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Introduction to Rune Rede: Wisdom and Magick for the Life Journey.

Ruarik Grimnisson Capall Bann UK
irminsul@tsn.cc

Chapter Thirteen

Magickal Applications

of

the Runes

Runes wilt thou Find and Rightly read

of wondrous weight

of mighty magic . . .

(The Sayings of Har - Poetic Edda)

What is Magick?

Many definitions have been given of magick. Basically it is use of concentrated desire and determination - the Will - to affect changes in a chosen environment. The environment may be internally subjective - the consciousness/body of the magician - the "self" or externally subjective - the "self" of another. It may also be the objective environment of the individual - that which has a supportive or destructive affect for the person or the objective environment of the collective - that which has a supportive or destructive affect for friends, family, tribe, clan, nation.

Because of our sensual nature, we seemed to be most impressed with spectacular changes within the objective environment. Many years of fairy tales and now the 'special FX' of motion pictures have conditioned us to expect this expression of Magick - the sudden and seemingly supernatural alterations in reality. But even though this is possible by advanced Runemasters, it is not the measure of magick. In occult circles the changes to the external objective environment are considered lesser magick while affecting changes within the internal subjective (the self) and external subjective environment (other selves) are considered greater magick.

This may seem perplexing but when you consider that you are the centre of your particular universe within the greater multiverse, you come to the understanding that all changes in your life/environment originate within your own consciousness; through desires/actions whether you are aware or ignorant of your true motivations. It is at this point that I recommend you to re-read chapter four; Time and Probability. You have your particular Orlog which has been shaped by all that has gone before. So has your family, tribe, clan and nation of origin. So has the world of Midgard with all its inhabitants no matter what species.

When you change your awareness, you change your way of thinking, feeling and acting. When unconscious patterns of motivation and behaviour become conscious, you alter your comprehension of both the subjective and objective world. This perceptual alteration facilitates extended options for action. This is the divinatory - the Rede - function of the runes which is in itself truly magickal.

The runes are symbols of Orlog and Wyrd analogous to the language of computer software used to write an Operating System program. The practical use of runes for magick is taking these same symbols of insight and directing them towards affecting the desired changes.

With this computer program analogy the runes are a Meta-language with which we write in alterations to the directory which is called Orlog, specifically the configuration called Verdandi (that which is becoming). If an alteration is made in the Operating System then the function and display of other Applications (interdependent programs), eg. intuition, reasoning and synchronous awareness, will be altered.

Simply said; by writing in changes to the Operating System of Orlog (that which is) you alter, extend or concentrate the capabilities of the Application called Skuld (that which is obliged to come) - your Wyrd.

Methods of Practice

Traditionally, there are two main branches of Magick in the Northern Way. One branch is called Galdra or Galdar (singing) and involves the directing of runic energy through archetypal identification with a god form eg. Odinn - chanting, visualising and risting by the intention - the will power alone - of the magician. Its most common application is to increase personal power/knowledge/wisdom to facilitate the fulfillment of specific goals including warding energy to maintain freedom. Also the ability to influence others directly to work your will through the charisma of presence and speech. In Old Norse the male practitioner is called a Vitki, the female a Vitka and in Old English the cognates are Wicca and Wicce respectively. This magick is associated with the Aesir - god/esses of consciousness/intellect.

The other branch is called Seidhr or Seith (seething) also known as Fiolkyngi (great wisdom of the folk) and involves the spell chanting, rune risting, visualisation and the evocation of external entities god/esses and/or spirits eg. Freyja; Dwarfs; Elves, to achieve the desired result. The practice of Spae (scrying - clairvoyance); prediction of Orlog/Wyrd and out-of-body journeying ("faring forth") is a part of Seith. This magick is of an elemental kind having to do with understanding and manipulating natural phenomena. Cursing and healing are integral to this practice. Most practitioners are women and in Old Norse are called Voelva (seeress) or Vitt (witch). Male practitioners are called Seithmadr (seething man ).This magick is associated with the Vanir. Seith is akin to shamanism while Galdar is akin to Ritual Magick. Because Seith often involves trance states it is labeled as a passive/submissive thus a feminine form of magick (in the sense of being "Yin" as in Taoism) while Galdar is performed from an active/aggressive point of consciousness thus a masculine form (in the sense of being "Yang" as in Taoism). In the Ylingasaga it is written:

