Lupercus - Wolf God of Winter

By Raven Grimassi

Probably one of the oldest and yet most confusing aspects of Aridian Witchcraft is the god form known as Lupercus; the wolf god of winter. Traditionally he is known as the Great Golden Wolf who drives away the wolves of night, and in this image we can clearly see the solar aspect connected to Lupercus. In fact it is Lupercus who is born at Winter Solstice and reaches puberty at his ritual day which occurs on February 2nd, or Candelora as it is popularly known in Italy.
In ancient Rome the Lupercalia was an important religious festival celebrated on February 15th near the Lupercal, which was a cave in the Palatine Hill. According to Roman mythology, a wolf nursed the infant twins Romulus and Remus in this cave. The festival included banquets, dancing, and the sacrificing of a goat and a dog. The goat and the dog are domesticated images of the stag and the wolf transformed by an agricultural society. Whips were made of the goat hide which were later used by the priests of Lupercus (known as the Luperci). It was the tradition of these times for women who desired to become pregnant to be chased and struck with a lash of goat's hide by the Luperci, which was believed to transfer the fertile potency of the goat.
Modem scholars do not believe there was a god named Lupercus worshipped at these rites, but instead claim that they were held in honor of Faunus, the Roman version of Pan. In the book Roman and European Mythologies compiled by Yves Bonnefoy we find these interesting passages:

"Uncertainty also arises from the fact that the association of Faunus with the cult of the Lupercalia, undoubtedly the most archaic of Roman cults, is relatively recent...in fact, the name of this festival bears only a semantic correspondence to Lupercal, which designates the cave of the she-wolf and the Luperci, the officials of this 'truly savage brotherhood' who on February 15th ran around the Palatine as if to trace a circle of magic protection.. .Furthermore, these Luperci are nearly naked, wearing only a loincloth... Clearly these Luperci, since they are divided into two groups, the Quintales (who are connected with Romulus) and the Fabiani (who are connected with Remus) are situated at a stage before civilization."

The she-wolf was an Etruscan symbol to which the Romans added Romulus and Remus; an ancient memory of from where Rome had "suckled" it's strength and grew to greatness. It is no mere coincidence that the standard bearers of the Roman army (the strength of Rome) wore wolf headdresses into battle. Lycisca, the wolf goddess, was also the wife of Lupercus. No offspring are ever mentioned in their mythos.

In the book The Cult of Pan in Ancient Greece by Philippe Borgeaud (University of Chicago Press 1988) we find some interesting passages which seems to link Pan (Faunus in Roman mythology) with wolves and helps to make some sense of the association of Faunus with the Lupercalia. Borgeaud mentions the mythical Lyssa stating that it even seems that etymologically Lyssa means "she-wolf," in the sense of her turning one into a wolf. It may be that Lyssa and Lycisca are one and the same, or at least closely linked.

Lyssa is associated with the realm of Hades, in mythology, and we know that the Etruscan god Dis (as Lord of the Underworld) wore a wolf headdress. In the mythos the sun descends into the Underworld at night and returns to the earth each morning, gathering together the souls of those who died, for their journey to the Realm of the Dead. This deity is Lupercus the Great Golden Wolf.
Borgeaud states that the god Pan "shares the power with Lyssa." This seems to explain the appearance of Pan on Italian vases representing the death of Actaeon, Actaeon, the stag god of the forest at Nemi in Italy. The popular myth of Actaeon tells the tale of how he was transformed into a stag while hunting, and that his dogs then went mad and turned on him. In his book Borgeaud writes: "Pan, grandson of Lykaon the wolf-man, is evidently a specialist in such metamorpheses...we have seen the god transform the shepherds and goatherds into wolves and savage dogs..." This passage may be a clue as to why Faunus is associated with the wolf-oriented Lupercalia, and why goats and dogs appear in the rite. Certainly the fact that his grandfather Lykaon was a "wolf-man" makes one wonder.

