The Book of Runes

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It is the harmonious integration of these two symbols which the alchemists described in their coniunctio or sacred marriage, and which in fairy tales is the end of the story, the hero and his beloved living happily ever after ( Greene, p. 36). The pioneer of the Armanist branch of Ariosophy and one of the more important figures in esotericism in Germany and Austria in the late 19th and early 20th century was the Austrian occultist, mysticist, and völkisch author, Guido von List. In 1908, he published in Das Geheimnis der Runen ("The Secret of the Runes") a set of eighteen so-called, " Armanen runes", based on the Younger Futhark and runes of List's own introduction, which allegedly were revealed to him in a state of temporary blindness after cataract operations on both eyes in 1902. The use of runes in Germanic mysticism, notably List's "Armanen runes" and the derived " Wiligut runes" by Karl Maria Wiligut, played a certain role in Nazi symbolism. The fascination with runic symbolism was mostly limited to Heinrich Himmler, and not shared by the other members of the Nazi top echelon. Consequently, runes appear mostly in insignia associated with the Schutzstaffel ("SS"), the paramilitary organization led by Himmler. Wiligut is credited with designing the SS-Ehrenring, which displays a number of "Wiligut runes". [ citation needed] Modern paganism and esotericism [ edit ] On the other hand, Blum is honest about what he's doing and that the form of divination he's invented is one that's based on intuition. He's not misguiding anyone or trying to say that he's way is accurate. He's just sharing the method that has worked for him. Taken as an indiviual's spiritual journey, it's an enjoyable read.

Nowhere in Blum’s book is Greene (or Relating) cited. And in a later edition that I was able to access online, her book is cited under the heading of ‘GUIDES TO THE TRANSFORMATIONAL PROCESS’ but still omitted from the bibliography. The Old English form rún survived into the early modern period as roun, which is now obsolete. The modern English rune is a later formation that is partly derived from Late Latin runa, Old Norse rún, and Danish rune. [6] History and use [ edit ] An inscription using cipher runes, the Elder Futhark, and the Younger Futhark, on the 9th-century Rök runestone in Sweden A Younger Futhark inscription on the 12th-century Vaksala Runestone in Sweden The Younger Futhark, also called Scandinavian Futhark, is a reduced form of the Elder Futhark, consisting of only 16 characters. The reduction correlates with phonetic changes when Proto-Norse evolved into Old Norse. They are found in Scandinavia and Viking Age settlements abroad, probably in use from the 9th century onward. They are divided into long-branch (Danish) and short-twig (Swedish and Norwegian) runes. The difference between the two versions is a matter of controversy. A general opinion is that the difference between them was functional (viz., the long-branch runes were used for documentation on stone, whereas the short-twig runes were in everyday use for private or official messages on wood).Markey, TL (2001). "A Tale of the Two Helmets: Negau A and B". Journal of Indo-European Studies. 29: 69–172. The Book of Runes: A Handbook for the Use of an Ancient Oracle: The Viking Runes (1982); revised 10th Anniversary Edition (1992); revised 25th Anniversary Edition (2007). On one hand, The book is very clear that the meaning of the runes are just Blum's invention and that they are meant to understood through subconscious reflection when using them. But it seems wrong to take historic/culturally charged runes and not try and find the historical ties and meanings they belong to. It just seems disrespectiful. Looijenga, JH (1997). Runes Around the North Sea and on the Continent AD 150–700 (Thesis). Groningen University. Archived from the original on 2006-07-28 . Retrieved 2006-02-06. Runology is the academic study of the runic alphabets, runic inscriptions, runestones, and their history. Runology forms a specialised branch of Germanic philology.

