Sacred Numbers & The Runes

The Ar-Kan Rune-Lag system uses the 33 Runes of the Northumbrian Rune-Row which is the number of runes contained in the Old English Rune Poem. Here there are 29 rune-poems, and yet there are 33 runes altogether. As I have noted before, the 33-Runes equate with the spinal column of mankind -

• There are 24 vertebrae in the human spine.
• Below these 24 vertebrae are 5 fused vertebrae (sacrum) and 4 fused vertebrae (coccyx), making 33 vertebrae in all.
• The spinal column, from the side, is like a Serpent (S).
• The spinal column, looked head-on, is like a spade, or even a spear.

It would be very strange if this were a mere coincidence; behind everything is a hidden meaning. The number 33 is on fact a Sacred Number in various traditions, as seen below -

• There are 33 Vedic Gods.
• The second level of heaven in Buddhism is Trayastrima, 'of the 33 (gods)'.
• Jesus Christ of the New Testament is 33 years old when he is crucified and resurrected.
• There are 33 sets of Islamic Prayer Beads.
• There are 33 degrees in the Scottish Rite Freemasonry.
• The first battle of Mag Tuired was fought by Lug and 32 other leaders of the Tuatha de Danaan.
• The second battle of Mag Tuired name 33 leaders of the Fo Mor, 32 plus their highest king.
• Cu Chulain slays 33 of his enemies at the Battle of the Bru.
• Nemed reached Ireland in one ship, but lost 33 on the way.
• 33 men, all of whom are 32 years old sit at the other-world island castle of Perlesvaus.
• In the White Book of Rhydderch (Welsh Lore) we find the following - 'Both three and eleven were equally symbolic, when multiplied together as 33 particularly so. It has frequently been used to imply supra-human attributes, regal authority and deification.'

In using not only the 33-Runes but also the Four Aettir of 32 Runes plus the Gar-Rune as the Sacred Centre, we have revived some form of ancient tradition without knowing this was done. Not only is the 4 x 8 (32) + 1 (33) important, but also 3 x 11, bringing the Number 11 into play. The Gar-Rune is numbered '0' because it can come at the beginning or the end; as shown by the Irish (Ulster) Legends this rune is the Rune of the High King. 

The Valknut ('Wolf-Knot') is a knot without beginning or end, and seems to symbolise the Nine Worlds which are interconnected. Being three triangles it is made up of 3 x 3 = 9. The Sacred Number Nine is a spiral, opposite in form to the Number 6. 3 x 9 = 27, a number associated with Kingship and with the Element of Fire. 

The above is said to be a 'Celtic Knot' and is used in Germanic Lore too; it is an alternative to the Valknut and represents three interlocking circles rather than triangles. The symbol itself shows three sections of three circles making an interlocking 'knot'. 

As stated earlier, the 24-Rune Futhork represents the 24 vertebrae of the spinal column, thus incorporating the so-called 'Elder Futhark' into the 33 Ar-Kan Runes. In an earlier post I mentioned the interchangeable 23rd-24th runes where the Edel-Rune and Daeg-Rune are found to be interchangeable in some artefacts found carved with the Futhark. Now let us look at these two runes.

The Dagaz-Rune of the Elder Futhark is a glyph of -

• Eternity.
• Time - as the hour-glass (turn this around to make the 'hour-glass' or 'sand-glass').

The rune thus seems to represent a paradox in that eternity is timeless and yet the same rune represents time. It would seem that, in this instance, this should be the 24th Rune, since it represents the 24 hour-day (being the 24th Rune), and thus the concept of 'time'. 

In the Ar-Kan Rune-Lag we use the term Mount Me-Ru for the spinal column, a word meaning (to us) - 'Measurer' (Me-) of the Runes (-Ru). The spinal column represents the Sacred Mountain along which the 33-Runes are placed, starting with Feoh at the top. The Gar-Rune is the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last which is outside and beyond the 32 runes of the Four AEttir. 

