The Fate of Our Union, page 34
“Indeed!” Rufus nodded his beard. “A dynamic way of experiencing many cultures while maintaining common values.”
Keresaspa extended her golden-tanned arms. “In our faith, we’ll build personal connections while reliving eternal virtues!”
“Tell them straight,” Tauros proceeded, sitting authoritatively within the Oak. “Begin your journey with Manu’s Fire in Dawn’s Light to find lawful goals for a beautiful life in which you become the rising sun. The gods will help you attain these goals if you help others. Manu will lead you to the Chariot of Righteous Aspiration, where you will don the Armor of Equanimity. Dawn’s golden arms and encouragement will send you forth on the chariot’s Three Wheels: the twelve, eight, and five-spoked.”
Manu carried forth from the Ash. “Lawman and Mage, the white horse of truth and the gray horse of wisdom, will draw the chariot. Become will attach herself to the front and test you the rest of your life. Let the Counselors guide your responses, the chariot’s reins, and keep concentrating on your goals and Tauros to see the Self, Lord of the Chariot. Pray to Tauros for courage, endurance, and aid with overwhelming obstacles if you wish to see Prosper.”
Keresaspa affirmed, “We’ll keep the aspirants’ thoughts on your plan.”
Manu proceeded, sitting authoritatively within the Ash. “You have noble goals and natural law; you have the Twenty-four Exemplars plus Seven Initiators; you have your fellow Guardians and the Seven Gods of Semtauros to keep you straight. Now Tauros will enumerate the Twelve Virtues upon which to unite the speakers of the Fatherland’s daughter tongues. Choose one of them for Virtue-binding. Find three moral stories, spiritual passages, or philosophical maxims from three cultures based on that virtue and use them to inspire yourself to be its exemplar.”
“Kwekwlóm.” Tauros pointed his horse mace to a twelve-spoked wheel mounted above his wheaten head. “Do you know what this kwekwlóm represents?”
“The wheel that makes us whole,” said Keresaspa.
“The twelve highest virtues,” said Rufus.
“Custom and tradition,” said Sunu.
“All three of your answers are true.” The chief regulator and right reason, Tauros Logos, spoke words true and irrevocable. “Courage, truth, wisdom, temperance, endurance, self-sufficiency, frugality, humility, giving, hospitality, faithfulness, and the family.” He encircled. “These twelve spokes are the Laws of Father Manu, the Wheel of Right Action; its rim represents the Glory: the highest honor earned through righteous deeds, beneficial to many, harming no innocent men. The Lord of the Chariot keeps the Wheel spinning.”
Sunu raised his mace; then Tauros authorized his speech. “Honorable Judge Tauros, who humbles with the goat, of the twelve virtues, which are the most critical?”
“Courage, wisdom, self-sufficiency, and the family: The self-sufficient man who is courageous and wise is master of himself and his family,” Tauros counseled from the Oak. “Though you have been exemplars of the twelve spokes, at specific times in your life, each of you has individual virtues in which you’re most outstanding.” Tauros spoke no crooked verdicts from his chiseled face of judgment. “Rufus the Black Goat, Slayer of the Bohemian Werewolf,” Tauros judged and redubbed, “your greatest achievements are based on the spokes of courage and truth: the best examples are preventing a war between Agrippinensians and Germans, winning justice for the Bohemians by prosecuting their tyrannical king, and punishing the wolves surreptitiously working on behalf of the property-hoarding Serpent.”
“Keresaspa the Good Shepherd, Redeemer of the Astray,” Tauros judged, “your greatest achievements are based on the spokes of courage and wisdom: the best examples are the enlightening of the masses under the Serpent’s exploitive sorcery; leading the divided Sons of Manu and those seeking life’s purpose toward Union and the Glory; reforming the consequential fallen with the second chance to be first in class: Sunu, the Aorsi King, and the Four Cowards, clinging to bodily life, you inspired to Manly Courage.”
“Sunu the Red Stallion, Slayer of World Serpent II,” Tauros judged, “your greatest achievements are based on the spokes of courage and generosity: the best examples are saving your village from the Bull and sharing its goods with your tribesmen, saving the lives of your brothers and extended brethren; slaying the Son of the World Serpent, who sought the worst tyranny for all of Manu’s Sons.”
