Editing Cernunnos (section)

===Interpretation===
Because of his persistent association with the natural world (for example, on the Gundestrup cauldron, where he is surrounded by various beasts), some scholars describe Cernunnos as the lord of animals or wild things.<ref name=FickettWilbar/>{{rp|80}} Miranda Green describes him as a "peaceful god of nature and fruitfulness".<ref name=GreenAnimals/>{{rp|228}}

Cernunnos is also associated with fertility and fecundity.<ref name=FickettWilbar/>{{rp|80}} Blazquez points out that the stag is a symbol of fertility across the Mediterranean.<ref name=Blazquez/>{{rp|843}} The association of Cernunnos with fertility is emphasised by other attributes. He is variously provided with a basket of fruit (as on the Étang-sur-Arroux statuette), a cornucopia (as on the Lyon cup), and a bag of coins (as on the Reims altar).<ref name=Blazquez/>{{rp|843}}

It has been suggested that Cernunnos carried a [[chthonic]] significance.<ref name=Blazquez/>{{rp|843}} Bober's study of the god concluded that Cernunnos was god of the underworld.<ref name=FickettWilbar/>{{rp|80}} She analyses the ram-horned serpent as the synthesis of two animals (the snake and the ram) of chthonic significance to the Celts.<ref name=Bober/>{{rp|26–27}} The rat above Cernunnos on the Reims altar and the association of Cernunnos with Mercury (guide of souls to the underworld) on several representations have also been thought to suggest an association with the underworld.<ref name=Blazquez/>{{rp|843}}

Fickett-Wilbar, in a recent study, has proposed that Cernunnos was a god of bi-directionality and mediator between opposites.<ref name=FickettWilbar/>{{rp|108}}