"Freya was the daughter of Njorth. She was priestess at blessings (blotgythia). She first taught seith, which was usual to the Vanir, to the Æsir."

and

"Odin knew this art, that brings great might, and worked it himself. It is called seith, and by its might he knew the Orlogs of men and understood silent lots. He could work the banes of men or loss of hamingia or waning health. So also could he take wit and power from some people and give them to others. But this fiolkyngi, as it is worked, involves such great ergi (passive receptiveness) that it is thought by manly men to be the most shameful way to go, and this art was learned by gythia (priestesses)".

(trans. by James A. Chisholm)

The difference between the two forms are not cut and dried. They do overlap to a great extent. By the end of the Viking Age and during the conversion to Christianity, the differences are not apparent. Literary references lump all folk magick under the heading of Fiolkyngi - Seith. It is really a matter of application of intent rather than a distinction of practice. According to these categories, rune divination or scrying would be classified as Seith and so would Shape-Shifting (taking on the form or "borrowing" the subtle shape of an animal) yet these skills are also a part of Galdar practice. For our purposes it is most easiest to tentatively categorize Galdar as Shinning Usage and Seith as Shadow Usage. The reader should allow natural inclinations to be their guide in these matters.

To affect changes one must have "one pointedness" - an unwavering desire for the result to manifest but this is not enough in itself. The aspects of the self such as Mind, Will, Mod and High must be harmoniously directed towards the same goal. This is an appropriate time to re-read chapter three; Soul Lore. Regular meditation puts the runer in touch with the Orthanc and will unlock ancestral memory which is very helpful for the application of rune wisdom in practice.

Rune magick has many aspects. Before attempting any practice the runer should consider these words of Odinn from the Havamal (Poetic Edda):

The runer most know that primal laws (Orlog) apply to the use of magick which is really a form of subtle physics. For every action that is Orlog their will be a reaction that is Skuld. Rune Lore says that you have to pledge action or service in exchange for what you desire to become a reality. You have to have a reason or goal for the use of the energy you wish to manifest.

This is particularly true of Seith Magick where there is interaction with external entities whose help is called upon. In exchange for this gift, one must render a price. This price agreed upon in your intent will be exacted whether you change your mind or not. The warning here is to be sure you are willing to pay the fee - remember the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamlein.

The metaphorical image of the Web is appropriate here also. Every thread of focused will woven into the subtle fabric of the collective unconscious binds itself to, and alters, the pattern of the whole. Alternatively, when runes are willfully visualised /risted /sung their subtle energy drops into the Well of Wyrd to form a layer in the Orlog which will shape the present and that 'which is becoming'. None of us know exactly what other changes we may wrought in the Wyrd by our workings or when they might manifest. The saw, "be careful what you wish for 'cause you may just get it", applies in this case for this saw describes the acts of synchronicity that happen in our lives when we least expect them, sometimes years after we have forgotten our desires. Sometimes by then, their fulfillment may be unwanted and the manifestation can cause problems. Because of our "instant gratification" society we expect our magick to manifest when we want it - usually immediately. This is not how things work. Time and Probability must be taken into account.

It is important to be specific in your request and to set time limitations on the manifestation of your will. Of all the probabilities in the Well, we are focusing on what we want to be, how and when. With the Web of Wyrd analogy, we are weaving the threads to intersect the probability factors in our favour. Then we forget about it and get on with our lives. By continually mulling over a desire but not sending it into the Well - not releasing it, we are holding the desire in stasis. This will cause fatigue and accomplish little. It is like an archer with a drawn bow - the arrow is aimed at the target but s/he wont let go. What happens then? S/he starts to hurt with the strain and their attention and aim wavers with the fatigue.

