Among the Celtic gods, Cernunnos is one of the most enigmatic. We know his name thanks to an inscription on the Pillar of the Boatmen ( 1st century BC, Paris), where he is associated with other Gallic deities. His image is most notably found on the Gundestrup cauldron ( 2nd century BC), a masterpiece of Celtic art discovered in Denmark.
Often depicted sitting cross-legged , adorned with stag antlers , he frequently holds a torc (sacred collar, symbol of nobility) and a ram-headed serpent . Around him appear deer, bulls, wolves, boars: all creatures that connect man to wild power.
Even though the texts are lacking, his iconography speaks for itself: Cernunnos is the god of untamed nature, of the cycles of life and of abundance .
Lord of the Animals and Forests
The stag antlers worn by Cernunnos symbolize cyclical renewal . The stag loses and regains its antlers each year: an image of death followed by rebirth.
Cernunnos is often called the Lord of Beasts . He reigns in the middle of the forests, surrounded by wild creatures, like a guardian of balance . He is not a god who dominates, but a god who connects : between man and beast, between nature and society.
Abundance, prosperity and cycles
Cernunnos is a wild god associated with fertility and abundance . In some depictions, he pours out bags of coins , an image of prosperity and the circulation of wealth.
Thus, he links natural cycles (hunting, reproduction, seasons) to economic and social cycles . He is the god of vital balance , the one who ensures that resources circulate and that life is reborn after death.
Parallels with other deities
Cernunnos, although specifically Celtic, belongs to a large family of horned and wild gods, present in many cultures:
- The Greek Pan , god of the woods and impulses, bearer of goat horns.
- Herne the Hunter from English folklore, a spirit of the forests accompanied by deer.
- The Shiva Pashupati of ancient India, "lord of beasts", seated in meditation surrounded by animals.
- The shamanic deities who embody the union between man and nature.
All these figures reflect a universal archetype: that of the fusion between human and animal, civilized and savage .
Modern Legacies and Rediscoveries
Today, Cernunnos is reborn in neo-pagan traditions and Wicca . He is seen as the embodiment of the horned god , complementary to the mother goddess. Together, they symbolize the dance of life and death, fertility, and the passing of the seasons.
In the contemporary imagination, it also becomes an ecological symbol: guardian of the forests, protector of natural cycles, spiritual figure of a humanity seeking to reconnect with the Earth.
Her horned figure, seated in the forest, inspires artists, writers, musicians, and activists. She embodies a sacredness of life , a reminder that man cannot exist without the rest of the natural world.
The horned god as guardian of cycles
Cernunnos , the mysterious horned god of the Celts, embodies the vital forces of nature: fertility, the circulation of wealth, the balance between man and the wild.
Neither warrior nor celestial sovereign, he is the mediator , the guardian of harmony. In his woods rises the promise of renewal, in his sylvan throne beats the pulse of the Earth.
In a world that has forgotten the rhythm of seasons and cycles, Cernunnos returns as a living archetype . He invites us to reconcile ourselves with the wild, to see in nature not a resource to be exploited, but a sacred power.
Because in the heart of our inner forests, a horned god still awaits us: guardian of our instincts, our rebirths, and our connection with life .