Evolution of the Runes

The runes are not static and unchanging, and we should not forget that Woden did not create the runes (which already existed), for he rediscovered them through undergoing a shamanic initiation. We have meanings for the runes passed down to us, but they are heavily influenced by Christianity, coming to us during the early parts of the growing influence of the Judaeo-Christian Church. It would certainly be highly unlikely that the magical application of the runes would come down to us during this time, since this is where the Christian Church stamped down hard upon. What we have left is a set of rune-poems from different areas of the Northlands which are Christian in form and which have very mundane and everyday meanings.

 

If we look at the Greek and Hebrew alphabets we find that the letters also have names, again very mundane in meaning, but which also have a number and a hidden meaning which can be found in the Mystery Tradition of each particular culture. We can safely assume that the runes have a similar status which has been almost lost to us due to centuries of suppression. If we reject the idea that certain individuals are able to contact the inner meanings of the runes through intuition, meditation and other rune-work, then these meanings would be completely lost forever. Guido von List showed how these inner meanings could come to light again, and since then others have followed on and the runes are again evolving within the Folk-Consciousness. There is growing proof that the runes lie deep in the consciousness of the Folk, and that certain individuals can tap into this consciousness to gain new insights into their meanings.

 

The process of evolution is not done by one single individual, but by many different individuals working perhaps as facets of the Woden-Consciousness, rediscovering the runes as Woden did on the Wolf-Tree. As one individual finds new meanings others can see further insights, and the process goes on and on - all within the growing movement of Wodenism/Wotanism/Odinism. The runes are thus not stuck in a bygone era of time, the time of the 'Anglo-Saxons' or the 'Vikings'; if this were so they would be of no use to us today.

 

We have ample proof of the changing nature of the rune-meanings, so one example should suffice for this post. The meaning of the Feoh-Rune is 'cattle', pretty mundane and down-to-earth. What we need to consider is the essence of the meaning, and not just the form, for the runes are symbols. Cattle was the original measure of wealth within a tribe, which (as the different rune-meanings show us) altered by the Viking era into gold. Both were, to an extent, a measure of exchange between individuals or groups. The essence of this rune is thus exchange - something passed from one to another. From this we get another measure of exchange - the 'fee', a word that derives from the rune-name Feoh. From the original means of barter we have gold or silver as a means of paying for an exchange, from which came 'money' and today 'credit' on a grand scale. The system has gradually degenerated until money can be made from money, and indeed wealth can be made from nothing in a system of credit or 'usury' (money-lending with interest). The idea of 'usury' broke the basic idea of exchange since nothing is actually passed from one to another, the only meaning being that of gain without any work involved at all.

 

But we should not stop at physical meanings for each rune, since they have inner meanings that are not apparent until the symbol is studied and meditated upon. The first letter of the Hebrew Alphabet is Aleph which means 'cattle' - coincidence? The Greek Alpha has a similar sound too, and is also the first letter of their alphabet. As stated before, both in Hebrew and Greek the letters also have hidden meanings that were known only to a few esoteric workers in each tradition. This would also be the case with the runes. So we cannot stop at the mundane meaning of 'cattle' or of 'gold'. It would seem clear from the child's tale of Jack & the Beanstalk - based upon this Feoh-Rune - that this represents a Solar Initiation in which Jack gains the Solar Knowledge through undergoing a series of trials, stealing the knowledge from an 'ogre' - or rather taking it back since at the end we find that the 'ogre' had stolen it from Jack's father. As well as this being an Initiation Rite it is also a dim remembrance of the Aryan Myth in which the treasure (cattle or gold) is stolen from the Arya by the Jotun ('ogre' in this case) and regained by the Sun-Hero.

 

Nowhere in any of the rune-poems do we find reference to a Gealdor - Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum - which can be found in this tale. But we do find reference to 'gold' which can also be found in the tale of Jack & the Beanstalk - golden hen, gold coins, and golden harp - and gold has always been as Solar Symbol. From the mundane meaning of 'cattle' and 'gold' we have come to an inner meaning associated with Solar Knowledge. Horns have always been associated with the divine and would seem to represent a penetration into other worlds of being - a 'breaking through'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here we find a Boar with 'tusks' which have the same symbolic meaning as 'horns', and in the figure below (from the Horns of Gallehus) we have a horned figure -

 

 

 

This figure, on a runic horn, contradicts the idea that a Horned God was never part of the Northern Tradition, as does the die-cast shown below (from Sweden) -

In this one we can see clearly that the 'horns' of the 'dancing-warrior' are clearly symbolic, ending in bird's heads. There are also 'Solar-Horns' and 'Lunar-Horns' in a state of balance. A close-up of the die-cast shows the right-eye missing which could be a flaw, but there are also other figures with the right (or left in some cases) eye missing. This could thus be Woden - the One-Eyed Hunter-God. Woden is the most ancient Wolf-God and here we see an Ulfhednar Warrior.

 

The bull ('cattle') was in some ancient cultures symbolic of the Sun and thus of Solar-Power. This links it directly to the 'gold' of the other rune-poems, and thus the 'wealth' is really that of the Solar Knowledge of the Arya. The term Arya actually stems from the Aryan Root *ar- which means 'to move' (the Sun's perceived movement across the skies) but also 'to plough' which suggests the work done by oxen ('cattle'). The very basis of the keys to the Aryan Mysteries lies in the theft of the Solar Knowledge and its retrieval by the Solar Hero. This is thus the Primal Rune which contains this Primal Knowledge which is at the core of our struggle. We can see the symbolism clearly in Jack and the Beanstalk where the 'ogre' steals the gold objects from Jack's father, and Jack goes through a series of trials in order to regain what is rightly his.

 

In the Persian (Iranian-Aryan) version Kau Khusrau is the rightful owner of the Hvareno but the Turanian ruler steals the 'Glory' which belongs to the Aryan Nations and it is Kau Khusrau who has to regain it. We find this reflected in the Norse tale where Loki steals the Brosingamen Necklace from the goddess Freya which is regained by Heimdall (Hama) after a series of trials. We should reflect that the rune-name Feoh has roots in words meaning 'fire' and 'light' and that we have here Fire (Hama) pitched against Fire (Loki). Indeed, the Necklace of Fire is regained from the element of Water - from a lake in both cases. This is the secret of Fire from Water and the Great Deep. The Glory of Light is associated with the Sun and of Solar Kingship.

 

The Glory of Light is held by the goddess named Ardvi Sura Anahita just as the Necklace of Fire (Brosingamen) is held by the goddess Freya. The Feoh-Rune is not only the 'Father-Rune' but is also connected to the goddess Freya and to the Waene-Gods. The Waene are associated with the planet Venus (The Morning Star & Evening Star) which is the herald of the Sun, the Dawn, and the Twilight Hour.

 

We have seen here, just by widening the view of one rune we can find numerous new meanings and new interpretations - all individual interpretations but nonetheless valid ones that aid our knowledge. No matter how many thousands of ancient books, documents, and knowledge are destroyed at a physical level these symbols remain in the Blood Memory of our Folk and can be brought to the surface by those who work at an esoteric level. The runes are ever-changing and ever-evolving just as we are evolving.