Post by BritishCelt2017 on Dec 26, 2017 21:30:06 GMT -1
Taranis was a god of thunder in Britain and Gaul, but I'm not sure he was just a god of thunder. I think he was a god of the Sky and Sun as well.
I have made links with knowledge of the celtic world and I propose a rethink into Taranis' role as a thunder god.
-The 3 realms of Sky Sea and Land, There is the notion that the 3 are connected, as lighting strikes both the sea and land, perhaps the ancient celts believed that Taranis reached down into the world with thunderbolts? There is also the triad connection with Esus and Toutatis, and the 3 ways in which sacrifices were given to each god. Taranis' sacrifices were giver to him by burning (link with lightning and fires caused by it, as well as link with Sky realm), Esus' sacrifices were tied to a post or a tree and beaten to death, loosely a death by land (Link to Land realm and that Esus is depicted cutting down trees), and Toutatis' sacrifices were drowned (Link to Sea realm and that Toutatis is seen as a protector god).
Looking at all three we have the sacred number 3 of a triad-
-Taranis= Sky Realm God (Can control Sun and Lightning- hence why his symbol is a wheel- Solar and Lightning) and leader of his Triad
-Esus= Land Realm God (Linked to medicine and trees.)
-Toutatis= Sea Realm God (And water in general, is also a tribal warrior or protector god)
So we have 3 Gods in a Triad- Taranis, Esus and Toutatis
Each is associated with one of the 3 realms, Sky, Land and Sea
They have different functions, Weather, Healing and Protection.
Taranis on his own raises some interesting points regarding his function.
-He is most often associated with thunder, but a little more loosely with the sun (Hence Sky God) E.g. He is sometimes known as the Father of Brigantia, a Goddess associated with fire. He also has a 6 or 8 spoke wheel as his thunder symbol, but it could also incorporate the sun cross as well. A 6 point cross, made up of 4 points with 2 added on. (Sun cross modified to also show a thunder cross)
I believe he may also be linked with Divination and Calendars/Time, but not the sole deity of these things, rather associated with them.
The Wheel he carries may (or may not) represent a 'Wheel of Time' (Not wheel of the year, which is a modern concept) and his name appears on the Gaulish Celtic Coligny Calendar. Every 5 years a month is added to the year due to Lunar calendars not quite matching the Earth's rotation, and it is called 'Rantaranos'. It is tentatively translated as the 'month in between', however, I propose this translation:
'Ran' + 'Taranos'. 'Ran' is Gaulish for Division or a Part, and Taranos is Taranis ( Taranis is also recorded as Tanarus, Taranucno, Taranuo, and Taraino) Literally 'The Division of Taranis'. This month in the Coligny Calendar suggests a strong link with calendars and the marking of the passage of time of the celts.
The Celtic Divination Spoons found in Britain and Gaul are often said to be linked with Druids and ritual. No one really knows for sure how they were used, and until there is solid evidence, we can't prove anyone's suggestions. I am putting forward my suggestion and theory as to how they were used here, and how Taranis is linked here.
Lets say IF he was definitely linked to calendars and cycles of time, then the cross symbol found on one of the pair of spoons used could be interpreted as Taranis' symbol OR a solar symbol, which still is linked to time passing. Supposing the cross does symbolise Taranis, then the commonly held theory to the method of use of the spoons (dripping liquid/water/blood/wine from the hole on the top spoon to the bottom spoon) makes sense, potentially representing Taranis sending rain down from the sky, having established he may be a God of the Sky. As for the Divination method, I believe that it is similar to Tasseography (Tea leaf reading- earlier used different material to tea leaves) or Ceromancy (wax drop reading), potentially both of those could have been imported practices from Rome- or Celtic innovations. The 4 quarters of the cross in the spoon may indicate the 4 seasons, oriented by pointing the pointy end of the spoon forward and having Winter, then Spring, then Summer and Autumn represented by one segment of the cross each. The Diviner Celt may have asked WHEN something might occur and then let the water drops fall onto the cross. The season with the quarter most full of droplets would be the answer to the enquirer's question. E.g. if the segment of Winter had loads of water droplets on it and the summer one was practically bone dry, then the event or occurrence will happen in winter.
