Cernunnos veneration chant

The Cernnunos Chant: Modern Pagan Witchcraft

The Sea Priestess

OathBoundSecrets is a collaboration channel dedicated to distributing free information about modern pagan witchcraft. Like our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/OathBoundSecrets

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Patricia Crowther

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Daily Om ~ 'Animals in Nature' by DeepGlade

Daily Om ~ Animals in Nature

DeepGlade - celticawitch.wordpress.com - October 9, 2012

Animals in nature always have a message for us, start noticing what animals show up in your life and when.

Animals share our planet with us, but experience it differently—each has its own abilities and gifts that allow them to interact successfully with the natural world. Since we are merely one manifestation of the universe’s energy in action, when we feel the need for direction we can turn to animals in nature for guidance. Animals can show us different ways to approach and deal with our challenges.

As we hold a question in mind, we can begin to pay attention to the animal activity around us. Staring out a window we may notice a bird soaring high in the sky, showing us how to look at our situation from a greater distance. If we don’t get an immediate answer, we can remember that the universe has its own perfect timing that doesn’t heed the ticking of the clock. Instead, we can release our question into the universe’s care, and then trust that an animal messenger will carry inspiration our way. In the meantime, we align ourselves with the universe’s rhythm—opening, humbling ourselves, and shifting our perceptions so that at the perfect time we will be ready. Then, even weeks later, the sight of a small bird hopping from branch to branch may signal for us to use a talent other than our greatest strength and to take small leaps rather than fly over details. A squirrel bounding across an open expanse of grass to stash its latest prize may remind us to check our favourite hiding places for forgotten treasure. Even if we don’t see actual animals, their representations may hold messages; whether we see them in a shape in the clouds, a picture, or a show on television, their symbolic meaning is the same.

Animals are closer to the rhythms and cycles of nature and have fewer distractions from it than humans do. That is why they are the perfect messengers when we are in need of advice. Just by being themselves they remind us of the wisdom of the universe, and that all answers are available to us when we reconnect with our source and with those who know how to be nurtured by it.

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Christianity's relationship with witchcraft: Part 3

Christianity's relationship with witchcraft: Part 3

I wanted to make a few closing points to this series, as well as tie in a few loose ends. First of all, I'm not an "ex-Christian," nor am I "anti-Christian." I just think that ExChristian.net did a good job, intrinsically, on this particular piece. This text was from one of their podcasts, but I thought it was important to make a text reference of it. I recall, unfortunately, of having lost important articles and text in the past. For the companion podcast, click here and select "Christianity's relationship with witchcraft" from the menu box.

I will also point out that every religion, spiritual tradition, and folk tradition of our ancestors is a part of this blog. Also, this blog has taken a look at religious and spiritual concerns of other peoples who have lived and have deep roots in North America... Christian/Catholic, or not. It is estimated, and I will post the references here in time, that the Camunian Valley was I recall about one-third "pagan" prior to the Val Camonica witch trials. If we are not sympathetic to the issue of this persecution, then who is!? Those Camunian Catholics and "Heathens" of the Middle Ages lived together in harmony.

The only thing I would disagree with in this article was the term "witchcraft." Although loosely a "magical tradition," I believe that most of the Camunian Heathenry were merely observing the "wheel of the year" and other ancient pre-Christian rites. Few literally practiced "magic," I believe, beyond simple folk traditions. "Heathenry" means "people of the hearth," or an earth-based spiritual tradition. In the Middle Ages, and going right back into the ancient world, the Camunian and Tellinian Heathens would gather on the very mountainous Tonale Pass to observe the seasonal sabbats. It was "Heathenism" (polytheistic earth-based religion), and prior to a millennium ago, it was "the religion of our people." 

