Taranis – The God of Storms and Thunder

Introduction

Taranis, the god of storms and thunder and the god of the wheel is one of the most important deities worshiped by Iron Age Celts. He has been likened to the Roman god, Jupiter and Taranis can be found mentioned by name in the writings of Roman Poet, Lucan who began his epic poem, Pharsalia (based on Ceaser’s Civil War of 49-48BCE) around 61CE.

In this poem, Taranis is shown as a god who demands human sacrifices to appease him, and this, is turn, showed the barbaric nature of the Celtic people to the people of Rome.

Tu quoque laetatus converti proelia, Trevir,
Et nunc tonse Ligur, quondam per colla decore
Crinibus effuses toti praelate Comatae,
Et quibus inmitis placatur sanguine diro
Teutates horrensque feris altaribus Esus
Et Taranis Scythicae non mitior ara Dianae

Transferral of the war pleased you too, Treviri
and you, Ligures, now shorn of hair but once in all of Long-Haired
Gaul unrivalled for your tresses flowing gracefully over your necks;
and the people who with grim blood-offering placate
Teutates the merciless and Esus dread with savage altars
and the slab of Taranis, no kinder than Diana of the Scythians.

Lucan’s work is extremely important as it is not common to find references to Celtic deities in earlier writings, nor in later writings. This is not a surprise as the Celtic religions and stories were of an oral telling, passed from generation to generation, and so as a result no written records were left behind.

Taranis’ Place in the Celtic Pantheon

Following a common theme, although Taranis was an important god in the Celtic pantheon, there is little written information about him and so when looking to write about him, it is necessary to work with whatever it available to us.

Taranis is the god of storms and thunder and has a strong connection to scared wheels, which were important to the ancient celts. Much of the information that can be gather about him comes from Roman sources, and through this we find a link to the gods Esus and Toutatis, who were also important Celtic deities and their symbols were often found alongside those of Taranis at sacred sites. They are also linked by their apparent need for human sacrifice, which is referenced in Lucan’s Pharsalia.

Lucan is probably the best source we have to link Taranis to human sacrifice. Due to the popularity of his work, we have the scholarly Commenta Bernensia and Adnotationes Super Lucanum manuscripts written at some point between the 9th and 11th centuries which breakdown Lucan’s epic. There is also the Glossen ad Lucan dating to the 11th and 12th centuries. In these, we can find references to Taranis as compared to Jupiter, and the sacrifices carried out in his name.

From the Commenta Bernsia ad Lucan we have –

Taranis Ditis pater hoc modo aput eos placatur: in alveo ligneo aliquod homines cremantur.

Taranis is appeased in this way by them: several people are burned in a wooden tub.

item aliter exinde invenimus […] praesidem bellorum et caelestium deorum maximum Taranin lovem adsuetum olim humanis placari capitibus, nunc vero gaudere pecorum.

We also find if [depicted] differently by other [authors]. […] the leader of the wars and chief of the heavening gods, Taranis, [the consider] to be Jupiter, who was once accustomed to be appeased by human heads, but now [is accustomed] to the delights in those animals.

In the Commenta, we can see reference to the sacrifices used to appease Taranis. When seen in full, there are also references to both Esus and Teutates, but these will be discussed separately under their own reference pages.

In manuscript notes that to appease Taranis, several people were burned together in a wooden tub, which

From the Adnotationes super Lucanum we have –

Taranis luppiter dictus a Gallis, qui sanguine litatur humano

Taranis is called Jupiter by the Gauls, to who sacrifices are made with human blood.

And finally, from the Glossen ad Lucan we have –

Tharanis luppiter. hi omnes in Teutonicis partibus colebantur a Taranu. ut feria teutonice dicitur

Tharanis Jupiter. All of these were worshipped in the Teutonic regions at Teranus (?) as a day of the week is called in Teutonic.

It is believed that Taranis was especially important to the Iron Age Gauls in Briton and Iberia.

The Symbols of Taranis

The Wheel

The Wheel of Taranis is shown with usually six or eight spokes and was a solar celestial symbol believed to represent the cycles of the sun or the movements of the heavens. Whilst there is no confirmed reason for the different number of spokes in the wheel there are theories for this.

It could be that the six spokes were to represent the north, south, east, west, up and down which were the six directions used by the Celtic people. They could also represent the months of the ‘dry season’ where Taranis was most likely to send his thunder and storms.

Eight spokes could be connected to the eight Celtic festivals of the year what represented agriculture or to the spokes of the solar wheel which also number eight.

The Eight Celtic Festivals

Samhain (Oct 31-Nov1) - Celtic New Year and the start of winter.

Nollaig/Geimhreadh (Dec 21 – 22) - Winter solstice, Return of the Sun

Imbolc (Feb 1 – 2) - Beginning of Spring

Ostara (Mar 20-21) - Planting Season

Bealtaine (May 1) - Start of Summer, bright half year

Lá an Dúlra (June 20 – 21) - Longest day

Lughnasadh (Aug 1) - The start of the harvest

Meán Fómhair (Sept 22 -23) - Balance of night and day. The end of harvest

The wheel as a symbol is important within the Celtic tradition, representing the passage of the seasons and the cycle of life as it continuously moves through the seasons both of the year, and of human life as they age.

There is abundant archaeological evidence to support the importance of the wheel to the Celtic people with finds such as wagon burials and finds of spoked wheel pendants and broaches, usually made from bronze or lead. We can also see the recurring shape in ancient monuments such as Stonehenge.

For Taranis, the wheel represents the role he had in maintaining the recurring cycles within the natural world. The decorations on the wheel were often spirals which can be seen to represent the Celtic belief in the spirals of life, death, and rebirth and would link Taranis to those things.

Taranis was the god of storms and thunder and so the wheel is a prefect representation of this. A large spinning wheel could be seen to represent thunderstorms and wild winds all around a centralised point, which would be a visual representation of who Taranis was as a god of the storms. During a storm, it is easy to see movement above as clouds move faster across the sky, which could also represent the movement of a wheel across the sky.

The Wheel of Taranis could also be seen to represent the movement of day into night and the movement of the heavens. Linking the Wheel of Taranis to the sun also links Taranis to the creation powers of the sun over the natural world.

The Thunderbolt

Taranis is commonly represented as holding his wheel in one hand and a lightening bolt in the other. With his lightening bolt, he has been linked to other gods across the pantheons, such as Zeus, Thor, and Jupiter.

Within mythology, the thunderbolt is seen as a symbol of power, linked to both destruction and renewal. For the Celts, the Taranis’ thunderbolt was a reminder that whilst storms have the capability to destroy, they were also able to purify as they freshened up the air and provided well needed water in times of drought.

To the Celts lightening strikes were seen as a sign that Taranis was present, and if stones or trees were hit by lightening strikes, they were seen to be blessed by him.

A storm or lightening before a battle could be interpreted as a sign that Taranis was watching over his people and the battle would go well.