Rune Wisdom and Oracle E-Book

Àrpád von Nahodyl Neményi

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Seitenzahl: 163

Beschreibung

The runes, the magic symbols of the Germanic peoples, fascinate us to this day, but they still give us puzzles. This book provides an understandable interpretation of the runes, including all historical sources, and is intended as a practical guide to the runic oracle and the use of runes as writing. You can also find out here how to find your own personal key runes and how you can turn them into magic signs. The book is easy to understand and reveals the real esoteric meaning of the runes without unfounded speculation.

Leseprobe

Contents

Preface

The Runic Alphabets

Runes and Gods

Preparations for the Rune Drawing

To Fill Rune Sticks with Force

Process of Rune Casting

Meaning of Runes

Interpretation Examples

Rune Dices

Runes for Writing

Key Runes and Name Runes

Runic Postures

Runes in the Annual Cycle

Runic Inscriptions

Preface

In this book I would like to bring you closer to the runes, the magic symbols of the Germanic tribes, and to describe them in an understandable way. The historical sources are taken into account, but not quoted completely, because it is not intended to be a scientific book about runes, but an easy to understand guide. But neither should it be an esoteric book if “esotericism” simultaneously means ignoring unambiguous sources and replacing them with wild speculations. All the conclusions reached here are based on the historical primary sources which I had already quoted completely in my German book “Heilige Runen – Zauberzeichen des Nordens” (Ullstein 2004). This 464-page book was not easy to understand for those who are new to the runes, so the plan was for a long time to come out with a shorter, easier to understand book which I am doing now. Even if I largely refrain from citing the sources, the content of this book is still based on these sources and does not provide anything that contradicts the sources.

For the rune scientists the time of the runes began before not completely two millennia. The scientists are interested in the runes as phonetic signs and letters only, but not in the runes as symbols and magic characters. It is true that runes were also used as letters in these 2 millennia, comparable to the Latin ABC, and perhaps the Romans with their script were the Germanic model to do the same with the runes. But before this time there were runes as a magic symbol, and this part of runic history is incomprehensibly ignored by runic scientists until today. Yes, they even quite consciously do not speak of runes, but of “pre-runic conceptual signs”; that's why they deny that unambiguous runes are “runes” at all. I don't do that. In my 38 years of preoccupation with runes and Germanic religion and mythology I have come to the realization that some things that scientists have been defining for years can and sometimes even have to be questioned. If a single rune is found on a Bronze Age urn then I will also call this symbol a rune, especially if it is completely similar to a later rune.

I also don't want to associate the runes in any way with the 3rd Reich or dissociate them from it, because ancient Germanic cult symbols that came from the gods can't have anything to do with any political regimes of our centuries that may misuse individual symbols, this must be clear to any intelligent reader.

The point here is to provide good guidance on how to use the runes without becoming inaccurate or contradicting the sources. So this book is an essence from the traditions and builds on the existing knowledge about the runes. Only two topics remain unconsidered here, namely the use of runes in magic and the myths of the runic origin. These topics would have made the book unnecessarily expensive and are less interesting for most readers.

May the book help to get to know this interesting special field better and to get closer to the secrets of the runes and gods.

Bad Belzig, Autumn 2020

Chapter 1The Runic Alphabets

For two millennia, the runes have been well attested as magical characters and symbols of the Germanic people, our ancestors and ancestors of most people in North America, North Europe and Australia. The Vikings who belong to the North Germanic people brought the runes with them to America, which we can assume for sure, even if the famous Kensington rune stone is probably fake. Therefore the runes correspond to our mentality more than other scripts and they fascinate us in due to the secrets associated with them and because of their magical meaning and effectiveness. The word “rune” means “whispered magic” and “secret” and is related to the German word “raunen” (murmur). This not only refers to the respective sign, but also to the associated, quietly whispered magic which also includes the respective rune name itself.

Runes as letters were not used until the dawn of our era two millennia ago. Single short words, mostly magical names, can be found on weapons or objects. But long before that time runes were used as magic signs, verifiable since the Stone Age. Runic signs can already be found on urns, not as phonetic signs (letters) but as conceptual signs. So at that time a rune did not represent a letter to read something, but it represented a whole group of related terms.

The runic science deals with the runes only as letters of the past 2000 years. But we are primarily interested in the runes as symbols of the oracle and magic, as they were used from the beginning.

Fig. 1: Stone slab from Kylver, Gotland 350-400 our time.

Where do the runes come from? Scientists are still puzzling over this and disagreeing. Some of them suspect any southern alphabet as the original, but cannot agree which one it should have been. The native origin has also been assumed for at least some of the rune signs.

The myth as it is preserved in the Edda, the old Icelandic collection of nordic songs of gods and heroes, says that it was Odin (Woden), the god of wisdom, who invented or recognized the runes in a magical ritual, and later he taught the runes to special people too. According to the Edda the moon god Heimdallr is also considered a mediator of the runes to the people.

