Haunted by Herne the Hunter

Haunted by Herne the Hunter

 

There is an old tale goes that Herne the Hunter,
Some time 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.

Shakespeare

The Horned God Herne, also known as Cernunnos in Celtic Literature, has long been a fascination of mine.  I did not seek out the early experiences with the God of the Forrest. I will tell my tale of our first meeting, but first some background. In the Celtic religion of Hinduism, Cernunnos is known as Rudra, or again a part man part animal deity who resides as Lord of the Animals in the wilderness.  Sanskrit is the oldest of all Celtic languages.  We can trace most Celtic tribe migration by the off springing tongues that are, in part, Sanskrit. In all mythologies of the Horned One, he is cast out from the pantheon of Gods and dwells alone.  In some legend’s he hangs himself from an Oak Tree.  Odin of Norse mythology also rode a black steed on a wild hunt and was not a good omen or portend.  There is an Island, between Norway and Iceland, where every nine years the Vikings met for a sacred rite.  One Viking was chosen by lottery to be hung.  Each nine years a sacrifice was made to Odin, or God of the Gallows.  Of-course then there are the satyrs of Greek myth such as Pan. All these animal gods are considered rather spooky and out there on the social fringe.  That is probably why the early Christian Church chose the goat man with horns to represent the devil.  We can’t be sure where all the superstitions came from but I find it interesting that most pagan traditions have similar “gods”.  They say that God has a thousand names and faces and that appears to be true of the Thunder Gods, Indra, Zeus and Thor as well as all the hundreds of names for the Horned One.  The concepts are similar and seem to be varied in appearance and perhaps the duties performed. 

          I was a bit drunk one night many moons ago.  In fact I might have been about age 20.  I had left a party in favor of solitude.  The full moon was calling me and I walked through a park at night.  I sat on a bench and then realized the tree was talking to me.  This was amazing and dream like.  The tree told me it was “God” and it did appear to be full of wisdom.  I can barely remember the message I received because there was a rustling and a saw a man approach.  I was not scared as I might have been.  I knew it was an out of body experience.  He was half human and half furry animal.  I did not see any horns but he was very handsome and smelled like herbs and flowers and fresh mowed grass. He was accompanied by fairy orbs of light.  I felt great power and vitality coming from him.  In a way it was like being recognized by nature and realizing you are welcome and protected.  It seems that the wild creatures have never been a problem for me.  I can’t remember ever being bitten or threatened with fangs when walking in a forest alone at night.  Sometimes it seems the spirit of the Oak is trying to tell me something if I would slow down for a bit and sit beneath it.   There are messages all around me if I chose to hear and then appreciate them.    

Wishing all a good Samhain!  Or Halloween!  There is a night when the veil is thin between two worlds.