The God and the Goddess

For most Wiccans, the God and Goddess are seen as complementary polarities in the universe that balance one another out, and in this manner they have been compared to the concept of yin and yang found in Taoism.^[8] As such they are often interpreted as being "embodiments of a life-force manifest in nature"^[9] with some Wiccans believing that they are simply symbolic of these polarities, whilst others believing that the God and the Goddess are genuine beings that exist independently. The two divinities are often given symbolic associations, with the Goddess commonly being symbolised as the Earth (i.e. Mother Earth), but also sometimes as the Moon, which complements the God being viewed as the Sun.^[10]

"The Gods are real, not as persons, but as vehicles of power. Briefly, it may be explained that the personification of a particular type of cosmic power in the form of a God or Goddess, carried out by believers and worshippers over many centuries, builds that God-form or Magical Image into a potent reality on the Inner Planes, and makes it a means by which that type of cosmic power may be contacted."

Gerald Gardner (1959)^[11]

Traditionally the God is viewed as a Horned God, associated with nature, wilderness, sexuality, hunting and the life cycle.^[12] The Horned God is given various names according to the tradition, and these include Cernunnos, Pan, Atho and Karnayna. Whilst this figure is not equated with the traditional Christian figure of Satan, who is seen as being an entity devoted to evil in Christianity, a small minority of Wiccans, in keeping with the accusations of the historical witch trials, refer to their Horned God with some of Satan's names, such as "the Devil"^[13] or as "Lucifer", a Latin term meaning "light bearer".^[14] At other times the God is viewed as the Green Man,^[15] a traditional figure in European art and architecture, and they often interpret him as being associated with the natural world. The God is also often depicted as a Sun God,^[16] particularly at the festival of Litha, or the summer solstice. Another expression of the God is that of the Oak King and the Holly King, one who rules over winter and spring, the other who rules over summer and autumn.^[15]

The Goddess is usually portrayed as a Triple Goddess, thereby being a triadic deity comprising a Maiden goddess, a Mother goddess, and a Crone goddess, each of whom has different associations, namely virginity, fertility and wisdom.^[17] She is also commonly depicted as a Moon Goddess,^[18] and is often given the name of Diana after the ancient Roman deity. Some Wiccans, particularly from the 1970s onwards, have viewed the Goddess as the more important of the two deities, who is pre-eminent in that she contains and conceives all. In this respect, the God is viewed as the spark of life and inspiration within her, simultaneously her lover and her child.^[19] This is reflected in the traditional structure of the coven.^[20] In one monotheistic form of the Craft, Dianic Wicca, the Goddess is the sole deity, a concept that has been criticised by members of other more egalitarian traditions.

According to Gerald Gardner, "the Goddess" is a deity of prime importance, along with her consort the Horned God. In the earliest Wiccan publications, she is described as a tribal goddess of the witch community, neither omnipotent nor universal, and it was recognised that there was a greater "Prime Mover", although the witches did not concern themselves much with this being.^[21]

The concept of having a religion venerating a Horned God accompanying a goddess had been devised by the Egyptologist Margaret Murrayduring the 1920s. She believed, based upon her own theories about the Early Modern witch trials in Europe, that those two deities, though primarily the Horned God, had been worshipped by a Witch-Cult ever since western Europe had succumbed to Christianity. Whilst now widely discredited, Gerald Gardner was a supporter of her theory, and believed that Wicca was a continuation of that historical Witch-Cult, and that the Horned God and Goddess were therefore ancient deities of the British Isles.^[22] Modern scholarship has disproved his claims, however various different horned gods and mother goddesses were indeed worshipped in the British Isles during the ancient and early mediaeval periods.^[23]