The Ar-Kan Runic System

I have noticed that when studying the rune-workers who used the Armanen Runes, which were formulated by the Armanen Master - Guido von List - there have been changes made which show rune-shapes that do not fit the original 'Mother-Rune' - the Hagal-Rune which becomes the 'Hag-All' or 'All-Hag'. Obviously, although being such a small change in shape, this does not fit the original, nor the original work of von List. Many Armanen Initiates followed the Listian ideas, and added their own ideas, which is fine, but changing the rune-shapes or rune-names distorts the original work. This we have to avoid within the Ar-Kan Runes, something that I am going to work on now. We already have 33 rune-staves which are standard, but which will need small changes, and we have alternatives for some of the runes which makes things clearer. These alternatives are used to aid the process of finding the meanings, but are not there to replace a certain rune-stave. This also goes for the rune-sounds, although I have as yet not fully worked on these, but this will be done so that we have a standard set of rune-sounds, even if we have to have a specific set used for gealdor, since when sounding runes two syllables always seems to work better than one. 

We are in the early stages of developing the Ar-Kan Runes and to do so without having distortion enter this system in the future there has to be a standard set of runes and sounds from which to work with. No, this does not mean we enforce a rigid code onto anyone who uses them for there has to be some flexibility, what it does mean is that we wish to avoid distortion and changes that would unbalance the system altogether. We need a standard to work with, one that others may use and develop new ideas. 

Feoh - Ur - Thorn - Os - Rad - Ken - Gyfu - Wyn

Haegl - Nyd - Is - Ger - Eoh - Peorth - Eolhs - Sig-el

Tir - Beorc - Eh - Man - Lagu - Ing - Daeg - Edhel

Ac - AEsc - Yr - Ior - Ear - Cweorth - Calc - Stan 

Gar

These are the Old English rune-names which have suited us so far, and we shall use these, and the rune-staves that go with them, as the basic names for the 33 runes. For gealdor we shall devise root-sounds that stem from our own Proto-Germanic Roots. There are certain runes that need clarifying -

Ken - this is spelled with a 'K' so as to ensure it is pronounced with a hard sound, whereas 'C' can be hard or soft. 

Ger - this would have been a 'soft' sound for 'G' and more like 'year'.

Eolhs - the Old English Runes have Eolhs-Secg, the second word meaning 'to cut' but since we have the Elhaz form in the Elder Futhark I feel it best suited to use this form.

Sig-el - this I have split into two sounds 'Sig' and 'El'; the alternative Sowilo would be used for 'soul' or 'soul-travel' and also for the Sun.

The first three AEttir have staves similar to the Elder Futhark with only minor changes made -

Os - this stave replaces the Ansuz-Rune, the latter rune-stave becoming the AEsc-Rune in the Fourth AEttir. 

This rune, in many ancient works, forms the basis of a 'Royal Stance' holding a Rod of Authority and a Ring of Power. Since the Roots *os and *as can both refer to a 'pillar' and seem to be interchangeable they refer to 'kingship' and the 'Prince of Asgard' (Woden). Ansuz refers to the 'Ancestral God' - Woden. We shall cover the AEsc-Rune later.

Haegl - This has two cross-staves rather than the one in the Elder Futhark.

Ger - This is a different stave altogether than in the Elder Futhark as shown below -

Daeg - This is similar to the Elder Futhark Dagaz but with the outer staves longer. Unfortunately, I could find no rune-shape for this one but will upload one as soon as I can find one.

The Fourth AEttir.

These staves are uniquely English so we need to deal with these individually, there are eight runes plus the Gar-Rune which forms the Sacred Centre or Spear of Woden.

Ac - 

AEsc -

Yr -

Ior -

Ear - 

Unfortunately, one again I could not find a rune-stave for this one that shows the one we use; this is the CWEORTH-RUNE as we use it, and the Ear-Rune has two 'hands' (short staves) on the ends of the 'arms'. See the copy of the manuscript at the end of this part for the true shape we use.

Calc -

Stan - 

Gar - 

Old English Rune-Poem

What should be noticed about the OE Rune-Poem is that they are written on parchment with ink, and thus rounded off which was not the way the original runes were written. The following should also be noted -

Ken - the arm faces downwards, and because this and another Old English Runic Manuscript both use it we shall use this one as standard with the other variations being there to use where necessary. 

