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Thundergods

On Thundergods and Thunderbolts

It is the unanimous view of scholars exploring comparative religion
that the peculiar mythical traditions surrounding thunderbolts and
lightning originated in primitive man's awe before the thunderstorm.
Davidson's opinion may be cited as representing the orthodox position:

"To people of an earlier civilization, living in vulnerable houses of
wood or in tents and caves, such a sight as this [a major
thunderstorm] must have been terrifying indeed.  It is not surprising
then that thunder is visualized, in lands where storms are frequent,
as the manifestation of divine power, and symbolized accordingly
throughout the world."

The thundergod himself, according to this view, is an invisible
Oz-like being acting behind the scenes to bring about the thunderstorm
and its attendant visual and auditory phenomena.  It is our opinion
that such views are so wide of the mark as to be virtually worthless
as a basis for understanding ancient myth and religion.  In what
follows we hope to offer a new interpretation of the thundergod as a
visible planetary power.  Aided by new discoveries in plasma physics,
particularly as elucidated and reconstructed by Wal Thornhill and
Anthony Peratt, the curious mythology associated with the omnipresent
thundergod suddenly begins to unravel, revealing a fascinating tale of
interplanetary thunderbolts and apocalyptic cataclysm.

It would be impossible to do justice to the vast body of traditions
surrounding the thundergod and his weapon in an article-format, and
thus it will be necessary to confine our analysis to a few select
examples of the various motifs.  It should be understood that
countless other motifs actually exist, many of which are equally
fascinating and ultimately interrelated.  It is hoped that the
observations to follow, which should be viewed as preliminary in
nature, will serve as a spark and help lay the foundation for further
study.

The Electric Universe

For many years now, Wal Thornhill has been arguing that the universe
is governed at a fundamental level by electromagnetic forces.
Recently (September, 2000), at the annual Kronia conference, Thornhill
presented an impressive body of evidence that various planets in the
solar system had only recently experienced significant episodes of
catastrophic scarring.  The surfaces of Mars, Venus and Io in
particular offer striking examples of extensive rilles, circular
cratering, and "fretting" which Thornhill would interpret as the
result of an electrical scarring process akin to machine-arcing.

Thornhill's theory, heavily influenced by the views of Ralph Juergens
and Immanuel Velikovsky, has profound ramifications for our
understanding of the recent history of the solar system.  It also
offers important insights for understanding of the physico-dynamical
conditions that prevailed during the so-called polar configuration.
In Thornhill's view, the polar configuration consisted of a number of
planets moving together in a plasma sheath, the latter providing a
balancing electrical force that acted with gravity to keep the planets
in alignment but also to buffer the planets against catastrophic
collision.  A distinguishing characteristic of plasmas everywhere is
the generation of so-called Bierkeland currents, named after Kristian
Bierkeland, who discovered the phenomenon in 1905.  Bierkeland
currents are illustrated in figure one.  As experiments have shown,
plasma sheaths are regions of strong electric fields and therefore
electric currents.  The resulting Birkeland current filaments follow
the magnetic field lines.  So for planets in close proximity inside
Saturn's plasma sheath, Bierkeland currents will flow between the
planets along magnetic field lines to the polar regions, according to
Thornhill.  As the various planets participating in the polar
configuration moved relative to each other, or as the environment of
the configuration as a whole fluctuated in response to the Sun's
increasing influence, complex electrical effects would have been sure
to follow.  In addition to the possibility of an exchange of massive
thunderbolts between the various planets, one can imagine unusual
aurora-like effects associated with the periodic formation and
excitation of the Bierkeland currents moving along the polar axis.

birkeland.jpg

Figure One

What, then, does the mythical record reveal about the possible role of
electrical forces?  The abundant traditions involving the thundergod
and the generation of lightning offer a particularly relevant test of
the Saturn theory: will they conform with the stereotypical experience
of thunderstorms in the current solar system, or will they point
instead to the radically different conditions which formerly prevailed
during the polar configuration?

A Universal Archetype

Virtually every culture has preserved memory of a "thundergod," a
towering and tumultuous figure whose modus operandi is the generation
of lightning and the hurling of death-dealing thunderbolts from the
sky.  A prominent character in ancient pantheons, shaman rites, and
religious iconography, the thundergod often doubles as a god of war.
The Inca god Illapa is a case in point:

"Lightning in Inca religion was the major theophany of the weather
god, known as Ilyap'a, now usually hispanicized to IllapaIllapa was
also the god of war, of trade, and god of death.  It was represented
as a constellation outlining a man wielding a club in his left hand
and a sling in his right."

One of the most popular gods in North America is the so-called
Thunderbird, described as a towering bird spanning heaven.  Numerous
tribes preserve traditions of the bird that hurls lightning from
heaven, bringing destruction and fire:

"The well-nigh universal American conception of the thunder is that it
is caused by a bird or brood of birdsthe Thunderbirds.  Sometimes the
Thunderbird is described as huge, carrying a lake of water on its back
and flashing lightnings from his eyes; sometimes as small, like some
ordinary bird in appearanceeven the humming-bird occurring as an
analogy."

The Thunderbird is also common throughout South America.  Indeed, as
Hultkrantz argued, there is good reason to believe that such concepts
were once widespread throughout the New World:

"The concept of the thunderbird exists in Gran Chaco, in Ecuador, and
among the Caribbeans on the northern coast of the continent.  Its
range indicates a more extensive presence in earlier times than is now
the case."

The Egyptian Min offers an early example of the thundergod, his
defining symbol appearing already on predynastic pottery and rock art
tracing to the fourth millennium BCE.  In addition to serving as a god
of storm and war, Min also featured prominently as an agent of
fertility.

The ancient Semitic thundergod Hadad/Adad, whose name is thought to be
cognate with Arabic haddat, "thunder," was likewise represented as a
warrior.  Illustrations of the long-haired and bearded god holding an
axe and/or lightning are common throughout ancient Mesopotamia (see
figure two).  Early epithets of the god, including Bir-qu,
Lugal-ri-ha-mun, and Mer-ta-i-mu, identify him as the lightning, King
of the Hurricane, and thunderer respectively.  Adad is elsewhere
represented as a promoter of fertility, a pattern we will discover in
other thundergods around the world.  Thus, an Assyrian prayer invokes
Adad as follows: "thunderer, splendid, mighty god, terror, doughty
warrior, who wields lightning, master of the delugeyou make abundant
greenery."

Adad.jpg

Figure Two

The most familiar example of the thundergod is the Greek Zeus, whose
resemblance to Hadad was commonly acknowledged by the ancients
themselves.  Although the cult of Zeus was subject to profound
evolution, often to the extent that his original nature was largely
obscured, the portrait of the god offered by our earliest sources is
consistent and it conforms to that of an agent of thunder, lightning,
wind and rain.  It would also appear likely that the archaic Zeus was
a god of war.  Burkert describes the Homeric Zeus as follows:

"Zeus, according to his Homeric epithets, is the cloud gatherer, the
dark-clouded, the thunderer on high, and the hurler of thunderbolts;
in colloquial speech one can say 'Zeus is raining' instead of 'it is
raining'; in Imperial times children were still singing, 'Rain, rain,
O dear Zeus, on the fields of the AtheniansA direct epiphany of Zeus
is lightning; wherever it strikes, a sanctuary is set up to Zeus
Descending, Kataibates.  It was as a thunderbolt that Zeus laid his
fatal embrace on Semele.  The thunderboltis the weapon of Zeus which
he alone commands; it is irresistible, even gods tremble before it,
and enemies of the gods are utterly destroyed when it strikes; in the
face of such a manifestation of divine energy, man stands powerless,
terrified and yet marveling."

In ancient Europe the thundergod occupies a prominent place in early
pantheons.  The Norse Thor was both thunderer and warrior.  The god's
name, cognate with the OHG Donar and Anglo-Saxon Thunor, derives from
proto-Germanic *Thunaraz and signifies "thunder."  Words formed with
the god's name signified the weapons hurled from heaven.  In Swedish
lore, for example, thunderbolts were known as thorvigg or thorkil.

