The Horned God of the Witches Read online

  It also goes without saying that any sexual activity and/or spiritual activity should have the consent of all parties involved. Safe sex practices should also be followed. Pan is cool with condoms in the twenty-first century. Every aspect of this ritual should be enacted by all parties involved.

  I’ve written this ritual for two people, but it can easily be adapted for as many people as want to participate. This ritual can also be enacted by one person. Pan is just as cool with masturbation as he is with coupling or threesomes or whatever else you and your loved ones might choose to do.

  This ritual can be performed indoors or out, or some combination of the two. My preference is to place Pan’s offerings outside at the beginning of the ritual and then proceed indoors. What’s most important is picking a space where you won’t be disturbed or run into any problems.

  Ritual Supplies

  For this ritual you will need:

  Offerings for Pan (I suggest wine or some other form of alcohol. Whatever you offer Pan—and it doesn’t have to be alcoholic—should be something you would enjoy drinking yourself. Pan also enjoys sweet pastries, so a piece of cake or a cupcake would be appropriate.)

  A chalice to hold the liquid offering for Pan

  A plate or bowl to carry the food offering for Pan

  A libation bowl (if your offerings are not left directly on the earth)

  A (preferably) red taper candle and holder

  Materials for safe sex

  A comfortable spot for sexual activity (Though if you’re cool with the hard ground, more power to you.)

  A poem or devotional piece for Pan

  Background music (In my experience, Pan likes heavy metal, electronic dance music, reels and jigs, and traditional Greek pipes.)

  The Ritual

  My preference is to prepare my offerings indoors, pouring Pan a generous glass of wine (or beer or cider) and then placing his food offering on a ritual plate. As the offerings are being prepared for Pan, verbalize the intent behind them by saying, “For the great god Pan!” The sooner his name is invoked, the sooner he will seek out your ritual activity.

  Once the offerings have been prepared, take them outdoors to a space where you can safely leave them and where you feel Pan would be comfortable receiving them. Across the street from my house there is a small park with a large oak tree. I like to leave my Pan offerings there because of the Arcadians’ reverence for the oak. If you cannot leave your offerings outside, place them in a libation bowl to be given to Pan later. If the only place to leave an offering is far from where you live, it is acceptable to drive to a remote spot at the start or end of the ritual to leave your offerings.

  If possible, you and your lover should walk together to the location where you plan to leave Pan’s offerings. Even if you are headed to a spot nearby, such as in your backyard or at a nearby park, it’s best to turn your walk into something a little extra. This means taking the long way to wherever you’re going, providing you with a little bit of extra time to focus on the god as the ritual begins. If you can add a flute player to your walk, that’s great, but if you are like me, a quiet chant is probably all that can be done without scaring the neighbors. When my wife and I proceed to our offering spot, we quietly chant this to Pan:

  Pan, we honor you this day.

  Come and join us in our play!

  Once the offering spot has been reached, place the cake on the ground and pour your wine/beverage around it.77 Then say:

  We give this offering to the great god Pan! O bringer of lust and life, we ask today for your gifts. Charge our passions, fill us with your lust, let us experience the pleasures of the flesh anew and find solace, sensuality, and spirit in our lovemaking! Bless our coupling so that we might grow closer to both you and each other! So mote it be!

  Once the offering has been left, proceed back to your secluded place, preferably holding hands with your partner (or partners). When you arrive at your destination, put your red candle into a candleholder and place it on a safe spot, such as an altar or the top of a dresser. As you light your candle, invoke Pan into your space:

  Be with us tonight, son of Hermes! Lend your energies to our intimacy! Let us feel you working through us, embracing your wild, untamed passions. May our union draw us closer to each other and to your mysteries. Enfold us in the joys and delights of the carnal world, allowing us to become as one. Let us find new delights in one another through the pleasures of the flesh! Great Pan, hail and welcome!

  Embrace your lover (or lovers) and begin exploring their body, slowly and sensuously removing each other’s clothing (or quickly and ravenously, depending on the circumstances—Pan is fine with both ways). As skin and nakedness are revealed, take delight in the shape of your lover. All bodies are holy and sacred and are deserving of physical pleasure. Kiss each other and compliment each another, finding delight in the body of your lovemate. (If you are performing this ritual alone, say good things about yourself—you deserve it!)

  As soon as everyone is as naked as they wish to be, say a devotional piece to Pan. My favorite pieces to read for him are not the ones I’ve written myself, but my favorite poems that feature the goat-legged one. Romantic eighteenth-century poetry is a good place to start (there’s a lot of that in this book in chapter 11), but other options include excerpts from Tom Robbins’ Jitterbug Perfume or perhaps Aleister Crowley’s “Hymn to Pan” (also in chapter 11). While the devotional piece is being read, there’s nothing that says you have to keep your hands to yourself. While your partner is reading whatever appeals to them, you are free to caress, kiss, stroke, or whatever else appeals to the two of you.

  Letting every participant in the ritual read a small piece to Pan can be fun, too. My wife and I enjoy trying to “out-devotion” the other; she puts her acting skills to work, while I try my best to enunciate like my life depends on it. A little competition between lovers is a great way to stoke the flames of passion.