Haegl - This is an interesting one since there are three different shapes that are used here; we use the double cross-stave version in the Rune-Row, but the Elder Futhark version can be used as well as the Younger Futhark version, which is the 'Snowflake' pattern. 

Peorth - We use the Elder Futhark version and not the one here.

Daeg-Edhel - Here the Edhel-Daeg formation is used in the Rune-Row. The Daeg-Rune can be seen here in the version we shall use.

Ear/Cweorth - You can see the difference in the manuscript, where the Ear-Rune has two 'hands'. 

Stan - We shall use the version shown in the manuscript.

Gar - The arms are straight and not curved as in the written manuscript.

Note - By the phrase 'Rune-Row' this refers to the Ar-Kan Rune-Row which is the basic form for this system. Variations can, and will, be used for formula, visualisation and meditation. 

The above is another runic manuscript bearing English Runes; there are points to notice here since these differ slightly to the other manuscript -

Peorth is the Elder Futhark version which suggests that we would be right in using this one.

Yr - This is an interesting one since the version written here is the Ur-Glyphic Yr-Rune. This contains a 'mountain' (Sacred Mountain) and a Tree within, and when the 'trunk' of the tree is removed it makes an 'Ang-Rune' which was, according to a Rune-Magician I knew some years ago - the 'Royal Lines of Anglia'. This version would be the same really, since the 'Tree' has a trunk (Wolsunga) and two branches (Wulfinga & Heardingas). 

There are only 29 runes here and the last four runes are absent: this could suggest they were added, and no doubt some scholars would follow this line. However, since the 33-Runes are Northumbrian, and more precise Anglo-Frisian used in Frisia too, it may well be that the Frisian Runes contained further mysteries - The Mysteries of the Graal. The last five runes are not in the same order.

On the bottom left seems to be a very unclear rune looking like a version of the Gar-Rune; if this is so then it does not have an X-cross but what looks like the Northumbrian version with the 'arms' straightened. Since Guido von List saw the Gibo (Gyfu) Rune as hiding the true symbol - the Swastika - we seem here to have a similar case but where a Sunwise-Widdershins Fylfot is drawn into the same symbol. A movement in two directions is suggested.

What needs to be emphasised here is that the Ar-Kan Runes must have some form of standard, some basic form to work from, and a form that is unique and suited to our work. This is not a rune-row of the past, it is a rune-row of the present - for the future. This is not a rune-row that the individual can alter to suit his own needs, this is suited to the needs of Woden's Folk and Folkish Wodenism. We hope others will take it up seriously, and maybe find new mysteries for these symbols, but we have to steer clear of distorting the original teachings. The individual can use different versions for his/her own use, but these are the standard stave and the standard sounds that form the core of this. Alternative staves, and alternative sounds will be used, such as in gealdor, but we need something to base this on. 

There is another important point here, and that is the order of the runes and the rune-shapes are suited to the work of the Ar-Kan Rune-Lag and are it is essential that the right ones are used. Take for example the Ear-Cweorth Runes, where Ear is 'Earth-Grave' meaning The Way of the Ancestors, and Cweorth is Fire-Twirl meaning The Way of the Gods. The former implies reincarnation into the tribe/clan, whereas the latter infers the Warrior-Hero going to Valhalla where he continues his training in order to be reborn again at will in order to continue the Eternal Struggle against the Forces of Darkness and Chaos. The 'binding' on the arms of Ear symbolises the 'binding' to Earth', whereas through the Ritual Fire the Soul of the Warrior-Hero is released and he goes the Way of the Gods - to Valhalla. 

This is actually borne out when we compare the Cweorth-Rune with the Ogham Quert, the latter being the 'Apple Tree'. The 'Island of Apples', of course, is Avalon (A-Val-On) which is where 'King Arthur' (the Archetypal 'Once and Future King') is taken on death. Avalon is the same as Valhalla (Val-Halla) and the apples are not only symbols of regeneration, but also symbols of Immortality or The Way of the Gods. This has been incorporated into this unique runic system which is why it is so important to have a standard to stop future distortion. 