It probably didn't have "one name," but it later became known locally as "Stregaria." An old Camunian word, "Engermadura," may have had the same or a similar meaning. It likely meant "spell" or "charm." Another old Camun word, "Bodena," seems to be a reference to the ancient "stag god".... probably Cernunnos. It is translated to something like "the denomination of the old stag," and it seems to have been a type of reference to an actual name of the faith. Despite the chief male god--along with various other goddesses, and sometimes gods--the tradition seems to have clearly been more maternal, symbolized by the moon.


What is covered on this blog?

1) Items having to do with the Camunian, Brescian, Bergamask, Lombard, or Italian-Swiss cultures--past or present--which would include prior cultures of Lombardy. Also, openly reaching out to these concerns worldwide.

2) Items having to do with religion and spiritual traditions, which mainly include Christian denominations and Heathen traditions of past or present Lombardians, Europeans, or peoples with roots in North America. Also reaching out, in some form, to these concerns worldwide.

3) Items having to do with the environment, the natural world, the earth, and the universe; all of which our ancestors cared a lot about. Also reaching out, in some form, to some of these concerns worldwide.

4) Reaching out, in some form, to other more smaller "sub-ethnic" European-American concerns or regional/provincial associations relating to the Italian peninsula worldwide. For example, Basque, Bavarian, Welsh, Piedmontese, or Bergamask.

The more controversial items are purposely avoided. However, this doesn't mean that they should be avoided by individuals.


What are our goals?

1) Helping to facilitate the establishment of a "Lombardian-American" society of some type. For association, cultural enrichment, and study. This would be best headquartered somewhere in the Great Lakes region. Iron Mountain would seem appropriate. There needs to be a property, building, and at least two full-time staff to start.

2) To develop the idea of people of Camunian roots on this continent as something equivalent to a Scottish clann. Our heritage is unique. We should see ourselves as more of a family than a culture or demographic. We're currently invisible.

3) To restore honor, in some form, to the spiritual tradition of which we are all heirs to. Even if you're 100% Catholic, what makes us so different to modern Greek communities who--while practicing Greek Christian Orthodoxy--share a great reverence to their polytheistic ancestry. Why should we be so different?

Goal number one is really THE goal. It's the minimum of what we expect to accomplish. A person in California of Italian-Swiss ancestry, should feel entirely connected though that heritage to a person in Wisconsin of Bergamask ancestry. Their forefathers spoke the same Lombard language for many centuries! There should not be this disconnect.

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Janet Farrar

Born: 24 June 1950

Occupation: Writer; Wiccan Priest

Spouse: Stewart Farrar and Gavin Bone

From Janet Farrar Wikipedia page:

Janet Farrar (born Janet Owen on 24 June 1950) is a British teacher and author of books on Wicca and Neopaganism. Along with her two husbands, Stewart Farrar and Gavin Bone, Farrar has published "some of the most influential books on modern Witchcraft to date." According to George Knowles, "some seventy five percent of Wiccans both in the Republic and Northern Ireland can trace their roots back to the Farrar's."

Farrar has been one of the most public faces of Wicca, having appeared as a model for book covers and illustrations in several of the best-read books on the subject. Farrar is a frequent guest lecturer on the subjects of Wicca, Neopaganism and witchcraft in North America and Europe.

Farrar, in a photograph taken by her husband, Stewart Farrar, demonstrates the "Osiris pose" in a 1981 book she co-authored. Farrar's willingness to model for early books about Wicca made her one of the most recognized faces in Neopaganism.

Biography

Farrar was born in Clapham in 1950. Her family, of mixed English, Irish and Welsh descent, were members of the Church of England. Farrar attended the Leyton Manor School, and the Royal Wanstead High School girls' school. After high school, Farrar worked as a model and receptionist.

Farrar was initiated into Alexandrian Wicca by the tradition's founders, Alex and Maxine Sanders. Farrar met the Sanders in 1970 through a friend who had become interested in exploring Wicca. Farrar accompanied her friend in order to keep the friend "out of this weird cult", but Farrar instead joined the Sanders coven, and would go on to become, in the words of Knowles, one of "England’s most eminent and respected modern day witches." In the coven she met Stewart Farrar, her future husband and co-author.

