Comment

Comment by Zephonith Serpent Woman on January 14, 2013 at 5:24am

"Atho is the name given to a carved head of the Horned God of witchcraft...I have met Mr Howard (the original dispossessed owner) and seen this carved head myself. It is a very impressive carving, having a crude strength and power which make it a remarkable work of primitive art.It is fashioned from a solid trunk of dark oak, evidently very old.. The head is adorned with two bull's horns,and inset in various places with silver and jewels.It is covered with mystic symbols, representing the beliefs of the followers of Atho...

It was characteristic of pagan Celtic Britain to carve sacred heads of deities....With widening archaeological discoveries,we know today that the worship of the Celtic Horned God Cernunnos as widespread throughout Ancient Britain; many representations of him have been found. The name Cernunnos is really a title, and means"The Horned One"...

Doreen Valiente copied the details of the statue faithfully, and so apart from my lunar sign and the Triple Goddess symbol which I added all on my own :)" "; this is a reasonably exact copy of the original sans the colours of course and the solar disc which replaces the eight-pointed star... 

..." The horns are ornamented with the signs of the zodiac. On the forehead are the five rings of witchcraft, the five different circles which are cast by witches. The nose is a wine-cup, which holds the sabbat wine.It is ornamented with a pentagram, the sign of magic. The mouth is shaped like a bird, the messenger of air. The chin is a triangle, with the various magical meanings of the Triad.

Below are twin serpents, representing positive and negative forces....The Name Atho is evidently a Sassenach version of the old Welsh, Arddhu, "The Dark One"."'

Valiente, Doreen(1973) An ABC of Witchcraft~ Past and Present". London; Robert Hale Publishers Limited.

ISBN 0 7090 5350 9

I may add that the mouth is shaped like a bird, and the white fangs of the Serpent God against the tongue form a Bat, the sacred creature of the God.

)O( X Blessed Be  )O( X

Comment by L. Love on January 14, 2013 at 3:43am

Well very well done ;)  I like it!! Nice balance of male/female there now then!

Comment by Zephonith Serpent Woman on January 12, 2013 at 11:43pm

I added the Goddess symbol by taking a little artistic licence:) Glad you like it )O(

Comment by L. Love on January 12, 2013 at 11:19am

Lovely Zeph :)  I love the Goddess symbol on his cheek!  As you said, lots of symbolism there with the serpents etc.  )O(

Comment by Zephonith Serpent Woman on January 12, 2013 at 3:48am

"Horned God" ~ By Zephonith

This picture is an adaptation from a sketch done by Doreen Valiente of a very ancient carved statue of the Horned God found in Britain which unfortunately mysteriously disappeared, never to be seen again.

And, NO, its not the Devil! It is most probably a representation of a manifestation of Cernunnos, the Horned God of Britain and the Consort of Goddess Cerridwen.

The inverted pentagram is not exclusively a symbol of Satanism. In fact, in the old days, it really didn't matter which way a pentagram faced ~ sideways, upside down ~ however the inverted symbol is a symbol of the God in contemporary Nature-based Pagan traditions.

The God of the Sun is the counterpart or opposite polarity to the Goddess of the Moon; and is the God of Nature, the Yang or Masculine Principle of the Universe and mainly personified as the Sun although also the Moon, as are many Goddesses Solar Divinities.. This knowledge has existed for all of Earth's long herstory and with due respect, long before the advent of the male-dominated religions.

There is much symbolism in the drawing which I would be more than pleased to discuss if you wish.