The male mysteries have always
had their place in the many expressions of the Pagan religion.
For a Pagan, male spirituality is honoured as an expression of
the God in his many forms. Pagan men seek inspiration from the
Horned God and other aspects of the male Deity; reaching within
to embrace a vision of wisdom, strength, and love. The Men's Movement
is a gathering force world-wide and is a more general expression
of a newly-awakening male spirituality. Men are questioning the
roles given them by society and are looking within for a new understanding
of the male spirit.
In searching for a deeper male
spirituality, men's traditions of spiritual expression take many
forms. Some men work in the established Pagan traditions, while
others have created specific male mystery groups dedicated to
exploring men's relationship with the Divine. Some male mystery
groups have turned to the ancient myths and traditions of tribal
society and others to the ancient Pagan initiatory cults such
as those of Mithras, the God of the Roman legions.
Two men who have had a strong
influence on how men are seeking to find themselves are psychologist
John Rowan in his book The Horned God and poet and author Robert
Bly in his best selling book Iron John. They are both contributors
to Choirs of the God, a book exploring male spirituality.
The search for alternative
images of male divinity begins for many men with the pagan gods
and mythical figures suppressed by Christianity. Celtic mythology
and Western occultism underlie several recent attempt to re-vision
masculinity. To sense 'Male Power on Earth' or contact 'The God
Within' brings home the reality of maleness in the modern world,
while giving us the visions - from the past, the unconscious,
or the realm of the gods - of a different way of being men.
John Matthews ed, Choirs of the God: Revisioning Masculinity,
Mandala, 1991.
For a Pagan, the masculine
is essentially beautiful, lithe, strong, burning with a deep passion
calling out in the joy of creation.
'I am a stag of seven tines,
I am a wild flood on the plain,
I am a wind on the deep waters,
I am a tear the Sun lets fall,
I am a hawk above the cliff,
I am a salmon in the pool,
I am a battle-waging spear,
I am a wave of the sea,
Who but I knows the mystery of the unhewn dolmen?'
