The Runic Corner

[godhi]

himizu-no-miko

Deoridhe

The "blank" rune was something Ralph Blume invented so that the runes would be base five, which US society is more used to, instead of base 12, which is what the ancient Norse preferred.

will you explain the whole base 5 and base 12 thing? I dont quite understand....
This gets into mathematics and number theory, so let me know if I'm not making things simple enough.

Numeric systems have what are called "bases," which is when the numbers reset themselves and start over. For example, in English we say:
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
10, 11, 12, 13, 14...

In other words, English numbers are base ten, because at ten it goes from being one digit to two digits and the second digit starts over at zero. However, English still carries a trait of the Germanic base-12 numbering system in the words for eleven and twelve, while thirteen starts the standard naming scheme.

To the ancient Norse, twelve was a number of completeness. To modern Americans, ten is the number of completeness. When Blume re-wrote the runes, he decided to take them from the context of their origin - 12 based - and make them into a number that felt even or complete for Americans, e.g. 25, or half of ten. (For the record, six was another big number for the norse; halves of the whole number tend to feel "complete" or "comfortable" for members of the culture).

Let me know if this makes sense.

To further complicate matters, the twenty-four runes of the Elder Futhark were divided into three rows of eight runes, which were known as Aettir.
A few magical systems take advantage of this base-eight system; for further information, check out Futhark: A Handbook of Rune Magic and Runelore by Edred Thorsson. wink

By the way, the so-called "blank rune" used by Ralph Blum and a few other so-called "experts" is best expressed in the twenty-four runes of the Elder Futhark by Perthro, the Dice-Cup; one of the aspects of this rune is the concept of random chance and things unknown--in other words, a roll of the dice. Isn't that so much better than staring at a blank rune tile?  

[Deoridhe]

godhi

To further complicate matters, the twenty-four runes of the Elder Futhark were divided into three rows of eight runes, which were known as Aettir.
A few magical systems take advantage of this base-eight system; for further information, check out "Futhark: A Handbook of Rune Magic" and "Runelore" by Edred Thorsson. wink

Interestingly, while 9 was often a critical number, there are a couple of myths where eight is important - and Sleipnir has eight legs for travelling the nine worlds.

Runes as a Moral Guide

When I began to study the runes, one of the things which startled me most was the moral guidance they offered me. I was not expecting to find morality inherent in a magical system, but the more I learned the more I realized how much knowledge is contained within the runes, both of how a society can be organized for the benefit of all and how a person can behave so as to get their deepest desires and build and maintain the relationships most important to them.

I'll start with Fehu, and I would welcome any criticism, both on my interpretations and on the validity of Fehu's moral implications. My full interpretation and explination of the rune can be found here[/a].

Fehu can be translated as "gold" or "money" or "livestock." The poems associated with it are as follows:
exclaim Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem: "(Money) is a comfort to everyone / though every man ought / to deal it our freely / if he wants to gain approval / from the lord."
exclaim Old Norse Rune Rhyme: "(Gold) causes strife among kinsmen / the wolf grows up in the woods."
exclaim Old Icelandic Rune Poem: "(Money) is the strife among kinsmen / and the fire of the flood-tide / and the path of the serpent."

It is associated with mobile wealth and fire - fire in this context is the creating/destroying chaos of Muspellheim, the realm of fire across a sweet emptiness from Nifelheim, the realm of ice. The space between them is known as Ginnungagap, and Midgard - Earth - is contained within Ginungigap but connected to other worlds like Muspellheim and Nifelheim through the world tree, Yggdrasil.

My interpretation is that Fehu is, in its most basic form, the rune of life energy. This energy is manifest in cattle, money, and the other trappings of wealth. It also shows its hand in the luck of a person, or the luck of their family (hamingja). More esoterically, Fehu is the rune of magical or spiritual energy. In all of it's aspects, Fehu is a rune of movement and transference. Since it is a rune of movement, there are extremes of creation and destruction manifest within the concept of Fehu. This rune is half of the original dichotomy - fire (movement) and ice (stasis) - which formed Ginnungagap, which eventually gave us all a home on Midgard. It is a rune associated with luck, success, wealth, and magical power. It is also a rune associated with social discord, and out-of-control experiences and power.

This flow is neither inherently positive or negative, and there has to be a flow or stagnation occurs. If one chooses to not control their flow of power and money and influence (or use it for selfish or divisive ends), then distrust, disloyalty, anger, and violence errupt. If one holds to personal responsibility and industriously controls and magages one's flow of energy and money and influence, then that control becomes easier and easier and the capacity to healthily carry energy, money, and influence increases.

I think a lot of the current discord sown in U.S. society as it interacts with other nations is due to the glorification of power as the symbol/object of money. Fehu suggests that money is best thought of in the context of it moving from person to person instead of as a static object to be hoarded. This is a conceptualization that, Fehu implies, it is valid to carry over to magical workings. Smaller amounts of power, like smaller amounts of money, should be worked with to build skill and confidence in the handling of the power or money. Sudden bursts of power or money lead to out of control experiences, waste, and damage to the person who holds it and those around that person.  

[vincent_1126]

Thank you for making this Deoridhe, it is very helpful, since i just started studying the norse beliefs. Do the runes usually have a fixed way of being drawn or carved or can their shapes change?  

[Deoridhe]

vincent_1126

Do the runes usually have a fixed way of being drawn or carved or can their shapes change?

Two of the elder Futhark have two shapes, but by and large they are what they are. The runes change from alphabet to alphabet, of course; the Elder, Younger, and Armenian are all different.  

