Drawing Down Cernunnos:
The Manifestation of the God
Since the dawn of time, man has tried to
commune with the gods and throughout time, horns have been used in ritual to commune with the sacred. From Babylonia, to the
Old Testament, through to the Egyptian and Greek religious traditions. It was seen that the more horns the deity had, the
more powerful they were. It is also interesting to note that the common folk's local gods only had two horns, but it was also
understood from the ordinary folk, that the two horns contained more power than the elite gods of the rich and famous of their
day.
Cave paintings have shown that from the
early dawn of time, man dressed in antlers of Stags and what is more interesting is that a lot of the antlers came from Muntjac,
one of the oldest known breeds of deer known to mankind. A picture of the Muntjac breed has been placed on the photos
section of the website.
In the Celtic tradition, men dressed also
in antlers and skins of Stags, to commune with the diety, Cernunnos. Cernunnos is as mentioned in other parts of the website,
Lord of wild animals, Lord of the woodland realms, Lord of male sexuality, Lord of the hunt and Lord of Death or the Underworld.
It is Cernunnos, when we die, who leads us unto the feet of the Great Mother, to be reborn again. It is Cernunnos' energy
that flows through every man and is seen in man, from his stubble, through to erect penis and sacred semen.
In Witchcraft, Drawing Down The Moon,
is a liturgy that the High Priestess presides over at an Esbat (usually a Full Moon), whereby she invokes the Goddess to descend
upon her and through her and the Goddess incarnates into the High Priestess to bestow upon her children, her monthly blessings
and Charge. Drawing down the God, Cernunnos is not done; yet that is about to change, thanks to the HomoMoot.
Drawing down Cernunnos is a sacred act that
belongs to men and rightly so. It is a masculine and powerful rite, whereby the High Priest invokes Cernunnos, places upon
himself the Royal Robes and bestows the blessings of Cernunnos, unto his people, his woodland and animal realms.
The Royal Robes are unique and powerful; even just simply wearing them, man feels powerful and his penis becomes erect at
once. The Royal Robes are as follows: the High Priest wears upon his head a real deer skull complete with antlers. Upon the legs of the High Priest, real deer legs
and feet are tied; front and back on each leg and upon the shoulders, real deer skin is used. In all of this the deer used
is the Muntjac, the oldest known breed to mankind. It is fitting that this deer's legs and feet, antlers, skull and skin are
chosen, as they would have been what our ancestors would have used.
At the Drawing Down of Cernunnos,
the Rite of Cernunnos is celebrated, whereby after the Circle is cast, Cernunnos is then invoked by his secret name. The High
Priest naked, walks to the Nothern Gateway and in silence invokes Cernunnos; he asks Cernunnos for his permission to celebrate
the Rite and meditates on how unimportant he, as High Priest is compared to the great energy and power of Cernunnos
in the midst of an infinite universe and cosmos. The High Priest then turns to the Altar and begins to clothe himself
in the Royal Robes.. first the deer legs and feet are tied to the High Priest's legs, then the deer skin is placed upon
the shoulders, finally the Crown of Antlers is placed upon the head of the High Priest, which signals the arrival of the power
and manifestation of Cernunnos present in the Ritual Circle and visible through the High Priest unto his men. All the men
present acclaim the arrival as the Crown of Antlers is placed upon the head of the High Preist and they shout with one voice
His Acclamation, known only to those who have been initiated into the male bond of Cernunnos at the HomoMoot.
The lengthy complex rites then lead through
ritual chants the High Priest to ejacualte his sacred semen, into the Horn of Cernunnos and the sacred liquid is then consecrated with the sacred mystical Sigil of the HomoMoot.
The Communion of Cernunnos is given to his men; the semen drunk. Following the rites, the High Priest returns to the Northern
Gateway and removes the Royal Robes; the Crown of Antlers first, the deer skin next and finally the legs and feet of the deer.
The Royal Robes are then incensed with the Cernunnos and Consecration incense and are replaced upon the Altar.
The Circle is then uncast.
As you can imagine, the Rite is very powerful
for men and one that indeed does draw down through the High Priest or in fact, the leading Witch taking the Liturgy, Cernunnos;
it is a rite that seems almost a link with the past. At the Consecration Ritual of the Royal Robes, it speaks of how the past
and present dwell together. The Consecration of the Royal Robes is a long process yet one filled with the sacred energy and
powers of Cernunnos, so that when he is invoked later at any Ritual, he may descend through the High Priest and moreso, through
the wearing of the Royal Robes and in appears to strengthen, bless, invigorate his men.
Light and blessings.
Julian Riley
Copyright of the HomoMoot 2008