The Stan Rune (Alternative)

It was my intention to use this particular rune-stave for Stan, but it came to mind that this one has a particular meaning hidden within the stave - Stone of Ing. We shall thus use this version as Stan - Stone of Ing referring to the Sacred Stone at Steyning. An Odinist suggested that the Stan-Rune refers to the White Horse Stone, and this should not be ruled out, but this version would thus refer to the Holy White Stone of Ing, thus linking the two versions and the two stones. Again, we can see how these particular rune-staves fit exactly with the work being done within the Ar-Kan Rune-Lag. 

In saying this it must be remembered that the Ar-Kan Rune-Lag is the basis of the Woden Folk-Religion and it forms the Mystery Teachings of the WF-R, so it is unique to us. Why do we need something unique? Because we are the only Wotanist, Odinist or Wodenist organisation or movement to recognise the new Age of Ing as the 'Age of Heroes' that heralds the coming of Wid-Ar, the Last Avatar and Resurrection of Woden. Others before have recognised this coming, but we differ in seeing this happening here in England, and we fully recognise the need for a new Aryan Archetype in the figure of the Warrior-Hero - Wid-Ar. And we are unique in seeing Woden as the most Ancient Wolf-God that has actually come down to us through one of our own Folk-Heroes - Robin Hood. 

We should remember that the 33-Runes compare to the Human Spinal Column and the 24 vertebrae, 5 fused in the Sacrum, and 4 fused in the coccyx. It is noticeable that the second manuscript, leaving out the last 4 runes, thus leaves out the Four Hallows and the Graal Runes - the coccyx or 'tail' of the Rune-Row. This 'tail' may represent the sleeping Fire-Serpent which, when awoken, moves upwards along the Spinal Column (Serpent-Pillar) to the Third Eye which is then awoken. 

The Gar-Rune comes at the very bottom of the row, and in itself could represent the Fire-Serpent - 'Gift of Ingwe'. Moving upwards along the column the Feoh-Rune would be at the top of the spinal column; there the 'snake' must move over the head (as in the Sutton Hoo Mask) until it reaches the Third Eye. Thus, the Gar-Rune could also represent the Third Eye, being The First & The Last or The Beginning & The End. The Gar-Rune is outside the Four AEttir. 

The 33-Runes are also most important because -

• There are nine extra runes - the Sacred Number 9.
• The runes Ac-AEsc-Yr-Ior-Ear compare to the Sacrum; the runes Cweorth-Calc-Stan-Gar compare to the Coccyx - 5 + 4 = The Sacred Number 9.

Sacrum & Coccyx

This is a 'spade' shape. 'spearhead' shape, or a 'triangular' shape according to different views. The area has 'occult' significance but the exact meaning seems not to have been stated. Since the 33 runes go from the top to the bottom this fits with the idea that the World Tree is inverted or upside down. The Spear of Woden points downwards. 

Proto-English theory - Was a Germanic language spoken in Britain prior t...

Kan - The Fire Within

In The Wisdom of the Serpent (Inglinga Blog) I outlined a number of points concerning the evolution of Man, points concerned with the Creative Life-Force and the Serpent-Force. Whilst doing this it occurred to me that the 'Gift of Ing' was not only 'Fire' (Ken) but also the Serpent (Kan). On the same subject there is also another connection here, that of kingship (Kon). Thus we have -

Fire - Ken

Serpent - Kan 

Kingship - Kon

For the sake of ease and clarity I am going to use the term Creative Life-Force although this has many aspects which include the Kundalini-Force or Serpent-Force. It would seem to be the case that the Hyperboreans and their descendants the Aryans possessed an abundance of this Creative Life-Force, and this later applied to the Kings and Aethelingas whose powers derived from this Sacred Force. Since the Persians knew the force of kingship to be the Hvarena we can see that this is associated with Fire and Light. I have also associated this with the Brosingamen Necklace or 'Necklace of Fire' which was the property of the Goddess Freya. 

'Torch is known to each living being by fire, radiant and bright, it usually burns where aethelingas rest indoors.' 

Old English Rune-Poem (Ken-Rune).