The Finnish god Ukko shares numerous features in common with Thor.
He, too, produces the thunder and lightning while controlling the
weather.  The word ukko, like its diminutive ukkonen, came to signify
"thunder."

It has long been recognized that Thor finds a close parallel in the
Lithuanian Perkunas/Latvian Perkons, the latter god described as
riding across the sky in a fiery chariot.  The parallels between the
two thundergods extend to the finest details and confirm their
fundamental affinity and likely common ancestry.  Witness the
expression "Perkons met savu milnu 'Perkons throws his mace."  As Nagy
points out, milna 'mace' is cognate with Old Norse mjöllnir, the word
for Thor's hammer.  The name of Thor's motherFjörgynnis also cognate
with Perkunas.  And as Thor waged deadly combat with the Midgard
serpent so, too, did Perkunas battle the Veles serpent.

The Slavic Perun offers an obvious cognate of Perkunas.  Of the former
god, it is known that his name came to signify a thunderbolt: "In
Slavic, perunu designates both 'thunderbolt' and 'thunder-god'."
Russian folklore describes Perun as a great dragon-slayer.

Parjanya, a thundergod of ancient India, offers yet another cognate to
the Baltic Perkunas.  The Rig Veda paints a terrifying picture of the
god:

"He smites the trees apart, he slays the demons: all life fears him
who wields the mighty weapon."

Parjanya is described as wheeling about in heaven in his chariot,
dispensing the fertilizing rains:

"Forth burst the winds, down come the lightning-flashes: the plants
shoot up, the realm of light is streamingCome hither with this thunder
while thou pourest the waters down, our heavenly Lord and Father.
Thunder and roar: the germ of life deposit.  Fly round us on thy
chariot waterladen."

Parjanya is elsewhere identified with Indra (8:6:1), the prototypical
example of the Indo-European thundergod.  Indeed, the Vedic hymns
describing Indra offer the most comprehensive portrait we have of the
archaic thundergod.  It is Indra who is said to have created the
lightnings of heaven.  The Divine Warrior's devastating thunderbolt is
the subject of countless hymns in the Rig Veda.  The following hymn is
typical in this regard:

"I will declare the manly deeds of Indra, the first that he achieved,
the Thunder-wielder.  He slew the Dragon, then disclosed the waters,
and cleft the channels of the mountain torrents.  He slew the Dragon
lying on the mountain; his heavenly bolt of thunder Tvastr fashioned."

This association of the thundergod with the slaying of a giant serpent
threatening to destroy the world forms a recurring and apparently
universal motif.  The Norse Thor was known as orms einbani, "sole
slayer of the serpent."  The Iroquois thundergod is described as
"having slain the great Serpent of the waters, which was devouring
mankind."  The same idea is attested in South America: "Among the
Arawak, Uitoto, and some other tribes in various parts of South
America, it is said that a host of birds successfully killed the great
water snake."

The dragon combat plays a prominent element in many ancient
cosmogonies, as we have elsewhere documented, generally serving as a
prelude to Creation.  Indra's battle with Vritra is a case in point,
being central to ancient Indian ideas of cosmogony.

Glorious deeds aside, there are clear indications that Indra also had
a darker side.  Witness the following hymn: "And men have faith in
Indra, the resplendent one, what time he hurleth down his bolt, his
dart of death."  Countless hymns describe the destruction caused by
Indra's bolts.  Indeed, heaven itself reeled under Indra's onslaught:
"Yea, even that heaven itself of old bent backward before thy bolt, in
terror of its anger, when Indra, life of every living creature, smote
down within his lair the assailing dragon." In addition to shaking
heaven and earth, terrifying sound effects accompanied Indra's hurling
of the thunderbolt:

"Then both the heaven and earth trembled in terror at the strong
hero's thunder when he bellowed.  Loud roared the mighty Hero's bolt
of thunder, when he, the friend of man, burnt up the monster
[Vritra]."

Scholars have long puzzled over Indra's original nature.  Herman
Lommel summarized the futility of previous efforts as follows:

"Indra is the most celebrated and the most important god of the
Vedas.  Of all the ancient Indian gods his character has the largest
number of facets and therefore his character is the most difficult to
understand.  If anybody understood it, he would have understood the
major part of the Veda."

In our previous studies on Indra, we argued that the Vedic thundergod
is to be identified with the planet Mars based upon his fundamental
affinity with Heracles, Verethragna, and Vahagn, each of whom was
identified with the red planet by their respective cultures.  The
identification with Mars, although surprising at first sight, is
actually the key to deciphering the multifaceted mythology surrounding
the thundergod, as virtually every characteristic of Indra's finds a
close analogue in ancient conceptions associated with Mars.

The Lightning-hurling eye

One of the more curious beliefs surrounding the lightning holds that
it emanates from the region of the sun or, more specifically, from a
sky-god's eye.  This idea is well attested in ancient Greece, where it
was believed that Zeus could produce lightning from his eye.
Aeschylus, for example, wrote as follows of the Greek thundergod: "The
jealous eye of God hurls the lightning down."  The same conception is
implicit in Euripedes' Bacchae: "Unveil the Lightning's eye."

Numerous scholars have observed that the image of Zeus casting
lightning from his eye corresponds to a widespread belief.  In Hindu
tradition, for example, Shiva was said to have been capable of
throwing lightning from his third eye, located in the center of his
head.

Various cultures in Africa hold that lightning emanates from the
sky-god's eye.  The Masai, for example, describe lightning as the
"dreadful glance" of Ngai's eye.

Similar beliefs are attested amongst native peoples in North America.
The Pawnee of the Nebraskan plains identify lightning with the
"glance" of the thundergod Paruksti.  In Iroquois lore, it is said
that when Thunder gets angry lightning flashes from his eye.  Other
tribes, such as the Cree and Tlingit, describe the Thunderbird as
capable of sending forth "lightnings from his eyes."  The Chumash
Indians of Northern California report analogous traditions: there the
twin gods known as the Thunderers shoot lightning from their eyes.  As
to the popularity of this motif, Frazer remarks that "it is a common
notion with the American Indians that thunder and lightning are caused
by the flapping of the wings and the flashing of the eyes of a
gigantic bird."

Similar beliefs are also to be found amongst aboriginal peoples of
South America.  Thus, the Desana of the Colombian rain forest hold
that lightning is "a glance the Sun casts upon the earth."

How are we to understand this widespread belief whereby lighting is
thought to emanate from a celestial eye?  The aforementioned Desana
tradition offers an important clue: for strange as it must appear to
the modern mind, lightning is intimately connected with the ancient
sun-god, as we will discover.  But why should this be?  In the current
solar system, needless to say, lightning does not emanate from the
sun.

That cultures around the world associated the ancient sun-god with an
"eye" is well known.  In a recent study of the sun in ancient rock
art, Miranda Green documented the prevalence of this motif: "In Egypt,
Greece and many other literate cultures of the ancient world, the
all-seeing role of the sun gave it an association with the eye."

camonica_sun.gif

Figure Three

It is instructive at this point to review the evidence from
prehistoric rock art.  Consider the pictograph shown in figure three.
As we have documented, this image was commonly thought to depict the
sun-god's "eye."  This very image, in fact, is depicted on countless
cylinder seals from ancient Mesopotamia, where it serves to symbolize
Shamash, the Semitic sun-god.  Closely related forms are depicted in
figure four.  Here the inner "eye" of the ancient sun-god is
associated with a number of radiating filaments.  The first image in
figure four is particularly relevant here.  Notice the wavy nature of
the radiating spokes, suggesting streaming or radiant energy of some
sort.  It stands to reason that the widespread traditions of
ophthalmic lightning have some reference to the pictographs in
question and to the celestial phenomenon depicted therein, however we
are to understand the "lightning" from a physical or energetic
standpoint.