[vincent_1126]

Deoridhe

vincent_1126

Do the runes usually have a fixed way of being drawn or carved or can their shapes change?

Two of the elder Futhark have two shapes, but by and large they are what they are. The runes change from alphabet to alphabet, of course; the Elder, Younger, and Armenian are all different.

thanks i was mainly talking about the Elder since i'm pretty sure that's the only one i've seen to date. I was also thinking that maybe you could put images of the runes in their post just as a little more information. or not if you don't want to. sweatdrop  

[Deoridhe]

vincent_1126

thanks i was mainly talking about the Elder since i'm pretty sure that's the only one i've seen to date. I was also thinking that maybe you could put images of the runes in their post just as a little more information. or not if you don't want to. sweatdrop

Heh. The problem is hosting all those images; I try to keep my image hosting to a minimum. Tara Hill has the images, though. Ingwaz (ng) and Hagalaz (h) are the two with alternate forms. The ingwaz variations showed up in my post about bindrunes that's floating around; essentially take the diamond that is ingwaz and extend out the top and bottom so it looks like two stacked gebos (g). The hagalaz variation looks like an asterick.  

[vincent_1126]

Deoridhe

vincent_1126

thanks i was mainly talking about the Elder since i'm pretty sure that's the only one i've seen to date. I was also thinking that maybe you could put images of the runes in their post just as a little more information. or not if you don't want to. sweatdrop

Heh. The problem is hosting all those images; I try to keep my image hosting to a minimum. Tara Hill has the images, though. Ingwaz (ng) and Hagalaz (h) are the two with alternate forms. The ingwaz variations showed up in my post about bindrunes that's floating around; essentially take the diamond that is ingwaz and extend out the top and bottom so it looks like two stacked gebos (g). The hagalaz variation looks like an asterick.

ah, okay cool. it seems like all the versions i've seen are the same as Tara Hill has, i don't think i've seen the variations. do you know where i might see them?  

[Deoridhe]

vincent_1126

ah, okay cool. it seems like all the versions i've seen are the same as Tara Hill has, i don't think i've seen the variations. do you know where i might see them?

Not offhand, but you could draw them from my descriptions above and see them.  

[vincent_1126]

Deoridhe

vincent_1126

ah, okay cool. it seems like all the versions i've seen are the same as Tara Hill has, i don't think i've seen the variations. do you know where i might see them?

Not offhand, but you could draw them from my descriptions above and see them.

okay, thanks i might do that.  

[Deoridhe]

One bit of advice I was given by a good friend for making bindrunes was to limit the runes drawn from to three. First of all - three is a powerful number in Norse cosmology. Second of all - that lets you take more care in what influences you have in your bindrune. Third - this also minimizes other runes which might "creep in" in the creation of the bindrune.

Like all rules, at a certain level of skill this should be broken, but for my pusposes at the moment I'm holding too it.  

[Jishin]

Deoridhe, can I ask you for sources for the rune poems, so that I can examine them more thoroughly? I'm not sure where to find them -- what bits of the lore they're hiding in.

I'm currently working with the runes on my own, starting with basically the one- or two-word summation of the rune, and then meditating on them to come up with the meanings I see. When I'm done, I go look at additional sources.

So far the journey's been ... enlightening.  

[EveryonesFavoriteHitman]

The rune poems you posted are quite good... I would also like to know thier origin. I never realized they each had a poem... I went with the rune meanings provided for me and allowed it to end at that. I runecast quite a lot... it is amazing to me how accurate my results have been. I also think that the blank rune is pointless.  

[LadyEladrin]

Jishin

I'm currently working with the runes on my own, starting with basically the one- or two-word summation of the rune, and then meditating on them to come up with the meanings I see. When I'm done, I go look at additional sources.

So far the journey's been ... enlightening.

Hrm, maybe I should do that too. I've always wanted to become better with my Runestones, but wasn't sure where to start. Simple meditation might be the key.  

[StrawberryGumiho]

Deoridhe

vincent_1126

thanks i was mainly talking about the Elder since i'm pretty sure that's the only one i've seen to date. I was also thinking that maybe you could put images of the runes in their post just as a little more information. or not if you don't want to. sweatdrop

Heh. The problem is hosting all those images; I try to keep my image hosting to a minimum. Tara Hill has the images, though. Ingwaz (ng) and Hagalaz (h) are the two with alternate forms. The ingwaz variations showed up in my post about bindrunes that's floating around; essentially take the diamond that is ingwaz and extend out the top and bottom so it looks like two stacked gebos (g). The hagalaz variation looks like an asterick.

Deoridhe, if you like I can make a chart for each of the different futharks and host them elsewhere. That way you can just link to the charts and not worry excessively about image hosting.  

[Jishin]

EladrinStarmist

Hrm, maybe I should do that too. I've always wanted to become better with my Runestones, but wasn't sure where to start. Simple meditation might be the key.

I've found it very worthwhile. I'm taking it very slowly ... started about three weeks ago and have worked with only four runes thus far. I work with the ones that call me, so I'm not going in any specific order. (For the record -- Thurisaz, Gebo, Uruz, and Sowilo ... I think Isa might be next, but I've been surprised before.)

One of the things I've been very pleased about is that I've been finding meanings and uses that are slightly outside the mainstream, and work for me. For example, I find Gebo resonates for me as a portal ... and it works that way.

I don't actually own any runestones yet. I think when I'm done with my series of meditations, I may make my own ... or not, I'm not sure. It will really depend when I finish that segment of journeying. I seem to have an instinctive use of them for magic as opposed to divination.