This version is that of Steve Pollington who is an expert on the Old English Tongue. The one point that I would like to mention is that the original in Old English has cen and not 'torch', thus it is assumed that the 'torch' is meant, but this could be seen as symbolic rather than literal. Indeed, the whole of these verses could have two meanings (or more perhaps). Yes, the place where the nobles rest would be lit by a 'torch' but the verses could also be seen as representing the 'resting-place' of the noble when he has died - the Burial Mound. In which case this 'fire' - 'radiant and bright' - is the Elmes-Fire which is the 'Fire of Kingship' that lives on, that dwells within the Burial Mound as the 'Living-Fire' of the Arya or Noble. The verse is in reality one concerning 'fire' on its physical level, hence the use of the term fyre but with such old works there are also hidden meanings, and the Inga-Fire should be assumed as an alternative working at a different level. 

Steve Pollington has also translated this as 'where nobles rest indoors' (last verse) which is far better than the normal translation of 'aethlingas' as 'men' or similar, since the emphasis should be on the 'noble', indeed, since we are concerned here with the Rune of Kon - Kingship. But the last line has 'there aethelingas rest in' which can be interpreted as 'indoors' or within the Burial Mound. The arm of the Ken-Rune points downwards in this version, pointing down to the Earth - this is important.

In regard to burial it is invariably the case that the aethlinga or king is buried with his belongings around him, which would seem rather strange if we did not understand that there is not merely a physical world. We can assume here that the 'next world', the world where the individual's spirit moves after death, is a kind of 'parallel-world' to this one and that in the case of the king he needs his regalia and weapons since he takes on the role of the 'Leader of the Wild Army' in the next world. Now, we should of course not see this as needing the physical weapons and regalia, so we have to assume that these weapons possess a certain energy & power that lives on within the physical form but which can be transferred to the 'next world' by his having them with him when his spirit leaves the body and moves into the Other-World (Valhalla). 

It seems that Woden has more need of his chosen Warrior-Heroes in death than in life. Their power is manifoldly increased on death, and their spirit lives on within the burial-mound as a form of Fire & Light that is also perhaps a protective-force. This is symbolised through the Ken-Rune or Kan-Rune and the Pine-Torch.

It is indeed usual to see this as a 'Pine-Torch' and thus it can be equated to the 'Pineal Gland' and the 'Third Eye'. We have an association between the 'Third Eye' and 'Fire, and this is through the Fire Serpent. Earlier I used the term Elmes-Fire which is one that became 'St. Elmo's Fire' and which is used for a 'natural phenomena' but which was originally more like a Spiritual Fire, and 'St. Elmo' was a blacksmith. The term was used deliberately since the First Man was Ash and the First Woman Embla, the latter usually translated as 'Elm', hence the connection here - Elmes-Fire. The Serpent-Force or Kundalini (Kun) is a Female Force and is related to Shakti in Hinduism, and to Freya in Wodenism. This has to be linked to the Brosingamen Necklace. 

Many years ago my ex-wife and I camped at Wayland's Smithy for a night whilst travelling around Oxfordshire and Wiltshire visiting some of the many ancient sites around the area. We had set up a tent for the night and lit a small fire, and sat down before the fire with a horn of the Sacred Mead. On the site were another couple who were of the 'New Age' or 'Wiccan' type, a man wearing a T-Shirt with a pentagram and a woman that turned out to be the owner of a 'New Age' shop in Wantage. We started talking to them and I offered the woman the Mead-Horn to try this mead, which she had not drunk before (most of these use 'apple-juice' or similar from my experience), and she noticed the leather band around the horn bearing the runic form - ALU. She asked what this was and meant and I told her it was sounded 'ALU' which obviously shocked her from the expression on her face. It turned out, as she told us, that she was a 'medium' and had come to the site a week earlier where she 'saw' a tall warrior-figure bearing a shield and spear, he was tall with blond, plaited hair and blue eyes, and he repeated over and over to her - ALU-ALU-ALU....

From this we can deduce that this Magical Formula is related to some form of Ancestral Power since the figure was obviously a Guardian of the Burial Mound, a site linked to Wayland the Smith. It is certainly not clear why this Runic Galdr was spoken to her, but no coincidence that we turned up a week later at the same site to be told this tale. We were meant to know of this and there has to be some form of link to Wayland the Smith - it would seem. We have used the site for over 40 years now, through Odinism and Folkish Wodenism, and it has a great deal of power in it, which can be felt when one is there at the site. It would also be a place where the Ancestral Heroes would be awoken since it has been used at the Ancestral Rite in November since the first time we held a Folk-Moot there. 