The Daeg-Rune could be seen as the 'End of Time' and, being a change-rune, this brings into play the concept of Eternity. The 33-Runes suggest, as in the Welsh Lore, the transcendence of the human qualities towards a super-human state or 'deification', the transition from man to Superman - the God-Man. Again, as shown in the earlier article about 'Hope', the last Nine Sacred Runes seem connected to the appearance of the Last Avatar and the transformation of man into Superman. 

The connections here to Ireland (particularly the Ulster Cycle) are interesting, especially when we consider these to be with the Tautha de Danaan who were said to have come from the North. The Fo Mors (Fomorians) are also an interesting case since the name suggests that these people came from an area 'under the waves' which is the meaning of the term. This itself suggests an area around the Netherlands which is, strictly speaking 'under the waves' being under sea-level. The last four runes - Cweorth, Calc, Stan, Gar - are the Four Hallows of Irish Mythology, the roots of the Grail Mysteries. There are certain parallels between the Book of Kells and some of the work done in Northumbria by Anglo-Saxon Christians, especially in the artwork for their texts. There must have been some valid reason why the Runic Adepts had no rune-poems for the last four runes - the Four Hallows. They were deliberately set apart in order to make them stand out.

The Number 11 is the start of a new numerical sequence, where the ending comes as the Number 10. Really, we should start the number-sequence with '0', thus - 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. We have thus an 11-number sequence rather than a 10-number sequence. In this sequence the start is Number 0 and the end is Number 10, thus 11 is the 'new beginning'. 

The Daeg-Rune is not only a symbol of 'time' when turned around, it is also the shape of the Worm-Hole postulated by modern science. Here, once again, we have a suggestion of 'time' but in the sense of 'Time-Travel' whereby the past-present-future merge into one, and inter-dimensional time-travel is made possible. That this is here the 24th-Rune at the end of the Elder Futhark is made even more important, since it suggests here some form of 'Time-Travel' linked to the 'End of Time'. Of course, this is as yet only a theory, but the shape of the rune does suggest a Worm-Hole. 

The triple-spiral symbol may be connected to the Valknut and the 'Celtic Knot' since all three are linked to the Number 3 - Three Triangles, Three Circles, and Three Spirals. The spirals are connected to galaxies, worm-holes and black-holes, as well as the shapes of so many things in Nature. This is linked to the Holy Swastika. The above Triple-Spiral can actually be placed within a Triangle, making such a link even more tenable. The Triangle and the Number 3 are associated with Spirit, as is the Spiral. 

There is one more rune-change made by the Runic Adepts here in England, and that is the placement of Os rather than Ansuz in the First Aettir. Ansuz is moved to the Fourth AEttir as AEsc. I have said this before but it is best repeated here, Os is the 'God-Rune', the rune of Woden as the High God, and AEsc is the Ancestral Rune, symbolised by the Ash-Tree. Both are runes linked to Woden, but in the Ar-Kan Runes they have slightly different meanings. It is, at this time, puzzling as to why the Ancestral Rune was placed in the last AEttir, but there has to be a significance in this move. The only thing that I can think of is that such a move may have been done to link the coming of the Last Avatar - The Third Sargon - with the Ancestors (Babylon). Across the ages the link between the Empire of Babylon and the Third Reich seems not only feasible, but highly possible. The Prophecies of Sajaha foretold of this, and they seem to have been very accurate. 

We have to remember that the Ancient Mysteries hark back to the Hyperborean Druids and the later 'druids' are a mere shadow of the ancient Shining Ones. That the later druids are known to have used a form of Tree Ogham is well known; Ogmios is a name that suggests 'Og' and this seems to link back to Woden as 'Ygg'. We find the first three runes of the Fourth AEttir are linked to trees - Oak (Ac), Ash (AESC), and Yew (Yr). With the last four runes representing the Four Hallows we may well here have a link back to the Ancient Mysteries of At-al-land, the sunken land in the North Sea.