and farmers.
blank map at http://www.knowledgequestmaps.com/MapTrek1.html
To make that as simple as possible lets use some visual aids. Phonecian and Paleo Hebrew:
(another relevant scipt is early Aramaic)
Linear A and Etruscan:
http://www.revelation2seven.org/WebPages/SideLinks/PhonicianToEnglish.htm
last but not least lets look at the
the Espança script , Southeastern Iberian script , the Southwestern Tartessian script and the elder futhark side by side (the three images here come from wikipedia) :
last but not least lets look at the
the Espança script , Southeastern Iberian script , the Southwestern Tartessian script and the elder futhark side by side (the three images here come from wikipedia) :
This is not to suggest that the futharks are not unique unto themselves. They are. We can just see the Paleo-Hispanic, Phonecian/Paelo-Hebrew and Mediterranean influences of their origins pretty clearly.
According to lore/traditionally the origin of the runes is ascribed to Odin. Here are the corresponding vs. from Havamal:137.
“I trow I hung on that windy Tree
nine whole days and nights,
stabbed with a spear, offered to Odin,
myself to mine own self given,
high on that Tree of which none hath heard
from what roots it rises to heaven.”
138.“None refreshed me ever with food or drink,
I peered right down in the deep;
crying aloud I lifted the Runes
then back I fell from thence.”
What is a futhark you ask? Futhark: term comes from the first grouping of Norse runes called an Aett (or eight)
The three main futharks are the elder or Norwegian futhark (around 150–800), the Anglo Saxon futhorc (400–1100) and the younger futhark (800–1100) aka the Icelandic all of which have their respective rune poems. Here is a web page I like for the rune poems because it has all three:
http://ragweedforge.com/poems.html
Lets compare three verses for one rune from three poems. Here is one of my favorite runes ansuz which usually signifies a god.
From the Icelandic poem:
“Aged Gautr
and prince of Ásgarðr
and lord of Vallhalla.”
Anglo Saxon: (Oss)
“The mouth is the source of all language, a pillar of wisdom and a comfort to wise men,
a blessing and a joy to every knight.”
And Norwegian:
“Estuary is the way of most journeys;
but a scabbard is of swords.”
Another primary source for understanding the runes is Havamal ;The Words of the Most High , from the Elder or Poetic Edda (most relevant to the runes are lines from the song of spells). A good website is
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/havamal.html
148.
“A fourth I know: if men make fast
in chains the joints of my limbs, when I sing that song which shall set me free,
spring the fetters from hands and feet.”
Line 143. Havamal
“Dost know how to write, dost know how to read,
dost know how to paint, dost know how to prove,
dost know how to ask, dost know how to offer,
dost know how to send, dost know how to spend?”
Some ways runes can be used in Magick (which overlap/can be used in various combinations):
* Bindrunes or runic talismans
*Divination
*Galdr
* Sauna, Seidr ,Sending and Staving
Runes have layers of meaning and they can be layered themselves in bindrunes. You are really only limited by your own creativity when creating them. For instance if we creatively arrange the rune thurisaz/thorn :
we might get something that looks like this:
(home protection mandala ..thank you Patti)
A bindrune I created to symbolize the virtues of courage, strength and wisdom.
This is a real nice selection of bindrunes and icelandic magical staves from sunnyway.com. One of my favorites is the helm of awe or aegishjalmur which comes from the story of Sigurd and Fafnir.
Here is a good website for the icelandic magical staves http://www.vestfirdir.is/galdrasyning/magical_staves.php
Divination- Tacitus in Germania gives a detailed account of what ancients were doing with divination (98AD) “They attach the highest importance to the taking of auspices and casting lots. Their usual procedure with the lot is simple. They cut off a branch from a nut-bearing tree and slice it into strips these they mark with different signs and throw them at random onto a white cloth. Then the state's priest, if it is an official consultation, or the father of the family, in a private one, offers prayer to the gods and looking up towards heaven picks up three strips, one at a time, and, according to which sign they have previously been marked with, makes his interpretation. If the lots forbid an undertaking, there is no deliberation that day about the matter in question. If they allow it, further confirmation is required by taking auspices”. This is a highly quoted passage in the literature on runes today. I can interject by way of some personal experience here that, when working with these symbols, a relevant intelligence to invoke and build a relationship with is the Norns
(which are not unlike the Greek Fates).
The three sisters seen here as weavers are known as Urda, Verdandi and Skuld, representing the past, present and future respectively. Other than rune casting by stones or wooden chips , runes can also be read from tossing rune wands not unlike I Ching ( see Rune Magic By Donald Tyson).
