The
Horned God is one of the two primary deities found in
Wicca and some related forms of
Neopaganism. The term
Horned god itself predates Wicca, and is an early 20th-century
syncretic term for a horned or antlered anthropomorphic god partly based on historical
horned deities.
[1]
The Horned god represents the
male part of the religion's
duotheistic theological system, the
consort of the female
Triple goddess of the Moon or other
Mother goddess.
[2] In common Wiccan belief, he is associated with nature, wilderness, sexuality, hunting, and the life cycle.
[3]:32–34 Whilst depictions of the deity vary, he is always shown with either
horns or
antlers upon his head, often depicted as being
theriocephalic (having a beast's head), in this way emphasizing "the union of the divine and the animal", the latter of which includes
humanity.
[4]:11
In traditional Wicca (
British Traditional Wicca), he is generally regarded as a
dualistic god of twofold aspects: bright and dark, night and day, summer and winter, the Oak King and the
Holly King. In this dualistic view, his two horns symbolize, in part, his dual nature. (The use of horns to symbolize duality is also reflected in the phrase "on the horns of a dilemma.") The three aspects of the Goddess and the two aspects of the Horned god are sometimes mapped on to the five points of the
Pentagram, although which points correspond to which deity aspects varies. In some other systems, he is represented as a
triune god, split into three aspects that reflect those of the Triple goddess: the
Youth (
Warrior), the
Father, and the
Sage.
The Horned god has been explored within several
psychological theories and has become a recurrent theme in
fantasy literature.