The word “Rune” (or Rún, Runa, etc) can be translated to mean a few different things. The three most common I’ve found are: Mystery, Secret and Whisper.
Runes are interesting to me for a number of reasons.
First, is whilst they are letters, they’re really not just that and only that. They’re words. For example, Uruz is Auroch. Fehu is Cattle. Laguz is lake or lagoon (water, really.) By looking at what each rune means, you can find out their Mysteries or energies.
The second, is that in order to understand them fully, you have to be aware of the fact that they’re not just letters/words/symbols, they’re their own consciousness and as such they will bleed into your life in their own ways. They’re not a puppy that will sit and wait for you to come home, they will act of their own accord, unless you can learn to direct their energies. They already have an innate energy behind them, as not only are they connected to certain concepts, but thwy have a lineage of practitioners that have previously used them. So, when you invoke a rune, you’re not only drawing on the power and energy of those concepts, for lack of a better way of putting it, but you’re also drawing on the power of the practitioners who used them before you. They’re aspects of nature and by extent, the universe within and around you.
So, with that being said, I will now get into the mythology of the runes, how to connect to them, so on so forth.
Many people say Odhinn created the runes. This is false. He discovered them, in a very traumatic way. He hung from the World Tree by his neck. For 9 days and 9 nights, peirced by his spear, Gungnir. With no food, no water and no mercy. Towards the end of his ordeal (or should I say initiation) he “spotted them and picked them up screaming”.
This, in it’s simplest terms, is symbolic of shamanic initiation. Him, dying to himself, FOR himself, to receive power. Death and rebirth.
See, runes aren’t just used to manifest, they transform and they also heal. But they will also tear someone apart.
I connected with the runes in a few different ways. First, I did the method that is most commonly done, which is meditated on them. I drew out the rune in black ink and visualized it coming to life and then it’s energies interacting with me. Then, I began to recite the rune poems. The other is controversial and could result in the removal of the post, so i won’t discuss it here.
But that’s the idea really. To meditate on them and develop a connection with them. Some people also bloody them. Depending on what you prefer, you may use the Elder Futhark or the Younger. I personally use the Elder Futhark and that is what I will be referring to throughout this post and thread.
One can connect with them in whatever order they wish. You’ll notice that they’re organized in 3 rows or Aetts. You have Freyja’s Aett, the first row, Heimdall’s Aett, the second row and Tyr’s Aett, the third row.
The answers vary depending on who you ask but the first has to do with the creation of the universe, the second being disruptive forces of change and the third about spiritual awakening and divinity, basically.
As we all know runes are worked with in numerous ways. I will first focus on divination, now that the mythos has been briefly discussed.
