Wiccan Attitudes towards Deity
In Wiccan belief the divine is ultimately seen as one. However, in general, Witches believe in the creative polarity of feminine and masculine principles in nature. They commonly think of deity as having a female and male aspect that exist together in a harmonious balance. These beliefs are evident in everything a Witch does. They inform the practice of magical arts and are to be seen in the way Witches set up their altar, carry out their rites and rituals, and celebrate the stages of the year.
Wicca’s view of the balanced nature of deity stands in contrast to other religions that either play down or dispense with the female aspect entirely. This is to be found in many forms of Christianity, where little part is played by the female in its belief systems or its institutions, as well as other faiths such as Judaism. For Witches, the dynamic creative tension of female and male is part of what may be termed the general theory of polarity, where all things rely on opposites for their existence. The concepts of day and night, dark and light, content and form, positive and negative, attraction and repulsion, north and south, up and down, each need the other for the opposite to exist.
This Wiccan attitude can be expressed by referring to the Chinese concept of Yin and Yang. Yin is the female, negative, dark aspect of creation where Yang is the male, positive, light aspect. Together they make up a whole. It should be noted here that the terms “negative” and “dark” are not used in a derogatory sense. “Negative” should be seen in the same way as science refers to an electron having a negative charge and dark as merely the opposite of light; they are not value judgements. It will also be noticed that in the Yin-Yang symbol the black half contains a white dot and the white half a black dot, showing that in the female there is a part of maleness, and in the male there is a part of femaleness. This interplay of energies at all levels, whether it be divine or earthly, ensures the cyclic flow of creation. Witches believe that over emphasis on one, at the expense of the other, will merely ensure sterility and stagnation. That said, the emphasis given to both Goddess and God varies in different traditions and their covens.
For Wiccans deity is immanent, meaning that it is to be found in all things and pervades existence. Quite literally, the Universe is perceived to be alive and the individual is but one cell in its enormous body. Everything is therefore sacred, and this gives Witches an enormous respect for all expressions of life. On the other hand, many Witches regard the ultimate nature of deity as unknowable, beyond all names and forms and, perhaps, beyond all mortal comprehension. In this respect, it is transcendent.
Generally, Witches believe that goddesses and gods are representative of certain kinds of energy within existence. It is the energies themselves that are perceived as being real. That they are clothed in the form of a goddess or god is a way of making them intelligible to the human mind. Why not, then, use the language of science to express these forces? There are several reasons why Witches don’t do this. On one level they feel that science only provides a partial answer to the question of existence, believing that there is much within the Universe that it knows nothing of. Further, the language of science, in its attempts to express these forces, is often incapable of speaking to the human soul (something that many scientists doubt exists anyway). Our spirits thrive on the use of poetic and symbolic imagery that generally affects us in a more profound way than science ever can. You don’t go to a manual on sex to learn about love – rather, you might read Shakespeare. Similarly, for questions of our purpose and meaning in life, you can’t consult a book on biology and get an answer that satisfies the soul, however much it might please the intellect. The fact is that many humans are genuinely deeply moved and motivated by the various images of a goddess and a god, and feel that they have come to a more profound understanding of existence because of them. Further, using such imagery makes the forces knowable to an extent and allows the individual to work with them in their life on the material plane.
Although not endorsed by every Witch, the gods and goddesses can, therefore, be seen to have an existence similar to the Jungian idea of the Archetype. For Jung the Archetypes were powerful symbols that had a genuine life. They existed in the human collective unconscious, independent of the individual mind, and could include god and goddess types [1]. Jung believed that these Archetypes could be worked with to have an effect in the everyday waking world. It would seem that the idea of deity is as old as the human mind itself and buried deep within all our psyches.
