In Europe this Wheel presents the eight directions of space that express the regeneration and perpetual renewal of cycles.
Its symbolism is very strongly linked to that of the solar wheel with the difference that here, in addition to the solstices and equinoxes, we also find the Celtic festivals that are Imbolc (1st February), Beltaine (1st May), Lughnasad (1st August), and Samhain (1st November). Here too, the movement of the wheel symbolizes life and the sacred division of time and space, while remembering that this movement is driven by the central hub which, in its turn, represents the unchanging force of the axis mundi, the universal pillar connecting the different worlds.
In Celtic culture this wheel is the symbol of the God Taranis, the God of lightning and thunder.
On the cauldron of Gundestrup one recognizes Taranis holding in one hand this solar wheel. It is with this wheel that it generates lightning, thus making this wheel its ultimate weapon. In the Gallo-Roman era, the statues of the Celtic Jupiter very often represent the God holding a wheel.
This Jupiter is, of course, according to the Roman interpretation, the equivalent of the ancient God Taranis; both are masters of lightning.
In this context, the wheel of Taranis, the fulmen of Jupiter, and the hammer of the German-Nordic God Donar/Thor, thus fulfil the same function of absolute mastery of the celestial elements.
This wheel leads us straight to the symbol of the number 8. In Western traditions the 8 symbolizes an accomplished cycle. And it is no coincidence that in all pagan cultures the 8 is the figure of cosmic equilibrium. He is the sum of the 4 cardinal directions and the intermediate directions making of him the mediator between the square and the circle, between the earth and the sky. This octagonal link between Urals and Chtonian forces is clearly reflected in the symbolism of the eight legs of the horse of Odin, for this Nordic God does not cease to maintain the link between the different worlds.
In the energetic system of colours, every part of the wheel is linked to a colour, or chakra if you prefer:
Samhain - 1st November = Violet
Winter Solstice - 21st December = Green, Magenta (essence)
Imbolt - 1st February = Yellow
Spring Equinox - 21st March = Orange
Beltaine - 1st May = Red
Summer solstice - 21st June = Green, Magenta (essence)
Lughnasad - 1st August = Blue
Autumn Equinox - 21st September = Indigo
These are gates linked to the European culture, and are related to cycles seen by the ancients.
Kalen
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