Because of their divine origin the runes were considered sacred symbols, and we also want to treat them accordingly. Runes are not there to be used to write down mundane things.

The runes have – similar to the letters of our current alphabet – a certain order. We know this order because there are different inscriptions where all runes are in their order. An example for this is the Kylver Stone in Gotland, Sweden. The full set of 24 runes which is found there dates to approximately AD 400 (Fig. 1). This runic alphabet was supposed to evoke the magical power of all runes. There is also a single rune word (“sueus”), which has to be read from the middle in both directions, so you can read the word “eus” (“horse”). In addition, a horse's head, which is now weathered, is carved into the stone. At the end of this runic alphabet you can see a peculiar tree symbol which has six branches on the left and eight on the right. It is interpreted as a secret reference to the sixth rune if you count backwards the runic alphabet, the rune Ehwaz (“horse”), and the eighth rune if you count forwards the runic alphabet, Wunjo (“delight”, also the god Woden). Did the rune carver want the soul of the deceased here to get to Woden by horse to Valhalla?

There are many other rune finds where the entire runic alphabet can be found, e.g. Bracteate 22 from Vadstena, Östergötland, 1st half of the 6th century (Fig. 40, p. →), as well as manuscripts from a later period listing the runic alphabets.

The older runic alphabets, which are common to all Germanic tribes, have 24 runes. Fig. 2 shows the oldest rune signs with their variants and sound values.

In Scandinavia, this runic alphabet was shortened to 16 runes in the 7th and 8th century; 8 runes were out of use in the north at this time. In England the runic alphabet was expanded to include a few runes more; but initially the old full set of 24 signs was used. When the Normans came to England they brought their runes from the shortened runic alphabet with them, which were simply added to the end of the old set of 24 runes. At first we should only deal with the old full set of 24 runes as it is even more original and contains all runes of the younger runic alphabet but has 8 runes more. In this way a more precise rune drawing is more possible. So it is easier to write today's names and terms than with the shortened runic alphabet of the Scandinavians. Incidentally, this was later supple-mented by three runes more (around the year 1000), because 19 runes were needed for the Golden Series of Numbers in the runic calendar.

Fig. 2: The oldest rune forms with their variants.

If we want to use runes it is necessary to learn about them. Each rune has a name and conceptual value, actually a whole group of concepts. The names of the runes from around the year 1000 are listed in various medieval manuscripts. From this, runic researchers have reconstructed the rune names as they existed about 2000 years ago. I am using these developed names here in this book.

A rune, like the first rune with the reconstructed name Fehu, stands for the term cattle, cattle ownership, but also for movable property, wealth, money, gold. Today it still exists as the term “fee”. But in the course of time the runes got a sound value in addition to their conceptual value, like our modern letters. As a rule, the first letter of the rune name became the sound value of the rune. The rune Fehu can also mean the letter “f” if you wanted to use it for writing. In addition, each rune has a certain position in the order of the runes. The rune Fehu is the first rune in the runic alphabet (like the A in ABC); therefore this rune can simply stand for the number “1”.

So each rune has three meanings and for the rune Fehu we have these:

1. Rune name: Fehu (cattle, goods, possessions, etc.)

2. Runic sound: f

3. Rune number: 1

Many runes also represent a Germanic deity, but this is not always clear. The 24 runes of the runic alphabet have a precisely defined order. According to the sound values of the first six runes in this set of runes, the whole runic alphabet of runes is called “Futhark” (f-u-th-a-r-k).

If you want to read a runic inscription, you read the runes accor ­ding to their sounds; only if it doesn't make sense runes are interpreted according to their respective meaning group.

If we want to use runes, we have to carefully remember the 24 rune signs; to do this we need to know their respective names and terms. It would also be good if we knew their sound and their numerical value, but that is not so important for the oracle. We should learn by heart the shape of each rune, the names and meanings of the individual runes. This is not too difficult, because if you know the names of the runes, the conceptual meanings are almost self-explanatory.

The runic alphabet of 24 is divided into three groups of eight (Aettir). The younger runic alphabet also has such a subdivision, although there are no longer eight runes per group. The names handed down from the 17th century for these groups (Aettir) in the younger runic alphabet, namely Freyrs Aett, Hagals Aett and Tyrs Aett, cannot have existed in the older runic alphabet, as the fertility god Freyr was called Ingwaz at that time and the salutation “Freyr” (= Lord) was not in use. In any case, it is reasonable to assume that the groups of eight of the older runes also had names and were related to the three main gods: “Woden's eight” (the first 8 runes), “Thunaer's eight” (runes 9 to 16) and “Tius eight” (the runes 17 to 24).

The table on the next page shows the 24 runes of the elder Futhark with their names, phonetic values and numbers.

Each individual rune as a magical symbol represents something, but in many cases we do not know exactly what each rune represents.