The Great Wheel of the Year
Wiccans see nature as a cycle embodying the polarity of deity, and this is no more clearly expressed than in their ideas of the interweaving of female and male forces in the Wheel of the Year. For Wiccans, the Goddess is personified by the Earth and the Moon. She is the eternal Great Mother who creates all life from the Elemental Forces of which she is composed. Green and fresh in the spring, magnificent and powerful in the summer, she has her repose in the latter half of the year where she dresses in more sombre shades of brown and grey. As the Goddess Luna she is the silver, shape shifting Queen of the Heavens governing the tidal forces, as well as the monthly and nightly cycles of life on our planet. The God is embodied in the Sun who travels over the sky in his great chariot of flame. At full power in midsummer, he provides the Goddess Earth with the energy to grow strong. From this point he gradually loses ground until he finally dies after the autumn equinox. Born again in midwinter, he grows and climbs through the early months of the year, to eventually rise triumphant and fertilise the Goddess around the spring equinox. He governs the annular cycles of life and the rhythms of our days.
Some Witches have added to these basics, where they have introduced an Oak and a Holly King [2] that help to express the interplay between solar energy and Mother Earth. The Oak King rules the waxing part of the year from midwinter to midsummer, whilst the Holly King rules the waning part of the year from midsummer to midwinter. The two compete for the attentions of the Goddess as the seasons ebb and flow, and have been incorporated into rituals marking the various stations of the year. The seasonal cycles and the parts played by the Goddess and God are celebrated in the Greater and Lesser Sabbats (these will be discussed fully in later lessons). However, as we shall see, the Goddess and the God are not only thought of as the embodiment of the Earth, Moon and the Sun.
The Deities of the Witches
Each coven or solitary Witch will have their own particular goddess or god that they use on a day-in, day-out basis. Some, for example, opt for Aradia and Cernunnos, others for Bride and Herne. A goddess can be chosen from one pantheon, a god from another, and consistency in this respect is less important than the divine forces that they are seen to represent. Both the divine feminine and the divine masculine will now be considered as they are perceived in modern Witchcraft.
The Divine Feminine
For ancient humankind, reproduction was the central mystery of existence. Woman was the giver of life and the gateway of birth. She was able to bleed profusely every month, changing like the Moon changed, and yet somehow could incredibly self heal, survive and return to the same state completely unscathed. From her body sprang life giving milk that every woman and every man was raised on. She was a walking miracle, mysterious and inexplicable. No wonder, then, that goddesses of fertility have been venerated and revered throughout human existence and frequently allied with the Moon. The Goddess was often depicted as a triple deity, with the aspects of Maid, Mother and Crone, which not only represented the different stages of female existence but also echoed the waxing, full and waning aspects of the Moon. Today, modern Wiccans feel that all three of these characteristics need to be portrayed if a representation of psychological wholeness is to be maintained.
The Maid
As the Maid the Goddess is young, fresh, magical and enchanting. She is bursting with the promise of new life and is especially associated with the spring. She caresses and explores the new landscape, and, with her natural curiosity, enquires into the new experiences of the world. Coupled with this inquisitive and carefree nature is a vital streak of eroticism that is fascinating and enticing to the opposite sex. When respected and cherished she is full of joy and elation. Make no mistake though, this young woman is not to be crossed and can be dangerous when treated poorly. She is portrayed by goddess figures who are maidens themselves, such as the Greek Persephone, daughter of the corn goddess Demeter, without whom spring cannot exist, or Aradia, daughter of Diana, who came to Earth to teach the art of her mother’s Witchcraft.
The Mother
Upon reaching motherhood the Goddess becomes the creator of life. Within her and without her she is responsible for giving it form and ensuring its growth. In the placenta the mother’s blood transfers nourishment to the unborn babe, her milk nourishes it during the early stages of childhood, and her arms form a soft loop of protection that none may breach. With far reaching vision she is able to see all life before her and moulds it to her will and her desires. She is both emotionally and physically tough with an utterly ruthless destructive side, that can stir with seeming unpredictably when any threaten or harm the things she loves. Powerful and authoritative, she is a giver of sound advice and counsel, and is the very heart of the family and her community. She is the mother and lover of the male, providing a balance for his masculine energy, and able to see deeply within his soul. It is she who shows him the initial ways of the world and sets him on the path of manhood, it is she who arouses the ecstasy of the adult God and uses his seed to create new life. The Great Mother is the embodiment of fertility, but fertility on all levels, with an overall plan that is both harmonious and balanced. In this sense she is the goddess Karma who keeps equilibrium regardless of our human notions of morality or fairness. Commonly, in Wicca, she can be seen as the Welsh goddess of reincarnation, Arianrhod, or the Canaanite fertility goddess Astarte. Other times she is worshipped as the powerful Roman goddess Juno, or the huntress Diana, but perhaps most especially she is depicted as the goddess Isis, the greatest of all female deities.