Janet Farrar asserts that the couple were both elevated to the second degree "in an unoccupied house in Sydenham" by the Sanders on 17 October 1970, and that they received the third, and final, degree of initiation in their flat on 24 April 1971, but that these events are disputed by some Alexandrian "revisionists".

The Farrars had begun running their own coven in 1971, before their third degree initiation ceremony, and were handfasted in 1972 and legally married in 1975. Janet Farrar left the coven in 1972 to explore Kabbala with a ceremonial magic lodge, but returned within the same year. In 1976 the Farrars moved to Ireland to get away from the busy life of London. They lived in County Mayo and County Wicklow, finally settling in "Herne Cottage" in Kells, County Meath. Both husband and wife went on to publish a number of books on the Wiccan religion and on coven practises. Farrar continued to model and appeared in the illustrations to multiple early books about Wicca, including the cover of the paperback version of Margot Adler's 1979 Drawing Down the Moon.

Farrar also posed for many of the photographs in their 1981 Eight Sabbats for Witches, which included material the authors claimed to be from the Alexandrian tradition's Book of Shadows. The Farrars, with the support of Doreen Valiente, argued in the book that even though the publishing of this material broke their oath of secrecy, it was justified by the need to correct misinformation. Janet Farrar indicates that some of the rituals contained in the couple's books were actually written by them, and that they left the Alexandrian tradition after the book's research was complete. The couple co-authored four more books on Wicca. Janet Farrar's post-Alexandrian practice has been referred to as "Reformed Alexandrian".

The Farrars returned to England in 1988, but by 1993 had returned to Ireland. They were joined by Gavin Bone, with whom they entered into a "polyfidelitous relationship". The three of them would co-author two more books, The Healing Craft and The Pagan Path, an investigation into the many varieties of Neopaganism. Stewart Farrar died in February 2000 after a brief illness.

After Stewart Farrar's death, Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone have continued to author books, and have given a number of lectures on Wicca in the United States, Australia and in Britain. The title of their 2004 book, Progressive Witchcraft, is the description that the couple prefers for their current religious practice.

Bibliography

Farrar has co-authored a number of books about Wicca and Neopaganism.

With Stewart Farrar

1981: Eight Sabbats for Witches
1984: The Witches' Way
1987: The Witches' Goddess: The Feminine Principle of Divinity
1989: The Witches' God: Lord of the Dance
1990: Spells and How they Work
1996: A Witches' Bible: The Complete Witches' Handbook (re-issue of The Witches' Way and Eight Sabbats for Witches)

With Stewart Farrar and Gavin Bone

1995: The Pagan Path
1999: The Healing Craft: Healing Practices for Witches and Pagans
2001: The Complete Dictionary of European Gods and Goddesses

With Virginia Russell

1999: The Magical History of the Horse

With Gavin Bone

2004: Progressive Witchcraft: Spirituality, Mysteries, and Training in Modern Wicca

Janet Farrar official website

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From what I have seen, Janet Farrar is about as close as it gets within the leadership of the current milieu, of a woman worthy of the title of "a daughter of Cern." I have not liked a lot of what I have seen within the current leadership. There are a lot of modern politial tie-ins, non-folkish beliefs, lack of cultural pride, and "Feminism" as opposed to the tradition of Cernic women actually being leaders in the community at large. "Man-hating," in general, is about as far as one can get from the Cernic tradition; and, of course, the opposite would be true as well.

Janet Farrar is beautiful lady in many ways. The only thing I have looked at so far that I don't really agree with is the nudity as far as initiations. There are a lot of problems with that. It unnecessarily makes earth-based paganism look suspect; and it generally "throws a monkey wrench" into the whole idea of Cernic woman being close to people within their communities.

Cernic women are to be "spiritual mothers"; advisers of life's problems. I think we have all seen examples, just in general, of certain women--virtually all married mothers--who have friends or relatives who, while visiting their home, gravitate to them for advise. Sometimes these women are younger than those to consult with them. It's a beautiful aspect of our distant culture, which has been lost within "cultural" Capitalism and Marxism.

