Post by professorrogan on Aug 4, 2012 22:46:41 GMT 1
This will be your textbook throughout your time at RSVO, and topics will be added as the year goes on.
Unit 1:
What are Runes?
Unit 2:
Pagan Beliefs of Runes
Unit 3:
The Viking Age
Unit 4:
History & Origin of Ancient Runes
Unit 5:
Gods, Goddesses & Deities in Ancient Runes
Unit 6:
Runic Spells
What Are Runes?
Runes are an alphabetic script used by the people of Northern Europe from the first century (c.e.) until well into the Middle Ages. In addition to their use as a written alphabet, the runes also served as a system of symbols used for magic and divination. Runes came into disuse as the Roman alphabets became the preferred script of most of Europe, but their forms and meanings were preserved in inscriptions and manuscripts. The primary characteristic which distinguishes a runic alphabet from other alphabets is that each letter, or rune, has a meaning. For example, "ay", "bee", and "cee" are meaningless sounds denoting the first three letters in our alphabet, whereas the names the first three runes, "fehu", "uruz", and "þurisaz" are actual words in the Germanic language, meaning "cattle", "aurochs", and "giant". Respectively, Runes also have magical and religious significance as well, thus transforming the simple process of writing into a magical act. They are also used for divinatory readings and to create magical spells. Today, runes have been rediscovered as a symbolic system and have gained immense popularity as a means of divination. However, much more than a curious alternative to Tarot cards for telling fortunes. They provide a key to understanding the lives & beliefs of the ancient people who created them, and have much to teach us about a way of life that was, perhaps, more intimately connected to the natural world, and to the realm of the spirits, than our own.
Pagan Beliefs of Runes
Pagan groups resemble cults as in that their members choose their beliefs and rituals from a variety of sources rather than following a prescribed set of teachings and practices. There are, however, a number of well-defined pagan schools or "paths", including: Druidism, which focuses on the Celtic deities; Asatru, the core of which is the Norse gods; and Wicca, the path of Witchcraft, which worships the Great Goddess and the Horned God. Other more loosely defined groups also worship the Great Goddess, selecting their beliefs and practices from Wicca itself and also from other sources, including the Egyptian, Greek, and Roman pagan traditions.
The different schools or paths refer to the goddesses and gods by different names: Wicca, for example, frequently uses Aradia and Cerridwen for the Goddess, while in Druidism the name Bride is more common, and in the Finnish and Baltic traditions Freya and Fregga are the usual names used. The names Diana and Isis are widely used by many groups, while others refuse to name her "Her", and simply speak of "the Goddess" or "She-Whose-Name-May-Not-Be Spoken". Although the pagan pantheon houses a vast number of goddesses and gods, and paganism itself is at one level highly polytheistic in its worship, there is, nevertheless, a widespread belief among pagans that all of their gods are manifestations of a single divine force or power. This divine force or power does not reside "out there" or "above", detached and separate from nature and the material world (as monotheistic traditions tend to assert), but is immanent in the world and permeates nature. Paganism is in this sense pantheistic, fusing the divine with nature and eschewing any dualistic notions of matter and spirit as separate and distinct. To pagans, the Earth (the Great Mother or Gaia) contains the vital creative energy that gives life to and makes sacred all creation. Pagans would also insist that the divine is both inseparable from the material world and also transcends it.
The Viking Age
One of the reasons that we have so few records from the Viking Age is that the Vikings did not become familiar with the Roman alphabet (the alphabet we use today) until they adopted Christianity. However, they did have another form of lettering, known as runes. Runes were normally carved, rather than written, and were therefore mostly used for fairly short inscriptions.
The futhark had only sixteen runes. This meant that some runes were used for several different letters, but there were two runes for the letter 'a', two for 'r', and one for our 'th'. More runes were gradually added after the Vikings became familiar with the Roman alphabet. There were several different versions of some of the runes, and individual runes might be carved back-to-front or upside down. All these factors can make runes difficult to read.
It is unknown how many people could read runes in the Viking Age. Runic inscriptions on pieces of wood from Bergen in Norway show that runes were used for all sorts of everyday purposes later in the Middle Ages, but no comparable evidence has survived from the Viking Age, and it is likely that few people were literate in runes. However, the fact that some Vikings were able to carve their names on their possessions suggests that the use of runes wasn't uncommon. Most of the surviving runes are found on large memorial stones. Very often they only have the name of the person in whose memory the stone was carved, and the names of those responsible for having it made. Sometimes the name of the rune-carver was also given. Occasionally the inscriptions describe the achievements of the person commemorated, and refer to historical events in which they were involved. For this reason, runic inscriptions are a valuable source for Viking history. However, because they are so brief, they never give a very full picture, and often raise as many questions as they answer.
