Many of us have them in our home as a Thanksgiving or Autumn decoration, but many of us also do not know what or why we actually have them at all. I speak of the Horn Of Plenty, also known as The Cornucopia. My own Horn 'O Plenty has a long, long and interesting history, which I will get to later in this blog post. As with many other things I have, I'm not sure what will happen to it after I pass from this earth-life, since Dallas plans to travel for the rest of his life. If it goes to a second-hand store, I can only hope it ends up in a good home that will appreciate it. I often wonder about the history of items that end up in those stores. Well, let's take a look at the history of the Horns Of Plenty ... the Cornucopias of our lives.
To quickly break it down ... because it all makes more sense to me when I start with the Latin (just the way my mind works), we first take 'cornucopia' ... which also means "horn of plenty," ancient emblem of fruitfulness and abundance, 1590s, from Late Latin cornucopia, in classical Latin cornu copiae "horn of plenty," originally the horn of the goat Amalthea, who nurtured the infant Zeus.
Then we need to look at the origins of 'copious' and 'hor.n'
'Copious' - "abundant, plentiful," mid-14c., from Latin copiosus "plentiful," from copia "an abundance, ample supply, profusion, plenty; riches, prosperity; ability, power, might," also the name of the Roman goddess of abundance," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see com-) + ops (genitive opis) "power, wealth, resources," from PIE room *op- "to work, produce in abundance."
'Horn' - Old English horn "horn of an animal; projection, pinnacle," also "wind instrument" (originally one made from animal horns), from Proto-Germanic hurni- (source also of German Horn, Dutch horen, Old Frisian horn, Gothic haurn), from PIE root ker- "horn; head."
Late 14c. as "one of the tips of the crescent moon."
The name was retained for a class of musical instruments that developed from the hunting horn; the French horn is the true representative of the class. Of dilemmas from 1540s; of automobile warning signals from 1901. Jazz slang sense of "trumpet" is by 1921. Meaning "telephone" is by 1945. Figurative senses of Latin cornu included "salient point, chief argument; wing, flank; power, courage, strength." 'Horn of plenty' is from 1580s. To make "hold up the fist with the two exterior fingers extended" as a gesture of insult is from c.1600.
Spilling with fruits, grains, gourds and flowers, this beloved emblem of earthly abundance, pleasure, healing and good fortune has been presiding over harvest festivals, feasts, and revelry – since time immemorial. Today the cornucopia still adorns Thanksgiving tables, but its mystical significance and magical power are barely remembered, never mind utilized. So this Thanksgiving why not craft a little cornucopia magic of your own? Because if “gratitude attitude” is the key to prosperity nothing says it better than the ole’ horn of plenty.
The Cornucopia's earliest origins are shrouded in mystery but historians generally agree it first begins to appear in the upper Palaeolithic and Neolithic when animal horns were placed on stone altars to evoke invoke the blessings of the bountiful all giving Mother, the Earth. In ancient Egypt, India, and the Middle East it was the Great Goddess in her Cow incarnation, who nourished the world through her Horns of Plenty.
In the ancient world, Cornucopia were held high by fertility and harvest goddesses who brought forth growth and plant life, Goddesses such Ceres/Demeter (we have already discussed those two ladies), Abundantia, and Flora, as well as Goddesses of prosperity and good luck like Fortuna or Tyche. These Goddesses were all honored with offerings of food at times of harvest – and of course, there was a lot of accompanying feasting, games, and revelry.
Cornucopia images can also be found in old Celtic Europe (British Isles, France and Germany) in countless carvings, votives, statues, and shrines dated between the 1st to 7th century, depiecting the Mothers. These divinities were associated with rivers, mountains, springs, and trees and holding Cornucopias filled with fruits and grains. During harvest, women left offerings at these shrines, to ensure their blessings. This is known as the “Cult of the Mothers” and was a Pagan tribute to the female divinity in nature.
The Horn was also associated with medieval legends of the Holy Grail, the mystical chalice that returned green to the wasteland and was the source of life itself. In Norse mythology, the horn was carried by Goddess Idun, 'The Glorious Maiden Who Knows the Age-Cure of the Aesir’ who dispensed the elixir of immortality and the eternal regeneration of youth.
Today, we’ve mostly forgotten that for our ancestors the Cornucopia was a revered ritual object symbolizing the unlimited procreative powers of Mother Nature. Many scholars theorize Cornucopia were ceremonial objects used to consecrate or bless plants or objects placed within, or to receive prayers that were chanted or spoken into it.