The only link I can see here is the 'Fire of the Smith' or 'Willed Fire' which is symbolised in the Ken-Rune. We should here extend the meanings of this rune-

Fire - Ken

Serpent - Kan

Kingship - Kon 

Kinship - Kin

Knowledge - Ken

Kundalini - Kun (Female Fire in the 'Cun-t', which is an Old English word).

Koen - The Pine Cone - Pineal Gland.

ALU could be the Magical Force associated with the Burial Mound and with 'death', since the formula has been found on burial urns, as the one in Norfolk which contained the ALU-ULA Formula. Here I would like to consider a link to the ideas in The Wisdom of the Serpent since we have a two-way movement of ALU - ULA, a movement like the 'Churning of the Ocean' or the 'Kindling of the Need-Fire (which has the same motion), or even the movement of Ratatosk up and down the Sacred Tree. It also reminds me of certain symbols which when 'swirled' in one direction, show an opposite movement to the original symbol, something hard to explain.

We need to move on now to another important point, and that is the role of Ingui as a Fire-God. Although the Ing-Rune has been seen to symbolise the 'Beacon Fire' very few rune-workers have actually associated him with Agni or with Fire. We need to look at Agni in order to understand more of Ingui -

• Matarishvan brought Agni (Fire) from heaven, given as a gift to the Bhrigus who concealed him in a wood (wood used for the Need-Fire), brought him forth and gave him to Manu. Both Agni and Manu are linked to Hama-Heimdall, of course.
• Another account has Atharvan drawing Agni forth by friction, this is the Atar of Persian Lore. The Sanskrit athare means 'flame' and atharyn means 'blazing'. 
• Agni is Apam Napat - 'Son of the Waters' and is thus 'Fire-from-Water'. He is the Lightning and the Sun. 

We know that Sheaf is another name for Ingui, and that Sheaf is associated with Fire through the 'Fire-Taper' he bears, holding the fire created from friction. There is an Old English *al related to 'anneal' and to 'fire', and we see the relationship here with *alu. This stems from the IE Root *ai ('to burn') and from *ai-lo which gives us the OE *al. There is a Germanic form *ail-. Is there thus a link between the ALU-Force and the Inga-Force of Ingui? This is actually suggested when we consider the 'synchronicity' of the warrior-figure at Wayland's Smithy, especially as we have the links between ALU, the Fire of the Forge, and the Burial Mound of the AEthelinga. 

Sheaf, and thus Ingui, is associated with the Swan since he rides the waves in the Swan-Ship. Zeus took the form of a swan to couple with Leda and thus father Castor and Pollux - the Divine Twins. Interestingly, the sister of Hengest and Horsa was said to bear a name meaning 'Swan', another association between the Swan and the Divine Twins - and with Sheaf-Ing. The Swan's Wings can be found at the top of the Saxon Irmuinsul, and the Swan has long been the symbol of the Highest Initiation - Pure Consciousness. The Aswins are associated with the turning of the Pramantha (Swastika) which kindles the Need-Fire - i.e. creates the Agni-Fire. We have so many interlocking ideas here all based around the Sacred Fire or Inga-Fire. The Divine Swan in certain mythologies is the Divine Bird that uttered the 'Divine Sound' which brought the universe into being. This is associated with Cygnus the Swan, and thus to the Long Man of Wilmington.

This post is a little bit confused maybe, as I am having to skip from one thought to another as these enter the mind, so bear with me and I hope that there will be a link between all of these ideas by the time it is done, or someone else may have to make that link. There is also another link to the 'Serpent' through what is term the Woevre Serpent; On various occasions Miguel Serrano mentions the Woevre Saelde and I think he equates the name Saelde to Isolde of 'Tristan and Isolde'. Again, this 'serpent' is associated with the female and originally, no doubt, to a Goddess of that title. There thus seems an importance in this female aspect and role of 'fire' and its association with the Ken-Rune. We should here consider the Serpent-Force that pulsates across the Earth, also known as the Dragon-Force. 

