The Runes were a form of ancient writing,
widely used for many thousands of years.
There is much mystery surrounding the use of the runes,
as well as their origin.
According to legend, the word "Rune" means a whispered secret.
It is from ancient Norse culture that the runes originate,
and in fact were the very heart of life for those peoples.
After many centuries of disuse, and being confined to some dark
recess, the runes are reemerging as a gift from our forebears,
to be used to impart wisdoms of the ancients.
As Christianity spread, erection of the runestones eventually died
The church made it the business of the moment to outlaw the
use of runes, and to destroy all evidence of them.
This total eradication of a culture was achieved by the insidious
overtaking and usurping of its tenets
Churches were placed strategically on the holy or sacred sites
Existing pagan festivals were taken as the churches own.
Ystre(Easter) and Saturnalia(Christmas) were summarily
borrowed for the Christians own use.
The early Christians engaged upon a conscious and stubborn
campaign to wipe out loyalty to any God but their own deity
There would be no celebrations, no festivals, no worship
of any kind, unless it was sanctioned by,
and for, the Christian church
The Christian church was, in the main, albeit after many years,
extremely effective in eradicating cultures
(witness our own native american cultures)
While the church eradicated the use of the runes themselves,
it did not manage to control use of the actual runic symbols
In medieval times, the people responded to the churches
intransigence by incorporating the runes into
the timbers of their homes
in obvious runic configurations, so that they were effectively
empowered by the runes, even given the churches forbidding laws.
Today there are still many homes in Europe in which runic designs
are visible
The problem with any culture being passed down via "word of mouth"
is that when the culture fragments, as is inevitable in such society,
the history of that culture is fragmented as well
Owing to a lack of historical materials regarding the
use of the runes there is much conjecture as
to how they were a part of everyday life.
It is assumed they were used for magical purposes,
or as talismans.
It is very difficult to tell from the slim documentations
left to this age,why the Norse and Saxon peoples believed
so fervently in the powers of the rune as a talisman,
although it is known they were also used for mundane
writings, as any other alphabet, they were ascribed
as well a magical presence
The simple truth is that much of the history,
and associated myth was taken
away by a too fervent Christian church
in its effort to kill a culture.
We do know that they were in common use across all
of Northern Europe,from the Bronze age
until the middle of the seventeenth century.
The extent and scope of use is lost to antiquity.
We know, that after the Norman, Kelts,& Saxons were joined
with the Germanic tribes, the runes affected not only the
warrior culture,
but the morals, artistry, poetry and literary works as well.
Some of these works have survived until today.
The belief in the magickal,
spiritual power of the runes to bring goodness to everyday life
is the stone upon which the artistic culture was built
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UNDERSTANDING THE RUNES
The runes, above all else are steeped in natural forces,
and symbolize the power which is shown by the
elements of nature,the earths forces,
the wind, ice, rain, and the sun for instance.
To try to understand them by adopting a reasoning, intellectual
approach, therefore, is fruitless, and will bring bewilderment
rather than enlightenment and knowledge.
The runes are derived from natural forces,which can be
seen everywhere that the eyes of one who wishes to see will look.
It is apparent in the shape of a stream or creek as it
flows through a woodland,in the forked branches of the trees,
and the shape of the stones on the path.
The forces of nature speak to us directly, if
we will but open our mind and listen.
The knowledge they give is all around us, so long as we see
with our inner self, with the inner sight,
and not with the eyes alone.
The runes do not and will not impart amazing magickal powers,
do not give unearthly success, nor great material gain
to the holder, nor will they give wealth or political powers.
They are as pragmatic as nature itself, grounded
firmly in the natural world.
To this day, our language bears witness to the
underlying philosophy of the runes,
by a number of little sayings, such as,
"What goes around comes around" and "nothing comes for free"
The peoples who used the runes, Celtics, Normans, Saxons,
Germanics, all were grounded firmly in the earths ways,
knew that there is always a price to be paid for any gain,
and that" all of life is a circle."
Because of this they took a less demanding approach
to life than does modern mankind today
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USING THE RUNES
Before you begin to use the runes, it is important to
get in touch with the energies they represent.
Our ancestors viewed the world in a holistic way
witnessed by the adage"As above, so below".
It is such a sad commentary on our world today that such an
approach is met with disbelief and derision, that the practioners of
paganism are so widely discriminated against in a modern world
which protects religious freedoms.
The established churches have aided in the erosion of this concept
as they perhaps have too much to lose if an
individual can actually communicate well with their God without
being involved in an organized religion and
offering tithe to the officials who manage that organization.
Anyone considering using the runes needs to
aproach them from this holistic point of view
and to meditate and understand the flow of
energies through the universe.
Without this basic understanding, at best the runes are little
more than a neat trick, at worst, can be dangerous.
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THE PROCESS OF UNDERSTANDING THE RUNES
Time.. that time which is measured by the turning of
the hands of a clock is but one concept of time.
Murray Hope says, in his book entitled "The Ultimate Energy"
"The non-linear time that exists beyond
the confines of our own little corner of the universe, I refer to
as outer time. Outer time, not subject to the physical,
also embraces timelessness and those subtle dimensions
that are not concerned with the worlds of matter."
Further he explains"Once we have done so, vast energy
fields the nature and breadth and depth
of which we have not dreamed will be available for our use"
In his book, "The Runes", Horik Svenson states"It seems quite
clear that we do have the capacity to move into
this timeless, energy filled world,and to
move beyond the everyday normal perception of time.
Svenson further says"If we think of time as a ball,
and cut a cross section of it.. all of time
past, present, and future will be visible.
This view gets to the heart of what is needed.
It allows us to view time in terms of quality,
rather than movement of hands.
In other words, the cross section of time we cut
out would have its own special qualities,
dependent not upon the hour of the day, but
upon the universal energies running through that section
I feel that the energies and the time meld in that cross section..
Time: past, present, and future are available for us
to walk through, with all the given energies to utilize.
The runes simply reflect those energies, and the rune caster,
the agent,through which the energy is visible.
The runes, from first tradition have been made of natural materials.(wood, leather, silver,)
Each one contains a series of meanings, and the runecast will create
a logical connection between each meaning,even where the conscious mind sees none
The runic symbols talk to the mind through universal energies,
in a way that words cannot do. All of life contains an essence, a spirit
whereby it lives. In each blade of grass and each rock is a form of life to celebrate.
The powers of
the runes lies in their very "earthiness" the connection to all thing natural.
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MEDITATING ON THE RUNES
The main source of information left us regarding the runes today is a poem
Anglo-Saxon in origin, which was translated by monks from the Old English into Latin
It appears this translation was not without bias, in that many Christian
references appear in the translation, yet despite this the meaning was still essentially clear.
As you handle each rune, concentrate your energies on the meaning of it..
concentrate your thoughts on the old Gods and teachings, on nature and the spirit
making it reveal its own meaning