The Tasseography tea-leaf reading cups often have symbols for the tea to settle on, which perhaps is linked with the settlement of the water on the divination spoons. There is also much disagreement on what liquid was used on the Celtic divination spoons as they were made of copper alloy. Water does not flow well on the material and much less into a tiny hole. (In this post I used the word 'water' for ease of reading). Blood is speculated to have been used, which is plausible if we consider that Celts could have used sacrificial victim's blood, however in the context of Taranis this is less likely, as his victims were burned (unless they took the blood before burning them. The only other plausible liquid is wine. This one makes sense as it could have been a Divination Ritual which incorporated a Libation Offering (Offering wine to the gods to divine the future?)
It is only a theory but I think some of the things I've mentioned may be close to the mark.
A simpler version of the theory above is here for a basic outline of a POSSIBLE celtic ritual involving the Divination Spoons.
Celtic Spoon Divination Ritual- Of Taranis
__________________________
1- Sacrifice by burning (Not literally in our time- maybe roast some beef?) or offer a libation of wine to Taranis.
2- Use blood from the burning victim (Perhaps cow's blood from that beef you roasted?) or the wine to divine the future.
3- Ask a question, (Maybe something along the lines of this: When will_____be done/happen/occur or When is the best time to_____?)
4- Offer the liquid (Blood or Wine) to Taranis and pour into the Divination spoon with the hole in. (Maybe say a prayer?)
5- Drip the liquid onto the second spoon with the cross on, facing the tip of the spoon forwards and looking clockwise are the 4 seasons quarters.
6- Count or see how much liquid is in each quarter and figure out your answer. E.g. Question: When is the best time to plant food crops? Answer: Spring.
While I have linked the spoons to Taranis, we shouldn't rule out other gods. But the evidence is strong in Taranis' favour.
Taranis Wheel from Haute-Marne, France. Notice how the symbol on the right looks like the divination spoons with a hole in.
A set of Divination Spoons from Crosby Ravensworth, England.
Update:
_________
30th Decemeber 2017
While reading a book called Ancient Man in Britain I found a section talking about some Scottish lore of 'Airts'. Airts are winds sent in by deities to have an affect on the world, good or bad. The directions on a compass are associated with different things such as North being the direction of misfortune, South being the direction of fortune, East being the direction of Sacredness and life, and West being the direction of Sacredness and death. The directions also stand for the seasons in Scottish Lore, North for winter, South for Summer, East for Spring and West for Autumn- which is exactly as I hypothesised in my last post. I only obtained this book yesterday and had no prior knowledge on the subject, does this Scottish lore potentially mean that my theory on the Brittonic Spoons be correct? The directions are then also associated with deities, but only a few come down into present day knowlege. Gaelic Lugh (Pan-Celtic Lugus) is associated with the North East, The Morrigan (Modron?) with the North West and apparently a water spring Goddess in the South West (Potentially Coventina). Yet again, Taranis and his wheel come into this.
As well as the many, many things associated with the points mentioned above, colours are also part of this Scottish lore. As seen on the picture below. In the same book, colour lore in the wider Celtic world is discussed. There is evidence for some potential meanings of colours in the celtic world. Red was said to represtent fire and thunder, due to lightning creating fires when it strikes. Red in the diagram below is in the South East, which is where the Sun rises, so if Taranis, being associated with Thunder is through that associated with red, then he is also associated with the Sun, which also backs up my theory he is a general Sky God- and there's more. South is associated with the colour white, which is associated in Gelic folklore with the Otherworld and Heaven and the Sky. The word forHeaven was 'Nem' and the word for pearl-white derives from that, 'Neamhnuid'- literally 'Heavenly Colour'. Taranis, being associated with red, which represents the South East, is in the bottom half of the cross diagram, which is representing Fortune, Summer and the Otherworld/Heaven/Sky. Therefore, Taranis is a god of the Sky, a Sky god residing in the Otherworld a.k.a Annwn. This Scottish Airt lore may be able to prove this.
Below is a diagram from the book and some more diagrams I made.
The Diagram below explains more potential usages of the Brittonic Spoons. As well as my previous theory that the Diviner asked questions about the Seasons and events in them, using the lore above it could be implied that you could use the spoons to: Gauge fortune and misfortune on a subject, Ask questions of the gods, aforementioned Seasonal Predictions and on a similar note to seasons, Divine about the day, Sunrise to Sunset (A day) in the half from East to West (Rises in the East, sets in the West) and the remaining half of the cross is the night time.
