Cernunnos - Lord of the Wild Hunt

[TwilightWolf 883]

 

"He is strength, will, and action given form

His hooves swallow the earth

Thorns and antlers crown his fierce eyes

He flies without wings

His eyes are as sharp as his star-tipped arrows

He is Cernunnos - King of Centaurs"

 

Mythology of the Mother Circle

 

     Long have druids known Cernunnos as the Horned Lord; Aspect of the hunt, hunger, and primal instincts. Sometimes he is associated with the gnawing grip of disease, the ferocity of the wildfire, and the tempest's roar. For the Mother Circle, the Legend of Cernunnos stories the Hunt Father as a massive beast-man, depicted as either half stag or horse with strong body, large forked antlers and a bow of legendary strength. His arrows pierce the soul, shattering the mortal coil that delays the rebirth of nature. He and his many sons and daughters travel freely from the Court of the Fae Queen to guide the natural flow of the balance, and during the season of autumn oft associated with the Centaur King, he will blow the Horn of the Wild Hunt, beginning the greatest season of change. The leaves will recoil and shrivel into dark, fiery colors, the prey will be driven from their burrows. Hunters and gatherers alike will rejoice in the fair weather in which they will toil for the spoils of autumn, feasting on the weak and plentiful before the cold inevitabilities of winter.

 

 

     The celebrations of Cernunnos traditionally begin during the Fox Moon, or final Phase of Life. To honor the Hunt Father, the Mother Circle will coordinate adventures into the surrounding realms of the Grove. Before every hunt, a communal prayer is held before the grove is departed. The Huntsman's Creed is recited, the bows and blades of the hunters are blessed, and the hunters are sent off while the hearths and feasting grounds are prepared. The Creed is storied to be the self-imposed rules of any honorable hunter worshipping Cernunnos, including the sparing of young and mothers, the focus upon hunting the elder animal, and respect of animal population in reverence to the balance. Needless slaughter is taboo, and is said to invite the attention of mischievous or malevolent fae.

 

The Huntsman's Creed

 

With blade and bow, O Father, may I remain humble in harvest

Grant my feet and arrows swiftness, may my eyes and sword be sharp

When the heart is pierced, the throat cut

May your arrow loft this animal's spirit to the Forest

In their rebirth, may I remember this hunt

Keep me their memory, the animal honored

And in your will may the Wild Hunt forever come

 

Cernunnos and Astrology of the Mother Circle

 

 

     While a majority of the kills sustained during the months of the Wild Hunts, there is some game that is coveted by Cernunnos himself. For the Mother Circle, a druid has become a part of the natural cycle once they arise from the waters of attunement. Druid and Draoi alike will eventually meet their end at the hands of Cernunnos' bow. Fabled to be tipped with the stars themselves, Cernunnos is also the artist of the constellations in the night sky, for every great hunt must preserve a story to honor the fallen. It is said that when Druids finally enter the Eternal Forest for rest, or Draoi for eternal turmoil, the wake of Cernunnos' soul-reaping organizes the stars into a memorial. Rumored to be the arrows of Cernunnos' bow themselves, comets or falling stars are oft seen as an omen of change. The graves of the fallen are typically marked with the simple pattern of stars and connecting lines forming the druid's memorial constellation, which are best seen from the Mother Circle's observatory. There the living druids ponder wisdom left by the fallen, warnings of those who have failed the Aspects, and legends of the Order's history.

 

     

 

[Royal Peasant 445]

The depictions of the horned lord brought a intrigued look as the man under the crown of straw began to rummage through his old artworks and sketches as he went over what he envisioned the horned lord to look like. The embodiment of the primal as he pulled them out and compared them to the several artistic renditions that were shown of the lord within this new entry of the world. 
 

Spoiler

A few of the pieces inspired certain markings for the flesh as he turned over to the images shown and began to set down parchment and grabbed some charcoal as he began to scribble new ideas. Inspired by these pieces. 

[Heartesy 349]

A human came upon the book in the library of the Mother Grove. A curiousity having struck her- due to the coincidence of name. Reading over it, a faint smile was brought to her face- as distantly she thought of the man who awaited for her at home.