Dancing Bear
6 Haunted Days said:I can see where you are all coming from in the interpertations of card 13....I agree with most all of it.
I think what it boils down to...is for me....is that using the God Cernunnos on that card just doesn't fit. Period.
Miss 6
I noticed you had Greenman as you avatar, and am assuming on a pagan/druid side (your beliefs and upbringing) you are unable to fit Cernunnos into this position, which is traditionally the Christian Devil.
I was raised with Druidism teachings also, and i at first it felt odd..
But after this thread and sitting down and thinking about what Cernunnos had to teach the Druid, and why he was and still is so Worshipped..I came up with this..
Cernunnos taught the druid to become one with the land to embrace our animal instincts of.Cernunnos the God of all things wild..animals , forests alike.
To me in this Tarot deck it is saying we can embrace our animal instincts as these Lovers have , Embrace all things wild and our past from which we come without being all consumed, Cernunnos is a reminder that there once (and still is) a belief system that says its ok to Lust, it is ok to want money, It ok to want material possession, Cernunnos in history is normally depicted with a bag of coins also.and also in the Hunting position of the Druid, Sat down with legs crossed. Druids never accumulated more than they Needed.. Cernunnos is of the old Law, Cernunnos reminds us of the old values, to not over accumulate, Not to be obssessed and feel the need to possess... as the christian devil card also suggests when drawn, but both creatures, are opposites...
Cernunnos was worshipped and nothing to be feared but followed...Cernunnos was the keeper and protector of the forests and it animals,including the Druid... he was the law of Nature. Cernunnos was and taught balance..
The Christian Devil represents Evil and is taught to be feared, and has nothing to do with keeping,and protecting but to enslave and overrule..
So to me they both teach the same thing but take different angles in doing so.
To me the druid way was a lot gentler way of seeing life as compared to the Christian way. Both lot of teaching are profoundly different in a lot of ways, Druids were taught to become one and live with Nature, Christians of the time conquered and manipulated Nature..
If we look at how the devil and why he was created, the traditional meaning to the card gets blown out of the water for me too!
But going by the Traditional Meanings and the Druidcraft reasoning behind Cernunnnos, I cant understand in a way,.. they both get to the same point but taking a completely different approach to get to the same thing..
Not to be obsessive, possesive, and greedy.. stay Humble.
I hope that makes sense to you and you are able to enjoy this deck from a Druids view, but have similar meanings to the tradional cards, but just come in through a different angle.
Take Care
DB xxx