Dorset Ooser: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
Covenofathos (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
||
| Line 5: | Line 5: | ||
One of the main theories regarding the usage of the Ooser is that it was a representation of [[the Devil]], though another theory, purported by supporters of [[Margaret Murray]], but now largely discredited, claims that it actually depicts the [[Horned God]], a deity worshipped by a supposed underground [[Witchcraft cult]] which was the basis for modern [[Wicca]]. An illustration of the Ooser is held at the [[Museum of Witchcraft]] in the nearby county of [[Cornwall]]. |
One of the main theories regarding the usage of the Ooser is that it was a representation of [[the Devil]], though another theory, purported by supporters of [[Margaret Murray]], but now largely discredited, claims that it actually depicts the [[Horned God]], a deity worshipped by a supposed underground [[Witchcraft cult]] which was the basis for modern [[Wicca]]. An illustration of the Ooser is held at the [[Museum of Witchcraft]] in the nearby county of [[Cornwall]]. |
||
The writer Melissa Seims theorised, in an article for the [[Wicca|Wiccan]] magazine ''The Cauldron'', that the head of Atho, a statue that was used by [[Raymond Howard]] as a representation of the [[Horned God]], was carved by Howard based upon the Dorset Ooser.<ref>http://www.thewica.co.uk/coven_of_atho%20article.htm</ref> |
|||
==References== |
==References== |
||
Revision as of 20:11, 22 January 2009
The Dorset Ooser is the name of a horned mask that has been a part of folklore in the town of Dorchester, in the county of Dorset in southern England, for several centuries. The original mask disappeared in 1897, though a modern replica, made in 1975 by John Byefleet, is held in Dorchester County Museum, where it is taken out as a part of a procession of Morris dancers atop the Cerne Abbas giant on May Day and St George's Day[1].
Both the mask and the modern replica have a hinged jaw, allowing it to move, in much the same way that hobby horses, another folkloric English tradition, move their jaws.
One of the main theories regarding the usage of the Ooser is that it was a representation of the Devil, though another theory, purported by supporters of Margaret Murray, but now largely discredited, claims that it actually depicts the Horned God, a deity worshipped by a supposed underground Witchcraft cult which was the basis for modern Wicca. An illustration of the Ooser is held at the Museum of Witchcraft in the nearby county of Cornwall.