Shamash_diamond_2.gif

Figure four

The Sign of the Four

As Talbott and I have documented, the aforementioned "sun" pictographs
commemorate a particular phase in the polar configuration's history,
one that gave rise to a host of mythical interpretations.  One of the
most common interpretations viewed the central orb and radiating
streamers as four streams watering the primordial paradise.  The same
scenario was alternately viewed as four winds or four pillars.  An
early example of this motif finds the Akkadian Shamash described as
ruler of the four pillars: "From the high-point of Heaven you support
pillars of the land (the four World angles)."

In keeping with the reconstruction offered by the Saturn theory,
literary and pictorial traditions from around the world represent the
ancient sun-god as associated with a four-fold pattern of streamers.
Figure five provides examples of this motif from North America and Old
Europe.

Sunwind.jpg.gif

Figure five

Essential to understanding the mythical imagery in question is the
fact that the objective celestial reference was a series of planets in
alignment, with Venus forming the "eye" or "heart" of the ancient
sun-god and Mars forming the "pupil" of the Venusian eye.  To the
terrestrial skywatchers, the four-fold pattern of streamers appeared
to emanate outwards from Venus/Mars and across the disc of the ancient
sun-god.

It is probable that this celestial scenario contributed to the
widespread tradition of four lightnings.  The latter motif is aptly
illustrated in Navaho tradition, where the lightnings are expressly
related to the war-god:

"In Navajo mythology the war-god, Nayanezgani, is clad all in flint,
and from the joints of his flint armor flash the four lightnings,
hurling his enemies down into the earth."

Among the god's enemies is included a giant monster which threatened
to destroy the world.

The pictograph in figure four presents a cross-like form set in the
center of the so-called "sun."  Significantly, a cross was also
associated with the thundergod in ancient Europe.  This was the case
with the Norse Thor, for example: "An equal-armed cross was already in
use as a symbol in the heathen period, and seems to have been
associated with Thor."

Similar conceptions surround the Vedic thundergod.  Thus, Indra's
thunderbolt was described as "four-edged": "Bull, hurler of the
four-edged rain producer."  We will return to the four-fold form of
the thunderbolt below.

In addition to being likened to a cross, Thor's thunderbolt was
elsewhere represented with a swastika-like form on ancient monuments.
Davidson offered the following thoughts on this aspect of the
thunderbolt's iconography:

"Primarily it [swastika] appears to have had connection with light and
fire, and to have been linked with the sun-wheel.  It may have been on
account of Thor's association with the lightning that this sign was
used as an alternative to the hammer, for it is found on memorial
stones in Scandinavia beside inscriptions to Thor."

Davidson's association of the swastika with the sun-wheel is right on
target, Thor's weapon elsewhere being described as a fiery wheel (see
below).  Yet Davidson's hypothesis ignores the unfortunate fact that
the current sun never presents a swastika-like form.  Such realities
of the modern heavens notwithstanding, the connection between the
(ancient) sun and the swastika is universal in scope.  The following
tradition from the Ofo Indians of Florida is a case in point: "The Ofo
called the swastika design ila tata, or 'Sun middle.'"  Clearly the
Ofo, like other peoples, believed that a swastika-like form was to be
found in the center of the sun.  While this tradition is difficult to
understand by reference to the current sun's appearance or behavior,
it accords perfectly with descriptions of the ancient sun-god.  In the
ancient cylinder seal shown in figure six, for example, the wavy
streamers of the "sun" present a swastika-like form. 

anatolian swastika.jpg

Figure Six

It is our opinion that the polar configuration alone provides the key
for understanding ancient references to the lightning/thunderbolt as a
swastika-like form.  Thus, as Cardona has documented, there is a
wealth of evidence that a swastika appeared during a particular phase
of the polar configuration, the rotation of the four undulating
streamers producing the appearance of a fiery swastika centered on the
sun.  Citing experiments by the physicist C.J. Ransom, Cardona
suggested a possible physical basis for the memorable celestial
forms.  Ransom obtained his results when ionized gases created in a
glass cylinder were subjected to a magnetic squeeze:

"As the field frequency and intensity was increased the plasma began
to rotate.  At one point, if the field was held constant, a
three-armed figure appeared, seemingly radiating from the center of
the plasma.  Then, if the frequency were increased linearly this
figure commenced to rotate at an exponential rate until it was a
blur.  Of a sudden, the plasma seemed to cease rotating and a
four-armed figure appeared, with each arm curving away from the center
like a stylized fylfot or swastika.  This too began to rotate
increasingly with greater field intensity until it also was a blur,
and then a five-armed pattern would emerge.  Curiously, two-armed and
multiple-armed figures have been observed, but the most common were
those with three or four branches."

If the imagery of the swastika originated in spectacular events
associated with the polar configuration, it stands to reason that the
symbol would be associated both with the thundergod himself and with
the ancient sun-god.  That this is indeed the case is obvious from
what has already been cited.  It also stands to reason that the
swastika would be intimately related to the various mythical
interpretations of the wavy forms emanating from the central orb;
i.e., streams of water, wind, pillars, hair, arrows, etc.  Thus, it is
most significant to find that the Maya knew the swastika as the "cross
of four winds."  A survey of the relevant literature would doubtless
find similar associations between the swastika and the other mythical
interpretations of the Venusian outflow.

The thundergod's wheel

A closely related conception views the lightning as generated from the
"wheel" of the ancient sun-god.  The Lithuanian Perkunas, for example,
is said to have obtained his terrible weapon in the following manner:
"The source of the lightning is the sun, the heavenly fire: the
Thunder-god gets fire from the solar wheel by rotating his
lightning-club in the nave of the solar wheel."

Once again we are presented with a tradition which emphasizes the
indissoluble link between the ancient sun-god and lightningin striking
contradiction to the currently prevailing meteorological state of
affairs.  Also noteworthy is the fact that Perkunas' lightning, like
the aforementioned swastika-forms, originates in the center of the
sun.  This Baltic tradition finds a remarkable parallel in ancient
Greek lore, where Prometheus is said to have first obtained fire for
man by ascending to heaven and "kindling a torch at the sun's fiery
wheel."  Servius describes this event as follows: "It is said that
Prometheusascended by the help of Minerva into the sky, and, applying
a small torch to the wheel of the sun, stole fire."

Thundergods are frequently linked to wheel-like objects in ancient art
and ritual.  A krater from Lecce shows Zeus set next to a wheel (see
figure seven). In addition to his thunderbolt, the Latin Jupiter was
frequently depicted together with a wheel in Celtic iconography.  The
Celtic Taranis, whose name signifying "thunder" is cognate with that
of the Norse Thor, is likewise pictured together with a wheel,
prompting Green to state with respect to Celtic iconography that "the
thunderbolt was a recurrent associate of the wheel-sign."

Zeus/wheel.jpg

Figure Seven

Also relevant here is a fact noted earlier: that Thor's thunderbolt
was expressly compared to a fiery wheel.  Thus, Jacob Grimm described
the curious rites that were still being practiced as late as 1779 in
Europe:

"The latter ceremony [the so-called 'wheel-rolling' near Trier],
mentioned first in 1550 and last in 1779, took place thus.  On the
Thursday in Shrove-week an oak was set up on the Marxberg
(Donnersberg, Dummersberg), also a wheel.  On Invocavit Sunday the
tree was cut down, the wheel set on fire and rolled into the Moselle.
A wheel, especially a flaming one, is the symbol of thunder, of
Donar."

