![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/124\/2021\/07\/Altar.jpg\")
<\/a>And that last bit is a pretty scary leap of faith, inviting a deity to use my body as an agent of his energy on this plane. For quite a while now I\u2019ve had a relationship with Hekate in her aspects of Enodia (the crossroads and the guide at the crossroads), Medusa (the guardian), and Rixipyle (she who throws down the gates) and while I would in no way whatsoever think myself to be on equal footing with her, I\u2019m at least fairly comfortable working with her. I recognize her \u2013 at least most of the time \u2013 when I feel her energies.<\/p>\n
But the energies of Cernunnos are not the same as Hekate\u2019s, even though they both may be experienced in liminal spaces. I don\u2019t quite know what to expect or even if I should expect anything, so I\u2019m on hyper-alert these days. I\u2019m not one to summon a deity into my presence. I\u2019m more of a \u201chere I am, ready and willing to do your work, and here\u2019s a small gift to say thanks for considering me\u201d kind of gal. And so, I wait and watch and wonder.<\/p>\n
A Parable<\/h3>\n
A few days ago, a big-as-my-palm swallowtail butterfly meandered through the propped-open door of my screen-enclosed deck. This screen enclosure is enormous, vaulting about 20 feet at its peak and wrapping around a 20\u2019x30\u2019 wooden deck. But while that outdoor room is a delight for humans, it\u2019s not so great for butterflies. I certainly wasn\u2019t going to wave a broom at the poor creature to hustle it back out to freedom, so I left the screen door propped open overnight and hoped for the best.<\/p>\n No luck. The swallowtail was still trying to fumble its way out the next morning. I thought, \u201cwell hey! I\u2019ll just petition Cernunnos! I mean, his altar is right there, and he\u2019s a god of liminal spaces, and I\u2019ve been very consistent in my daily offerings and I\u2019m not asking for anything for myself, after all \u2013 I\u2019ll just ask him and he\u2019ll take care of it!\u201d So I took a mundane action, setting a slice of juicy orange across the threshold to lure the swallowtail to the patch of wild space behind the deck, and petitioned Cernunnos.<\/p>\n A few hours later, not seeing the swallowtail, I thanked Cernunnos, offered the orange slice to the ground behind his altar and closed the screen door, feeling smugly satisfied cuz ya know, ya pays yer money and ya gets yer candy bar, amiright?<\/p>\n You can tell where this is going. The swallowtail hadn\u2019t flown to freedom at all, just into a Ficus tree on the deck for a few hours. I propped open the screen door again, looked at the altar, and said \u201cCome ON, Cernunnos! Help this poor creature OUT!\u201d and flounced back into the house.<\/p>\n Yesterday, the third day, I found the swallowtail belly up on the deck.<\/p>\n What meaning do I make from this? After all, the average life expectancy of a swallowtail butterfly is about a month and who knows how old this one was? Butterflies die all the time; just another day in the great outdoors. Ho-hum.<\/p>\n And was I really<\/em> not asking a boon for myself? Was I truly that selfless, that altruistic, or was there a kernel of need nestled deep in my heart that was looking for some sort of tangible proof of connection with Cernunnos? A big, blaring sign I was on the right path?<\/p>\n It catches my attention that across several cultures butterflies are symbolic of transformation. Of metamorphosis. Rebirth. Irish poet William Butler Yeats<\/strong><\/a>, in his poem Tom O\u2019Roughley<\/em>, wrote \u201cwisdom is a butterfly\u201d. Butterflies can remind us of how short, fragile, and beautiful life is. And while I firmly believe that energy transmutes, it\u2019s an undeniable truth that when our life as we know it is over, when we are no longer how or what we know ourselves to be, we\u2019re gone. We are transformed.<\/p>\n I think that might be the lesson Cernunnos was offering to teach me. An experience of a different, deeper rhythm. A subtler, more nuanced way of being. Not so human-centric \u2013 this butterfly must be saved cuz that\u2019s what we\u2019re supposed<\/em> to do! \u2013 but more nature-centric \u2013 my ways are not your ways, sayeth the lord Cernunnos (with apologies to the writers of the Book of Isaiah<\/strong><\/a>). I think Cernunnos might have been saying \u201cIf you\u2019re truly seeking an authentic relationship with me, you\u2019re going to have to be open to seeing things in ways, rhythms, that are utterly different from what you\u2019re already familiar with. I don\u2019t give signs; I give hints. It\u2019s up to you to seek them, find them, and figure them out.\u201d<\/p>\n Science fiction author Octavia E. Butler<\/strong><\/a>, in her book The Parable of the Sower<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, wrote \u201cAll that you touch You Change.\u00a0 All that You Change Changes you. The only lasting truth is Change.\u201d I touched the swallowtail (so soft! so velvety!), picked it up, gently blew the ants off of its carcass, placed it on Cernunnos\u2019 altar and sat with that experience for the rest of the day.<\/p>\n This morning the swallowtail was gone.<\/p>\n And I\u2019m not sure yet, but I think I may have been Changed.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n You can hear more of The Corner Crone during her\u00a0Moments For Meditation\u00a0<\/em>on\u00a0KPPR Pure Pagan Radio<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0on TuneIn or on\u00a0YouTube<\/strong><\/a>. Follow her on\u00a0Twitter<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and on\u00a0Instagram<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The relationship I’m building with The Horned God is in its infancy. I seem to be gravitating toward Cernunnos, a god of the liminal. What can he teach me?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3077,"featured_media":35563,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[617],"tags":[2351,3841,359,342,538,25,26,123,2883,3844,185,191,104,175],"class_list":["post-35555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ritual-practice","tag-butterfly","tag-cernunnos","tag-devotion","tag-magic","tag-magick","tag-pagan","tag-paganism","tag-spirituality","tag-the-corner-crone","tag-the-horned-god","tag-wicca","tag-wiccan","tag-witch","tag-witchcraft"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/124\/2021\/07\/butterfly-491166_1920.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/124\/2021\/07\/640px-Gundestrup_Cernunnos.jpg\")
<\/a>The Lesson?<\/h3>\n
And Yet \u2026<\/h3>\n
Now You See Me \u2026<\/h3>\n