  If you can’t find a piece of poetry or literature that appeals to you, it’s completely acceptable to just say whatever is in your heart directly to the god. Just remember that like us, the gods like to be flattered and complimented. If the words just aren’t there, you could say something like this:

  Great god Pan, inexhaustible lover, my heart and loins call to thee. Horned One of yesterday and today, I honor you this night. You are wanting and wanted. You are lust and the erotic longings within us all. You are the joy of sexual union, pleasure, and passion. Your words are poetry, your form the beauty of the natural world. O sacred goat-footed one, know that I adore and love thee! So mote it be!

  Once your devotional piece has been read (or simply said), play some sort of music representing how you and your partner are currently feeling. Will your lovemaking be soft and sensual? Will it be a bit more animalistic? You might find yourself wanting to dance very close together to a romantic love song, or maybe it’s a night that calls for something a little heavier, like Black Sabbath. Whatever you choose, let it be freeing. Lose yourself in the music and the touch, feel, and look of your partner. Let all of your inhibitions slip away and simply live in the music …

  By this point of the ritual, it’s possible that all organized activities might begin to slip away from the participants. If you find yourself moving directly from dancing to lovemaking without any words, that’s perfectly acceptable. In fact, it’s a sign that the ritual has done exactly what it’s supposed to do. If you want to prolong things a bit, take turns kissing an eight-pointed star on the body of your partner.

  Kiss of the Eight-Pointed Star

  The kiss of the eight-pointed star is designed to titillate various erogenous zones on the body. The kiss can be adapted depending on the needs of groups or couples. This version of the eight-pointed star involves kisses on the genitals, breasts, both sides of the neck, both ears, and the mouth. If you like feet, add feet! If elbows are an erogenous zone for a
play-partner, add elbows. As long as its consensual, everything is fair game. The example here is simply what’s comfortable in my home.

  The person who is the first to be “adored” should lie on their back, with their partner sitting between their legs or perhaps lying (comfortably) on top of them. Once everyone is in position, invoke Pan once more:

  Great Pan, in your name I taunt and tease. Bless our union and play. So mote it be.

  Look down upon your partner and meet their gaze. Stare at each other and appreciate how beautiful and sensual they are. Slowly lean down and kiss them on the lips. The kiss can last as long as the two of you wish. At the end of the kiss say:

  With moans and sighs, we worship the god of Arcadia and one another.

  Kiss down your partner’s body to their left breast, taking your time, adoring every inch of their body. When you reach their breast, tease and kiss it. If you’ve come this far, there’s no need to rush things. Before moving up to the right side of their neck, say:

  Passion’s fire we ignite this night.

  Trace your mouth slowly up their body until you reach the right side of their neck. Kiss that area and feel your partner’s warmth. Enjoy the taste and feel of their body against yours. Say:

  There is no me this night, only us.

  Move toward your partner’s left ear, and kiss and nuzzle it. Whisper into their ear how much you love them, or how attractive you think they are, or perhaps what you will be doing to each other shortly. Be erotic, get lost in the moment, and feel the energy of Pan around you and the energy being raised by you and your partner. Say:

  I adore you. Know that you are beautiful.

  Move from the left ear to the right, perhaps getting lost on your partner’s lips as you move to the other side of their body. Again, share your feelings with them. People love to be complimented, and we do not flatter others nearly enough in our society. Say:

  My body belongs to you.

  Look into your partner’s eyes once more, perhaps kissing their mouth again as you move to nuzzle and touch the right side of their neck. Feel the flushed energy moving about you both as your bodies touch. Say:

  The delights of heaven are here upon the earth through our Lord Pan.

  From the neck, move to the right breast, again taking your time. Use your hands to explore the body of your partner as you kiss the eight-pointed star upon their body. Share the excitement of your body with them as you kiss their right breast. Say:

  Lust and desire we share this night.

  And finally move to your partner’s genitals. Tease and taunt those erogenous zones! Do whatever it is that brings your partner pleasure with your hands, mouth, or other parts of your body. Linger in that space. Feel the power of their sex, the energy of their being, become one with your own energies. Say:

  I honor you.

  If you aren’t already making love by this point, this process can be repeated, with the giver becoming the adored on the second go-round. Again, if desire overtakes all the partners involved, great! There’s no need to do this again, but if you want to draw things out a little longer, feel free!

  In Witchcraft we have a saying, “What happens in the circle stays in the circle,” so do whatever it is now that all involved wish to do. However you do it, though, be free and be unselfconscious! Sex is supposed to be pleasurable and fun! Grunt, groan, and even laugh if the energy takes you there. Make love until all involved are spent.

  Ending the Rite

  When everyone is satiated, you’ll want to end the rite. Start by thanking your partner and telling them once more how you feel about them and how beautiful they are. Perhaps do some cuddling and a little bit more kissing if it feels right. Once you have honored each other, thank the god Pan for lending his energies to your rites:

  Great Pan, god of longing and lost, thank you for being with us in our rites! May we continue to honor you and each other in the days, weeks, and months to come with our bodies and the pleasure they bring. We thank you for your gifts and the energy you have brought to our ritual this night. Continue to remind us that the sensual is also sacred, and that as Witches we honor both the body and the spirit. Hail and farewell!