I have made links with knowledge of the celtic world and I propose a rethink into Taranis' role as a thunder god.
-The 3 realms of Sky Sea and Land, There is the notion that the 3 are connected, as lighting strikes both the sea and land, perhaps the ancient celts believed that Taranis reached down into the world with thunderbolts? There is also the triad connection with Esus and Toutatis, and the 3 ways in which sacrifices were given to each god. Taranis' sacrifices were giver to him by burning (link with lightning and fires caused by it, as well as link with Sky realm), Esus' sacrifices were tied to a post or a tree and beaten to death, loosely a death by land (Link to Land realm and that Esus is depicted cutting down trees), and Toutatis' sacrifices were drowned (Link to Sea realm and that Toutatis is seen as a protector god).
Looking at all three we have the sacred number 3 of a triad-
-Taranis= Sky Realm God (Can control Sun and Lightning- hence why his symbol is a wheel- Solar and Lightning) and leader of his Triad
-Esus= Land Realm God (Linked to medicine and trees.)
-Toutatis= Sea Realm God (And water in general, is also a tribal warrior or protector god)
So we have 3 Gods in a Triad- Taranis, Esus and Toutatis
Each is associated with one of the 3 realms, Sky, Land and Sea
They have different functions, Weather, Healing and Protection.
Taranis on his own raises some interesting points regarding his function.
-He is most often associated with thunder, but a little more loosely with the sun (Hence Sky God) E.g. He is sometimes known as the Father of Brigantia, a Goddess associated with fire. He also has a 6 or 8 spoke wheel as his thunder symbol, but it could also incorporate the sun cross as well. A 6 point cross, made up of 4 points with 2 added on. (Sun cross modified to also show a thunder cross)
I believe he may also be linked with Divination and Calendars/Time, but not the sole deity of these things, rather associated with them.
The Wheel he carries may (or may not) represent a 'Wheel of Time' (Not wheel of the year, which is a modern concept) and his name appears on the Gaulish Celtic Coligny Calendar. Every 5 years a month is added to the year due to Lunar calendars not quite matching the Earth's rotation, and it is called 'Rantaranos'. It is tentatively translated as the 'month in between', however, I propose this translation:
'Ran' + 'Taranos'. 'Ran' is Gaulish for Division or a Part, and Taranos is Taranis ( Taranis is also recorded as Tanarus, Taranucno, Taranuo, and Taraino) Literally 'The Division of Taranis'. This month in the Coligny Calendar suggests a strong link with calendars and the marking of the passage of time of the celts.
The Celtic Divination Spoons found in Britain and Gaul are often said to be linked with Druids and ritual. No one really knows for sure how they were used, and until there is solid evidence, we can't prove anyone's suggestions. I am putting forward my suggestion and theory as to how they were used here, and how Taranis is linked here.
Lets say IF he was definitely linked to calendars and cycles of time, then the cross symbol found on one of the pair of spoons used could be interpreted as Taranis' symbol OR a solar symbol, which still is linked to time passing. Supposing the cross does symbolise Taranis, then the commonly held theory to the method of use of the spoons (dripping liquid/water/blood/wine from the hole on the top spoon to the bottom spoon) makes sense, potentially representing Taranis sending rain down from the sky, having established he may be a God of the Sky. As for the Divination method, I believe that it is similar to Tasseography (Tea leaf reading- earlier used different material to tea leaves) or Ceromancy (wax drop reading), potentially both of those could have been imported practices from Rome- or Celtic innovations. The 4 quarters of the cross in the spoon may indicate the 4 seasons, oriented by pointing the pointy end of the spoon forward and having Winter, then Spring, then Summer and Autumn represented by one segment of the cross each. The Diviner Celt may have asked WHEN something might occur and then let the water drops fall onto the cross. The season with the quarter most full of droplets would be the answer to the enquirer's question. E.g. if the segment of Winter had loads of water droplets on it and the summer one was practically bone dry, then the event or occurrence will happen in winter.