The Goddess Freya is not only associated with the 'Necklace of Fire' but also with the Seidhr Witchcraft which (at one level) is associated with 'Fire', since the word is related to 'seethe'. It is a fact that meditation, visualisation and intense concentration lead to a burning sensation along the spinal column ('Mount Su-Me-Ru'). I am beginning to see the link to this Sacred Fire through Woden as the god who 'shortcuts' the evolutionary process, since he is associated with Rudra-Shiva who is shown doing the Fire-Dance or 'Dance of Destruction', but whose role is really 'Destruction to re-Creation' linked to fertility and new life through the role of the Wild Hunter-God of Germania, whence the reason the last sheaf of corn was left out to 'placate' this force. An 'uprush of fire' is needed at this time, whence the Initiates of Fire must arise (incarnate) in order to use this force to 'push' this evolutionary drive. 

If we see the Fiery Serpent as moving upwards to open the Third Eye then what happens is that the individual reaches higher to a state of Pure Consciousness but also to a state of Cosmic Truth. In some subtle way Fire is the 'Agent of Truth'. Light and Fire go together like peas in a pod, the Sun is both Light and Fire. Thus the result of the rising of the Fiery Serpent is en-light-en-ment or 'illumination'. 

'Woden is the Horned One, the Mystic Initiator into the Light of Higher Consciousness, who wields the Lightning-Bolt of Spiritual Illumination (Trident of Rudra-Shiva). He is the Leader of the Divine Revolt against the tyranny of the Demiurge, descended to free the Divine Soul imprisoned in the darkness and ignorance of this world ruled by the Demiurge.'

The key to the awakening of the Fire-Serpent is a reversal of the flow of perception, thought and libido, moving backwards to the source and origin. This is the Left-Hand Path. 'Kundalini' can be rendered as the Kyndill-Force using a northern root; this term is related to 'candle' and thus to 'light' and 'fire'. The term 'Kundalini' stems from the following -

kund - 'to burn'

kunda - 'to coil' 'to twist', or 'to spiral'.

Woden is associated with wind which is a 'blowing of the spirit'; and yet he is also seen as being the 'Master of Woda', mastering the force of 'divine madness', 'intoxication' and 'fury'. To understand this we need to look at the 'Holy Trinity' of the North - Woden, Will & Weoh. 

Woden - 'Divine madness', the 'Master of Woda', 'ecstatic inspiration', 'intoxication'.

Will - The Will.

Weoh - this is the Vayu of Hinduism who is associated with the 'wind' and with the 'spirit'; his name relates to the concept of 'divine', 'holy' or 'sacred', and from this comes the 'Holy Spirit.

Through the associations we have of Woden we can clearly see his links to 'Fire' and to 'Heat' since these are both the trait of the Warrior-God and the Fertility-God (Woden-Ingui). Since the origins of the term *wuot lie in the meaning of 'all-pervasive' and 'all-penetrating' this refers to the Cosmic Creative Force which is thus associated with 'Fire' and 'Light' - and as shown before, to the Serpent. The fact that the Votan of the Americas is of the Race of Chan - the 'Race of the Serpent' further underlines this point.

Putting this together we can see that Initiates of Fire must arise at this time because fire is energy, force and above all - movement of force. This is the counter-force to the entropy that rules the world today, to the Forces of Entropy that have locked us into the material world, chained to matter and forced down into the inert 'masses'. This Sacred Fire is invoked through the use of the Ken-Rune or Kan-Rune. This Fiery-Energy or Fiery-Motion is symbolised by the Fylfot-Swastika with its turning-movement, moving 'widdershins' against the normal flow (like the Salmon swimming against the current) to invoke the Fire-Serpent. 

The movement of the Fylfot-Swastika is 'widdershins', flowing against Time, but is also a spiral-force drawn in a two-dimensional form; this symbol is thus the means to move the Creative Energy from one world to another, to bring this energy into our world from the Other-World. This symbol is made up of 4 x Germanic Kenaz-Runes. It is also made up of 2 x Sieg-Runes. With these new ideas in mind I am going to re-examine a passage that I have quoted before in one of my books -

'He (Gurdjieff) said that from time to time from another world - 'from Above' - a Sacred Individual is incarnated in human form with a very high and special mission, the working of which is not visible in this world and which can only be perceived by the disciples or companions who are specially prepared. This mission is not performed in this world except in so far as the being who is engaged in it is incarnated in human form. A certain possibility is introduced from a realm where the impossible does not exist. It is something new which doesn't belong to the cause and effect of this world, and therefore changes the entire situation. The doing of this and how it is done is unseen; but, in general, it is necessary that something should be seen, manifested, so that the particular new thing should be able to operate in the visible world amongst people with ordinary perceptions. It is to fulfil that second part of the mission that the Sacred Image is created and this Sacred Image has unlimited power in it, because its source is beyond the existing world. That Sacred Image we see as the founder of a religion, as a prophet or as an Incarnation of God, who introduces a new hope into the life of man.'