In order to recognize the original underlying image of a rune, we have to deal with the material where the runes were carved in, the wood. Because the runes were not written but carved. Even today our word “to write” contains the word “writan”, (“scratch, carve”) and the German term “Buchstabe” (“letter”) literally means “beech stick” because the rune was carved in a stick made of beech wood. If you want to carve runes in wooden sticks you have to avoid horizontal strokes because they would run with the grain of the wood and this could split the wood. For this reason the old magical symbols were sometimes rotated by 90 degrees, i.e. placed vertically. So if we turn the rune back, we may be able to recognize the archetype on which it is based:

Fig. 3: Table of the older runic alphabet with names, numbers and sounds.

If we turn the first rune Fehu 90 degrees to the left, then with a little imagination we can see a bird flying from left to right, which can be seen from the side. By the way, it is probably either an eagle or a raven, sacred birds of the god Woden. This interpretation is supported by the fact that in a Swedish rune poem the rune name of this rune is “Fugl” (= bird). But in an Icelandic rune spell the rune is characterized as an “uncut ear of wheat”. So we should know that there were already different interpretations of which archetype was represented by the respective rune.

Interpretations are always uncertain; the Fehu rune can also simply represent a tree. Some scientists have interpreted the sign as a cattle head with two horns. Esoterics wanted to recognize a man with an erect phallus, etc.

For the separate meanings of the runes I will explain the traditional archetypes of the signs, provided they are convincing.

Chapter 2Runes and Gods

The term “rune oracle” is misleading because the runes are much more than just an oracle. With the help of properly executed rune drawing we can connect with the gods. Divine powers are contained in the runes or are activated for us with the runes. That's why the idea of an actual existence of gods and spirits is necessary to understand the runes and to be able to use them for drawing lots. Because the gods give an answer only to people who include the gods in their worldview, who pray to them and ask them for answers.

In the myth as contained in the old Icelandic song collection of the Edda, it is the god Odin (Woden) who recognized or discovered the runes when he was young. Odin went to his teacher, the wise dwarf Mimir, and had to hang himself on a branch of the World Ash for 9 days and nights. He was not allowed to eat or drink. In this way a trance was induced and Odin recognized the runes in the branches below. Now he was allowed to go to earth and drink the magic potion Odroerir. The branches in which Odin recognized the runes had been spread out under the hanging god by his teacher Mimir. Odin, however, had procured the magic potion himself from the realm of the giants; that was one of his initiation tasks. But he wasn't allowed to drink the potion immediately; he just swallowed it, turned into a bird and brought it to the gods in where he spat it into prepared vessels. Because even the god had to earn the right to drink the magic potion.

Fig. 4 shows the one-eyed god Woden on the hunting frieze on the outer wall of the Königslutter church. The legend connects the hunting frieze with “Wuotan” (Wotan), that is the Old German name of the god.

People took the myth of the initiation of the god Odin as an example, and men who wanted to become rune wizards hung themselves in a similar way, sitting in a skin on a tree in the sanctuary, in order to get into a trance. They were not allowed to drink, eat, or sleep while doing this.

This is indicated by an inscription on the rune stone from Reistad, Agder, Norway, around the year 500, when the rune master called himself: “I, the awaked one [wakraz] did the carving” (see p. 138). Since “Vakr” (the awaked one) is also a name of the god Odin, staying awake seems to have been part of the initiation ritual. Fasting, which is mentioned in the Edda by Odin at his rune initiation, was probably not practiced by humans for nine days and nights, as the god did in the myth, but probably only three. In addition, the initiate was not allowed to speak.

Knock runes were allowed for necessary communications with the initiation master, a type of encoding of the runes that has been handed down in manuscripts: a first knock indicates the group of the rune, a second knock indicates its position in the group. The group often counted backwards (not always), so the 3rd rune group (beginning with Tiwaz) was considered the first. In this case the Fehu rune would be the 1st rune in the 3rd group, there is then first three taps for the group, then a short pause, and then there is one knock – this is the rune Fehu as a knock rune.

Fig. 4: Depiction of Woden on the hunting frieze on the outside of the church of Königslutter in Elm, Hannover district (Lower Saxony). Photo: H. Zippel.

In another description in the Edda we learn from the Valkyrie Sigrdrifa which rune wisdom and ethical rules taught her protégé Sigurd. Sigurd is the hero known to the German legend as Siegfried. He killed the dragon and got the Nibelungen treasure. Siegfried actually existed, it is the East Franconian King Sigibert I who was murdered in 575, but ideas of Arminius have probably also flowed into the legendary figure Siegfried / Sigurd.

A third story of the Edda tells us about the god Heimdallr who produces offspring with three pairs of humans from which the three classes are descended. The god teaches the runes to the son of the noble class so that he can finally become a king.

Odin (Woden) is the creator god, god of wisdom, god of souls, storms, revival and death, god of magic and ecstasy. He is still worshiped today in India under the name Rudra or Shiva and corresponds to the God-Father of Christians.

Heimdallr is the god of the moon and the god of knowledge, because the moon is the first scientist, since he has to count his children, the stars. Among the Germanic people he was also called Mannus; the Indians call him Manu or Manus. From Manus comes the