A long time ago, before the old stories were recorded, in a land now far away from my own, deep in the forest…a shadow emerged from the underworld.  A large hulking presence with antlers for a crown.  He was calm, the forest creatures seemed to congregate around, and a glowing metal torc encircled his neck.  He looked deep into my ancestors’ souls and reminded them that they were connected to everything around them and that the passage of death was but a bridge.  The Antlered One and Hooved One they began to call him…Cernunnos, Cernunnos, Cernunnos.  He blessed the fertility of the land and its people. A name that would…