Personalty, I can think of three such women. Once I found myself speaking to one of them while her husband was in the garage working on his motorcycle. I was distressed about something, and I found myself sitting on an ottoman, literally at her feet, looking up at her. She had on a long, mostly black, earthy dress. Her leg was crossed, and her foot was slowly spiraling in a circle as I told her about a certain issue of mine. She gazed at me, listening, as her two young children quietly played on the floor nearby. Her brown eyes reflected neither an upbeat nor a gloomy mood; before finally giving her assessment of the situation. Now this woman was Catholic, but somehow our folk traditions remain deep inside of our genetic memories.

One other such woman, also married, a Christian, and a mother; comes to mind. I can recall one time walking up to her home with her husband. She was in front of her door, then greeted me by name, smiling. It was confirmation that this was "her home," not like just walking into someone's house and maybe saying "hi" to them sitting across the room. "Hospitality" is one of the Nine Noble Virtues of Odinsim. It's a big part of Cernism I believe. It doesn't mean that anyone is welcome. I think that it chiefly means that this part of our lives is important, and how a family treats a guest genuinely stands for something.

Another time, exactly the same thing; I walked into a friend's home for the first time. As I entered the living room, there she was! His wife, very long light brown hair, hazel eyes, slender, long red earthy-type dress, holding a fluffy orange cat, and standing directly in our path. As I know now, she was the type of woman whom you must earn her trust. She looked right into my eyes as I approached her. Her stare was neither positive nor negative. The message was not lost upon me... this was HER house! I have not witnessed this power from any man I don't think. It's sad that so many younger men cannot comprehend what a real woman is all about.

One time recently I heard a young adult ask the question, regarding our culture, "what is our culture anyway?" I think the foundation would start with women like these. I believe that we have been herded into the false paradigm of a symbiotic Hegelian dialectic; and this pervades even modern attempts at getting back to our folkish earth-based spirituality.


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Loose Ends: Valcamonica, Cernunnos, Wicca, Druids, and the Pentagram - Part II

Witches: Part 1 (Part 2 below)

This is an episode of Lifetime's Intimate Portrait: Witches

This I believe aired around mid 90's. I don't remember when I taped it. It's a bit jumpy in a few parts. This was taped originally on VHS (remember them?!)

I cropped out the "Historical" parts. Many of the info is outdated. I tried mostly to get the interviews with Modern day Witches & Wiccans.

However I don't agree or support all of the info. I think this would be interesting for those who follow the teachings of Laurie Cabot, Z. Budapest and Janet Farrar.

From RivaWitch YouTube channel

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The original 'Loose Ends: Valcamonica, Cernunnos, Wicca, Druids, and the Pentagram' was posted on March 5, 2009; and it has been the most popular post from this blog by a country mile! Out of over 10,500 page views, most of that fairly recent, that one post accounts for about 20% of the total. So I think it's only logical to update some of the knowledge. The original was an attempt to tie-in various concepts. It was more of a musing of the subjects. Maybe we can do better.

To start with, the "Cernic tradition"--after many centuries of often brutal state and church-sponsored religious condemnation--developed into what is referred to as "European witchcraft." The idea of "Wicca" is a recent development; and one which does not necessarily adhere to it's parent "Celtic paganism." By "Celtic" I mean the spiritual-traditions of the loosely-connected pre-Roman Celtic cultures who lived, at one time or another, from Ireland to Turkey and from Poland to Spain. It seems pretty clear that the Cernic spiritual hub was located in Gaul, and Cisalpine Gaul, but it may have sprung from the Hallstatt culture in what is today south Germany. Horned or antlered images can be traced back as far as 20,000 years ago in central Europe. It seems at least possible that the origins of this spiritual tradition may date back with the early proto-Europeans who predated other Indo-European peoples.