Prehistoric rock art once again serves to illuminate these widespread
traditions linking thundergods with flaming wheels.  As we have
documented, the "wheel" of the ancient sun-god is depicted in figure
eight, a common image in prehistoric rock art.  Grant the possibility
that such an image was once visible in the northern polar skies, and
the widespread traditions of a "solar wheel" no longer appear
fantastic in nature.  Instead such traditions suddenly appear
self-evident and perfectly rational.  Equally important, however, is
the acknowledged resemblance of figure eight to figure three.  Indeed,
the only difference between the two symbols is that in the former
figure the inner orb has sprouted "rays" or radiating "spokes,"
thereby presenting the image of a four or eight-spoked wheel.  (That
the wheel-like image is likely the result of an electrical/plasmatic
discharge has been argued by Wal Thornhill and Dave Talbott.)

camonica_wheel.gif

Figure Eight

In the Saturn model, each of the planets participating in the polar
configuration plays a distinctive role with respect to the wheel-like
phase.  If the radiating streamers of the  Venus-star represent the
"spokes" of the wheel, the conjoined orbs of Venus and Mars constitute
the "nave."  Mars itself forms the "axle" of the sun-centered wheel.
As we have documented, various warrior heroes identified with Mars are
said to reside at the "nave," where they "move" or otherwise govern
the "axle" of the solar wheel.  Indra, for example, was invoked as
follows:

"Thou movestBold One, the axle of the car.  Satakratu [Indra],
thoustirrest the axle with thy strength."

Indra's "stirring" of the wheel's axle offers a striking mythical
analogue to Perkunas' rotating his lightning-club in the nave of the
solar wheel.

The World Pillar

In order to understand the mytho-historical context and multivalent
imagery of the thundergod and his weapon, it is necessary to consider
the dynamic history of the polar configuration.  As the polar
configuration evolved through time, the various planets moved up and
down the axis, alternately growing larger and smaller while moving in
and out of conjunction with each other.  At various times Venus and
Mars became displaced from their axial location, thereby producing a
kaleidoscopic montage of celestial forms for terrestrial skywatchers
and mythmakers.  It is also likely that the plasma enveloping the
various planets underwent dramatic changes in form and structure,
thereby producing spectacular lightning-like discharges and iridescent
aurora-like effects (more on which later).  The planet Mars, for
example, assumed a number of different positions within the polar
configuration during distinct phases in the configuration's history.
Insofar as Mars was identified with the thundergod, it follows that
the symbolism attached to the thundergod and his weapon would reflect
this evolving history.  A case in point is the lightning/thunderbolt's
intimate connection with ancient conceptions of the axis mundi.

In the Saturn model, a spectacular episode finds the planet Mars
leaving the central "eye" of Saturn and descending to a position
closer to Earth.  Astronomically, the "descent" of Mars was apparently
the result of its elliptical orbit, which brought it alternately close
to Venus at the apex of its orbit and closer to Earth (and thus
beneath Saturn and Venus) during its descent along the shared polar
axis.

A widespread theme associated with the descent of the warrior-hero was
the formation of the World Pillar, the latter conceived as a visual
column of ethereal material stretching between Mars and Earth and
appearing to support the ancient sun-god.  As various war-gods
identifiable with the planet Mars are celebrated for upholding the
heavens in pillar-like fashionShu, Apollo, Rudra, *Tiwasso too does
the same hold true of the thundergod.  In Vedic lore, for example,
Indra was said to support heaven like a pillar:

"He who, just bornWho measured out the air's wide middle region and
gave the heaven support, He, men, is Indra."

Ancient Indian rituals, in an attempt to commemorate this prototypical
act, invoked Indra in the form of a pole or tree, and scholars
investigating these ritual practices have long acknowledged the
fundamental identity of the Indra-pillar with the World Pillar or axis
mundi.  Thus Gonda concludes: "It should however be borne in mind that
the Indra tree like the sacrificial post (yupa) and similar stakes and
other objects might be considered a representative of the great cosmic
tree, and of the axis mundi."

The Greek Zeus was likewise intimately associated with the World
Pillar.  Cook summarizes the evidence surrounding the Italian cult of
Zeus at Tarentum as follows:

"Sacrifices were offered on pillars to the lightning-god Zeus
Kataibatesa practice which, as we saw, had probably been inherited
from 'Minoan' times.  Apulian and Campanian vases, also, represent
Zeus fulminant on the top of a pillar.  Altogether, it looks as though
there were in south Italy an old belief that Zeus with his lightnings
dwelt on high above an obvious tangible pillar, his vehicle and
support."

The intimate connection between the solar wheel and axis mundi would
appear to explain the fact that the latter is occasionally described
as having eight angles or corners.  This idea forms a prominent theme
in the literature and architecture of ancient India, as Coomaraswamy
has documented: "The Axis of the Universe according to the texts as
represented is usually cylindrical or four or eight-angled: early
Indian pillars are usually either cylindrical or eight-angled."

A vestige of such archaic conceptions, perhaps, is to be found in
certain rites practiced in the late Middle Ages, wherein youths
celebrated a scapegoat-like rite around a Jupiter column described as
"eight-cornered."  According to Grimm's summary of the ritual, the
central scene involved the burning of the Jupiter column: "The
schoolboys dressed it in a cloak and crown, and attacked the Jupiter
as they then called it, by throwing stones first from one side, then
from the other, and at last they burnt it."

Why the axis mundi would be regarded as four or eight angled is
difficult to understand apart from the thesis defended here, which
views the axis mundi as a luminous pillar-like form descending from
the solar wheel.  The solar "wheel" itself, as we have seen, is
alternately presented with either four or eight "spokes" or "angles."

A related conception finds the thunderbolt being ascribed an octagonal
shape.  The following tradition from the Aitareya Brahmana describing
the sacrificial pillar is of interest here:

"The post is a thunderbolt; it should be made of eight corners; the
bolt is eight-cornered."

The Descent of Mars

In addition to forming a pivotal event in the biography of the warrior
hero, the cataclysmic descent of Mars is of paramount importance for a
proper understanding of the mythology surrounding the thundergod and
his fiery weapon.  As Blinkenberg documents at great length, lightning
is thought to fall down from heaven as a stone:

"The thunderstone falls down from the sky in thunderstorms or, more
accurately, whenever the lightning strikes.  The stroke of the
lightning, according to this view, consists in the descent of the
stone; the flash and the thunder-clap are mere after-effects or
secondary phenomena."

Meteors, in accordance with this belief, were identified with
thunderstones throughout the ancient world.  As a testament to the
durability of these archetypal traditions, Blinkenberg reports that:
"In modern times meteors have in several places been looked upon as
thunderstones."

It is doubtless in keeping with these widespread traditions
identifying thunderbolts with meteorites that thundergods everywhere
are described by epithets signifying "stone thrower."  The Yoruba
thundergod Shango, to take but one of countless examples, was also
known as Jakuta, "the stone thrower."  So, too, is Indra's thunderbolt
compared to a rock hurled from heaven.  Here Gonda observes: "Although
Indra's weapon is usually explicitly designated by the term vajra, and
vajra is generally described as metallic (ayasa), it is incidentally
spoken of as a rock (parvata) or 'stone of, or: from, the heavens'
(divo asmanam)."  No ordinary rock, Indra's thunderbolt is described
as "whirling down from the misty realm of the sun (Surya)."

Similar conceptions are apparent in the traditions surrounding the
Greek Zeus.  The epithet Kataibates signifies "the descender" or "he
who comes down."  As Farnell noted, this epithet appears to hark back
to an archaic form of thought in which the god and his weapon were not
yet distinguished:

"The descending Zeus is the Zeus that descends in the rain or
lightningThis naïve belief that the god himself came down in the
lightning or the meteor is illustrated by the story which Pausanias
found in the neighborhood of Gythium about a sacred stone, a lithos
argosThere is much to be said for the view that the term means 'the
falling god,' We are here touching on a stratum of thought infinitely
older than the Homeric."