Image found at http://spiritofold.co.uk/home.htm
Galdr is chanting or singing runes. For example, when learning the runes you begin by learning to chant the elder futharc. Lets chant the first aett together:
(which are not unlike the Greek Fates).
The three sisters seen here as weavers are known as Urda, Verdandi and Skuld, representing the past, present and future respectively. Other than rune casting by stones or wooden chips , runes can also be read from tossing rune wands not unlike I Ching ( see Rune Magic By Donald Tyson).
Image found at http://spiritofold.co.uk/home.htm 
feh-who, ur-ooze, thor-ee-saz, an-suze, ride-o, ken-aahz, gay-bow, wun-joe
“Galdr or Galdor, from the Old Norse, originally meant 'incantation'. The verb "gala" is also used for "to crow". It later came to mean magic in general. These are the sounds used in runic oral spells” (sunnyway.com).
Sauna- pronounced “sow-na” is that hot room known for being Finnish in origin. How is sauna used in rune magick you ask? Not only does sweating purify your body and spirit, helping to focus your will, applying temperature extremes to your skin alters your consciousness. With a traditional Finnish sauna you get plied with ice water at the end which can hyper-stimulate the nervous system . This is something that can be easily compared to a kundalini awakening of sorts which is the kind of energy you can use when sending runes. Also flagellation with the birch branches can increase circulation and the over all ecstatic state.
Birch branches and Ice water used in the sauna
Seidr- “Seid or seiðr is an Old Norse term for a type of sorcery or witchcraft which was practiced by the pre-Christian Norse. Sometimes anglicized as "seidhr," "seidh," "seidr," "seithr," or "seith," the term is also used to refer to modern Neopagan reconstructions or emulations of the practice.” (wikipedia)
Basically a highly shamanic kind of practice. Also blurs the lines of gender when a man is practicing it as it was know as a woman’s art “In the Viking Age, the practice of seid by men had connotations of "unmanliness" or "effeminacy" known as ergi, as its manipulative aspects ran counter to the male ideal of forthright, open behavior . Freyja and perhaps some of the other goddesses of Norse mythology were seid practitioners, as was Odin, a fact for which he is taunted by Loki in the Lokasenna” (wikipedia)
Modern rune scholars such as Diana Paxton emphasize the traditional Seeress aspect of seidr which involves the priestess sitting on a special “high seat” going into a trance and giving prophecy. Personally the aspect of seidr that works best for me is the voluntary shaking and swaying described in Seidways by Jan Fries. Both of these techniques are relevant in rune magick (seething to raise energy and the prophecy bit with divination). I also like to use drumming in combination with the seidr techniques I use.
here is a cool youtube video on the subject http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ROqACIGMLo
Sending- is an aspect of rune magick where several of these techniques overlap and one that most magicians can understand fairly easily. Runes can be treated as fluid and flexable concepts. In short we are talking about visualization and concentration or focusing the will. What Crowley would describe as Dhyana or holding a single thought, image etc in the mind. One introductory way to begin sending runes is with candle magick. You engrave the rune on the candle and then burn it to send the rune. Runes also lend themselves to more advanced kinds of visualization. For instance see how the ansuz rune (a possible runic equivalent of AUM) can be changed into an energy pyramid, cone or even an arrow point to be used in sending runic energy.
Staving- is more less a modern invention pioneered by Kari Tauring ( here is her youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/VolvaStav/videos?sort=da&view=u ) where by a rhythm is tapped out with a stav and a wand. I have found this works well in combination with chanting runes or galdr. A Volva was/is a "wand carrier" or "carrier of a magic staff" . Relevant reading is the Voluspa where Odin hears the story of the creation of the world from a volva and its eventual destruction at Ragnarok .
Biblography
Aswynn , Freya- Northern Mysteries and Freya (good introductory text for starting with runes)
Fries, Jan- Siedways (good ethnographic formatted work that explores shaking and trance in shamanism)
Odroerir - Heathen Reconstructionist Journal, odroerirjournal.com
Paxton, Diana -Taking up the runes (good exhaustive text that brings together lore and all the modern rune scholars in one place)
Pennick, Nigel -Magical Alphabets
Pennick, Nigel - The complete illustrated guide to the Runes
Thorson, Edred- Northern Magic
Tyson, Donald- Rune Magick (good exhaustive lore search and info on casting with the rune wands)
