Glen writes
> Obviously, lightning is not "born of fire", nor is a storm,
> unless perhaps this truely describes the roar of thunder
> that follows a flash of lightning.
> (Of course, if *PerkWnos is simply "storm", then he is both
> "lightning fire" AND "thunder", so... does "Fire Born"
> imply an "autogenesis"?? Argh, no comprendo, señor!)
>
> Yet, on the other hand, I don't understand why there is a
> connection between oak trees, lightning and this storm deity
> which underlies the accepted name *PerkWnos.
But fire caused by lightning is born of the storm. With the
thunderboomer, you get fire-in-water imagery, something that starts
fires, something that extinguishes fires. Fire and water come from
Heaven, from the thunderclouds.
Think mythologically! Out on the flat of the Steppe, you get these
monster thunderheads where you can see clear blue sky on one side, and
the black of the storm on the other, where lightning can start a fire
here, while drenching the area on the other side of the front. As a
matter of practical personal testimony, I've been in storms where it
rains on one-half of the patio, and is bright sunshine on the other
half, all in 100 square feet.
And work into this scenerio the propensity for cattle and horses to
stampede during thunderstorms (some dogs also run and hide in fright
too).
You can almost hear the shamans and poets trying to make sense of
these atmospheric theatrics.
Mark.