Today I will introduce you to Paxuson (called Cernunnos by some). He is the horned god, the ones the Christians stole and called the devil so we could stop worshipping him. His name is pronounced "pa-hoo-sawn". He is the god of forrests and animals (whether wildlife or domestic). Since he is the god of domesticated animals, he is also the god of wealth because that's how wealth was once measured. He is sometimes called the god of the witches. Introduce yourself to him today and meditate on his image. He is my patron deity.
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In this post I will attempt to explain who Dyeus is and what his role is in the Proto-Indo-European pantheon. Dyeus, also known as Dyeus Father or the Sky Father is the chief god. There are many functions Dyeus fills. He is god of the daylit sky and is a god of justice, the natural law, and he is the defender of mankind. He watches us through his eye, the sun.
We swear oaths by Dyeus for he is the god of oaths. He is the giver of the law, the beginning of kings, and the god of priests. His sacred animal is the ox, which symbolizes a controlled power. One of the things that are difficult to understand to modern readers would be Dyeus' interaction with us. Dyeus is extremely sacred. He is concerned with the whole of mankind, not so much with each individual. He is simply too majestic and splendid for him to be concerned with our ordinary everyday lives. Whispers of his name survive in almost every Indo European culture. He is remembered through later names such as Tyr, Zues, and Jupiter. "Oh mighty king of the gods, Dyeus. The one who watches over all mankind. Please keep the old ways safe. Preserve the old law and the ancient paths. Help us to find the old knowledge so your ways are not lost." - Modern prayer to Dyeus. I get a lot of questions about our path. Not the least of which is who our gods are. While there is a plethora of information about the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) gods, I will make an attempt to summarize them here and expound on each in a future blog post.
Dyeus is the Sky Father. He is the chief of the PIE gods and he is god of the day lit sky. As tribes who worshiped him moved throughout Europe his name changed to Dyaus Pitar, Zeus, Tyr, and Jupiter with a variety of changes in between each one. He watches the earth through the sun. Terra is the chief goddess. She is the Earth Mother. Later names for her included Dheghom Matr (possibly her original PIE name), Tellus Mater, Dyaus Pita, and Prithvi Mater. Perkwunos is the god of thunder and lightning as well as a war god. There is a myth regarding him slaying a serpent (such as when Thor slew Jormungandr). Later names for him included Tor, Thor, Perkos, Perunu, and Keraunos. Hotonos is the god of storms and the wild seer. Not much is known about this god except that he is very powerful. Later names for him include, Wotonos, Wodhanaz, Wotan, Wotin, and Odin. Hausos is the goddess of the dawn. She is Dyeus' daughter. Later names for her include Xausos, possibly Idun, Eos, and Eostre. Ostara is the holiday that celebrates her. Sehul is the goddess of the sun, though she is not the sun itself. She is Dyeus' daughter and is responsible for conducting the sun through the sky. Later names for her include Sawelyosyo Dhugetr, Sol, and Helen. Mehnot is the god of the moon, though he is not the moon itself. He is Hausos' son and is responsible for conducting the moon through the sky. His name means "measurer" and he is responsible for measuring time and the seasons. He is associated with healing. Later names for Mehnot include Mani and Meness. Diwos Sunu are the also known as the "horse twins", "Alcis", or "Zues' boys" in later cultures. Hepom Nepots is the god of waters. He guard a well that contains a fiery liquid that grants various attributes such as wisdom or prosperity to anyone who drinks it. One must have no moral flaws to drink from the well. Later names for him include Neptune and Poseidon. Paxuson god of herds and roads. His name is pronounced Pa-hoo-sun) and he guards travelers and merchants. Since he also guards herds, which used to be a measure of someones wealth, he is also a god of prosperity. He is also a guardian god. He is responsible for guarding the souls of the dead along the roads to the afterlife. He leads the bride during marriages. He is also the god of sexual union. Later names for him include Pusan, Pan, and Cernunnos. Xuetos is either the name of the head god of the winds or simply the name for the group of the gods of the four winds. A later connected god could be Borrum. Ekwona is the goddess of horses. She is partial to warriors which she turns into kings. She is a very sexual goddess but directs her sexual energy in an unwed direction. She has some very dark stories associated with her. Later names include Epona, Medhuna, Medb, Madhavi, and possibly Morrigan. Gwouwinda is the goddess of cows. Like Ekwona, she is a goddess of purity (including sexual purity) and directs her sexual energy to wife and motherhood. Unlike Ekwona, Gwouwinda is very kind and loving. She is known for granting wishes. She was invoked by soon-to-be mothers. She is associated with healing. Later names for her include Boand, Govinda, and Hera. Donu is the goddess of rivers and fertility. A later name is Dana. Westya is the goddess of the hearth, family, and possibly fire. She resides in the hearth of each home. She is the goddess by which we worship the other gods and goddesses and without her we have nothing. Instead of statues, she was depicted with actual fires. Later names for her include Brigid, Vesta, and Hestia. Kolyos is the goddess of death and her name means "the coverer". Later names for her include Kalypso, Hel, and Sarva. She is not the goddess of the dead, but rather death itself. She drags people into death with a noose or snare. Yemos and Mannus are twins found throughout all of the PIE world. Mannus sacrificed Yemos and formed the world with his body. Mannus was the first priest and king while Yemos was the first to die. Yemos became the ruler of the dead (but not their god.) Yemos marked the pathway for the dead to follow. Later names include Tuisto and Mannus, Ymir, Donn, Romulus and Remus, and Yama. I have heard it often. “Pagans don’t pray” they say. But does that truly make sense? Through conversations with various other pagans I have come to the conclusion that it’s based on some misunderstandings about what a pagan is. Pagans are not atheists or we would label ourselves as such. Pagans are called pagans because they’re part of a pagan religion. A pagan is defined as “a person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main world religions.” This means that pagans are religious people by their very definition. So if we’re religious, why wouldn’t we pray? Because, again using a definition, religion is “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.” So if pagans belong to a religion and that means they believe in a god or gods, why wouldn’t a pagan pray?
So maybe our issue isn’t whether “pagan” is a religious term or even religion in general. Maybe its with the word prayer. Well the definition of prayer is to “address a solemn request or expression of thanks to a deity or other object of worship”. It’s not specific to any one religion. It is simply speaking to the gods and goddesses. Our old ones used to pray to the gods whether that be offering supplication to Zeus, Venus, Tyr, Thor, or any other god or goddess. Our ancestors did it, so why shouldn’t we? The point here isn’t to call anyone out or make anyone feel bad. But please, if you’re part of the “Pagans don’t pray” mindset, rethink why. Because I assure you, pagans do pray. |
AuthorAldous is the High Priest of the Ancient Path Coven. These blogs represent his thoughts, insights, and studies. If you read something here you believe to be in err, please contact him at [email protected] and let him know. Archives
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