Romancing the Runes
This is a spinoff from another blog I have where I have started ruminating on heathenism and specific deities. I have some pieces on Sigyn and some devotional poetry that I have written.
On this specific collection of entries I wanted to meditate on each individual rune, the 24 of the elder futhark. I may take forays into the younger and Anglo-Saxon as a way of layering or deepening the understanding of corresponding runes in different alphabets.
The runes are something I have been coming back to over and over again over 20 years. I got my first deck in high school complete with the blank rune. It was probably why I never really got deeply into them. My first instruction was very superficial. In college, my first hearth priestess wanted us each to take up a form of divination in her initiation classes. I chose cards. She was very into the runes herself. And then over the years I have tripped over symbols in associations, fiction, and other magickal books. So this is something that has been reoccurring in my life for years.
When I was elected to the position of gythia in my kindred I felt an especial urgency. I had been superficially studying them for divination. I really had no idea how deep the rabbit hole could go until I started reading Thorsson. There are layers that I had suspected existed, had glimpsed, but only now am really digging into.
At Sirius Rising I had a conversation with teacher of one of the classes. It had come up in his lecture that there are runes within runes. I remembered my Othala blog post. It was reaffirming to know that I wasn't the only one seeing symbols inside of symbols. I'm hoping to continue exploring this and add layers of meaning from the eights as well as elements and other spiritual concepts.
Some of the books I will be referencing:
The Rune Poem translated and annotated by Jim Paul (1996) This one is of the Anglo-Saxon runes. Very beautifully done and deeply thought out meanings of the rune symbols.
3 Paths Through Midgard: A Rune Poem by D. Jonathan Jones (2010) I love this one. Besides being beautifully written it divides the symbols into three thematic groupings. It also builds each rune upon the meaning of the previous rune so a long story is written using each rune as a plot step or character development focus. It reminds me a lot of the stories told in oral tradition cultures meant to help the listener memorize.
The Secret of the Runes by Guido Von List Introduced and Translated by Dr. Stephen E Flowers. I know that the history of List and his contemporaries has been colored heavily by the Nazi appropriation of their work and Germanic occult. But I have been reading this book as a historical context and also for any wisdom that may have been uncovered by List in his meditations and research. There is not much of use. His understanding of the runes seems heavily skewed by his politics. But some of his overarching thematic understandings are useful. I see some of this influence on even Thorsson and The Rune Guild. For example, the concept of triples and doubles. He uses the trinary birth/life/death-rebirth or creation/life/destruction as a triple recurring pattern of the gods and within the context of the runes. He also uses the binary matter/spirit, indicating matter is condensed spirit. (A recent idea of mine: Dagaz is Mannaz with legs. I'll get into that later.)
The Left-Hand Odin (2016) I do not know if I will be referencing this one. I picked it up on a whim and if anything relevant pops up I will include it. I know people on the left-hand path who have communicated with Odin or other Germanic gods. I might come to a different angle with the runes by understanding how they work in this path. The left-hand path is basically an attempt to reach apotheosis where the individual person ascends to god status. Kinda like what Odin was said to have done. There are stories of how Odin was a King who rose to Godhood. There are other such deities like Ing, who have historical accounts of how they were worshipped after they died and became gods. So this might give a very interesting way of viewing not just runes, but divinity as well, and the runester's place in the world and in faith.
The Runecaster's Handbook
Runelore: The magick, history, and hidden codes of the Runes
Futhark
The Nine Doors of Midgard
These four are by Edred Thorsson. I am reading heavily this author's work. I know there are other books that I have not listed. Two of the Thorsson books I have not read yet, but I'm working on it. I may punctuate my Rune Ruminations with book reviews to add some layers to what I am picking up in my writings and thinking.
Runecaster's Handbook is a very usable book for doing rune readings. Very good introduction and does cover some of the stuff also bound in Runelore, but in a lighter reading level. Definitely read this one before getting into the other books.
Runelore gets deeply into the meanings of the runes but also discusses how they are related to each other, different themes among the runes along the rows and the eights. It also brings in some of the classic rune theory such as Von List and his society helped develop. Von List isn't mentioned but runelore in general owes much to his and his contemporaries work in the 19th century. Some of those developments show up in this work. I'll probably dedicated at least one blog entry to the basics of this book. It's a heavy read but it really adds to the depth of understanding.
Futhark is about Rune magic. I'm not going to get into any of that just yet. Probably will save that for later when I understand the runes themselves more. You really don't want to try to use these symbols before really feeling them out. Putting the wrong ones together or in the wrong order could really flip the table in a way unintended.
The Nine Doors of Midgard is a workbook. I may reference the exercises and my results periodically. We will have to see where this all takes me.
I may be adding to this list as I go.
