I believe in Gods, but not all Pagans do. That might sound a bit odd considering that a religion would seem to need a focus, but in truth not all paths fit this perceived description: indeed it is possible to have faith in many things other than 'supernatural' entities.

Some Pagans follow a path that honours well defined deities; others follow a path where deities are seen as different aspects of a single or dual divine power. Some work with spirits and energies but do not consider them as gods and some see the gods as nothing more than archetypes of the human subconscious. So where does my faith lie?

 

Simply put, I do not know whether the beings I relate to as gods are real entities or parts of my subconscious, but as they seem real to me I feel it would be impolite to think of them as mere figments of my imagination, so I honour them as discrete entities, for which the term 'gods' seems an apt description.

 

However things are not quite so simple in practice and there are two types of 'gods' in my path.

 

The first of these are the Goddess and her consort the Horned God. While there are 'horned' gods a plenty, and indeed I have a relationship with one in particular, the Lord and Lady in this case are unnamed and I regard them as little more than archetypes representing the seasonal changes in the yearly cycle. Theirs is the story told by the Wheel of the Year and, in particular, by the 8 sabbats of Wicca. It is through them that I honour Nature and by their stories mark the changing seasons. These 'gods' are not beings in their own right, rather they are just conceptual tools to better facilitate my understanding of the mystery cycle of Nature.

 

The beings that I recognise as 'real' gods are entities that manifest in various ways and forms and present themselves as named and recognisable individuals. Thus to me all gods are separate and autonomous beings driven by their own motives and governed by their own feelings. That being the case I do believe that many individual names and titles may be used by the same god, particularly across diverse cultures, and that much of the histories attributed to the each god are more a case of mans attempt to understand the nature of a god than factual documentation of a god's deeds or familial relationships.

 

So who are my gods?

 

I generally worship two gods; notice that by worship I do not imply that I commit myself to their control, that is not something that they would seem to require, rather I hold them in a place of esteemed honour, I offer them tribute and honour, in return they offer me friendship, guidance and support.

 

It is not the place for my gods to dictate my life, nor is it my privilege to expect them to sort out my life for me. They are not jealous gods, nor are they unkind. If I had to explain the nature and the sort of relationship that we have, I think the closest I can come is to describe them as honest and trusted mentors. They are certainly honest, sometimes brutally so, and they have earned my trust, as I have earned theirs.

 

Now the first of these I encountered I know as Herne (or to some Cerne). He is usually human, not of a tall build - though he seems to tower just the same and often sports the antlers of what I believe to be a red dear. Note the antlers are growing from his head, though at other times he is bareheaded. Often he is naked and, as you would expect for a god of fertility, well endowed! Other times he wears a cloak of living vegetation, possibly rooted in his skin - a green man in other words, or sometimes a quite ordinary looking three piece suit in sage green - he reminds me of a bank manager at these times.

 

The one thing that is constant is his scent. Yes my god smells! It’s a strong odour that seems to be a mix of musk and the smell you get in a wood after a rainstorm. While strong, it is not unpleasant and in some ways even attractive.

 

Herne is known to history and myth as the leader of the wild hunt, god of both hunter and prey and also of fertility and ale. He is described as a psycho pomp, someone who guides spirits from life to afterlife, and Lord of the wild beasts.

 

Legend says that Herne was the favourite huntsmen of Richard II who was injured during a hunt and when healed by a 'mysterious' stranger was left with strange powers and a kinship with beasts. The king's other huntsmen became jealous and plotted his downfall. Driven to suicide he hung himself from an oak tree in Windsor Great Park, and his spirit is said to have been seen in that area since then,

While the legend gives Herne a relatively recent genesis he has been around since Anglo-Saxon times if not earlier and has been linked with the Celtic figure of Cernunnos to such a degree that the two are now widely thought of as one. Furthermore there are a number of place names that appear to echo Herne (or the alternate Cerne) including Herne Bay, Herne Hill, Cerne Abbas, the River Cerne and others. Links have been made by various sources to Odin, Frey, Pan, Hermes/Mercury and a number of other beings, all I know however is that for me he is 'Herne'.

 

My goddess is Andred, she revealed herself to me much later than did Herne, but she had been there in the background for some time. She is an interesting but also little known goddess. Known as Adraste/Adrasta, Anderida and Andraste to the Celts and Romans (the Roman town that became modern Pevensey was named Anderida presumably in her honour) she was worshipped by the Iceni queen Boudicca (Boadicea) as the goddess of Victory in battle, but also has attributes of a lunar and mother goddess. The centre of her influence in Britain was seen as the forest that covered much of what is now Sussex and Kent and the remains of which form the area known today as the Weald. This is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Andredsweald, Andred being the name by which the Saxons knew her. Little is known about Andred but I have found her to be harsh but fair, demanding but forgiving and someone who expects you to prove yourself. She is also rather fond of hares.

 

She has been linked to Innana/Ishtar, Aphrodite/Venus, Artemis/Diana and Freya but again for me she has given the name Andred.

 

Like Herne, Andred has come to me in several forms, though less diverse.  I usually see her as a pale skinned lady with long blonde hair, and a silvery 'glow', she tends to favour long and flowing robes in very pale pastels or plain white. She looks almost like she is composed of moonlight. At other times she has shown herself with dark hair and wearing green, and on one occasion she showed me a much more fearsome face, with sharp teeth and cruel eyes - this was part of a lesson, one that I needed to learn.

 

These are the two deities that I have a relationship with, but that does not mean that I disbelieve in other gods. It simply means that of all the deities out there it was Herne and Andred who came to me. Other gods may turn up from time to time (though of course some might be Herne or Andred in other guises - they might not tell me) but so far I have only built a relationship with these two.