In the mythology of the Triad Witch Clans of Italy, there are two gods born at the winter solstice (fathered by Janus); fraternal twin brothers who are separated at birth by an abductor who flees with Cern, the stag god. It is not unlikely that Romulus and Remus may also be symbolic memories of this much older legend; and may well represent the mythos of the gods of the waxing and waning year, as do Lupercus and Cern in the Witch Clans of the Triad Tradition.
It is an interesting thought to wonder whether the Luperci, divided into groups associated with Romulus and with Remus, may be connected with the Benandanti and Malandanti cults which represented the waxing and waning powers of the year, and fought ritual battles over the crops and herds. In this we see the Benandanti Cult of Italy during the 16th & 17th centuries as a survival of shamanistic witchcraft evolving out of an ancient fertility cult. An in-depth study of this cult can be found in Night Battles by Carlo Ginzburg.

According to ancient witchlore, the Luperci were once priests of the wolf cult, which excluded women and whose members where said to have been homosexual. There also existed at this time the cult of Bona Dea (Fana) which was comprised of lesbians who excluded men from attending their celebrations as well. Both of these cults were sub-cults of the Pagan community, focusing on their own mysteries separate from the community at large. This is not to suggest that they were not accepted by the community as a whole, but that their special needs were best served among their own kind. In the early Witch Clans bi-sexuality was considered the "norm" and so there were not any problems with same sex issues within the Clans.

The ritual of Lupercus in the Aridian Tradition is a rite of purification and liberation. Participants are blessed and purified through the ancient ways, following a ritual drama play, and the rite ends in an atavistic experience wherein the coven members "transform" into wolves; not literally of course but in a sense they do become wolves. This is directed and overseen by the Priest of the circle, who represents one of the ancient Luperci. This aspect of the rite reflects the time when the ancient Luperci introduced hallucinogens into the celebration and carefully monitored the experiences of those who joined in the ritual. The purpose of the transformation into wolves was to free the untamed aspect of the individual, and thus release the atavistic power within. This was the essence of "shape-shifting," and may possibly have contributed to the werewolf legends of later times.

In the mythos of Lupercus he is given 12 labors to perform in order to prove himself worthy of becoming the new Sun God. The labors represent the passage of the sun through each of the 12 Zodiac signs, which completes the cycle of one year. Lupercus successfully accomplishes these tasks and is proclaimed the god of the sun. On the day of the Spring Equinox, while hunting a deer, he is struck by a bolt of lightning and seemingly perishes. The next morning he rises up from the Underworld as the Sun. Having learned of his brother Lupercus who ascended and left his earthly throne void, Cern becomes the god of this world and reigns in his place on earth. The only physical remains of Lupercus is his wolf skin which is found by another hunter in the forest. The pelt turns out to be magical and has the power to transform men into wolves. The first man to wear the wolf pelt of Lupercus became a priest of Lupercus and founded the society of the Luperci.
Lupercus represents Winter, the waning season of year (even though he is the sun god). His brother Cern, the stag god of the forest, represents the waxing year. In this mythos we find the rivalry of Winter and Summer; opposing forces and yet related, "brothers," necessary balances in the scheme of Nature. Lupercus is slain during the hunt, in which Cern is the hunted. He is slain by a Centaur who is given a bolt of lightning for his bow by Dianus (having been persuaded by his sister Diana). Cern is later slain as well, but on the Autumn Equinox by Mars during another hunting incident.

It is interesting to note that the Centaur in the constellation Centaurus is aiming a bow at the constellation Lupus, the wolf. In mythology the Centaur was beloved by Apollo and Diana who instructed him in many of the ancient arts. Diana and the stag are strongly associated in the witch cult, and in her classic Roman statue she is portrayed standing with a stag. It is also interesting to note that the wolf was sacred to Mars, and perhaps we see some sort of "vengeance" slaying in the myth of Cern.

The story of Lupercus is a tale of our own journey and our struggle with our higher and lower natures. In the cycle of the sun god born in darkness, growing into the fullness of Light, slain and descending back into darkness only to be reborn again, we find the journey of our own soul. It is a myth of transformation, renewal, challenge and accomplishment. In the ritual of Lupercus we release the wolf within us; that which is untamed and un-owned (even by ourselves). Through this purging of the contaminations of modern life and the imposed restrictions of an oppressive Society, we re-align ourselves to the nature within, and out of this we can then re-focus upon our journey towards enlightenment. In this hunt for ourselves we are "struck by lightning" and we are transformed into a new light.

Lord of the Woods - Incense