The male mysteries have always had a place in all forms of Paganism. A Pagan honors the masculine spirituality as one of the many expressions of God. Pagan men seek inspiration in the image of the Horned God and other views of the male deity, representing wisdom, power and love. The male traditions are gaining ground and are a more general expression of a new awakening masculine spirituality. Men look into the role given to them by society to a new understanding of masculinity.

In searching for a deeper male spirituality arise many manifestations. Some men work in the established Pagan traditions; while others have established specific male mystery groups to experience the relationship between man and the Divine. Some groups are guided by ancient myths and traditions of tribal communities, others by ancient initiation pathways such as those of Mithras, the God of the Roman legions. Still others rely on the work of R. J. ‘Bob’ Stewart.

Two major sources are John Rowan and his book The Horned God, and the poet and author Robert Bly in his bestseller Iron John. They both delivered the contribution to ‘Choirs of the God’, a book that explores the masculine spirituality:

The search for new images of male divinity begins for many men with the pagan gods and mythical figures who have no place in Christianity. Also Celtic mythology and Western occultism inspired to define the male again.
If you’re feeling the ‘Male Power on Earth’, or “meet The God in Yourself ‘, you realize what masculinity means in the modern world. That leads to ideal images from the past, the unconscious, or the realm of the Gods, about a new way to be a man.
(John Matthews ed, Choirs of the God Revisioning Masculinity, Mandala, 1991)

© PFI Netherlands, translation by Cailin.