Cernic Rite video

This entry is in regards to the new Cernic Rite video on the Padanian-American League blog. We don't like to duplicate posts between blogs, and the video seemed more appropriate within the entire Gaulic concept, rather than only for Camunian heritage.

Because the Cernic tradition was such a big part of the Val Camonica, we always need to look at any move in this area. The video came out fairly well, with a great "Celtiberian" musical score entitled 'Lacrimae Lugus' by the Celto-Pagan Black Metal band the Crystalmoors from Cantabria, Spain. Lugus was an ancient Gallo-Celtic deity.

The video showed what was possible with some simple footage and a couple of simple props. It starts out with with some late-day footage of a wooded trail for two or three minutes, which was broken up with a couple of images of a real wild cat taken there. The fact that the cat was black with glowing eyes added to the video.

Next was some footage taken at almost twilight inside a dark heavily wooded walkway along a mountainside, which lasted a little over a minute. The lack of light gave it sort of a Black Forest effect. Actually it wasn't quite that dark, but it looked like it was from an old European horror film. The mountains in the distance weren't very visible due to the position of the sun and the dark overgrowth.

The third part, taken at twilight, was of some silvery Celtic-looking standing stones in a circle. The video shows the circle with the hills in the background, and the still visible sun just before dropping under the distant mountain. Totally unplanned, one single ray of sunbeam (at least from the camera perspective) pointed directly at the tallest stone, then the camera focuses in on a pendant of Cernunnos which was placed upon the top of that stone. That was a pleasant surprise.

The footage was then broken up by several striking images of the twilight landscape. After that, footage of tall trees against the dark twilight sky facing straight upwards, then spinning in a circle. It's easy to forget just how easy it is to get dizzy when a person spins in a circle like that. A slower spin would have done fine. This was followed by some footage of a walk through the tall trees which only came out marginally acceptable due to the lack of light, and thus the raw footage had to be cut down quite a bit.

Next some filming of the moon through the trees in a sideways direction while walking. Due to some fog and the lack of light, this wasn't as dramatic as hoped, and also had to be cut down. The footage was broken up by a few images, starting with a skunk. Only it's glowing eyes showed. There were a few flash images of the skunk, which were cut out. This was followed by a clear image of the moon through the trees.

What followed next was a scene of a flashlight in some dark woods which eventually illuminates a tree with a foot wide red Sun of the Alps symbol formed from red electrical tape. Those woods were so dark that the flashlight barely showed up, except when it was placed close to the tree trunk. The night, hills, trees, and foliage all blocked out any light. In other words, when the flashlight was turned off, there was almost 100% blackness. Sometimes, if there's some dense fog, the lights of the cities will illuminate the fog, which in turn illuminates the ground.

Following all that was a scene where the camera was coming out of the dark tunnel of brush into a grassy field, focusing and zeroing in on the moon. The tunnel effect didn't work due to the lack of light, but some good footage of the moon fighting its way through the clouds was obtained. Next were some images to brake up the footage a little. First was an image which was taken at the edge of the trail, back in civilization, of a white house cat. Only the eyes and some body outline showed up, which made the cat appear like an white owl. Actually there was much owl hooting along the trails, but it's very hard to get a picture of owls since they're rarely seen, so the ambiguous image was just left as "maybe an owl" for the viewer. Another image of the moon through the trees, and a more clear image of the Sun of the Alps PAL symbol on the tree, followed.

The video ends with the ending image of tree bark with a photo-shopped Sun of the Alps symbol and the words Padanian-American League on it. It finishes with about twenty-four seconds of the sound of night crickets, followed by about thirty-five seconds of sound from wind through the trees and a few occasional screeches from what were probably a few restless hawks perched in the trees. The video ends with one nice loud screech. Actually, the camera was rolling even though all you see is black.

