From the beginning of time, there exists the Great Mother, Gaia. With her milk, she nourished
the stars and shaped the great cosmos.
From our world, a younger god was born. He has multiple names, Cernunnos, Pan, the Green
Man, but he is the horned, antlered god. As he stared up at the sky every day, he fell in love
with the Goddess, Gaia. But he could not get her attention. So, he worked the land. He called
upon her ancient children, the Titans, to stir the fires beneath the crust, to help unearth the rich
minerals from the earth’s core. Cernunnos shifted the earth year after year and every night he
would stare up at her and his longing and love for her only grew.
Finally, his garden was ready and from his garden, he picked an offering, a single white flower.
He climbed the tallest mountain and bowed deeply, presenting her with his gift. She noticed
him and when she looked upon all his efforts to honor her, she was touched and agreed to
dance with him. As they danced and looked into each other’s souls, she too, fell in love with
him for he too was of both feminine and masculine in nature. Together, they joined, and from
their union, the spark of life was kindled. Gaia, who is the stars and the soil, the universe and
matter itself, took the seed into Herself—
And in time, through womb and wonder, birthed the first of mankind from the land.
When the night was over, Cernunnos went back to his garden to tend to the wilds and protect
the new born life. He loved man for he saw both himself and Gaia in them. He felt a duty to
them and they called him Father. He frequently visited Gaia and would ask her to bless their
children. He brought them her gifts of fire and taught them how to use and harness it. He gave
them animals, the goats and the cattle, to move the land to produce crops flowing with milk
and honey. Most of all, he taught them to respect the land and to bring offerings to the
Goddess and to himself, but to put the Goddess above all, for She is the Divine Creator.
The Horned God gives delight, longing, instinct, and movement.
He names, he teaches, he inspires.
But it is the Mother who creates.
It is She who remembers.
She who bleeds.
She who births.
So remember this:
From love and labor, longing and light,
Mankind was born.
We are Children of earth and sky,
Of antler and milk,
Of movement and memory.