History & Origin of Ancient Runes
Like many other forms of Fortune Telling, the origin of Runes is shrouded in mystery. The word Rune is associated with several origins, from several different sources. You have the German word Raunen, which means "To Cut or Carve", the Old Norse word Run which means "Secret" and the Gothic word Runa - meaning "Secret Whisper". Certainly the evidence we have indicates Scandinavian and Germanic routes through links to Norse Mythology. What we now know as the runic alphabet seems to have developed from two distinct sources - one magical, one literate. Pre-runic symbols, or hällristningar, have been found in various Bronze Age rock carvings, primarily in Sweden. Some of these symbols are readily identifiable in the later alphabets, while others represent ideas and concepts which were incorporated into the names of the runes (sun, horse, etc.). The exact meanings of these sigils are now lost to us, as is their original purpose, but they are believed to have been used for divination or lot-casting, and it is fairly certain that they contributed to the magical function of the later runic alphabets.
There is some debate over the origin of the "alphabet" aspect of the runes. Cases have been made for both Latin and Greek derivation, and several scholars are once again arguing in favour of both these theories. However, the strongest evidence still seems to point to a North Italic origin. The parallels between the two alphabets are too close to be ignored, particularly in the forms of the letters, as well as in the variable direction of the writing, and certain structural and even symbolic characteristics. This would also explain why so many of the runes resemble Roman letters, since both Italic and Latin scripts are derived from the Etruscan alphabet (itself a branch of the Western Greek family of alphabets). This theory would place the original creation of the futhark sometime before the 1st. century c.e., when the Italic scripts were absorbed and replaced by the Latin alphabet. Linguistic and phoenetic analysis points to an even earlier inception date, perhaps as far back as 200 b.c.e.
When the northern tribes began integrating the Italic alphabets into their own symbolic system, they gave the letters names relating to all aspects of their secular and religious lives, thus transforming their simple pictographs into a magical alphabet which could be used for talismans, magical inscriptions and divination.
Gods, Goddesses & Deities in Ancient Runes
Æsir: A race of gods corresponding to the functions of magic, law and war.
Ask, Askr: The first man.
Audhumla: A giant cow that was formed from the dripping rime produced when the world fire met the world ice. She fed Ymir and licked salty ice blocks to revive Buri.
Bauldar, Balder: Æsir son of Odin and Frigga, who was killed by an arrow made of mistletoe shot by the blind God Hodor (who was tricked by Loki) and resurrected. His wife is Nanna. Known as the Shining God; the Bleeding God. He represents light, advice, reconciliation, beauty, gentleness, reincarnation, wisdom, harmony, happiness. Balder will return from Hel after Ragnarok and will rule as one of the new Gods. His name means "The Bright One".
Bergelmir: He and his wife were the only two Giants to survive the flood of Ymir's blood. In that way he kept the Giant race from dying.
Bestla: Wife of Bor the daughter of a giant named Bolthorn.
Bor: Son of Buri.
Buri: An Androgynous man freed from salty ice blocks by Audhumla.
Embla: The first woman.
Fenris: Fenris is the monstrous wolf, son of the god Loki who bit off Tyr's hand and will swallow Odin at Ragnarok but will be slain by Odin's son, Vidar.
Fjörgvin: Father of Frigga.
Forseti: Axe-God of justice, savior of the devout, winner of just lawsuits. Son of Balder and Nanna. He represents justice, good laws, arbitration, peace, fairness, good judgment. Forseti means 'the presiding one'. His hall is called Glitner.
Frey, Freyr: Freyr is the god of sun and rain, and the patron of bountiful harvests. He is both a god of peace and a brave warrior. He is also the ruler of the elves. Freyr is the most prominent and most beautiful of the male members of the Vanir, and is called 'God of the World'. After the merging of the Aesir and the Vanir, Freyr was called 'Lord of the Aesir'. Freyr was also called upon to grant a fertile marriage.
He is married to the beautiful giantess Gerd, and is the son of Njord. His sister is Freya. He rides a chariot pulled by the golden boar Gullinbursti which was made for him by the dwarves Brok and Eitri. He owns the ship Skidbladnir ("wooden-bladed"), which always sails directly towards its target, and which can become so small that it can fit in Freyr's pocket. He also possesses a sword that would by itself emerge from its sheath and spread a field with carnage whenever the owner desired it.
Freyr's shield bearer and servant is Skirnir, to whom he gave his sword, which Skirnir demanded as a reward for making Gerd his wife. On the day of Ragnarok he will battle without weapons (for he gave his sword away to Skirnir), and will be the first to be killed by the fire giant Surt.
Freyja, Freya: Member of the Vanir who lives with the Æsir, daughter of Njord, sister-consort of Frey. Her emblem is the necklace Brisingamen. Hers is the magic of reading runes, trancing and casting spells. She is said to have taught Seidh to Odin. She owns a falcon cloak, takes dove form, rides in a chariot drawn by two cats, or rides a boar. As leader of the Valkyries, she takes half those slain in battle and is traditionally associated with death and sexuality. She weeps tears of gold, which become amber, called "Freyja's Tears". Her name means "The Lady".