  Blow out the candle you’ve lit for the god, and take down any sacred space you’ve created (thank the quarters, release the circle, etc.). Embrace your partner once more, and together let out a hearty “Io Pan!” as a final thank you to the god. 78

  Hail the power of Pan!

  [contents]

  * * *

  77. Once, while pouring the wine on top of the cake, my wife asked me, “Do you want people pouring wine on your slice of cake?” I replied no and got the hint. If we don’t like our food mixed like that, why do we think the gods would?

  78. Io is a Latin exclamation of joy, originally from the Greek.

  Chapter Seven

  Cernunnos

  When people picture the Horned God today, they generally envision a stylized version of the Gallic-Celtic deity Cernunnos. A google image search for “The Horned God” reveals hundreds of images of this book’s subject, most of them featuring an adult, bearded male in Celtic-style dress, with antlers on the top of his head. Sure, there are a few images of Pan here and there, but generally what one sees are stylized images of Cernunnos.

  In some of those images, the Horned God resembles Cernunnos as he appears on the famous Gundestrup cauldron (see image later in this chapter). In other pictures he looks less like he did traditionally two thousand years ago, perhaps with a skull for a face or cloven hooves for his feet. Even in such cases, it’s clear that Cernunnos was the fundamental inspiration for the image, even if the work’s author might be unaware of that truth.

  Cernunnos, through his image, is nearly everywhere in Modern Witchcraft, but despite the popularity of his image, most people know very little about him. Much of the material alleging to be about Cernunnos over the decades applies more to Pan than to him. As Cernunnos is the most dominant image of the Horned God, it’s easy to assume that any attribute of the Horned God can be found in him, but that’s not really the case.

  When it comes to Cernunnos, one of the biggest issues is that he’s a god lacking any concrete mythology. While there are books today full of “Celtic mythology,” generally originating from modern-day Ireland and Wales, most of that mythology is believed to have been written by Christian chroniclers during the Middle Ages, long after the pagan peoples in those areas had been Christianized.79 That body of work also lacks any references to Cernunnos, or a god that even resembles him.

  Over the last fifty years, there have been valiant attempts to link Cernunnos to specific deities from the Celtic myths originating in Great Britain. The most common analogue is probably the Welsh Gwyn ap Nudd, a figure who shows up in some tales of King Arthur and is generally linked to the realms of Faery and the dead. In a lot of Pagan art, Gwyn ap Nudd looks much like Cernunnos. Writer R. J. Stewart has linked Cernunnos in his role as “Lord of the Animals” to the Arthurian wizard Merlin.80 Could Cernunnos be linked to these other figures? Absolutely, though I personally am rather skeptical.

  The name Cernunnos appears only once in the ancient world, where it’s inscribed on an altar known as the Pillar of the Boatmen, which dates back to the first century of the Common Era. Discovered in modern-day Paris (at the site of Notre Dame cathedral no less), the Pillar of the Boatmen is made up of four large blocks, one of which contains an image of Cernunnos. Above his head lies the word CERNVNNOS, or at least most of it anyway. The C is missing today, though drawings from the nineteenth century suggest it was once there.81 The word CERNVNNOS most likely means something like “god with antlers (or horns),” from kornu/kern, Celtic for horns or antlers, and nos, indicating a deity. Though Cernunnos is a Gaulish name, on the Pillar of the Boatmen his name is written in Latin.

  There are two other instances of a name like Cernunnos appearing
in the ancient world. The most notable one comes from Southern France and features a dedication to the god from a worshipper: “Alletînos [son] of Alisontea, to Carnonos.” 82 Most scholars accept Carnonos here as a variant of Cernunnos, with the exact translation from Gallic to English perhaps meaning “horned (or antlered) god.” More contentious is a third inscription which reads: “To the god Cerunincus, Soltrius Pruscus fulfilled his vow freely and willingly.” It’s possible here that the similarities between Cerunincus and Cernunnos or Carnonos are simply coincidence, though the bronze plaque (found in present-day Luxembourg) on which the inscription was found was buried next to an image that might be Cernunnos.83

  Because the name Cernunnos seems to be referencing a title and not an actual name, some people have argued that Cernunnos is not the name of a god at all. I think such arguments are silly since gods in the ancient world were often known by titles. In addition, the Pillar of the Boatmen contains the names of other deities, so why would the block on which the image and name of Cernunnos appears simply feature a title he was known by?

  I think we can safely say that Cernunnos was (and is) a deity; it’s just that the area he was worshipped in was rather limited. To date, at least forty images of Cernunnos have been found, with most of them appearing in France, more specifically, in France near modern-day Paris.84 Further afield, at least one probable image of the god has been found in England, while the famous Gundestrup cauldron was found in Denmark. Just how many images of Cernunnos have been found is a matter of debate, with some people arguing for a number much higher than forty. (For instance, the North Cross at Clonmacnoise monastery in Ireland has what many believe to be an imagine of Cernunnos, while others doubt the image has anything to do with the god. I’m in the latter camp; your individual interpretation may vary.)