It is probable that such traditions have their original point of
reference in the spectacular appearance of the red planet as it
descended from Saturn/Venus towards Earth, as if it were a gigantic
boulder or bolide hurled from on high.  That the fall of Martian
meteorites accompanied this event is possible and likely contributed
to the mythical imagery as well.  Certainly it is no accident that a
universal motif finds Martian heroes being hurled or otherwise cast
from heaven for one crime or another.  The traditions surrounding
Helel ben Shahar (Lucifer), Tezcatlipoca, and Phaethon are exemplary
here and could be multiplied ad infinitum.

Lightning as fire from heaven

In our essay on the sacred marriage rite, we documented that a
recurring theme around the world viewed the drilling of fire as a
cosmogonical act, commemorating the primeval union of male and female
powers.  In Pawnee lore such ideas were specifically connected to the
planets Mars and Venus.  Thus, a primary motif in the Pawnee account
of the Creation holds that Mars first approached and then overcame
Venus, whereupon he succeeded in impregnating her and insuring
fertility for the world in the process.  In addition to rites designed
specifically to commemorate this primeval union of male and female
powers, the Pawnee believed that they were celebrating the marriage of
Venus and Mars every time they generated a fire, the drilling stick
representing the male Mars and the horizontal stick the female power.

Martian gods and heroes are everywhere celebrated for "drilling" the
first fire.  Prominent examples of this motif include Indra,
Tezcatlipoca, and Maui.  In Vedic lore, for example, Indra creates the
fire by rubbing two stones together.  Thus, the thundergod is
described as having "begat the fire between the two stones."  In the
Satapatha Brahmana Indra is invoked as the "Kindler."

The Greek hero Prometheus, whom Servius described as obtaining his
fire from the sun's wheel, was said by Diodorus to have been the
"inventor of the fire-sticks, from which fire is kindled."  Arthur
Cook, while disavowing previous attempts to link the Greek hero's name
to the Sanskrit term pramantha, "fire drill," would nevertheless
relate the latter term to an epithet of Zeus's: "it is highly probable
that pramantha the 'fire-drill' does explain Promantheus, a title
under which Zeus was worshipped at Thourioi."

That many ancient peoples identified the planet Mars as the
"fire-star" is well-documented.  So, too, do numerous thundergods
double as "fire" gods.  In the Lithuanian cult of Perkunas, for
example, a sacred fire was kept.  If for some reason the fire was
allowed to go out, the priest in charge was put to death.  A sacred
fire is also attested in Thor's cult.  Thus, the Kjalnesinga Saga
describes the thundergod's altar as follows:

"This was the place for the fire which was never allowed to go out.
This they called the sacred fire."

It is also interesting to note the Lappish custom of using images of
Thor to strike fire.  A text from the seventeenth century describes
the god's idol as follows: "Into his head they drive a nail of iron or
steel, and a small piece of flint to strike fire with, if he hath a
mind to do it."

Mars was also deemed to be an agent promoting fertility and sexual
prowess.  The Australian Waijungari offers a primary illustration of
this motif.  Expressly identified with the red planet, it was said
that the warrior-hero had an insatiable sexual appetite and
personified sexual activity and fertility.

The sacred marriage and New Fire rites provide the essential
background for understanding certain peculiar traditions surrounding
the thundergod.  The aforementioned tradition wherein Perkunas
generates fire by rotating his lightning club is a case in point: "The
source of the lightning is the sun, the heavenly fire: the Thunder-god
gets fire from the solar wheel by rotating his lightning-club in the
nave of the solar wheel."

The rotary action of Perkunas' "club" in the nave of the solar wheel
offers a precise mythical parallel to the Martian hero's drilling of
fire that, in turn, offers a precise parallel to Mars' cavorting with
Venus.  Each of these mythical interpretations, in our view, has
reference to Mars' behavior while in conjunction with Venus.   Indeed,
the Martian hero's "drilling" or "boring" is an endlessly recurring
motif, the Homeric account of Odysseus' boring out of the Cyclops' eye
being perhaps the most famous example.  That Odysseus' "eye-drilling"
has often been compared to the drilling of fire ought to surprise no
one familiar with the lore surrounding the warrior-hero.

The thunderbolt as mill-stone

A recurring tradition makes the thunderbolt a crushing instrument of
some sort.  This idea is apparent in the name of Thor's bolt,
mjöllnir, which signifies "the crusher" or "pulverizer."  According to
Montelius, the word "refers to the terrible power of the hammer to
crush whatever it encountered."  Cognate with words signifying
"lightning" in various languages (Russian molnija, for example), the
Norse mjöllnir is also an apparent cognate of the Old Norse mala,
"grind" and molva, "crush."

Other cultures also preserved traditions linking the thundergod with
grinding.  Thus, a central rite in the Hittite New Year's celebration
honoring the thundergod involved the breaking of a sacred pithos and
the grinding and milling of its contents.  A semantic link between
thunderstones and "grindstones" is also discernable in Inca lore.
Russian peasant lore, which transferred Perun's mythology to St. Ilia
with the onset of Christianity, preserves a curious link between the
rambling of the thundergod's chariot and "grinding": there thunder is
alternately ascribed to St. Ilia's driving his chariot or "grinding
his corn." 

It is probable that the "grinding" motion associated with the
thunderbolt is intimately related to its function as a driller of
fire, as both activities rely on friction.  Originally, of course,
fire was generated by rubbing two rocks or sticks together.  In Vedic
lore, as we have seen, Indra creates the fire by rubbing two stones
together.

The Finnish god Ukko was especially associated with the striking of
fire and those stones, such as quartz, which were thought to produce
fire.  Thus, the name ukonkivi, "thunderstone," came to signify
quartz.  Here, too, scholars have recognized an intimate connection
between the ancient thundergod and the generation of fire: "The name
may be derived from the fact that pieces of quartz flare up if they
are rubbed or struck together."

The Norse word mjöllnir is also related to the English word miller,
and scholars have long recognized a relationship between Thor's
thunderbolt and millstones.  With reference to the Vedic passage
wherein Indra rubs stones together in order to generate "fire" or
lightning, it is significant to find the Slavic Perun described as
generating thunder and fire by grinding together two giant
millstones.  Equally significant, however, is a modern proverb
likening thunder to the fiery wheeling of Perun's chariot: "God is
comingthe wheels are striking fire."  Here we recognize a subtle
variation upon the aforementioned tradition surrounding St. Ilia, yet
instead of thunder being ascribed to Ilia's "grinding," it is here
compared to Perun's gnashing "wheels."

It is also relevant to remember that various Martian heroes are said
to have participated in milling activities.  The Hebrew Samson offers
the classic example of this motif.  Thus it is that the Hebrew
strongman, upon being blinded by his Philistine captors, was forced to
grind away at the mill like a common slave.

As Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend showed in Hamlet's
Mill, mythological traditions regarding a magical millsaid to grind
out peace and happinessare intimately related to ancient conceptions
surrounding the polar region and axis mundi.  Rather than being a
veiled reference to sophisticated astronomical concepts such as the
precession of the equinoxes, as per the opinion of those two authors,
traditions involving a celestial mill are best understood as
nature-allegories describing cataclysmic events associated with the
polar configuration.

The Thunderbolt as Fructifier of the Earth

A universal belief finds the thunderbolt (or lightning) regarded as a
fertilizing force.  Indeed, the idea is so common in ancient myth and
modern folklore that it is usually taken for granted as if it somehow
makes sense in terms of the customary behavior of lightning.  The
thunderbolt's striking the earth, together with the accompanying rain,
is thought to "fertilize" or "inseminate" the earth.

The Desana Indians of Colombia, for example, hold that "lightningis a
fertilizing force that impregnates the earth with its crystal-semen."
More precisely, the lightning is regarded as the Sun's ejaculation or
semen or, with specific reference to the latter's eye, as a
"fertilizing glance."

Every Old World thundergod worth his salt doubles as an agent of
fertility.  Marija Gimbutas described the Lithuanian Perkunas as
follows: "The earth is barren until the Thunder strikes her in the
springtimeuntil in his epiphany of thunder Perkunas weds the Mother
Earth, Zemyna."  Such beliefs, according to Gimbutas, "are universal
[among the Balts and Slavs] and certainly stem from very early times."