Receiving Tauros’ divine validation, the Guardians experienced rapturous esteem no worldly power could bestow.
Proud of his exceptionally virtuous warriors, Tauros unseated himself from the Almighty Oak whence the Glory Raven flew over Sunu, Rufus, and Keresaspa, encircling each head with radiant light. “As bearers of the Glory, you must live in accordance with our Twelve Laws, practice the Eight Spokes, and conquer the Five Obstacles, lest the Glory and God-given weaponry be withdrawn.”
At Lawman’s prompting, the Guardians raised their right hands and pledged, “I promise to live in accordance with courage, truth, wisdom, temperance, endurance, self-sufficiency, frugality, humility, giving, hospitality, faithfulness, and the family, practicing abstinence, observance, posture practice, breath control, sense withdrawal, concentration, meditation, and absorption, conquering ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and clinging to bodily life.”
Thereupon the three fathers, Tauros, Manu, and Mage, displayed three articles, one to protect, one to guide, and one to preserve.
“Suhxnús.” Tauros bestowed upon his Son an imperishable oaken shield with copper gilding, matching his horse-head mace, outwardly embossed with two crossing horse heads flanking his Ôðil rune boss. “The Pasture’s Shield.”
“Dhughater diwós.” Mage bestowed upon his Sky Daughter a golden spear with copper blades on each end and a copper grip in the center, marked with a horse-shaped tamga. “The Pasture’s Beacon.”
“H1reudh.” Manu bestowed upon Red brother a black book with blank pages bearing the symbol Rufus had made on his tablet, in copper: a horned circle surrounded by three curved lines at the center of the ten circles of concern. “The Pasture’s Scripture.”
After presenting the articles with their ancestral names, Tauros, Manu, Lawman and Mage spoke synchronously, “With the blessings of the Phaters, may you grow and prosper.”
“semtaurons, we overcame the obstacles!” Back in the Chariot of Righteous Aspiration, drawn by the seven-headed winged stallion, the unshakable Guardians stood with their arms encircling each other, flying from the Great Pasture over the Eurasian Steppe, the Sem Rainbow gleaming in the background.
“In unity, you saw your true Selves,” Long Ears’s seven heads neighed. “Lords of the Chariot.”
Sunu the Red Stallion and Black Goat Rufus stood in the chariot with Keresaspa the Good Shepherd bonded by their defeats, uncertainties, and life-changing victory. Like the seven-headed stallion, they knew their unique personalities and individual strengths in cooperative support would make them invincible.
“Who would have thought that three people from distant lands would end up together, fighting a common spiritual enemy who nearly enslaved the world.” Sunu held a seven-ringed, copper spiral between them as Indo-European Oikeiosis, where the Fates draw the Sons of Manu toward unity in Tauros.
Rufus took hold. “It’s a testament to the power of our Fates and Fathers, whose providence we should bring ourselves into accord.”
Keresaspa gave her hand. “In accordance with Nature, as One with Tauros and the Universe he governs, we’re free of the obstacles and focused on being Sem.”
“Wherever we wheel, whatever fate spins our way, we are here for one another,” the Red Stallion encouraged the Black Goat and Good Shepherd. “We can still challenge one another.”
“That’s how we’ll keep getting better.”
“And rise above pain in every adversity.”
I tell you this, take it to heart, there’s a spiritual path born of the chaos, where many seemingly disparate people can naturally live in peace.
Glossary
The following words are accompanied by their definitions, persons, or variant names.
