Tools - The Horn
Horns can be used in a variety of different ways in ceremonies. In the Lunasdha ceremony, I normally put uprooted corn into a horn before it is cut in the ceremony itself. I also have a horn that can be used as an instrument but out of respect for my neighbours, this gets used less often.
The main use for a horn in ceremony is as a drinking vessel. The trick of drinking out of a horn, without it splashing over your face, is to point the tip of the horn downwards as you take a sip. It does look better with the tip pointing up and there are lots of pictures and sculptures of people drinking from horns like this. However, it is only possible to make this a success when the horn is very nearly empty. It’s possible that these sculptures are showing people either drinking the last dregs or too drunk to care which way round the horn is.
While the cup or chalice is often seen in modern paganism as being a feminine symbol, horns themselves are often viewed as phallic and the word horn is used quite often as a euphemism for arousal.
So, while a drinking horn has an open end which can be filled with liquid and drunk from in the same way as a cup or chalice, it also has a pointy and potentially insertive end.
In Wicca, the ritual act of penetrative intercourse between a man and a woman (the Great Rite) is symbolically represented by a man holding the sacred blade (the Athame) while the woman holds a chalice. The man then lowers the knife into the cup to represent the penis entering the vagina. Sometimes a wand is used in place of the dagger, as the use of a potential weapon to represent a penis can have problematic connotations.
There has been a lot of discourse throughout the years about whether or not a same-gender couple can perform the Great Rite and what it would mean for them to do so. Traditional Wicca not only puts heterosexual relationships and intercourse on a pedestal through it’s cosmology and rituals, it also came of age in a time when sex between women was discriminated against and sex between men was illegal.
LGBTQ Wiccans have responded to the question of the Greta Rite in different ways. In Gay Witchcraft by Christopher Penczac, the rite can be performed solo with a dagger in one hand and the chalice in the other or by partners of any gender, but the male dagger and female chalice symbolism remains the same. Yvonne Aburrow suggests that the rite can be performed with two cups or chalices by pouring liquid from one into the other. This can represent a flow of energy while removing any gendered connotations.
As the horn can be both a penetrator and penetrated and has the masculine associations between horns and erections, the drinking horn can be used by queer men and masculine folks as a symbol of sex between men and male gods by placing the tip of one inside the other.
The Great Rite, as it is known in Wicca, is seldom performed in Druidry. There is, however, one ceremony I have come across where a very similar act with very similar symbolic meaning is recommended. As such, I have decided whe exchange of this can justifiably be included into queer Druidry as a means of sanctifying sexual acts between men and male gods.
Some pagans don't like the use of animal parts in ritual or even in their daily lives. If someone is a vegan or vegetarian then the use of a cow horn may not be very appealing. If you like the symbolism of a horn but don’t like the idea of using an actual cow horn, it is possible to purchase glass or ceramic drinking horns. In fact, making drinking horns out of glass is a tradition that goes back to at least the middle ages.
The Ritual
This rite requires two drinking horns. The act can be incorporated into larger rituals which celebrate the union of two men or two male gods.
This can be performed standing or with the receptive partner kneeling down.
The receiver holds his drinking horn filled with wine, mead, ale or any other appropriate drink in front of themself with both hands. They direct the tip of the horn towards the centre of their body.
They then take time to root themself in this place and time by breathing in from the earth below, the sky above and the sea that surrounds the land.
The giver holds their horn with both hands above the horn of the receiver. Directing the point of the horn downwards towards the mouth of the receiver's horn, they take time to root themself in this place and time by breathing in land, sea and sky.
The giver then breathes out and, as they do so, focuses their breath through their hands and spiralling down the horn towards the tip. They lower the tip of the horn into the drink saying:
“Mine in yours.
With this horn I give my blessing.”
As the giver lowers the horn into the liquid the receiver breaths in and visualises the drink being filled with light which flows from the drink through his horn and into the centre of their body:
“Yours in mine.
With this wine (or mead or whatever) I receive your blessing.”
The giver then drinks from the horn, before holding it to the lips of the giver who then drinks. The ceremony is completed with a kiss.
Because lovers can switch between being the insertive or the receptive partner the ceremony can be adapted to reflect this. Both the horns can be filled with drink and the giver and receiver can swap places. This can also work with any number of people in any number of combinations.