Recent archeology is showing more and more that the ancient Celts built roads which served as trade routes across Europe; from marketplace to marketplace; from community to community. Cernic spiritual concepts likely migrated in this way, and mixed with other spiritual traditions on those far off places. For example, the ancient Celts, in what is today England and Wales, apparently made no reference in art or symbology regarding Cernunnos; but they developed their own concept of the "horned god." It seems to be true that females, special females, were generally the high priestesses of this earth-based spiritual traditon. The forest was their church.

Wicca is a universalist concept developed by Freemasons in the United Kingdom; and the pentagram they adopted goes back to Sumeria. However, there are references to the pentagram within European witchcraft which can be traced back about five centuries. Having "borrowed" many things from other pagan religions worldwide, Wicca only vaguely resembles European witchcraft or Celtic paganism. For example, the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis had nothing whatsoever to do with Cernunnos. It's fun to compare certain traditions, but to splice them together only accomplishes to spoil their uniqueness. Also, modern politics are no place to inject religion; and many well-intentioned people are turned off by politically-minded people within any religion.

But getting back to the Cernic tradition of the ancient world; it's not entirely clear how this spiritual tradition interacted with the Druidic spiritual tradition which was also Celtic in origin. The Druids lived in ancient Gaul as well, although it appears that most of the high priests of Druidism were males. It was also an earth-based spiritual tradition, which also existed in what is now the British Isles. It appears that the Cernic traditions merged with the Teutonic Wotanist traditions in some areas. I haven't seen evidence of how Druidic ideas may have interacted with the Wotanists, but I would guess that all of these beliefs merged in some places. I don't think that today it's pragmatic to open up ancient feuds; but there is absolutely no doubt that Christianity fully replaced the Cernic, Druidic, Wotanist, and many other earth-based rites; either by coercion or force. It was not just the Romans who perpetrated this policy either.

 It should be mentioned that Cernunnos was not the only Celto-Gaulish god, and that there were other gods and goddesses like there is in Odinism; but Cernunnos (pronounced as "KER-new-nos") was the chief one in most places (just as Odin is in Odinism). Some of the dark symbolism in European witchcraft is probably a result of it having to exist underground for so long; but some of it may have always existed. "Dark imagery" does not necessarily reflect "evil." The ancient forests were often dark places. It seems obvious to me that this is mainly just a reflection of nature. To the ancients, the night was a scary place; and they may have counted on Cernunnos to protect them. Any hike at night in a remote natural area will give us an instant connection to that world.

It seems obvious to me that the rightful daughters of Cern today, would be the most logical ones to access "Cernism" and serve as its high priestesses. To the ancient Cernic pagans, the family was at the heart of their culture; and the woman was the head of the household. Not the "head" like she was bossing around her husband, but boss of the "household" while he was away hunting, providing, or at war. This one element of their culture marginally found it's way into later Christian societies, which had entirely different views regarding men and women. The Cernic male represented "law"; while the Cernic female represented "justice." Cernic women were the spiritual leaders of their folk societies. They were at the center of everything.

Cernic women were very strong-women, not "Feminists," which is an entirely modern political construct which attempts to make females more masculine. There were "women warriors" in Cernic societies. They weren't like guys, but simply were just big strong gals, period. Obviously there are some women who could wipe the floor up with weaker men; and these women were pragmatically allowed to serve the tribe in battle. It was all about the family, clan, and tribe... maybe sometimes of a "tribal federation," or loosely their nation.

It's important to compare the Cernic societies with the Odinic societies. Of course, the Cernic culture had it's own mythology, just like Odinism. There are many similarities. Odinism may have developed a little more of a "heroic ethic," which seems to remind one a little more of "the masculine"; while Cernism, although in many ways a "warrior society," somehow seemed to be a little bit more "down to earth," and reminds one a little more of "the feminine." As to where the Druids fit into all of this, I don't know. Some Celtic societies seemed to be Druidic, while others seemed to have been Cernic. I think it's also very important to remember that Cernism influenced other tribal groups. For example, some ancient Norse seemed to be almost Cernic, or at least strongly influenced by them.