Of the Latvian thundergod, Biezais has written: "The function of
Perkons is clearly defined: he is a fertility god."  The Indian
Parjanya was also deemed an agent of fertility.  Witness the following
prayer from the Rig Veda:

"May this my song to Sovran Lord Parjanya come near unto his heart and
give him pleasure.  May we obtain the showers that bring enjoyment,
and God-protected plants with goodly fruitage.  He is the Bull of all,
and their impregner."

Similar conceptions prevailed with respect to the Norse Thor.  Thus,
Adam of Bremen described Thor as follows: "They say he rules the air
which controls the thunder and the lightning, the winds and the
showers, the fair weather and the fruits of the earth."  In Thrym's
Song, or "The Fetching of the Hammer," there appears a curious scene
wherein Thor disguises himself as Freya in order to regain his
thunderbolt, which had earlier been stolen by the giant Thrym.  There
it is said:

"Bring the hammer the bride to wed, place Mjöllnir in the maiden's
lap."

As Davidson points out, such ideas hark back to ancient conceptions of
the thunderbolt as fecundator or impregner, some of which survived
well into modern times.  Thus it is that Thor was frequently invoked
at weddings, the god's thunderbolts forming a prominent feature of
many a bridegroom's attire: "In certain parts of Norway and Sweden, it
continued to be the custom for a bridegroom to bear an axe at the
wedding long after Thor was forgotten; the weapon was said to give him
mastery, and also to ensure a fruitful union."

Analogous ideas surround the Lithuanian thundergod.  Thus, Perkunas'
axes were commonly regarded as promoters of fertility:

"In Lithuania, the axe as a life-stimulating symbol, is laid under the
bed of a woman in labor; on the sill to be crossed by the newly-wedded
coupleDuring sowing, axes were thrown onto the field."

Strikingly similar conceptions are widely attested throughout Africa.
The Yoruba identify stone axes with thunderstones hurled by Shango
and, believing they lead to a good harvest, place them amongst the
seeds.

As thunderstones were thought to promote fertility, so too were they
deemed capable of sparking the flames of passion.  Witness the curious
set of beliefs attached to the Inca thundergod known as Apocatequil:

"He it was, they thought, who produced the thunder and lightning by
hurling stones with his sling; and the thunderbolts that fall, said
they, are his children.  Few villages were willing to be without one
of these.  They were in appearance small, round, smooth stones, but
had the admirable properties of securing fertility to the fields,
protecting from lightning, and, by a transition easy to understand,
were also adored as gods of the Fire, as well material of the
passions, and were capable of kindling the dangerous flames of desire
in the most frigid bosom.  Therefore they were in great esteem as love
charms."

Here, in one figure, are united the various motifs of the thundergod
as a hurler of stones; meteorite; agent of fertility; and God of Fire.

The Finnish god Ukko was apparently involved in a hieros gamos of
sorts, designed to facilitate the fertility of the land.  In a poem
written in 1551, Agricola refers to these ancient practices in
somewhat veiled language:

"And when the spring sowing was done, then the old man's [Ukko] toast
was drunk.  For this was Ukko's wooden vessel fetched, and the girl
and the wife got drunk.  Then were shameful things done there, as was
both heard and seen.  When Rauni Ukko's woman huffed, greatly puffed
Ukko from the depths.  Thus it gave weather and the new crop."

Like his Inca counterpart, Apocatequil, Ukko was intimately associated
with elliptical "fire" stones.  In a monograph exploring the evolution
of Ukko's cult, Salo offered the following summary:

"His functions included assuring the fertility of the soil, the growth
of crops and the yearly harvest.  This took place in the holy marriage
of Ukko and his spouse: in flashes of lightning, the rumble of thunder
and thundery rain.  Ukko may have celebrated such holy marriages from
his very arrival but no firm evidence of them appears until the Iron
Age with the coming of elliptical fire stones (ca. 50-700) and the
elliptical rimmed fire steels that followed them.  Since the use of
these continued from Merovingian times (550-800) until the advent of
matches it is understandable that the hieros gamos myth was still a
living folk belief during Agricola's time.  Similar beliefs were also
preserved among the Swedish-speaking population of Ostrobothnia until
recent times, apparently as a tradition going back to their medieval
arrival in Finland.  The symbolic shapes of the fire stones and fire
steels indicate that the secular striking of fire was looked upon as a
rite repeating the myth of the origin of celestial fire."

Such traditions raise a host of questions.  Why would thunderstones be
regarded as promoters of fertility?  Why would lightning be compared
to a "fertilizing glance"?  The orthodox claim that these beliefs have
reference to the fertilizing properties of the thunderstorm does not
provide a ready reference for the glancing "eye" nor does it account
for the stone itself or for its curious "crushing" behavior.  The key
to understanding such traditions is Mars' conjunction with Venus: it
was the conjunction of these two planets that provided the celestial
prototype for the sacred marriage of male and female powers.  As Mars
ascended the polar column and "penetrated" Venus, it was viewed to
have impregnated the celestial embodiment of the fertile "earth."
Hence the thundergod's reputation as an "impregner."  Insofar as the
Martian thundergod is identifiable with his "weapon," we can
understand the fertilizing powers ascribed to lightning and
"thunderstones."  Especially important to understanding the symbolism
in question is the fact that the conjunction of Mars and Venus
initiated a series of dramatic changes in the appearance of the two
celestial bodies, recalled as the "greening of the world" and
Creation.

Yet the conjoined bodies of Mars and Venus also formed the central
"eye" of the ancient sun-god.  It was from this "eye" that lightning
appeared to emanate to the four corners of heaven.  Given the fact
that lightning was witnessed to proceed from the "eye" enclosing the
thundergod (Mars), it only stands to reason that it would be compared
to a "glance" emanating from a celestial "eye."

The thundergod as unerring marksman

Of Thor's weapon, it was said: "If he threw the hammer, it would never
miss the mark and never go too far to return again to his hand."  In
this tradition we recognize the universal theme of the unerring
marksman.

In addition to Thor, Heracles, Rudra, Murukan, and countless other
divine "Champions" are said to be unerring marksmen.  The Tamil
Murukan, known as the "killer of serpents," was famed for his "javelin
which never misses its mark" and, when thrown, always returns to his
hand.  Of Skanda's spear, it was said that "it never misses the mark
but, once thrown, returns to him."  Yet Skanda was explicitly
identified with the planet Mars.

Of Rudra's fiery arrow, it was said that "it never misses its
target."  Yet Rudra himself was known as Sarva, "arrow;" in fact, the
Vedic war-god is virtually indistinguishable from his heaven-hurled
weapon.  As "the red boar of heaven," Rudra is to be identified with
the planet Mars.

As the traditions surrounding Rudra, Skanda, and Murukan attest, the
unerring marksman forms a recurring theme in ancient Indian lore.  The
scholar that has done the most to elucidate its mythical significance
is Ananda Coomaraswamy, who notes that a wealth of symbolism
pertaining to the axis mundi surrounds the unerring marksman (Sanskrit
akkhana-vedhin).  As to the etymology of the phrase, Coomaraswamy
writes as follows:

"The etymology of the word akkhana has been disputed: as PTS remarks,
"We should expect either an etym. bearing on the meaning 'hitting the
center of the target' [i.e., its 'eye'; cf. Eng. bull's eye]or an
etym. like 'hitting without mishap.'  It is evident, in fact, that the
connection of akkhana is with Skr. aks, to 'reach' or 'penetrate,' the
source of aksa and aksam, 'eye' and akhana, 'butt' or 'target' and in
fact 'bull's eye.'Aksa is also 'axis' and 'axle-tree' (distinguished
only by accent from aksa, 'eye'), and Benfey was evidently near the
mark when he suggested that aksa as axle tree was so-called as forming
the 'eye' in the hub of the wheel which it penetratesAkkhana-vedhin is
then 'one who pierces the eye,' or 'one whose arrow penetrates the
bull's eye': in the present context it would scarcely be too much to
say 'pierces the center of the disc of the Sun' or 'hits the solar and
macrocosmic bull's eye."

