The Wolf-Hook Rune is the Rune of Resistance and was used in the Peasant's War in Germany. This rune derives from the Eoh-Rune which seems obvious by the shape of the stave -
But there is perhaps a hidden meaning as to why this rune is used for 'resistance' or 'rebellion', or even 'revolution'. The Eoh-Rune is the 13th Rune and this number is actually related to 'revolt' and to 'revolution'. The rune-stave itself is clearly one of change, and when seen to 'revolve' upon itself it remains the same as it was originally. The Number 13 is used in Freemasonry as a symbol of 'revolution' because it comes from Genesis 14:4 -
'Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled'.
Modern 'witchcraft' is an invention, probably starting around Gerald Gardner, but some parts of this still hold certain ancient secrets and ancient wisdom. There is a practice called Raising the Stang which, from its description, is the Germanic Art of Nithing, or Raising the Nithing-Pole. This aspect of magic, a Cursing-Magic, can be found in Norse Sagas. The Nithing-Pole was a pole which usually had a Horse's Head placed on the top.
Within some sections of modern 'witchcraft' the Stang is used to raise a storm (by the Storm-God, Woden), and this is an animal's head placed upon a pole. But their version has it that this is a 'Tool of the Devil'. However, when we note that 'The Devil' of the Christians was 'Old Nick' then this is clearly Woden who is Nicor (English) or Nikuda (Norse). In order to keep him for their own use he became 'St. Nicholas'. The Stang seems also to have been used to invoke a revolt against oppression, and part of the ritual was to drive a nail into the base of the pole in order to -
- To invoke forces from the 'Lower World',
- To invoke 'Serpentine Forces'.
Clearly, as the term Nithing implies, the force invoked here is the Nyd-Rune, which invokes the Serpentine Force (Nidhogg) from the 'Lower World' (Nid or 'Netherworld'). Interestingly, the Horse's Head is used for this, which seems to be a Sacred Animal which moves between the worlds. The Eoh-Rune is the Yew Tree, and the E(o)h-Rune is the Horse. The Yew-Tree (at one level) can be seen as Iggdrasil - the 'Steed of Igg'. Below is a 'Stang' which has a Ram's Horn on the top of it.
The nail driven into the base is also connected to the Need-Rune as the 'Nail of the Norn'. There are some interesting root-words that stem from the meaning of 'nail' -
IE Root *nogh- 'nail' or 'claw'.
IE Root *ongh- 'nail', 'claw', 'hoof'.
It would seem that this Nithing-Magic was linked to Woden as the Storm-God, and also no doubt as the One-Eyed Hunter God who leads the Army of the Dead. Could this magic be associate with raising the Army of the Dead, especially in times of tyranny and oppression? There are hints that the idea of the Raising of the Stang was associated with the 'Wild Army', and in a very vivid dream that I had some years ago the symbols of this (as a kind of 'parade') were of wolves, dogs, and other animals, as well as a 'jester' figure, and also a figure in black who was linked to justice.
This Nithing-Magic comes from the ancient Art of Witchcraft in its purer form, even though this is more of a destructive type of magic. As with all things there are at times valid reasons to cause harm to others, just as there are just wars waged to gain freedom from oppression. Modern 'wicca' is based upon false principles, and that is that it is a revival of the 'Old Religion'. Whatever this actually refers to is not the point here, but Teutonic Witchcraft was long ago the subject of degeneration and distortion, a fact that Guido von List pointed out in one of his works. These people do not even know how to pronounce their own name 'wicca' which is not 'wicka' but 'witcha'. And since much of this is driven by modern feminism, the word is masculine, as opposed to the feminine 'wicce'. (Shows the influence of someone like Gardner here.)
Archetypal Myth shows clearly how the Ancient Solar Wisdom was stolen by the Dark Powers, and the Gods and Heroes had to regain this by stealing it back from them. This is why it is necessary to research these modern versions to sift out the true knowledge and reject the rubbish that abounds. This also goes of Freemasonry, another movement that stole the Ancient Mysteries.
There is also a tradition that the Stang is an Ash-Pole upon which are metal 'prongs', like a pitch-fork. And the foot of the pole was shod with iron, or a shod hoof. Now, of course, the 'forked twig' or 'pitch-fork' could be linked to Woden as the Horned One, and certainly modern wiccans would link this to the 'Horned God'. They may well hold a dim remembrance of this, since the Ash-Pole here would be Iggdrasil (again at one level). The link between 'nail' and 'hoof' I have already mentioned, and since a source I looked at had no idea why iron was used (and concocted a silly story to try to show they did) this is the Nail of the Norns. Since it appears that the Stang can be found in drawings in museums and is clearly a pole with an animal's head then the Nithing-Pole seems to be the most likely origins of this symbol, and the 'pitch-fork' was a later version.
The use of the pitch-fork was known as Riding the Stang and this was in fact used within a parade whose purpose was to punish wrong-doers. This seems to have been perhaps a different meaning that developed from the Cursing-Pole because it was a form of justice and punishment meted out by a 'posse'. This, of course, featured in my dream of the 'Wild Army'. This actually suggests that the ideas around the 'Horned God' may be right in that this is Woden. Some suggest that this is placed in the centre of the circle as the 'World Tree', and in a sense they could be right because the pole joins the Upper-World - Earth - Under-World, and invokes the Underworld power of the Serpent.