The Horned God

Commonly mistaken, the pagan Horned God is not in fact the Devil. As stated in "Wicca: FAQ" many pagans don't even believe in the Devil.

The origin of "Horned God" worship resides back to Paleolithic times some 25,000 years ago. People of these times relied on nature to provide food and many other factors in their way of life. Deities were assigned to each of these factors influencing their everyday lives. The Horned God, (horned because most animals hunted those days had horns or antlers,) was became the God of the hunt.  Before a hunt, the people would gather to worship the Horned God, asking that the upcoming hunt be successful. 

As the hunter, the Horned God shows us that urge to survive. He is the life force and the impregnator. He is fierce, yet at the same time he is the protector and the father of all.

Throughout the Pagan Year we celebrate the stages of the God's life. He is the son of the Goddess, then, as he grows, he falls in love with Her, impregnates Her, and finally dies, leaving the cycle to begin again with His re-birth from the Goddess.

Many people come to Paganism because they feel a Goddess has as much right to be worshipped as a God. However, due to this, the full devotion is sometimes then given to the Goddess, leaving the God to be brushed aside. We should remember that the Goddess and the God are both equal. Everything and everyone has both masculine and feminine features. 

Without one, the other cannot survive. 

As with the Triple Goddess, we see many aspects of the Horned God in Pagan traditions all over the world.

Pan ~ Greek

Cernunnos ~ Celtic

Caerwiden ~ Welsh