Editing Cernunnos (section)

==Neopaganism and Wicca==
Within [[Neopaganism]], specifically the [[Wiccan]] tradition, the [[Horned God]] is a deity that is believed to be the equal to the [[Great Goddess]] and syncretizes various horned or antlered gods from various cultures.  The name Cernunnos became associated with the Wiccan Horned God through the adoption of the writings of [[Margaret Murray]], an Egyptologist and folklorist of the early 20th century.  Murray, through her [[Witch-cult hypothesis]], believed that the various horned deities found in Europe were expressions of a "proto-horned god" and in 1931 published her theory in ''The God of the Witches''.  Her work was considered highly controversial at the time, but was adopted by [[Gerald Gardner]] in his development of the religious movement of Wicca.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thenewinquiry.com/blog/forced-into-the-fringe-margaret-murrays-witch-cult-hypothesis/|title=Forced into the Fringe: Margaret Murray's Witch-Cult Hypothesis|date=21 April 2017|access-date=6 September 2021|archive-date=19 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719141208/https://thenewinquiry.com/blog/forced-into-the-fringe-margaret-murrays-witch-cult-hypothesis/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Within the Wiccan tradition, the Horned God reflects the seasons of the year in an annual cycle of life, death and rebirth and his imagery is a blend of the Gaulish god Cernunnos, the Greek god [[Pan (mythology)|Pan]], The [[Green Man]] motif, and various other horned spirit imagery.<ref>Farrar, Stewart & Janet, ''Eight Sabbats for Witches''</ref><ref>''The Rebirth of Witchcraft'', Doreen Valiente, page 52-53</ref>