodaro, 2300-1750 BC.

Just like Shiva, Cernunnos is believed to be the god of Nature and Fertililty and is still revered in Celtic mythology as the 'Lord of Animals' (quite similar to the Indus Pashupati!). Cernunnos is a protector of the forest and master of the hunt.

Depictions of Cernunnos are found in many parts of the British Isles and western Europe. He is often portrayed with a beard and wild, shaggy hair -- he is, after all, the lord of the forest. From these, we can conclude that the almighty Purusha walked those lands as their horned GOD.

An idol of Cernnunos in mediation

Shakti embodies the active feminine energy of Shiva and literally means  “empowerment”. It is a Hindu based feminine cosmic energy force representing  the Divine Feminine and creative power that we each hold within us and is particularly associated with the sacral chakra and womb area.  Not only is Shakti energy responsible for creation, it is also the agent of all liberation and change and connects with kundalini energy.  Lord Shiva’s female consort (known as Uma, Sati, Parvati, Durga and Kali)  is sometimes paired with Shakti.

Yet, one cannot speak of Cernnunos without speaking of Anu or Don, the All Mother who gave Him birth. The way of Cernnunos is through the One. Like Her, Cernnunos is a Being or Power that existed before time and before the gods, the Shining Ones. Together they are First Mother and First Father, All Mother and All Father who brought the gods into being. Limitless and everlasting His energy permeates Her matter through every aspect of life to the sub-atomic. As Lord of the Dance He is present in the billions and billions of infinitely small movements that make up the seemingly chaotic Dance of Life, the Dance of Making and Unmaking. He is truly the Life that never, never dies, for even as nothingness he is self-originating. He is triple as She is triple. He is Cernnunos: Father, Son, and Wild Spirit.

Lord Shiva is considered Anaadi. The literal meaning of this world is without a beginning or a starting point. Now, when Lord Shiva is Annadi, he can't have a birth, which we in normal terms call as the start of a life. He is beyond birth and death.

Goddess Parvati ( material aspect of Shakthi ) is called Poorvaja. This means a person (female) who is born earlier to whosoever you mention. It means she is also beyond the beginning. Another name for Parvati is Aadyaa. This means that she is the beginning. This again connotes the same meaning.

Once upon a time, a saint asked this question to Lord Shiva: "Who is your father, Lord?". Lord Shiva replied that Brahma is his father. Then the saint went on to ask who is your grandfather. Lord Shiva replied that Vishnu is my grandfather. The saint further queries as to who is the great-grandfather. Lord Shiva stuns him by saying that I am my great-grandfather.