The Crone
Finally, she is the Crone. By those that are cruel, this stage of femininity can be depicted as the suspicious, dried out, ugly old hag of no worth. Even for many women she is a figure of fear and loathing, as everything is done by way of cosmetics and surgery to avoid the perceived descent into a hideous old age. Yet such a way of thinking ignores the true value of this phase in life. For Wiccans she is the Crone or wise-one, richly clothed and decorated by life’s experiences. She is a wonderful repository of valuable knowledge and experience, as she has lived through all the ages of femininity. A baby sitter for the Mother, a watchful eye on the Maid, a counsellor to the male; she still has valuable roles to play. And yet she is a terrible reminder of decay and death; the inevitable end of life on this world. Once vibrant and sexy, once matriarchal and powerful, she shows that all things must return to the Earth from whence they came. In our modern 21st century such things are hard to contemplate, too awful almost to be true. But she can show us the way, by being our guide in how to meet our fate with dignity, and our leader through the veil of death. In this respect she is often depicted as Hecate, dread goddess of the Moon, the Underworld and magic.
Three in One
Another, less popular, way of representing the divine feminine within the Craft, is to show the triple aspect through one particular female deity. Such a goddess is the Greek Hera, who, at Stymphalus, had three temples dedicated to her as the child, the wife and the widow goddess. Another would be the Hindu Bhavani, referred to as the Triple Universe. She is shown as a young, crowned woman, who has the forces of creation latent within her. She is a mother, with the Sun and the Moon at her breasts, as well as the dark and terrible figure of death and transition, with a necklace of skulls.
Because Wicca’s concept of the Goddess has these three distinct phases, it is able to provide women with a deity that reflects back their own personal experiences of life and gives them something that they can clearly relate to. Moreover, the various goddesses provide womankind with purposes and roles that are not dictated by modern societal groups. They show what it means to be female in various stages throughout life, regardless of social conditioning. And, further, allow women to reject oppressive values and beliefs, giving them the freedom to realise their true selves at all levels and phases of life. For the male, the Goddess provides a way to explore femininity. On one level, this works by allowing him to recognise the female aspect of his psyche. This can be a liberating and a mind expanding experience, as he comes to appreciate that he is, in fact, so much more than typical gender stereotyping allows. On another level, the Goddess lets him explore femininity outside of himself, providing a true model of the female, that diminishes the impact of society’s image, and helps him to appreciate and interact with women as they really are, rather than in how he has been led to believe they should be.
The Divine Masculine
The idea of a God perhaps owes its existence to the hunt. Generally, in most ancient prehistoric societies, before the discovery of agriculture, it is believed that it was the males that hunted. Dressed in animal skins, and taking on something of the character of their quarry by way of disguise, the hunters would have set out in search of their prey. It was the responsibility of the men to provide life in another sense -the very sustenance upon which the well-being of everyone in their group depended. The hunter’s often horned attire likely became a symbol of power. Hunting skills would have been passed down from generation to generation, but it is probable that in many societies they remained an initiatory secret only given to male children of a certain age. The secrets of the hunt, like the inscrutability of child birth, were thus shrouded in mystery. Small wonder, too, that what the male provided was similarly worshiped and honoured. Wiccans generally think of the God as being part animal, part human and part divine. Therefore, He encompasses the three natures of human existence.