Emotion is a powerful source of magickal energy. It engages the Mod and invokes the Wode. Emotion can be all consuming and while we are in its grip we have "one pointedness". It is good to excite the emotions and utilize the senses in ecstatic conditions eg. trance, for magick but just before we reach mental (or physical) orgasm we must harness this volcanic energy and direct it through our Will - the sending; point of release (the archer releases the arrow and then relaxes their posture).

This book has been written in answer to the increasing demand for traditional Rune Lore. There are many books on the market pertaining to Runes but not all of them are founded on ancient tradition. Those on Rune Lore fall basically into three categories; Academic, Religious/Magickal and New Age. It can be difficult for those who are new to these studies to decipher where one category ends and another begins. Academic research lays the historical foundation for knowledge of the Runic Culture; and our Northern forebears' society was indeed magickal. The natural and supernatural worlds intertwined with their social world. They were not separated from the realities of physical and spiritual life by the technological comforts and mental placebos that we, as modern folk, now take for granted. The current trend among many New Age writers of Rune Lore, especially those with a strong Universalist agenda, is to negate historical reality and to re-interpret the Runes according to popular philosophical and sociopolitical ideology, even to the point of ignoring textual and archaeological evidence. In some cases, they have even made up their own rune staves (glyphs or symbols) and given them artificial meaning and commentary. This does a grave disservice to our heritage and to those who wish to draw on the wisdom of the ancestors.

This book is the product of 14 years of research and practical experimentation. I have been asked on many occasions to recommend Rune books. I have done so but what is often asked of me is the whereabouts of books that don't try to tell you everything; books that don't expect you to be a boffin to read them; books that don't lead you down the garden path into New Age fantasy. I have tried to fill this gap with this current volume. This book incorporates the essentials that are common to those cultures where Runes were used, and remains true to their Heathen origins. The ways of Rune working have evolved over centuries but the essential symbolism, as a key to understanding the profound mysteries of existence, is just as relevant today, as it was to our ancestors.

It is important to remember that the Runic 'alphabets' were not just a system of writing for the Germanic peoples - they were a Life-Code. Encrypted in their numerical ordering and individual symbolism is a guide to the life journey of the soul - a holistic approach for the individual and collective folk to survive and thrive in the worlds of nature, mankind and the spiritual realms. Their magick arose from the understanding of the inseparability of all phenomena - what our ancestors called the Wyrd.

I have presented an integrated collection of basic Rune Lore, I trust, in the manner it was meant to be given - as a counsel for the soul's life journey. The Old English word for counsel is Red - Rede, hence the title of this book. I have used the collective system of the twenty four rune staves known as the "Elder Futhark", they being the oldest complete runic system yet found. This book is both concise and precise, not pretending to be an atlas of the Runic World, but a traveller's pocket guide.

It contains the codes that will make the way clear. It has been designed as a 'ready reference', not only for all who wish to explore the patterns of Wyrd, but for those who seek essential reference to the power of the Runes, manifested and unmanifested. For those who are seeking insight into the psychological world of our pre-industrial ancestors, this book will reveal to you their basic attitudes and expectations. The ancestral mythology interwoven with each rune-rede is presented for you own contemplation. It is my experience that most people begin their exploration of the runic world with the use of rune staves for divination - seeking their rede (counsel). Their divinatory task is not fortune telling. It is to unlock self-knowledge, provide profound insight, and hopefully encourage the development of wisdom, which in turn will stimulate the need to make the most out of your life - your "will to power". Study of the knowledge herein seen through the lens of heathen understanding will reveal an alternative map of reality that will aid you on your life journey. For the student of the Occult, it will serve as a stimulant for deeper mystical studies. May it serve you well.

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