Herne - the Hunter, Ghost, God, Poor Unfortunate Vengeful Dude?

Herne

I highly reccomend a google image search under "Herne."
(disclaimer, the information here is derived from my reading - a scholarly analysis will require reference checking on your own. - life is full of all kinds of disappointments)

Herne's story is this (in one version) Herne was the king's master hunter. He was mortally wounded defending the king from a stag, but his life was spared when a healer (druid?) healed him in a ritual where he gained the stag's horns. This healing cost him his skill as a hunter (I have questions here*.) The other huntsmen framed Herne as a thief and he was found hanged from a tree the next day.

Herne is framed as the leader of the wild hunt(* how can one who has lost his skill as a hunter lead the wild hunt?) and is referenced in many ways. He may be a vengeful ghost, a fey spirit, or a god. Some references imply that Herne is a linguistic derrivative of Cernnunos. Shakespear's "The Merry Wives of Windsor" is frequently cited as an early reference.

Herne is frequently tied to Robin Hood Mythology, perhaps because Herne is associated with Windsor Forest and actual locations there (The tree of Herne's hanging is shown on some ordinance maps)

Wild hunt's appear in many cultures and the leader of the hunt is frequently female. The hunt is seen as erotic and dangerous. Female hunt leaders are seen as unrestrained female sexuality, but also as devourers of children and/or vampires (Lilith? I think she was framed.)


KK... So...Ostara, easter, beltain - Be you christian or pagan (or heathern or some other dmn thing...)there is a high likelyhood that your god got nailed to a tree (or hung from one or somefin') and then we move to beltain (or Mayday) and we find ourselves in a fertility festival.

There is a caution in Herne's story. The wild hunt is devouring and erotic. The cost of a ticket to Beltain is the sacrifice of ostara (or mayhaps yule?) - this is very simple - If you want to have, you must give.