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The Runes are a
magical alphabet, in legend bequeathed to us by the mythical Norse god Odin.
Timeless in their advice, the Runes give practical solutions to our questions.
There are twenty-five
(although some say only twenty-four) Runes, which can be separated into three groups of eight stones - ‘Three
Aettir’ or ‘Aett’. These can be
sub-divided further into
Freyr's eight,
Hagal's
eight &
Tyr’s eight, corresponding to the three states of the mind - subconscious, conscious and superconscious.
There is also a link
between the Runes and the eight key festivals of the ‘Wheel of the Year’.
If we look at the
outer circle above, the rune symbols are laid out in groups of three. These are
symbols that share a common root meaning but individually represent the
different branches from this root.
1. Tyr, Beorc, Eoh:
Sky Father & Earth Mother and new born life.
2. Mannaz, Lagu, Inguz:
Intellect & Intuition and their integration.
3. Othila, Dagaz, Fehu:
The Sun reaching its zenith of power & being ‘slayed’ before its decline.
4. Uruz, Thurisaz, Ansur:
Indicating the interaction of the fiery inner urge with intellect.
5. Raidho, Kenaz, Goefu:
Balancing the forces of light & darkness in order to gain knowledge.
6. Wunjo, Hagal, Nied:
Initiation & access to other realms.
7. Is, Jera, Eihwaz:
Return of the Sun & promise of rebirth.
8. Peorth, Algiz, Sigel:
Kindling of new life soon to be manifested.
This brings us to the contentious subject of the one
remaining Rune – the blank Rune. Although the traditional Runic alphabet contained no such blank letter, Ralph Blum's influential work on the Runes in the 1970's introduced the concept of the blank Rune as representing the Wyrd, Fate, Destiny, the unexpected, the as
yet unknown. Using his interpretations we can see that Life is full of surprises and opportunities to learn and grow,
even in the Runic Alphabet. Others will contend that the Rune Peorth contains a similar meaning and there is no need for the blank Rune. I will conclude that there are many paths to truth.
The Wheel was devised
to show all the Runes in relationship to each other in a form
representing the cycle of the seasons and of life.
Being tools for
reading otherwise hidden truths, the Runes are symbolic objects which act as a
kind of magical mirror of our innermost thoughts and feelings. Intuition is a
natural ability shared by everyone, and the Runes can be used to develop and
intensify our intuition and it is through this exercise that we discover how
the Runes work for us individually.
For the more advanced
practitioner, from intuition flows divination, and this is explored further in
Self Mastery and Psychic Development and Colin Clark’s Sensitive Awareness
Method. Colin can be contacted
about his work directly at colin@drawninward.com.
This introduction has
been provided for those of you with a link or affinity to Germanic or Scandinavian
cultures. If you feel any resonance or link
to the Runes then they may be a road toward self discovery. Just never
forget that you are the only person on the planet quite like you. You have a
job to do, and all the tools with which to do it. You are here to make a
difference and your life therefore has a purpose. For some, the Runes will help to unravel that mystery.
Adapted from original
text by Colin Clark.
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