Aðalboran—noble of birth
Aðali—nobility
Aedus—Aedui
Aeneas—hero from Graeco-Roman mythology, son of Venus, an exemplar of Pietas; led Trojan survivors in a search for a homeland after the Greeks brought the fall of Troy using the Wooden Horse; entered the underworld and discovered Dido, a lover he abandoned to pursue a homeland, Priam’s son, Deïphobus, former Trojan companions, and his father, Anchises, in Elysium; slew the maddened Prince Turnus of the Rutuli in single combat with Jupiter’s aid; founded Lavinium, the forefather of Rome; from the Aeneid
Agis III—King of Sparta, leader of an unsuccessful rebellion against Alexander the Great; defeated a Macedonian army under the commander Corragus, then laid siege to Megalopolis and died heroically in a hard-fought battle against Antipater, ordering his soldiers to save themselves for the service of their country; historical figure, died 331 BCE
Ahton—take care of
Arjuna—hero from Aryan mythology; son of Indra, who gave him his thunderbolt and other celestial weapons; given the bow Gāndīva by Varuna; prodigious archer who strung the strong bow; slew epic nemesis Karna, the son of the Sun God; slew cattle thieves and returned stolen cattle; protected the sacrificial horse during its trek around the world; apprised by Krishna in the Bhagavadgītā of the immortality of the Self (the soul) and its reincarnation as a reason not to fear bodily death, of the karma yoga discipline of detached action that teaches one to be unconcerned with outcomes, and of the wickedness of anger and desire on how it obscures knowledge and focus on the universal Self; from the Mahabharata
Aša—righteousness
Augustus—First Roman emperor, adoptive son of Julius Caesar, name given to the eighth month (August); annexed Egypt and seized Cleopatra’s treasure; established principate; excelled in administrative creations and propaganda; oversaw the expansion of the empire; historical figure, born 63 BCE—died 14 CE
Bacchus—Dionysus
Bifröst—Rainbow Bridge
Bihêt—threat
Biniman—seize
Blîðsean—make happy
Boes—Boii
Boudicca—Queen of the Iceni, led a revolt against Roman rule after her flogging, the rape of her two daughters, the confiscation of the Iceni leader’s property, and the servitude of her relatives; rode in a chariot with her two daughters as she roused allied tribes; defeated the Ninth Legion and killed seventy thousand Romans and pro-Roman Britons in Camulodunum, Londinium, and Verulamium; ended her life with poison after the Romans, under the command of Paulinus Suetonius, prevailed; historical figure, died 60 or 61 CE
Brôðar—brother
Bructers—Bructeri
Burg—stronghold
Brynhild—Brunhild, valkyrie, heroine from Germanic mythology; awakened by Sigurd from a sleep spell Odin placed her under for slaying his victory-promised king in battle; counseled Sigurd in rune magic and moral wisdom and betrothed herself to him; became enemies with Gudrun for gaining Sigurd as a husband through Grimhild’s mead of forgetfulness; had Gunnar plot Sigurd’s death because of her severe jealously and grief; stabbed herself with a sword then requested she and Sigurd be burned on a pyre with a drawn sword between them; from the Saga of the Volsungs
Capaneus—arrogant
Cato the Elder—Roman statesman, public advocate, orator, and historian, renowned for austerity, witty judgments, and generalship; developed skill pleading cases and offered services free of charge; encouraged to engage in state affairs due to fairness, modesty, and hard labor; opposed Scipio Africanus for his enormous wasteful spending and addiction to entertainment; achieved great military success in Spain, distributing war spoils equally among his soldiers but keeping none for himself; advocated ancestral custom and authored the first Roman History in Latin; historical figure, born 234—died 149 BCE
Cato the Younger—Roman Stoic and quaestor, great-grandson of Cato the Elder, revered by soldiers and public officials for strict discipline, self-denial, and honest administration amid high corruption; stood against aggressors in his youth: Pompaedius, child bullies, and Sulla; opposed Caesar’s defense of the Catilinarian conspirators and persuaded the senate to their execution; persuaded the senate to give the poor and landless grain distributions to quell Caesar’s violence-inspiring demagoguery; defended the liberty and property of the Uticans against Roman abuse and ensured the safe escape of Roman senators from the new dictator, Julius Caesar; historical figure, born 95—died 46 BCE
Cherusces—Cherusci
Cicero—Roman statesman, lawyer, orator, scholar, and philosopher, noted for eloquence and advocacy of constitutional government; a political outsider who rose through the offices of quaestor, aedile, and praetor to become consul in the Roman Republic; revealed the conspiracy of Cataline, a Roman aristocrat and demagogue who attempted to assassinate prominent officials and burn the city, and executed five of his conspirators without trial through emergency powers; opposition to Mark Anthony resulted in Cicero’s execution; authored his own Republic and Laws, in which he detailed the theory of natural law; historical figure, born 106—died 43 BCE