The Tasseography tea-leaf reading cups often have symbols for the tea to settle on, which perhaps is linked with the settlement of the water on the divination spoons. There is also much disagreement on what liquid was used on the Celtic divination spoons as they were made of copper alloy. Water does not flow well on the material and much less into a tiny hole. (In this post I used the word 'water' for ease of reading). Blood is speculated to have been used, which is plausible if we consider that Celts could have used sacrificial victim's blood, however in the context of Taranis this is less likely, as his victims were burned (unless they took the blood before burning them. The only other plausible liquid is wine. This one makes sense as it could have been a Divination Ritual which incorporated a Libation Offering (Offering wine to the gods to divine the future?)
It is only a theory but I think some of the things I've mentioned may be close to the mark.
A simpler version of the theory above is here for a basic outline of a POSSIBLE celtic ritual involving the Divination Spoons.
Celtic Spoon Divination Ritual- Of Taranis
__________________________
1- Sacrifice by burning (Not literally in our time- maybe roast some beef?) or offer a libation of wine to Taranis.
2- Use blood from the burning victim (Perhaps cow's blood from that beef you roasted?) or the wine to divine the future.
3- Ask a question, (Maybe something along the lines of this: When will_____be done/happen/occur or When is the best time to_____?)
4- Offer the liquid (Blood or Wine) to Taranis and pour into the Divination spoon with the hole in. (Maybe say a prayer?)
5- Drip the liquid onto the second spoon with the cross on, facing the tip of the spoon forwards and looking clockwise are the 4 seasons quarters.
6- Count or see how much liquid is in each quarter and figure out your answer. E.g. Question: When is the best time to plant food crops? Answer: Spring.
While I have linked the spoons to Taranis, we shouldn't rule out other gods. But the evidence is strong in Taranis' favour.
Taranis Wheel from Haute-Marne, France. Notice how the symbol on the right looks like the divination spoons with a hole in.
A set of Divination Spoons from Crosby Ravensworth, England.
Update:
_________
30th Decemeber 2017
While reading a book called Ancient Man in Britain I found a section talking about some Scottish lore of 'Airts'. Airts are winds sent in by deities to have an affect on the world, good or bad. The directions on a compass are associated with different things such as North being the direction of misfortune, South being the direction of fortune, East being the direction of Sacredness and life, and West being the direction of Sacredness and death. The directions also stand for the seasons in Scottish Lore, North for winter, South for Summer, East for Spring and West for Autumn- which is exactly as I hypothesised in my last post. I only obtained this book yesterday and had no prior knowledge on the subject, does this Scottish lore potentially mean that my theory on the Brittonic Spoons be correct? The directions are then also associated with deities, but only a few come down into present day knowlege. Gaelic Lugh (Pan-Celtic Lugus) is associated with the North East, The Morrigan (Modron?) with the North West and apparently a water spring Goddess in the South West (Potentially Coventina). Yet again, Taranis and his wheel come into this.
As well as the many, many things associated with the points mentioned above, colours are also part of this Scottish lore. As seen on the picture below. In the same book, colour lore in the wider Celtic world is discussed. There is evidence for some potential meanings of colours in the celtic world. Red was said to represtent fire and thunder, due to lightning creating fires when it strikes. Red in the diagram below is in the South East, which is where the Sun rises, so if Taranis, being associated with Thunder is through that associated with red, then he is also associated with the Sun, which also backs up my theory he is a general Sky God- and there's more. South is associated with the colour white, which is associated in Gelic folklore with the Otherworld and Heaven and the Sky. The word forHeaven was 'Nem' and the word for pearl-white derives from that, 'Neamhnuid'- literally 'Heavenly Colour'. Taranis, being associated with red, which represents the South East, is in the bottom half of the cross diagram, which is representing Fortune, Summer and the Otherworld/Heaven/Sky. Therefore, Taranis is a god of the Sky, a Sky god residing in the Otherworld a.k.a Annwn. This Scottish Airt lore may be able to prove this.
Below is a diagram from the book and some more diagrams I made.
The Diagram below explains more potential usages of the Brittonic Spoons. As well as my previous theory that the Diviner asked questions about the Seasons and events in them, using the lore above it could be implied that you could use the spoons to: Gauge fortune and misfortune on a subject, Ask questions of the gods, aforementioned Seasonal Predictions and on a similar note to seasons, Divine about the day, Sunrise to Sunset (A day) in the half from East to West (Rises in the East, sets in the West) and the remaining half of the cross is the night time.