Hopefully this was a fitting tribute to the Cernic tradition, which is often associated with the night forest. One can imagine, over literally thousands of years, life in the unspoiled Alpine forests. It should be noted that the Cernic tradition was part of the history of ancient Gaul, southern Germany/Switzerland/Austria, Cisalpine Gaul including into Tuscany where there was Celtic settlement, and surprisingly in a few parts of Scandinavia. Probably the most impressive and famous Cernic carvings is located on Gotland Island, which is a small island in the Baltic Sea. It would be interesting to look into Cernic influence in Iberia and the Slavic regions, and even down towards Greece. There were Celtic settlements in ancient Turkey. Apparently there was no Cernism in the British Iles.

Lastly, as mentioned, this Cernic tradition linked places like Val Camonica with Gotland Island. One item which deserves a little more study is the torc, which is depicted in the right hand of Cernunnos. Again, although usually associated with the Celts, the torc ties in with the heritage of all Cernic peoples. The famous Roman statue 'The Dying Gaul' depicts a dying Gaulic warrior, naked except for the torc around his neck.

.

"Cernism" and the Camonica Valley

This entry is something of a continuance to the October 25, 2009 Padanian-American League blog entry entitled "Cernism: Finally giving a proper name to an old tradition." The subject of the Celtic pagan deity, known today mainly under the title of Cernunnos, can be a little bit confusing when we try to search for an origin. Although usually attributed as being born from Celtic/Gallic culture, there seems to be at least some overlap with the Germanic world. Also, to add to the confusion, as stated in the Wikipedia Cernunnos webpage: "The earliest known probable depiction of Cernunnos was found at Val Camonica in Italy, dating from the 4th century BC, while the best known depiction is on the Gundestrup cauldron found on Jutland, dating to the 1st century BC." However Wikipedia does clarify part of the issue, as it went on: "The Cauldron was likely to have been stolen by the Germanic Cimbri tribe or another tribe that inhabited Jutland as it originated from south east Europe." One of the best depictions of Cernunnos exists on Gotland Island near Sweden (see Wikipedia link above for a good image of it). Despite that, the tradition clearly is most identified with the Celts.
Although there was some later Celtic influence at times in the Camonica Valley, it does seem odd that the earliest depiction of Cernunnos is found there. That is, the earliest depiction anywhere in Europe. The ancient Camunni were not Celtic, but an Alpine tribe, with roots that go back many thousands of years. The roots of Celtic culture has been strongly linked to what is today the southern reaches of the German-speaking world. Could this spiritual tradition have been passed from the Camunni to the earliest Celtic tribes of the more northern Alpine region? That might seem like a stretch, until we consider that there was a distinct type of culture in the Camunian Valley that has been estimated as being as old as ten thousand years. Scholars seem to at least give a safe estimate at about eight thousand years, but still very old. The Hebrews only go back six thousand years!

The "Cernism" article was mainly to put out the idea that Cernunnos is basically the origin for what passes as modern "Witchcraft" or "Wicca." Wicca is eclectic and universalist, and is only very loosely tied to ancient European Witchcraft. In other words, to add Cernism to the lexicon of neo-paganism once and for all, and present it as an alternative for those who have been disappointed with the direction of Wicca.

The answer to the question of the true origin of the Cernic tradition may never be definitively satisfied. One thing is certain, Cisalpine Gaul, and more specifically the little ever-spiritual Camonica Valley, were a very early part of it. Also, it strongly defines the chief, pre-Roman, spiritual tradition of most of Western Europe.

**************************************************

2-5-13 Addition: I wanted to add a small item from the news in the last week to one of the posts regarding the Cernic tradition... one that I thought was relevant to it. Leading up to Super Bowl XLVII, and also regarding professional athletes from other sports, a small degree of controversy surrounds the use of a performance-enhancing product called by some "deer antler spray." To quote the the UK's 'Daily Telegraph': "Manufacturers claim the product is made from the velvetlike tissue that covers the antlers of male deer..." (see also 'Does Deer Antler Spray Work?' from LiveScience.com). Although perhaps only in a superficial way, this concept ties into the perception of how the antlers of a stag were considered a symbol of male virility, strength, and courage in ancient European cultures. Cernunnos was a "stag god," and was depicted as a man with antlers.

.