Civilis—Batavian chieftain and Roman auxiliary officer who led a rebellion on the Rhine in the Year of the Four Emperors; arrested and brother, Paulus, was executed on false charges during the reign of Emperor Nero; further angered by calls for execution by Emperor Vitellius’s army and his recruiting officers’ ransom of the Batavian’s old and unfit and rape of their male youths; allied the Batavians with other tribes, making them swear allegiance to Vitellius’s rival, Vespasian; defeated the Fifth and Fifteenth Legions, then cut his red-dyed beard; historical figure, flourished 1st century CE
Colors—in Indo-European culture white is associated with priests/religion, red with warriors/military, and black with farmers/fertility
Crates of Thebes—Greek Cynic, student of Diogenes and teacher of Zeno; a nobleman who gave his fortune to fellow citizens to pursue ascetic virtue and sheep-pasture; known as “the Door-opener” for fearlessly entering every house to give advice and resolve family disputes; honored as a household god, the philosophical Hercules, for combating anger, envy, greed, and lust like monsters; known for responding to beatings with care-free humor, his friendlier version of Cynicism, and moralizing poetry; attracted Hipparchia of Maroneia into the Cynic life and marriage; historical figure, c. 365—285 BCE
Cú Chulainn—hero from Celtic mythology, son of Lug (and Sualdam), nephew and foster son of King Conchobar; completed Emer’s challenges to become her husband; defeated the three times fifty boy troop in games at the fort Emain Macha; slew the savage hound held by nine men with three chains, earning his name (born Sétanta); slew many famed warriors, hundreds in Ailill and Medb’s army, and many single combatants sent against him; from the Táin Bó Cúailnge
ð—representing the “th” sound
Dharma—right conduct; moral law
Diogenes of Sinope—Greek Cynic philosopher, student of Antisthenes; went into exile for defacing bank currency; lived in a jar and possessed only a doubled cloak, knapsack, and stick cane; called “the Dog” for his lifestyle; trained his body to endure hardship through cold and heat; championed self-sufficiency, frugality, endurance, freedom, especial freedom of speech; renowned for his harsh and clever wit and shamelessness abandoned by the Stoics; historical figure, c. 404—323 BCE
Dôð—death
Dugan—be good enough
Elicius—elicitor
Elleandâd—deed of strength
Eostre—Eastre, Ôstar
Eostre’s Month—April
Epictetus—Greek Stoic, student of Musonius Rufus; born a slave in Hierapolis in Anatolia; exiled by Emperor Domitian; established a school in Nicopolis in Greece; influenced cognitive psychotherapy; surviving works address what is in our power and what is not, the proper use of impressions, and overcoming desire and aversion; deeply spiritual, he advised that the correct understanding of Zeus/God keeps one in a positive frame of mind, that Hercules is a model for viewing hardships as opportunities to develop character, and that Zeus and the Fates spin destiny and its hardships at birth, which one should surrender to; historical figure, born 55—died 135 CE
Eques—Roman equestrian, knight
Êra—honor
Êrthungan—rich in honors
Faderôdil—paternal inheritance; father’s home
Foundation, Myth of—in Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Irish lore, the Indo-European myth of creation became the legend of a kingdom’s foundation: the twin brothers Romulus and Remus wanted to found a settlement where they were exposed as infants; conflict arose over who would be the king and give the kingdom its name, and Romulus killed Remus becoming the founder of Rome; the brothers Hengest and Horsa, leaders of the first Anglo-Saxon settlers, sailed from Saxony in northern Germany to Kent in southeast Britain; Hengest became the King of Kent and Horsa died in combat; Macha, who was pregnant, was forced by a king to race a chariot at a fair in Ulster, a province of Ireland, and when she reached the end of a field, she birthed a twin boy and girl, the Twins of Macha, Emain Macha, the fort of King Conchobar
Friund—friend
Gêstlîc—sacred
Gifregnan—find out
Giwaldan—have power over
Giwâron—prove to be true
Giwinnan—gain through struggle
Hercules—Herakles
Hermann—Arminius, Chief of the Cherusci, Equestrian in Rome, defeated Rome’s Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and Nineteenth Legions, nearly 20,000 soldiers killed, freeing Germany from Roman rule from the Rhine to the Elbe rivers during the reign of Emperor Augustus; fought valiantly while taking wounds against the renowned General Germanicus, escaping cohorts’ blockade by disguising his face with his own blood; defeated the powerful King Maroboduus of the Marcomanni, a Roman-educated ruler in Bohemia; distinguished for bravery in action, quick-thinking, and intelligence; historical figure, c. 18 BCE—19 CE