The God of the Witches is often portrayed as cloven hoofed, with the body of a man and horns sprouting from his head. This composite image has had a difficult ride through the Christian era where he has become for Christians the figure of the Devil or Lucifer, the fallen angel of light. But the associations of this image with evil and darkness are dreadfully misleading. The God is, in fact, intended to show the incarnation of Spirit on the Physical Plane; He therefore represents the descent of Divine Light into the animal kingdom of our human bodies. For Wiccans he is the Lord of Nature. Upright and true, proud and virile like the stag, he fears no-one and serves to protect his kind, laying down his own life if necessary. He is a leader, but must bow to the seasonal cycles of the Goddess. As her consort he reveres and honours her, making sure that her needs are taken care of. Quick and sure footed he traverses the lands, running free through the forests, over the plains and upon the hills – he knows no bounds or limitations.
The God is also seen as having a strongly sacrificial nature. This is based on the cycle of the Sun. He begins the road to death directly after his midsummer reign (June 21st) where, having had his longest days and filled the land with light, his power gradually weakens and wanes. His darkest time follows his sacrifice at the autumn equinox (September 22nd), where he crosses the line of the equator and the nights become longer than the days. Aleister Crowley referred to this as his crucifixion [3], for he is sacrificed and descends into the gloomy depths of winter, in order that Mother Earth may take her repose before her renewal. However, death is but a stage in nature’s cycle and the God is triumphantly reborn at the midwinter solstice (December 21st), from which point the days slowly become longer. Finally, he comes again to full strength at the spring equinox (March 21st); the hours of day are longer than the hours of night, and the Goddess re-clothes herself in green. He is often portrayed by sacrificial or dying and resurrected gods, such as Tammuz, Osiris, Dionysus, Jesus and Balder.
But the God is not merely a deity of an annular cycle, for he is also able to encompass the stages of a masculine life. He is the new born child, delicate and weak, dependent on others for comfort, yet brimming with the promise of greater things. As he grows to maturity he is the fecund and randy youth, full of hormones, vitality and experiment in the passionate and wild revelry of youth. Akin to Pan, he careers through the landscape and this sometimes means that he is given to an excess of physical pleasure, including food, drink, music and sex. Like the trickster Loki, he is fond of playing tricks on others and especially enjoys baiting his elders. It is at this delicate stage of development that he needs the firm guiding hand, love and understanding of the mother Goddess and the fatherly God.
However, as he matures he takes on the responsibilities symbolised by the stag and strives to become a worthwhile member of the community. The young male learns to have respect for womankind, and begins to take on his role as contributor to the well-being of his family, by providing the things necessary for its nourishment and survival, including protecting it from harm. He becomes a leader and a fighter for what is right, just and true. He grows to be a worthy partner to the Goddess, and can be seen as the kingly Irish god Lugh or the Norse god Odin. In a sense, he sacrifices the waywardness of his youth to the betterment of himself and to others. Finally, at the end of his life, he is old and without the physical strength of his youth. Yet, like the Crone, this does not mean that he no longer has a role. Far from it, in fact, as the new generation looks to his experience and wise counsel.
For the male Witch he provides a model of masculinity that can readily be related to. The God of the Witches is not a “pure” God, representing a rarefied form of maleness, beyond all belief that is inevitably impossible to live up to. He takes into account what it means to be truly male, and points the way as to how a man can play a constructive and useful role within the family and society at large. He is not a being that constantly has his head in the stars and his mind on the divine. He is a blend of the physical and the spiritual, resonating with what it means to be masculine. That such a role model is desperately needed, is reflected in the fact that in the most technologically advanced civilizations, young males are the group most at risk of committing suicide. Our society has been failing to provide a positive lead to men for some time now, and it is no wonder that they often feel a sense of disempowerment and de-motivation, spiralling into despair. For many, the Wiccan God has served to provide a solution.
For the female Witch, the God provides a model of masculinity that she can be comfortable with; he is not a dominant patriarch but an equal complimentary partner with whom she can grow and develop. This stands in marked contrast to nearly every other religion existing today, that seeks to subordinate and mould her to a masculine ideal.