J.G. Bennett.

The term 'another world' or 'from Above' means the same as what I was talking about in The Wisdom of the Serpent since it refers to the Archetypal Realm in which 'the impossible does not exist' and which 'doesn't belong to the cause and effect of this world'. The 'Sacred Image', of course, can also be a very powerful symbol - 

This symbol is the link between the two worlds, through which the Creative Energy is drawn into this world, and which has 'unlimited power' because the source is 'beyond the existing world'. The 'possibility' spoken of here refers to the evolutionary 'short-cut' which is made possible through the entry from 'Above' of a Force of Movement that will break the chains of entropy and thus allow Man to evolve through his own efforts. The workings of this are 'unseen' which tells us that the workings of this are done by 'Higher Powers' working from 'Above', powers that guide the Divine Mission of the Initiates that are involved in this working. 

The 'Sacred Individual' or the 'Incarnation of God' is the Aryan Avatar who 'descends' ('from Above') and is 'incarnated in human form'. The 'certain possibility' is that of the evolutionary drive towards the Superman which again is introduced 'from Above' - 'from another world' - from the Archetypal World or Astral Realm. This 'Sacred Individual' can also be the 'founder of a religion' or 'a prophet' and such figures will often come prior to the incarnation of an Avatar. The process, though not stated here, needs an 'uprush of Fire' in order to create a movement of change, the 'Third Force' needed to tip the balance of equal forces that create stasis. 

Modern scholars of the 'Out-of-body-Experience' or the 'Near Death Experience' have come to the conclusion that the Astral Realm is similar to our world, but that the same laws do not apply, and that the higher the realm the easier it is to create with the 'Mind', or in other words creation is done through Magic. This is the key to the Magical Arts. This should be borne in mind, since the creation of the Astral Body is thus an act of Magic. 

Near to where I live is a place called Lewes which has a Spiral Mound on which a cross is placed at Easter, not the original symbol used of course. There is a spiral path going up the mound, and this is usually called a Troy-Burg or Walburgen, named after a Goddess (Saint?) named Walburg. This would have been connected to April 30th - Walpurgis Night, named after Walburg. The term Walburg means a 'Spiral Burg', the Aryan Root *wal- meaning 'to twist', 'to coil' or 'to wind'. Again, this would have been a place where energy from another world could be drawn into our world of matter. What we need to remember, again, is that matter and energy are not different, they have different vibrational levels. 

I am now going to turn to another aspect connected to the same theme, and this also features this Vital Force and Power. This is related to a root-word ASU which means Vital Force and Power, the root-word AS meaning 'spirit' or 'Great Spirit', and *asu- means 'wind'. Fire is the element we have looked at, but fire needs the movement of air to make it work. The Wodenic Formula FAH - 'Fuel', 'Air' and 'Heat' works not only at the physical level. The word ASU is the root of our Aesir and the Asuras who were the Gods of the Arctic Pole. This root carries the notion of holiness, light and divinity. This is the working in the Realm of the Gods, manifested upon Earth through the Arya whose name is rooted in the Aryan Root *ar- meaning 'movement' or 'motion', and also reflected in the Saxon God Irmin whose name means 'mighty' (force or power) but also 'to set into motion'. 