Update: 8/5 Adding Gods and Myths of Northern Europe by H R Ellis Davidson to my reading list.
On this specific collection of entries I wanted to meditate on each individual rune, the 24 of the elder futhark. I may take forays into the younger and Anglo-Saxon as a way of layering or deepening the understanding of corresponding runes in different alphabets.
The runes are something I have been coming back to over and over again over 20 years. I got my first deck in high school complete with the blank rune. It was probably why I never really got deeply into them. My first instruction was very superficial. In college, my first hearth priestess wanted us each to take up a form of divination in her initiation classes. I chose cards. She was very into the runes herself. And then over the years I have tripped over symbols in associations, fiction, and other magickal books. So this is something that has been reoccurring in my life for years.
When I was elected to the position of gythia in my kindred I felt an especial urgency. I had been superficially studying them for divination. I really had no idea how deep the rabbit hole could go until I started reading Thorsson. There are layers that I had suspected existed, had glimpsed, but only now am really digging into.
At Sirius Rising I had a conversation with teacher of one of the classes. It had come up in his lecture that there are runes within runes. I remembered my Othala blog post. It was reaffirming to know that I wasn't the only one seeing symbols inside of symbols. I'm hoping to continue exploring this and add layers of meaning from the eights as well as elements and other spiritual concepts.
Some of the books I will be referencing:
The Rune Poem translated and annotated by Jim Paul (1996) This one is of the Anglo-Saxon runes. Very beautifully done and deeply thought out meanings of the rune symbols.
3 Paths Through Midgard: A Rune Poem by D. Jonathan Jones (2010) I love this one. Besides being beautifully written it divides the symbols into three thematic groupings. It also builds each rune upon the meaning of the previous rune so a long story is written using each rune as a plot step or character development focus. It reminds me a lot of the stories told in oral tradition cultures meant to help the listener memorize.
The Secret of the Runes by Guido Von List Introduced and Translated by Dr. Stephen E Flowers. I know that the history of List and his contemporaries has been colored heavily by the Nazi appropriation of their work and Germanic occult. But I have been reading this book as a historical context and also for any wisdom that may have been uncovered by List in his meditations and research. There is not much of use. His understanding of the runes seems heavily skewed by his politics. But some of his overarching thematic understandings are useful. I see some of this influence on even Thorsson and The Rune Guild. For example, the concept of triples and doubles. He uses the trinary birth/life/death-rebirth or creation/life/destruction as a triple recurring pattern of the gods and within the context of the runes. He also uses the binary matter/spirit, indicating matter is condensed spirit. (A recent idea of mine: Dagaz is Mannaz with legs. I'll get into that later.)
The Left-Hand Odin (2016) I do not know if I will be referencing this one. I picked it up on a whim and if anything relevant pops up I will include it. I know people on the left-hand path who have communicated with Odin or other Germanic gods. I might come to a different angle with the runes by understanding how they work in this path. The left-hand path is basically an attempt to reach apotheosis where the individual person ascends to god status. Kinda like what Odin was said to have done. There are stories of how Odin was a King who rose to Godhood. There are other such deities like Ing, who have historical accounts of how they were worshipped after they died and became gods. So this might give a very interesting way of viewing not just runes, but divinity as well, and the runester's place in the world and in faith.
The Runecaster's Handbook
Runelore: The magick, history, and hidden codes of the Runes
Futhark
The Nine Doors of Midgard
These four are by Edred Thorsson. I am reading heavily this author's work. I know there are other books that I have not listed. Two of the Thorsson books I have not read yet, but I'm working on it. I may punctuate my Rune Ruminations with book reviews to add some layers to what I am picking up in my writings and thinking.
Runecaster's Handbook is a very usable book for doing rune readings. Very good introduction and does cover some of the stuff also bound in Runelore, but in a lighter reading level. Definitely read this one before getting into the other books.
Runelore gets deeply into the meanings of the runes but also discusses how they are related to each other, different themes among the runes along the rows and the eights. It also brings in some of the classic rune theory such as Von List and his society helped develop. Von List isn't mentioned but runelore in general owes much to his and his contemporaries work in the 19th century. Some of those developments show up in this work. I'll probably dedicated at least one blog entry to the basics of this book. It's a heavy read but it really adds to the depth of understanding.
Futhark is about Rune magic. I'm not going to get into any of that just yet. Probably will save that for later when I understand the runes themselves more. You really don't want to try to use these symbols before really feeling them out. Putting the wrong ones together or in the wrong order could really flip the table in a way unintended.
The Nine Doors of Midgard is a workbook. I may reference the exercises and my results periodically. We will have to see where this all takes me.
I may be adding to this list as I go.
Update: 8/5 Adding Gods and Myths of Northern Europe by H R Ellis Davidson to my reading list.
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