The Goddess and God and a Wiccan Creation Myth
One of the key sources for modern Witchcraft is nineteenth century American folklorist, Charles G. Leland’s, Aradia, Gospel of the Witches [4]. This work was used by Gerald Gardner as a foundation for his development of the Wiccan religion and led Doreen Valiente to declare that it was “probably the first major influence (on the lineage of modern Witchcraft) in relatively modern times” [5]. She was to take Leland’s translation and use it as a source of inspiration for writing The Charge of the Goddess, which is one of the more important ritual constituents in traditional Wicca, based on a Gardnerian model. However, the work is not without controversy. Leland asserted that he had found a surviving Witch cult in the Tuscan mountains of Italy, near Siena, that he proposed had survived there from ancient times. He based his work on a manuscript known as the Vangelo delle Streghe (Gospel of the Witches) that he said had been given to him by a woman called Maddalena – whether this individual existed or not is a moot point. The Vangelo is widely considered to be fraudulent by modern historians, although whether Maddalena or Leland was the culprit continues to be debated [6]. However, all scholars agree that Leland’s claims of an ancient lineage of Witchcraft have no basis in fact [7]. Wiccan attitudes about the work are varied. Some believe it to be true whilst others see that, while it may well be a forgery, this doesn’t necessarily undermine its value as a creation myth or as a source for Wiccan rituals.
Although written in a naïve style, the Vangelo contains an allegorical creation story called How Diana Made the Stars and the Rain [8]. This can be interpreted in a variety of ways by different Wiccan traditions, and the student will likely want to explore this document and come to their own conclusions. For the moment though, I offer my own interpretation.
The Vangelo says:
“Diana was the first created before all creation. In her were all things”.
This can be understood that in the beginning there was nothing and that from this state of non-being arose the One. This has resonance with Kabbalistic thought on nothingness and the appearance of a “concentration” or spark of energy, as well as the scientific theory of the Big Bang where a creative flash appeared from nowhere. Scientists believe this flash quickly developed into simple molecular structures such as Hydrogen; there were no stars and darkness reigned. Diana, or the Goddess, can be identified with this initial state, within which there is the potential for all things.
The Vangelo continues:
“Out of herself….She divided herself. Into darkness and light she was divided. Lucifer, her brother and son, herself and her other half, was the light.”
Scientists theorise that over aeons, gravity caused the simple atoms and molecules to clump together, and eventually form stars. For the first time, the Universe had light and darkness -and that light was borne from the dark. Furthermore, stars are now seen as the generator of all the other molecules in existence, for, when they explode, star-dust is created, out of which planets, and all living things, are formed. This passage is also reminiscent of the ideas of Yin and Yang, the cosmic feminine and masculine principles, whose polemic tension lies behind all creation. The state of the One became dynamic existence when divided into two forces. Diana was the darkness and Lucifer [9] (the God) was the light. This again tallies with the theories of the Kabbalists who posit that the One reflected upon itself to become the Two, and that this was the basis for creation.
The Vangelo goes on:
“And when Diana saw that the light was so beautiful, the light which was her other half, her brother Lucifer, she yearned for it with exceeding great desire. Wishing to receive the light again into her darkness, to swallow it up in rapture, in delight, she trembled with desire. This desire was the Dawn. But Lucifer, the light, fled from her and would not yield to her wishes; he was the light which flies into the most distant parts of heaven, the mouse which flies before the cat.”
This section perhaps shows that the Goddess, who represents the dark feminine Yin force of creation, wanted to experience the light masculine Yang force that the God represents. But she could not, for although the two forces were working closely together, Yin and Yang were not one. As a result of this, Diana consulted with the “fathers of the Beginning… [as well as] the mothers, the spirits who were before the first spirit, and lamented that she could not prevail with Lucifer”.
She was advised that “to rise she must fall. To become the chief of goddesses, she must first become a mortal.” If the Goddess wanted to be joined with the masculine forces of creation she had to enter into manifestation, for only here, on the Physical Plane, could the two forces be bound together and only here could the Goddess and God unite.
And so Diana took the form of a cat and manifested on the Material Plane to become as one with the God. At first Lucifer was angry, so to maintain this union of creative forces and his love “she hummed the song, it was as the buzzing of bees (or a top spinning round), a spinning wheel spinning life. She spun the lives of all men: all things were spun from the wheel of Diana. Lucifer turned the wheel.”
