This is the first part of the Cernunnos series. Stay tuned, we will be posting these leading up to Hekate's Sickle Festival, where Cernunnos will appear and share his wisdom of animals with us!

I have often been asked why I feel such a strong connection with Cernunnos. When we first look at Him, we see him as a wild man who doesn’t care what others think. He seems to act on impulse, and for his own purposes. Yet, when we look closer, we see that He is actually an important ally in a world that is becoming too rigid and closed. He comes to us both during the dark and light halves of the year.

The dark half of the year is the time when Cernunnos guards the world. What does this really mean? The Dark half of the year begins when the Earth, a celestial body, pulls farther away from the Sun, another celestial body. At this time we begin to see the days get shorter, even though at first it is still warm. We know that harvest is around the corner and the colder temperatures will not be far behind.

Cernunnos, Lord of the Wild Things, Lord Protector of Nature. He who pushes the boundaries of what society says is okay. He is neither black nor white but rather green and gray. What does it look like for us as humans to tap into the energy that is Cernunnos? How can we actually connect with Him and still operate effectively in 21st century Western society? These are great questions that reach deeply into the human psyche.

According to Dr Anthony Smart of Enyclopedia Mythica, and others, He is "The Horned One" who is depicted all through Paleolithic Europe from Britain through Gaul, and all the way to the Danube river. He is the quintessential god of fertility, life, animals, wealth, and the underworld. Paintings and other works of art show Him with the antlers of a stag, sometimes carrying a purse filled with coin. In some traditions, He is born at the winter solstice, marries the Goddess at Beltane, and dies at the summer solstice. He alternates with the goddess of the moon in ruling over life and death, in the continuing cycle of death, rebirth and reincarnation.

For the Druids he is Hu Gadarn, god of the underworld and astral planes, and the consort of the Great Goddess. When we connect to Him, we can become one with the tide of the year, allowing us to reach deep into our primal core and bring our true selves into balance with its natural ebb and flow. . The entire world and all of creation is in tune with Him and it is only humans who fight against the balance He embodies.

It is important to remember that each creation on this planet is attuned to this time of year, in some fashion, and within them is a tide that follows the same pattern. In humans, we call this tide the light and shadow sides of ourselves. Our light side usually refers to those things that a person and others like about themselves. The shadow, on the other hand, often means those things that a person and others do not like about themselves. The issue with this definition of light and shadow is that like the Dark and Light half of the year, a person needs both of these to be whole.

After all, what would happen to the world if there was no Dark Half of the year? No harvest, no rest, now wouldn’t that become an issue?

Stay tuned for the next part to this series!