Obviously, the first 'Loose Ends" article was from the point of view of historical Camunian culture. The Camunians had not surrendered their native beliefs by the sixteenth century, which is pretty remarkable. However, the Val Camonica witch trials were just two of many such events in Europe during the Middle Ages, and after. In all of these tragic events, think of the great women and men who died. They were martyrs who aren't even given the proper status of martyrs. In the earlier article, I had stated that I believed that the witch trials were exaggerated; and they probably were in most locations in Europe and the American colonies. However, in some locations it was pretty extreme, as the last link above reflects in its 'Counting the Witch Hunt' graph by Ronald Hutton. It's hard to argue with those numbers.

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Cernic Rite: Summer Solstice

Cernic Rite: Summer Solstice

Cernunnos, the Celto-Gallic god of the forest. Ironically, a nearby house featured in this video has a depiction of the Green Man on it. The Cernic tradition goes clear back into the ancient world. So far back that it predates the Norse gods in Europe. However, many of the old ways have mingled with Norse, Slavic, and Mediterranean paganism. The Green Man being one such example.

CERNUNNOS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cernunnos

Cernunnos is the conventional name given in Celtic studies to depictions of the horned god of Celtic polytheism. The name itself is only attested once, on the 1st-century Pillar of the Boatmen, but depictions of a horned or antlered figure, often seated in a "lotus position" and often associated with animals and holding or wearing torcs, are known from other instances.

Nothing is known about the god from literary sources, and details about his name, his cult or his significance in Celtic religion are unknown. Speculative interpretations identify him as a god of nature or fertility.


SUMMER SOLSTICE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_solstice

The summer solstice occurs exactly when the Earth's semi-axis in a given hemisphere is most inclined towards the sun, at its maximum tilt of 23° 26'. Though the summer solstice is an instant in time, the term is also colloquially used like Midsummer to refer to the day on which it occurs. Except in the polar regions (where daylight is continuous for many months), the day on which the summer solstice occurs is the day of the year with the longest period of daylight. The summer solstice occurs in June in the Northern Hemisphere north of the Tropic of Cancer (23°26'N) and in December in the Southern Hemisphere south of the Tropic of Capricorn (23°26'S). The Sun reaches its highest position in the sky on the day of the summer solstice. However, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, the highest sun position does not occur at the summer solstice, since the sun reaches the zenith here and it does so at different times of the year depending on the latitude of the observer. Depending on the shift of the calendar, the summer solstice occurs some time between December 21 and December 22 each year in the Southern Hemisphere, and between June 20 and June 21 in the Northern Hemisphere.

Worldwide, interpretation of the event has varied among cultures, but most have held a recognition of sign of the fertility, involving holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations around that time.

The word solstice derives from Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still).


[Music: 'Cernunnos' by Kate West]

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I just wanted to add a little to this entry. First, most of the Cernic efforts will be posted here rather than the other blog. I don't want to saturate the PAL blog with paganism. Only that which applies to historical Padan Christian or pagan traditions, while most of the rest can be placed here.

I learned something when I filmed this. I hiked in the dead of night, and it was so dark that I had to wait for some morning daylight in order to even enter the wooded area that I wanted to film. If there is no moonlight, the woods are usually completely black. I learned that it is not safe, for anyone, to hike in a remote area at night. It's easy to laugh, but it's no joke out there. It's an entirely different world at night. I almost bumped into a racoon. Now if I had stepped on it's foot or something, I could have been seriously hurt; or how about stepping on a rattlesnake?

I was carrying a lot of equipment and couldn't manage my failing disposable flashlight very well. It's really only safe to hike at night with others, and with adequate lighting. Actually, it's not even a good idea to hike at anytime alone, unless it's within a safe distance from a road. Another issue that crossed my mind is that it's always a possibility that you could encounter another person, which by itself is all the reason you would need to avoid hiking at night.

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