Put another way, the God and Goddess worked together to maintain existence; she provided vibratory energy (the song), whilst he provided spinning motion by turning the wheel. They gave the Universe form and movement; the vibratory energy created the structures and was complimented by a spinning force, which maintained them and gave them movement. Therefore, the Goddess and the God together, can be seen to be the essential nature of existence.
A Variety of Goddesses and Gods
As has been seen, Witches are polytheists who use a variety of goddesses and gods from different religions, depending on what aspect of the divine male and female they wish to work with. In this section of the lesson you will find the qualities of some of the better known ones. It should be stated, though, that this list is intended solely as a beginning for further exploration.
Goddesses
Aradia
Aradia is perhaps the most popular name for the Goddess in Wicca. According to the Vangelo delle Streghe she was the daughter of Diana and Lucifer and became the messenger of her Great Mother. Diana told her that “I have come to sweep away the bad, the men of evil all will I destroy” [10] and proceeded to educate her in Witchcraft. She told Aradia to battle against social injustices by teaching fellow Witches how to poison great lords in their palaces as well as how to conjure tempests to ruin crops of rich peasants. Diana gives Aradia her anti-establishment stance, typified by her attitude towards the church, which she regards as being an embodiment of all that is evil. Her education complete, Aradia is exhorted to go out and found the secret society of Witches. Her vengeful qualities have been tempered somewhat by her transmission through Gardnerian Wicca, and Aradia is now most commonly regarded as a nature goddess and seen as a complement to Cernunnos, Herne or Pan.
Arianrhod
The attractive Welsh name of Arianrhod means “Silver Wheel”. Only one story of her has survived – the Romance of Math in the Mabinogion. This portrays her as abandoning her sons, Dylan and Lleu Llaw Gyffes, as well as holding power over the latter by preventing him from bearing arms. However, her name hints at a nature greater than at first seems evident, for the circumpolar stars that never set and are known as Caer Arianrhod (Royal Residence of the Silver Wheel). These stars don’t obey the seeming ever changing laws of the heavens; the Moon has her phases, the Sun his cycles, but these turning stars never set. Because of this some Wiccans use them to symbolise the resting place of souls between incarnations. By this association, Arianrhod has become a goddess of reincarnation. Further, because she has sons, she was likely intended to be a goddess of birth, and, the fact she could withhold weapons from her children, perhaps symbolises the power over initiation into manhood.
Hecate
Hecate is perhaps most famous for being a protectress of Witches, and is most typically portrayed as a goddess of the Underworld and strongly associated with magic, especially that of the darker variety. Originally she was regarded as the daughter of the Titans, Perses and Asteria, although a later tradition says she was born of Zeus and Hera. Traditionally she was the guardian of mariners and herds of sheep. Her three faced image, known as a Triple Hecate, was often placed at crossroads in ancient times, where offerings were left to her on the eve of the Full Moon. Her symbols include the key and the flaming torch, as her wisdom is supposed to unlock and illumine all mysteries. Her totem animal is a black dog. As the dark goddess, she is particularly associated with the Crone.
Demeter and Persephone
The Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone (also known as Kore) is famous throughout the world. Demeter was a great corn goddess who doted on her beautiful daughter, Persephone, and together they tended the Earth causing vegetation to grow. Unknown to either of them, Hades, god of the Underworld, had become consumed with desire for Persephone, and one day kidnapped her and dragged her down to his realm. Not knowing what had happened to her daughter, Demeter was desolate and despairing. She went and consulted Hecate, the great Crone, who advised that she contact Helios, the Sun god, who could see all things. Helios blamed Zeus (the King of the Gods) saying that he had granted Persephone to Hades. In an attempt to force Zeus to command the release of her daughter, Demeter refused to let crops grow and the land became barren. Zeus finally gave in and commanded Hades to release Persephone. However, before she left, Hades persuaded her to eat some pomegranate seeds, a symbol of a marriage that could not be revoked. To save the situation, Zeus proposed a compromise where Persephone would live for two thirds of the year with Demeter above ground, and one third of the year below. Rhea, Demeter’s mother, persuaded her to accept this deal, and she agreed that while her daughter was with her, crops and plants would be able to grow.