Although such traditions have no obvious point of reference in the
current solar system, they make perfect sense from the vantage-point
of the Saturn theory.  The attested connection between eye, axle, and
axis mundi stems from the fact that the ancient sun-god had a
centrally located "eye" which served as the nave or hub for the spokes
of the solar "wheel" as also for the descending axis mundi connecting
heaven and earth.  As the Martian thundergod moved up along the axis
mundi, it "penetrated" the "eye" of Venus set "in the center of the
disc of the sun."

As Talbott has pointed out, the motif of the unerring marksman is most
likely to be explained by reference to Mars' habit of climbing the
axis mundi and "penetrating" Venus.  Given the physical dynamics that
governed the workings of the polar configuration, it was inevitable
that Mars would succeed in reaching its "target"i.e., Venus.  Given
the sexual symbolism associated with Mars' penetration of Venus, it
follows that the unerring marksman motif is simply a variation upon
the widespread theme of Mars as the paramour of Venus.

The Thundergod and the Heart of Heaven

A widespread tradition locates the thundergod at the center or "heart"
of heaven.  Thus, the Semitic thunderer Adad was said to roar in "the
heart of heaven," the latter site being that wherein the ancient
sun-god both "rose" and "set."  Similar ideas are apparent in the
Finnish cult of Ukko.  An interesting epithet of the god's was "navel
of the sky," thought to link the thundergod with the polar region or
Pole star itself.

The Navaho thundergod Nayanezgani is likewise said to have lived in
the center of the world.  So, too, is the Vedic Parjanya, described as
follows in the Rig Veda: "Parjanya is the Father of the Mighty Bird:
on mountains, in earth's centre hath he made his home."

The Quiche thundergod Jurakan was called by the epithet U C'ux Caj,
"Heart of the Sky."  Jurakan was the highest deity in the Quiche
pantheon and he was credited with being the "source of all energy and
life in the universe."  Indeed, it was his union with the earth that
initiated Creation.

Cognate deities are found elsewhere in Central America and along the
South American coast.  Tedlock writes as follows regarding the
popularity of the thundergod: "Throughout the East Indies and along
the north coast of South America, especially among Carib and Arawakan
peoples, there is a god of the hurricane and thunderbolt whose name is
cognate with hurakan."

The English word hurricane derives from a Taino (Arawakan) name of the
thundergod.  As Preuss has documented, the language associated with
hurricanes and analogous meteorological phenomena involving extreme
winds leads to a host of interesting connections, several of which are
relevant for an accurate understanding of the ancient thundergod:

"The philology of the terms used for the various types of winds is of
great importance in the development of the theme of Jurakan.  As can
be seen by these definitions, these winds indicate a circular motion
and a gyration about a center or eye.  For the indigenous mind, these
factors hold a religious significance as they are comparable in form
to the sacred center from which creative and destructive power
emanatesfor example, the word huracan, a Carib word, means 'a tropical
cyclone with winds of 73 miles per hour or greater, but rarely
exceeding 150 miles per hour, is usually accompanied by rain, thunder,
and lightningThe cyclone, a term that originated from the Greek
kyklos, meaning 'wheel' or 'circle', and was modified to kykloma that
signifies 'wheel' or 'coil of a snake', is defined as 'a storm or
system of winds that rotates about a center of low atmospheric
pressure clockwise in the Southern hemisphere and counterclockwise in
the NorthThe tornado, from Latin: tornare, 'to turn in a lathe', and
also influenced by the Spanish words tornado: 'turned' or 'returned'
and tronada: 'thunderstorm', is a 'violent destructive whirlwind
accompanied by a funnel-shaped cloud"

Most significant is the intimate relationship between the whirling
winds and an "eye-like" or "wheel-like" form, reminiscent of our
earlier discussion of swastika-forms.

Preuss, together with previous scholars, called attention to Juracan's
intimate connection with the pole and axis mundi.  Somewhat
hesitantly, she would identify the god with Ursa Minor: "The
one-legged and rotating god in the sky is Ursa Minor whirling around
the Pole Star or Ursa Major or both constellations spinning around the
world axis."  The winding, whirling nature of the axis mundi is a
universal motif and has been documented by other scholars, both
orthodox and Saturnian.

Jurakan, like the other thundergods described as living at the
"heart of heaven," is best understood as a personification of the
planet Mars which formerly resided at the Pole, the latter deemed to
be the sacred center whence emanated the primeval winds and
prototypical lightning.

The Celestial Ladder and Related Forms 

As Talbott and I have documented, the form of the axis mundi evolved
during the history of the polar configuration.  In addition to
presenting a pillar-like form or universalis columna, as in figure
eleven, a closely related phase saw the axis mundi assuming a
spiraling form, commonly interpreted as an undulating serpent or rope
stretching across the sky.  Figure nine illustrates an example of this
latter scenario.

woodland/pillar.gif

Figure Nine

The axis mundi elsewhere presented a ladder-like form. Figure ten
depicts an example of this widespread motif.  Traditions of a luminous
ladder spanning heaven will be found around the world.

Stairway 2. jpg copy

Figure Ten

A closely related form depicts what would appear to be horizontal
dashes or "rungs" leading to the ancient sun-god, as in figure
eleven.  The resemblance to a spinal column with vertebrae is
striking.

Stairway.gif

Figure eleven

In our essay on the "Milky Way," we argued that ancient traditions
describing a fiery pillar, undulating serpent, luminous river, or
ladder-like object spanning the heavens trace to the axis mundi
associated with the ancient sun-god.  With the disappearance of the
Saturnian appendage, the traditions surrounding the original "Milky
Way" were transferred its modern namesake, thereby fooling modern
scholars into believing that this pale imitation could inspire such
specific and complex myths as that of the celestial ladder along which
transmigrating souls might pass to the celestial otherworld.
Comparative analysis of the numerous mythological themes associated
with the "Milky Way" will confirm this statement at every turn.  Such
an analysis will also provide important clues for the thundergod's
former stomping grounds.

It is a striking fact that each of the aforementioned forms of the
axis mundi is reflected in ancient epithets and traditions surrounding
the Milky Way.  That the Milky Way was often compared to a pillar-like
form is well-documented.  Thus, the Iraku of Africa call the Milky Way
mugamba gwa ilunde: "the beam of the sky."

Numerous cultures compared the Milky Way to a giant serpent winding
across the sky.  The natives of the Nyassaland in Africa hold that the
celestial band of stars is a great python.  The Maya compared the
Milky Way to a Fer-de-lance.  The Australian aborigines likewise
described the Milky Way as serpentine in nature.

Other cultures compared the Milky Way to a ladder spanning heaven.
Such ideas are attested in the New World among the Navaho:

"In Acoma sandpaintings the Milky Way appears as a ladder, for it is
thought that these stars form a bridge to the heavens.  In the Acoma
creation myth, the roof beams of the first kiva represent the Milky
Way."

The same idea is attested in ancient and medieval Europe, as Cook has
documented with his usual thoroughness.

A very widespread idea compared the Milky Way to the "backbone" of
heaven.  The Shoshone call the Milky Way the "Backbone of the Sky."
The Chumash call it "Night's Backbone."  The Tipai of California knew
the Milky Way as "Sky-Its-Backbone."  The Tewa speaking Pueblo called
the Milky Way "Backbone of the Universe." The Assiniboin of Minnesota
and Winnipeg describe the celestial river as the "Backbone of the
Sky."

The same idea is to be found in Africa.  Thus, the San peoples of
Northern Namibia call the Milky Way "night's backbone."