So why not revive this ancient magic and craft up a magical cornucopia of your own? This Thanksgiving (or even before, why wait until Thanksgiving?) take a basket out to into the country ... to the fields, and woodlands. Fill it with whatever you find, herbs and flowers like rosemary, thyme, nettle, rosehips, hawthorn berries, spicy nasturtium blossoms etc. Or just plants of any type. All growing things are from the Mother Goddess and are sacred to her; even weeds!
Once home, arrange your basket into a Cornucopia of sorts – and take a moment to symbolically offer it to the great harvest Goddesses of old and the generations of your foremothers whose ritual acts of harvest, celebration and “thanksgiving” created a magick to bless themselves and the land. And don’t forget to say a prayer or a few words of thanks for the nourishing bounty of Mother Nature. Had it not been for her, you would not have had the wonderful Thanksgivings and set the either grand or perhaps more modest tables you ahve had over the years.
And now I'd like to put up a few words about our own personal Horn 'O Plenty that has been crafted over the years. When I was married in 1983, my mother gave me the wicker horn which had been on top of the refrigerator ever since I could remember. I know my grandmother had it on top of HER refrigerator when she and my grandfather were married, and I was told thay they had been given this when they were married long ago. My mother was the last of their children, and she was a 'menopause baby.' She was born in 1926, so I think that this Horn must be very old, indeed.I decided that rather than keep it out all year 'round I would save it for just after Halloween and through Christmas until after New Year's Day.
It always had plastic fruits and vegetables spilling out of it year-round (for years, one of the apples bore teethmarks from a cousin of mine who tried to eat the plastic apple when he was about three-years-old) and then Mom would take it down around Thanksgiving and make it the center of a fresh flower decoration, finally makng it the main centerpiece for the actual table setting of Thanksgivng dinner.
I well remember those Thanksgiving dinners of 30 people, or more. Or sometimes it was just the four of us ... Mom, Dad, my brother and myself. Either way, that Horn 'O Plenty was witness to our Thanksgiving dinners. Odd thing is ... you know how you hear that people dread the holidays and argue? Never did we argue. Never was a grudge that may have been held was discussed. Never.
Over the years, I began to modernize that Horn 'O Plenty. Each year I added plastic miniatures ... loafs of bread, multi-colored grapes, different colors of corncobs & wine bottles, other types of fruits and vegetables. My daughter had no interest in helping, but Dallas helped me from the age of about two. He and I still add one thing each year to the display. This year we added a plastic lemon. Dallas had used the previous plastic lemon for his 'Carmen Miranda' hat ... one of his drag outfits. That Horn 'O Plenty is actually more important to me than any Yule decoration we may put up, although I believe Dallas has already obtained that, as well. But there is still some original stuff in there. I believe the paper fold-out turkeys are from my childhood..
The Horn 'O Plenty in our home for November, 2023. We added a vase of fresh flowers for our Goddesses, Hecate & Kali. Our new lemon is beside the vase base. It looks like Dallas even added a string of 'twinkle lights'!
Autumn is, in general, a time of feminine power ... as is the month November. My Horn 'O Plenty has always meant a great deal to me, when it was passed down to me from my mother for my first wedding in 1983. I had hoped to pass it down to my daughter, but now it will go to Dallas. I had just moved to Modesto, CA when it was given to me. Modesto is right next to a town called Ceres. Ceres is a Goddess of the Harvest, sometimes referred to as the Goddess of Agriculture.. It just all makes sense. Ceres was also known as Demeter .. the mother of Persephone.
Dallas picked up the rainbow gay pride Nutcracker from Target to add to his Nutcracker collection. Good thing, too. I don't think they are going to be available next year. Too much whining from those who insist we are trying to erase Christmas. I've never heard of a more ridiculous thing in my life. Christmas was part of my childhood, just as it was part of my own children's lives. They both danced in 'The Nutcracker' with our local ballet company and attended some of the local Christmas events. Just because I was Pagan did not mean I was going to stop them from having fun, but they knew what was real and what was not.
For me, the best thing about my Cornucopia ritual is this ... when the geese fly overhead and the landscape shimmers with the reds and yellows of dying foliage, my Horn 'O Plenty fills me with “gratitude attitude” for the never-ending ability of the earth to provide.
In the darkening days of encroaching winter, it’s a good faith to have.
Darkmum
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