Frigga: Frigga is the clairvoyant mistress of Asgard. She knows the fates of all men and gods. Queen of the goddesses. Wife to Odin.
Heimdall, Heimdal: God of Light and the rainbow, Guardian of Bifrost bridge. He has super-sight and super-hearing. He sleeps less than a bird, he can hear the grass grow and see hundreds of miles away. He is said to be the son of nine mothers. As the god Rig ("ruler"), Heimdall created the three races of mankind: the serfs, the peasants, and the warriors. Heimdall was the keeper of the Gjallahorn, the "ringing" horn, which he was to sound when Ragnarok, the end of the world, was near.
Hel: Daughter of Loki and the giant Angurboda. She is the sister of Fenrir (Fenris-wolf) and Jormungand (Midgard serpent). She is the goddess of the underworld. Her realm was Niflheimr and her hall, Elvidnir (misery). She was described as half white and half black.
Hodor, Hodur: Strong and blind son of Odin and Frigg, who was tricked by Loki into shooting an arrow made of mistletoe at Balder causing his death.
Ing: Ing is the male consort of the earth mother (Nerthus). A fertility God.
Loki: Evil in character, capricious in behavior, cunning, he is known as the trickster God, called "Father of Lies", Shape-changer, Sky-Traveler.
Runic Spells
Inscriptions
Today, many people take written language for granted and use runes as an alphabet without really understanding the magical importance of doing so. When you write a word in runes, it empowers that word. The Norse would often finish inscriptions with the statement, "So-and-so wrote this", or "So-and-so made me". This was a way of magically connecting the writer or carver of the runes with what they had just written. For example, there was a bone plate found in Derbyshire which bears an inscription that reads, "God will preserve the honour of Hadda because he wrote this". Thus, the very act of writing something in runes is a spell in itself, bringing the statement into concrete reality.
Rune Scripts
Another way of using the runes for magic is to write out rune rows, or rune scripts. These are type of shorthand spell, made up of a sequence of two or more runes. For example, if you wanted to create a rune row to help enhance your psychic abilities, you might incorporate laguz/water (relating to the subconscious and mysteries), perth/dice-cup (for divination and magic), ansuz/Odin (the God of the runes), and kenaz/torch (for inspiration).
Bindrunes
A bindrune consists of two or more runes that have been superimposed or joined together in some way. Occasionally, runes like fehu, raiðo or wunjo would be joined at the base of their "stems", forming a wheel. Other times, runes would be joined side by side, or combined into a single rune. This latter method is the most popular today. Historically, bindrunes were used as "contractions" in an inscription, either to save space or to reduce the number of runes in the inscription to a more magically auspicious total. Today they are commonly used in rune magic by themselves to create a magical sigel that will encompass several runes at once.
Additional runes will often appear when creating a bindrune, and these can contribute to or detract from the purpose. However, a rune is only truly present if you consciously include it by tracing its shape. If you can avoid including a conflicting rune by changing the configuration, then by all means do so, but you shouldn't worry about it too much.
Materials and Methods
Runic inscriptions, rune scripts and bindrunes can be used in many ways. They can be inscribed on a talisman - a permanent, physical manifestation of the magic of the runes that a person would wear or carry around with them. They may also be used for more immediate purposes, by carving them into a piece of wood and then burning it, by scratching them into a candle and lighting it, or in any number of other ways. Making runes for magical use is a little bit different from making a set for divination, but the process of marking, colouring and naming them is essentially the same.
Your choice of materials when making a talisman or spell is important, since this will be the medium which 'carries' your message and will add it's own peculiar energies to the process. A permanent talisman or inscription can be carved on anything you like, although (again) natural materials are best. Specific rune spells are traditionally sent by burning them, so your medium should be flammable if this is your intent. Paper or parchement is handy and will do in a pinch, but keep in mind that your average Norseman wouldn't have had access to such finery. Paper is also magically quite neutral, and while it won't detract from what you are trying to accomplish, it certainly won't add anything either.
Rune spells and talismans were traditionally cut or scratched into wood. Of the few wooden runic artifacts recovered from that time, many were made from yew, which has a long history of association with the runes and magic. There are many other woods which have their own magical associations. For more information on these, see the Sacred Woods page.
The process of creating a rune spell is a ritual in itself. The technique traditionally involved the following steps:
. Carving or cutting the runes into the wood, bone or stone
. Colouring ('reddening') the runes with either red ochre paint or the magician's own blood (this would connect the spell magically to the person doing it)
. Speaking or singing the names of the runes to empower them
. Sending the rune spell to its destination (if it is not a permenant talisman), often by burning
. Making an offering (a 'blot') of thanks to the Gods, usually of mead or ale
You can elaborate on this simple ritual as much as you like.