A remarkable fact, hitherto unnoticed so far I'm aware, is that
thundergods everywhere are described as residing or moving in close
proximity to the Milky Way, yet another tradition that finds little
rationale in the current solar system but accords perfectly with the
interpretation offered here, whereby the thundergod is identified with
Mars and intimately associated with the axis mundi.  Thus, Ovid
describes the Milky Way as follows:

"There is a lofty road, plain to see in a clear sky; it has the name
'milky', and is famous for its brilliance.  This is the way taken by
Those Above to the roofs and royal house of the great Thunderer."

Among the Sotho of South Africa, the "Milky Way" is known as
molala-tladi, "the roosting place of the tladi bird."  Yet Tladi
himself was the African equivalent of the Thunderbird, the bringer of
lightning.  Most significant, perhaps, in light of what has been said
previously with respect to the Milky Way as a World Pillar, is the
Sotho belief that the molala-tladi "supports the sky to prevent it
from falling on the earth."

The Incan thundergod Illapa, according to the Franciscan friar Cobo,
formerly moved along the Milky Way:

"They say that he passed across a very large river in the middle of
the sky.  They indicated that this river was the white band that we
see down here called the Milky Way.  Regarding this matter, they made
up a great deal of foolishness that would be too detailed to include
here."

In Chorti lore, the Milky Way is known as the "Road of Santiago,"
after their thundergod.  Santiago also doubles as a god of war and is
identified with the "Morning Star."

Similar traditions surround various mythical heroes identified with
the planet Mars, as we have elsewhere documented.  The Australian
warrior-hero Waijungare, expressly identified with the red planet, is
said to live in the Milky Way.  The Aztec Tezcatlipoca, also
identified with the "Morning Star," was described as living along the
Milky Way.

As we documented in "The Stairway to Heaven," ancient myths from the
New World as well as the Old describe the planet Mars as intimately
associated with a celestial ladder.  In Assyrian lore, for example,
Nergal/Mars is described as mounting the celestial ladder and
ascending to heaven.  The Makirtare Indians, a people living along the
banks of the Orinoco river in what is now Venezuela, report a similar
tradition: the planet Mars, they say, "built the ladder in space."

Numerous mythical traditions credit Martian heroes with the ability to
freely ascend or descend the axis mundi.  The Aztec war-god
Tezcatlipoca, for example, is described as having once descended to
earth along a giant rope spanning heaven.  It is our opinion that such
traditions confirm Mars' intimate relationship to the axis mundi and
likely reflect that planet's elliptical orbit during various stages of
the polar configuration.

Here it is significant to note that ancient descriptions of the Milky
Way dovetail at various points with descriptions of the behavior of
lightning and thunderbolts.  The Pima Indians of New Mexico, for
example, share the widespread belief that the lightning moves in
zigzag fashion.  Yet they also ascribe a zigzagging form to the Milky
Way:

"I believe that the 'crooked (jujul ) trail going west' is a metaphor
for the Milky Way in its aspect as the trail to the land of the dead.
The Piman word jujul also means 'zigzag'; in one of the Rain Songs it
is used to describe the behavior of lightning: 'lightning moving very
zig-zag, roaring beautifullyPerhaps 'crooked trail' is also a metaphor
for lightning trail.  The shaman's ladder to the sky is also known as
the zigzag ladder."

If we now turn to the image represented in figure twelve, which
depicts the "Milky Way" in Navaho artthe Navaho being close neighbors
of the Pimathe celestial reference for the zigzagging form will be
readily apparent.

milky way.jpg.gif

Figure twelve

Various other phases in the history of the polar configuration can be
reconstructed as well, the axis mundi alternately assuming the
appearance of a chain of wedges or arrows, often compared to a ladder;
a towering pile of serpent-like coils; and a pyramidal or
ziggurat-like form.  A detailed analysis of these respective forms
would be impossible here, but the problem deserves careful study
insofar as the forms reconstructed from comparative mythical analysis
and depicted in rock art resemble forms seen during certain laboratory
experiments performed by Anthony Peratt involving high-energy plasma
discharges.  Here ancient lore and modern science appear to converge
at a level of detail difficult to explain as mere coincidence.  For
the first time in history, perhaps, the physical sciences are in a
position to illuminate prominent mythical themes.  Be this as it may,
an accurate reconstruction of the various forms assumed by the axis
mundi is certain to tell us a great deal about ancient myth in general
and the biography of the thundergod in particular.

While Saturnists have typically assumed the axis mundi to be composed
of gaseous atmospheric efflux and asteroidal debris, it is equally
likely that plasmatic phenomena like Birkeland currents played a
prominent role in its physical form and visual appearance.  If so, it
stands to reason that Birkeland currents and related phenomena would
be reflected in the sacred iconography surrounding the axis mundi.

In figure thirteen, Adad's lightning/thunderbolt assumes the very
position otherwise associated with the axis mundi or World Pillaras a
support for the ancient sun-god.  Note also that the
lightning/thunderbolt is represented as a zigzagging form, thereby
conforming to a universal conception.

blitz/ladder.jpg copy

Figure Thirteen

A certain parallel to the Mesopotamian cylinder seal is offered by an
American Indian representation of the Thunderbird (see figure
fourteen).  Here, too, the zigzagging form of the thunderbolt is a
point of emphasis.  Also interesting is the fact that the lightning is
believed to emanate from the "heart" of the Thunderbird, the latter
represented as an orb-like object.

thunderbird.jpg

Figure Fourteen

Conclusion

To sum up our survey of thundergod lore to this point: the thundergod
is inextricably associated with the ancient sun-god, in ancient myth
as well as in sacred iconography.  The god's lightning is said to
emanate from the region of the sun or from a celestial eye.  We are
not the first to notice this connection between the sun and the
thundergod.  Morris Jastrow, the great Assyriologist, observed that:
"In many mythologies the sun and lightning are regarded as correlated
forces."  Arthur Cook, similarly, concluded: "The sun-god has much in
common with the thunder-god."

The answer as to why this should be the case, although perfectly
obvious once the relevant evidence is brought forward, has escaped
previous scholars because they were conditioned to seek an explanation
by reference to the current skies and familiar meteorological
effects.  Yet one will never explain the specific traditions
surrounding the ancient thundergods by reference to the current skies
and commonplace meteorological phenomena.  The true story is much more
exciting and cataclysmic from start to finish.  For the ancient
thundergod was the planet Mars and the prototypical "lightning" an
interplanetary discharge of stupendous proportion.  The archetypal
thundergod formerly resided at the "heart of heaven" or, more
specifically, in the middle of the ancient sun-god.  There, nestled
inside the planet Venus, he presided over the sacred heavenly fire
while kindling his paramour's passion.

As an apparent product of the various interactions between Mars and
Venus, lightning itself was everywhere associated with the center of
the ancient sun-god and thus came to share many of the mythical motifs
associated with that sacred region.  It stands to reason that ancient
languages will also preserve this archetypal relation between the
celestial lightning and its place of origin in the heart or "eye" of
the Sun/Venus.  Not being a linguist myself, I'll leave the
documentation of this claim to others more capable of properly
assessing the evidence.  Yet a few hints are in order by way of
introduction to the goldmine that likely awaits the diligent
researcher.  One should look for connections between "lightning" words
and words signifying "sun," "center," "star," "eye," "glance," Venus,
"Morning Star," etc.  A Greek word for lightning, asterope, for
example, is likely related to aster, "star," the latter word itself
tracing to the centrally located Venus-star (actually Venus and Mars
in conjunction).  The German word blitzen is thought to derive from
the root bhleig, "glanzen," from which also derives the Middle German
blic, "glance, lightning."  The Latin word for lightning, fulgur, is
derived from the root bhleg.  Among the other words derived from the
same root is the Middle Irish imblissiu, "eye-star."

The future is bright, it would appear, for those who will follow the
mythical lightning to its original source.

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