Brix, Lise (May 21, 2015). "Isolated people in Sweden only stopped using runes 100 years ago". ScienceNordic. Archived from the original on July 19, 2019 . Retrieved July 22, 2015. Blum seems to be a well-intentioned, spiritually-minded monotheist with a propensity for adopting other cultures' divinatory systems. The problem, for me, is that rather than write a book that seeks to collect historical information for neophytes, or a book called "My Life with the Runes" which details his personal interpretation of the runes and methods for using them, he has combined a bit of each and released it as the authoritatively-titled "Book of Runes."If you’re fasciated by runes, you’re not alone. Runes occupy a prized place in divination. The runes we use today in divinatory settings are actually thousands of years old, systems that reach deep into ancestral wisdom. It can definitely feel intimidating if you’re wondering how to read runes! But it doesn’t have to be. In this list of the 10 best books for learning runes, you’ll find books that teach you how to read runes for beginners as well as more intermediate to advanced books for learning to read runes. The variety of learning runes books here will tell you all about the runic alphabet, the history and culture of the Norsemen, and how to learn to read runes for divinatory purposes. Nauthiz is the great teacher disguised as the bringer of pain and limitation. It has been said that only at the point of greatest darkness do we become aware of the Light within us by which we come to recognize the true creative power of the Self ( Blum, p. 70). Larrington, Carolyne (1999). The Poetic Edda. Oxford World's Classics. Translated by Larrington. ISBN 978-0-19-283946-6. Nordic Runes: Understanding, Casting, and Interpreting the Ancient Viking Oracle by Paul Rhys Mountfort

Laguz signifies what alchemists called the conjunctio, or sacred marriage. In fairy tales, it is the end where the hero and heroine live happily ever after ( Blum, p. 91). Main article: Younger Futhark The Younger Futhark: long-branch runes and short-twig runes While also featuring a runic inscription detailing the erection of a bridge for a loved one, the 11th-century Ramsung carving is a Sigurd stone that depicts the legend of Sigurd.This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( March 2017) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Weisgerber, Johannes Leo (1966–1967). "Frühgeschichtliche Sprachbewegungen im Kölner Raum (mit 8 Karten)". Rheinische Vierteljahrsblätter (in German). This book includes material from the author's previous books Futhark, Runelore, and Runecaster's Handbook.

Stephen Flowers’s revised doctoral dissertation on historical runic magic is far and away the best scholarly work out there on the ancient practice of runic magic. Flowers (the author of Futhark, Runelore, and Runecaster’s Handbook under the pen name Edred Thorsson) discusses the role of the runes in the pre-Christian Germanic religion and mythology, establishing a firm conceptual basis for his subsequent discussions of the particulars of the ancient and medieval uses of the runes. He identifies patterns within the surviving source material concerning the runes, ultimately describing certain “formulas” or structural commonalities within ancient runic magic. In the early Runic period, differences between Germanic languages are generally presumed to be small. Another theory presumes a Northwest Germanic unity preceding the emergence of Proto-Norse proper from roughly the 5th century. [c] [d] An alternative suggestion explaining the impossibility of classifying the earliest inscriptions as either North or West Germanic is forwarded by È. A. Makaev, who presumes a "special runic koine", an early "literary Germanic" employed by the entire Late Common Germanic linguistic community after the separation of Gothic (2nd to 5th centuries), while the spoken dialects may already have been more diverse. [28] The Meldorf fibula and Tacitus's Germania [ edit ] Name [ edit ] Etymology [ edit ] The inscription on the Einang stone (AD 350–400), reading [Ek go]ðagastiz runo faihido ("[I, Go]dguest painted/wrote this runic inscription"), [3] is the earliest Germanic epigraphic attestation of the term. [4] Some later runic finds are on monuments ( runestones), which often contain solemn inscriptions about people who died or performed great deeds. For a long time it was presumed that this kind of grand inscription was the primary use of runes, and that their use was associated with a certain societal class of rune carvers. Edred Thorsson’s Runecaster’s Handbook is the third and final installment in his trilogy on runic magic for the lay reader. (The first two installments are Futhark, #2 above, and Runelore, #3 above.)The Anglo-Saxon rune poem gives the following characters and names: ᚠ feoh, ᚢ ur, ᚦ þorn, ᚩ os, ᚱ rad, ᚳ cen, ᚷ gyfu, ᚹ ƿynn, ᚻ hægl, ᚾ nyd, ᛁ is, ᛄ ger, ᛇ eoh, ᛈ peorð, ᛉ eolh, ᛋ sigel, ᛏ tir, ᛒ beorc, ᛖ eh, ᛗ mann, ᛚ lagu, ᛝ ing, ᛟ œthel, ᛞ dæg, ᚪ ac, ᚫ æsc, ᚣ yr, ᛡ ior, ᛠ ear. Williams, Henrik (1996). "The Origin of the Runes". Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik. 45: 211–18. doi: 10.1163/18756719-045-01-90000019.