Bride, also known as Brighid, Brigid, Brigit and Brid
Bride is an Irish goddess of fertility, inspiration and healing, who was the daughter of the Dagda, the supreme god of Celtic mythology. She is often shown as a triple goddess. She is ruler of arts and crafts and especially the skills of poetry, smith-craft and medicine. Music is also sacred to her and she was a patron of the Bards. She is often likened to the spirit of the grain and corn dollies are traditionally made to honour and represent her. Her festival is La Fheila Bride, or Candlemas, celebrated at the beginning of February.
Isis and her consort Osiris
Isis [11] was originally a goddess of agriculture. She was the daughter of the Earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut, her sister was Nephthys and her brothers were Horus the Elder, Osiris and Set. Isis married her brother, Osiris, and together they taught the Egyptians all the arts and sciences of civilisation. This was much to the distaste of Set who flew into a jealous rage at their success and plotted his brother’s downfall. One story recounts how he produced an amazing decorated chest made in the shape of a man. He threw a party and all the male guests tried to see if they would fit, yet none did. It was then Osiris’ turn, and, to his surprise, he found he fitted perfectly. No sooner had he laid down, than Set slammed shut the heavy lid and threw the coffin in the Nile so that Osiris would drown. The grieving Isis, in the shape of a white bird, hunted high and low for the body of her consort. Eventually she found the coffin in the roots of a tree on the island of Byblos. Unfortunately, Set recaptured her husband and this time cut his body into fourteen pieces, which he scattered to the far corners of the land. Weeping bitterly, Isis eventually hunted all the pieces down, except for his phallus, which had been eaten by a Nile crab. After magically restoring his body and remaking his penis she was then able to conceive Horus the Younger. Thereafter, Osiris became Lord of the Dead and Horus his incarnation on Earth. The cult of Osiris, Isis and Horus became the most widespread and popular in Ancient Egypt. Isis gradually absorbed the qualities of most other goddesses, becoming something of a universal deity.
Gods
Cernunnos
Cernunnos is perhaps the foremost of male divinities that Witches draw upon and, yet, he is one of the most shady and difficult to define. He was a member of the Celtic pantheon and it is likely that he was intended to represent the spirit of horned animals, something that the snake-like creature with ram’s horns often found by his side seems to emphasise. In particular, he was probably associated with the stag. Cernunnos may also have been seen as of a noble class and perhaps a god of fertility. Seated on the ground in a cross legged fashion, his posture seems almost meditative. However, no-one can be completely certain of these things as there are few written records, and any assertions about his nature are based on depictions found on cave walls, vessels and sculptures. The earliest of these seems to have been discovered at Val Camonica in Italy and dates from the 4th century BCE, whilst the best known is on the Gundestrup cauldron found in Denmark, which dates to the 1st century BCE [12]. Such works give the geographical range of his worship, which would have stretched from Italy to Scandinavia. That he must have meant much the same to the Celts, wherever he was worshipped, is evidenced by the consistency of the portrayals. He is nearly always found as an older man with a beard, and, because he wears a torc, the viewer is lead to an impression that he has a great stature within the community of deities. When coupled with a coin filled purse, often on or near his person, he seems to be a character of great wealth. For Witches, he is often seen as a symbol of maleness and an embodiment of the Horned God [13].
