Horned Snake

The ram-horned snake is a reptile of continental Europe. They are favored companions of the god Cernunnos. They may also accompany Nedons, Toutatis, and Lugos. The are docile and non-venomous, living in lush and fruitful habitats. Their ability to regenerate is stronger than that of other snakes.

Depictions
There are three horned snakes on the Gundestrup cauldron, with Cernunnos. A huge antlered figure with torcs and a snake was carved on the rocks in Val Camonica. A bronze image at Étang-sur-Arroux and a stone sculpture at Sommerécourt depict Cernunnos's body encircled by two horned snakes that feed from bowls of fruit and mashed grain in his lap. Also at Sommerécourt is a sculpture of a goddess holding a cornucopia and a pomegranate, with a horned snake eating from a bowl of food. In a depiction from Yzeures-sur-Creuse a carved youth has a ram-horned snake twined around his legs, with its head at his stomach. In yet another depiction at Cirencester, Gloucestershire, Cernunnos's legs are two snakes which rear up on each side of his head and are eating fruit or grain.

The horned snake, and also conventional snakes, appear together with the solar wheel as attributes of Belenos, Sulevia, and/or Taranis.