We see 'darkness' as being kind of 'static' (in a way) since it seems to surround us, but 'light' is cast upon us by the Rays of the Sun, or 'thrown out' by some form of torch (one of the hidden sides of the Ken-Rune as the 'Pine Torch'). Light is 'movement' in this sense. And we should not overlook that 'creation' is always seen related to sound since 'In the beginning was the Word' - OS. The Sound of Creation is said to be Om or in runic terms Ym (the Yr-Rune). This is Ym-ir, of course. The Cosmic Creative Force is thus 'Light' and 'Fire' and the Ancient Solar-Race (Arya) embody this Creative Force as the 'creators' on this planet. It is no coincidence that the Galactic Centre (Dark Rift) of the Milky Way Galaxy is the 'Cosmic Womb of Creation' and this is guarded by Cygnus the Swan. The centre is a vast Black Hole, and as postulated by some this may indeed be a 'portal' into other worlds, an 'entrance' guarded by the Swan. (*)

(*) The 'Swan-Song' is the sound of the swan as it is dying, and thus sound is also associated with destruction, a necessary form of change in order to recreate.

The 'Swan-Ship' that sails upon the Waters of Chaos at the Time of Dissolution, when the worlds are dissolved into the Primal Chaos holds within it the 'Seeds of New Birth' or the 'Seeds of New Creation', and also in some symbols the Solar Orb, symbolic of the Birth of a New Sun. 

This article has as its base the idea of 'Fire' and 'Movement', and there is yet another root-word linked to this, and also to kingship - the Aryan Root *ri which forms the basis of Rita and is related to the Rit-rune. From this root (meaning 'to move') we get *reg- meaning 'to move in a straight line', and this forms words like 'royal', 'regal', 'regulate', and 'ruler'. I am reminded again here of Tolkien's ideas that the Lost Lands could be reached by moving along the Straight Track. These ideas could be fused with that of the ideas on the Spiral Form since the Ley-Lines are the 'Straight Tracks' which have certain key 'points' that are 'Spirals' in the form of 3 1/2 coils or multiples of this number. This is sometimes also related to the movement of water (the 'Life-Blood' of the Earth). Rita is Truth and thus related to the Creative Life-Force, whose opposite is the Force of Entropy, Chaos and Darkness which embodies the idea of the 'Great Liar'. 

There is yet another root-word connected to these ideas - *aiw which means -

• Vital Force
• Life-Force
• Long Life, Life Everklasting
• Eternity

This gives us ayu from which the name Vayu probably stems, and also our word 'young' and 'youth' which contain an abundance of this 'Life-Force'. The Root *aiw is based upon the Ehwaz-Rune or Eoh-Rune -

The Wolf-Hook Rune is an extension of the Eoh-Rune and both represent the link between two worlds through the 'trunk' of the World Tree. This is also the Rune of Wid-Ar and the Rune of Resistance and related (as Hamasson pointed out) to Orion the Hunter, and thus to Waendal (through the Herne Giant) and hence to the 'Fire-Twirl' (Long Man). We have here a subtle connection that gives another clue to these Mysteries - 

The Cweorth-Rune or 'Fire-Twirl' is the backwards-forwards movement needed for a (re-)Creation, the impetus and movement needed to 'whisk' the worlds into being. Again, this is a spiral-movement as is the 'Dance of Destruction' of Rudra-Shiva, and the 'Pyrric Dance' related to the Divine Twins - 'Fire-Dance'. Also the Warrior-Dances that took place upon the Spiral Mounds - the Walburgen -

Ein - 'in',

Zwei - 'sway',

Drei - 'turn'.

The three-fold Warrior-Dance and Fertility-Dance that moved along the Spiral Path, raising the Cosmic Life-Energy 'from Above' or 'from Below' that it may enter the World of Man. War (Woden) and Fertility (Ingui) go hand in hand and cannot be separated. 

Many of the themes that have been posted upon the Wulfinga Blogs are now coming together in some kind of logical sequence, revealing to us the aims of our work and struggle. The idea of a 'Sacred Image' is not restricted to the ideas given by Gurdjieff, and I would like to add that another 'Sacred Image' exists in this Archetypal Realm, that of the new god-form for the New Age - the Sacred Image of Wid-Ar the Avenger. This 'Sacred Image' has to be 'earthed', brought from this 'other-world' into our world of matter in order to pave the way for the Coming Avatar. The Woden Folk-Religion is the vehicle for this work, creating a new Folk-Religion that embodies the idea of a new Aryan Warrior Archetype for the Age of Ing. 

"The spirit of a warrior is geared only to struggle, and every struggle is a warrior's last battle on Earth."

Don Juan - 'A Separate Reality' - Carlos Casteneda.