Lugh
Lugh (pronounced “loo”) is an Irish god from Ireland’s mythological past who is frequently portrayed as a great monarch and hero. His father and mother’s marriage was likely designed to ease tensions between his father’s tribe, the Tuatha Dé Danann, and the Formorians, who were his mother’s people. When he reached manhood, Lugh travelled to Tara to join the court of King Nuada of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He was eventually given command over the Tuatha Dé, and set about waging a successful campaign against the oppressive Fomorians, finally freeing the Tuatha De Danann from tyranny [14]. It is likely that Lughnasadh originally celebrated this victory, although some say Lugh created this festival in memory of his foster-mother, Tailtiu. Legend has it that the event was held on 1st August at the town that bore her name, which is now known as Teltown in County Meath [15]. As Lugh became mythologized he was associated with kingship, the Sun, trade, craftsmanship, tricksters, youthful exuberance and shining light. He also became a harvest god [16] and Lugnasadh seems to have turned into a kind of celebration of his triumph over the spirits of the Other World, who had tried to keep the August crops for themselves. In this form, the event survived long into Christian times and has been revived under a variety of names today. Modern Wicca has a variant of this festival, although its character has a slightly different flavour than the original celebrations, which would have been funereal and martial [17]. Lúnasa is the Irish name for the month of August.
Herne
Herne the Hunter is a ghost or monster associated with Windsor Great Park. He is perhaps a manifestation of the Horned God, which can be based on connecting his name to the deity Cernunnos and the fact that they are both depicted as being antlered.
Perhaps the earliest account of this figure is from Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor in 1597:
“Sometime a keeper here in Windsor Forest,
Doth all the winter-time, at still midnight,
Walk round about an oak, with great ragg’d horns;
And there he blasts the tree, and takes the cattle,
And makes milch-kine yield blood, and shakes a chain
In a most hideous and dreadful manner.
You have heard of such a spirit, and well you know
The superstitious idle-headed eld
Receiv’d, and did deliver to our age,
This tale of Herne the Hunter for a truth.”
Pan
To Wiccans, Pan is a powerful god and an archetype of male virility and sexuality. In Greek mythology he is the guardian of shepherds and their flocks. Like a satyr he has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat. In some legends he is the son of Zeus and in others the son of Hermes. His mother is said to be a nymph. Pan is famous for his sexual prowess, and often depicted with an erect phallus. His horns and cloven hooves were used by Christian artists and writers as a basis for the images of demons and Satan. Pan is also famous for his pipes and once challenged Apollo, the god of the lyre, to a musical contest. The gods agreed that Tmolus, the mountain-god, would adjudicate. Pan produced a lilting melody that both he and his companion Midas enjoyed. Then Apollo ran his fingers through his lyre and Tmolus immediately gave the victory to Apollo. Unfortunately for him, Midas disagreed with the outcome and complained. Apollo would not put up with such defective hearing and gave Midas the ears of a donkey [18].
Tammuz
An ancient Babylonian myth relates that Tammuz [19] was the King of Uruk and consort of the goddess Ishtar. When out hunting he was gouged by a wild boar and mortally wounded. He fell to the realm of Death, which was ruled by the goddess Allat, sister of Ishtar. Grieving, his wife decided to brave the dark land of the Underworld and search for her beloved partner. She descended through seven gates and finally arrived at the realm of her sister. Eventually, Ishtar convinced Allat to release Tammuz, as well as all the other spirits of the deceased. From this moment on, the cycle of death and rebirth began. The myth has several layers of meaning, relating not only to the mysteries of regeneration, but the cycle of the seasons and Spirit’s entry into the world of matter.
Balder
Balder [20] (sometimes known as Baldur) was the Scandinavian god of light and joy. He was the son of Odin and Frigg, who were king and queen of the gods. Frigg had a dream that Balder’s life was threatened and resolved to make sure that he was safe. She extracted an oath from all the forces and beings in nature that they would not harm her son. Unfortunately, she forgot to bind the mistletoe to this oath. The gods were joyful at the news that Balder was safe and, by way of a celebration, threw stones and darts at him. However, the wicked trickster god Loki put a twig of mistletoe in the hands of Balder’s twin, the blind god of darkness, Hoder. Laughingly, Loki asked him to throw it at his brother who fell to the ground, mortally wounded with a piercing to his heart.
After Balder’s demise, the messenger Hermod, another of his brothers, was sent by Odin to the underworld to plead for his return. It was agreed that the god would be set free on condition that all things in the world would mourn for him. On hearing that everyone was to display their grief, Loki disguised himself as a giantess and refused to take part, as a result the terms of the agreement were not met and Balder was prevented from returning to life.