by Rev. Jean “Drum” Pagano
Taranis is the God who invented the wheel. When Taranis would grow angry at the things that he would see, he would hurl his thunderbolts towards earth and cause fear and panic among the people who had caused the ire to arise within him. He did not necessarily wish to cause the demise of the people of Gaul, but he wanted to send a message strong and true that left no room for interpretation. His voice would be heard!
Often, when invading armies would come close to the borders that were sacred to his people, Taranis would rise up in anger and send terrible storms towards those who were where they did not belong. The sky would darken, the air would be filled with the sound of thunder, and the flashes of lighting would herald the arrival of deep and powerful rumbling as the skies produced the fury which arose from the God.
One day, long, long ago, when the Gauls had found peace and prosperity graced their lands, Taranis had grown quiet as his anger was rarely provoked since his people offered sacrifices appropriate for a God of his status. The neighbours of the Gauls, seeing their peace and prosperity coveted all that the Gauls had built, but of course without wanting to do those things themselves, the decided to rise up against Gaul from the northeast, from the east, from the south east, and from the south.
The enemies went into the sacred forests and cut down many trees. The trees cried out in anguish and Taranis heard their anguish and he rose and stood as tall as the sky. He looked to the northeast, the east, the southeast, and the south, and the trees were falling and crying out and the humans ran to their altars and cried out his name: “Oh Taranis, Thunderer, please save us from those who would defile our sacred forest, homes to the many Gods and buffer between our world and theirs. Come to us in our time of need.”
Taranis heard their cry and his fury grew to monumental heights, and the angrier he became, the taller he grew. He threw his thunderbolts at the invaders, but they were people with no knowledge of the Thunderer and they continued in their advance. He would throw a lightning bolt or raise his thunder and still they came.
Taranis took the felled trees and created a cross and he took other trees and made arcs between the ends of the cross until a round object with spokes was created. He attached lightning bolts all along the edges and spun the wheel fast as the wind and the lightning rained down upon the invaders from all directions and they fled in terror back to their lands.
Taranis then took this object and put it in every village and the people were pleased at the gift. This is how the wheel came to be.
