“Knowest how one shall
write, knowest how one shall rede? Knowest how one shall
tint, knowest how one makes trial? Knowest how one shall
ask, knowest how one shall offer? Knowest how one shall
send, knowest how one shall
sacrifice?” (Hovamol, v. 145)
The Norse or Germanic runic
alphabets are among oldest forms of working magick in Northern European
culture. In recent years we have seen a dramatic revival of their use
in divination, joining the Tarot and I Ching. They can, however, be
used actively as well as passively, to project your Will and change
your World. “As far as the evidence
left to us will allow, the basic runic operative ritual may be
summarized as: 1) the runic magician 2) carves the runic
graphs, 3) colors them (with blood or other dye),
4) speaks an oral formula over the object (which may or may not
correspond to the graphic form), and 5) perhaps
performs some auxiliary operation in accordance with the purpose of the
ritual. This last element may come before, during or after the
performance of elements 1-4. Another definite operative element which
may enter into an expanded formula is 6) scraping the runes off
their medium in order to destroy them by fire or to mix them in a
drink. Perhaps connected to this last element, but very ambiguous, is
whatever is implied in the technical verb senda.” (from p. 161, Runes and Magic, Stephen E.
Flowers; notes omitted.)
I do not intend to debate
the objective reality of magick; suffice it to say that the vast
majority of all human beings who have ever lived on this planet have
engaged in magical thinking. Some have posited an evolutionary
progression from magic to religion to science; I doubt that the process
will end there. The subject here is practice, not theory.
The runes were associated
with both divination and active operations of magickal power: cursing
and curing, love and war, wisdom and protection. By their use the
sorcerer could receive the oracles, or could make his will manifest
through the runic system of hidden symbols for communication with the
otherworld, or with the depths of his own mind, assuming that there is
any difference. The Eddic poems speak in various riddles about the
techniques, and some sagas describe such uses. They can be applied to
every sphere of human activity, and to the ongoing evolution of the
individual soul. They govern and channel the forces of nature, they
encode the mysteries of the gods and the mind, they are an imaginative
language of communication between human (microcosm) and cosmos
(macrocosm).
The traditional northern
sources outline a number of operations in the use of the runes for
magick:
Carving
The marking of the
substance used is the first act. It seems that the steel blade by which
man has changed this world is ultimately a magickal tool, essential to
the formation and control of the universe. One should have functional
implements and treat them with respect. A sharp woodworking knife, a
pointed spike or other form of carver may work best; and practice in
wood or clay or stone or whatever is recommended as a prelude to a
formal working; however, many of the runic artifacts which have been
discovered have the markings scratched in quite crudely. To some extent
this perhaps reflects variations in the skills of the individual
rune-masters, but it has also been suggested that the very act of
marking the sign was more important than its actual form.
There seems no reason not
to draw them in the air, or to mark them with ink or other liquids, or
to draw them in earth or dust or chalk, or burn them into magickal or
other equipment. One of the earliest uses of rune-like forms was the
marking of personal possessions (notably weapons), and among the latest
surviving were the marks of the stonemasons and cathedral-builders of
Europe. Casting and altar-cloths, as well as almost any form of
garment, are open to the infinite possibilities of runic embroidery;
the needle may also be seen as a blade, the thread as a source of
color. Warrior-bands often followed sacred raven-banners that gave
victory, preferably made by the daughters of famous heroes; similar
banners are suitable for the decoration of a pagan temple or hof, as a
rallying point for groups or tribes; they provide a field for the
display of pagan symbolism. We may also remember the tapestries found
in the famous treasure-trove of the Oseberg ship-burial, richly
patterned with mythological themes, which suggest the importance of
weaving in the spread of ideas and the adornment of temple, home or
mead-hall.
The question of what
particular kind of wood is best for arcane purposes is left to the
individual; the lore of trees is both wide and ancient, in northern
sources and the Celtic tree alphabet and oghams. It can be assumed from
the forms of the runes that they were first codified for carving in
wood, usually cut across the grain for clarity. Any tree associated
with a particular rune is especially appropriate.
Coloring
Of the many rune stones
that survive, most originally seem to have been brightly painted over
their carvings (and the same can be said of most statuary of the gods
in many other cultures). Every culture and every individual has a rich
body of emotional associations with the various hues of the spectrum,
and one should employ these to charge the runes with appropriate
energies. One of the oldest color-schemes used seems to have been that
of white, black and red (using chalk, soot and red ocher, or plants
including minium or madder); this appears in several other traditions
as well. However, the ultimate coloring agent for the runes has always
been blood itself, and the word for this reddening is the same as that
for the giving of magickal power. According to the sagas, the blood of
the sorcerer was that employed:
“Egil drew out his knife
and stabbed the palm of his hand, then took the horn, carved runes on
it and rubbed it with blood. After that he made this verse: “Carve runes on the horn, Rub them with red blood, With these words I bewitch The horn of the wild ox...” (Egil’s Saga, chapter 44,
Palsson/Edwards trans.)
Disposable sterile lancets
for the squeamish or diabetic are available in drug stores for the
purpose of drawing small amounts of blood, which has always been
associated with the life-giving power itself. Sacrificial ritual played
a major part in Scandinavian religion.
“The oldest direct allusion
to painted runes comes, however, from a source outside the Norse
sphere. I refer to the well-known line by Venantius Fortunatus in a
poem written towards the end of the sixth century: Barbara
fraxineis pingatur runa tabellis. “The runes of the barbarians are
painted on boards of ash.” (page 152, The Runes of Sweden by
S.B.F. Jansson)
The symbolism of color is a
complex one; red, of course, represents blood, life, fire, and magickal
power, while green calls to mind plants and fertility. Black is the
ultimate container of mystery, night and matter, while white portrays
light and contains all the colors of the rainbow. Blue implies
peace and healing, water and sky, magically containing all things
in-between; and yellow shows wealth and energy. Silver and gold are
moon and sun, of course, and purple has long associations with power
and imperial symbolism.
Hiding
By concealing the meaning
of a runic command one increases its power. One can bind the signs into
a single figure, a sigil; or bury them in the earth, or the sea, or
place them in the branches of a tree, or carve them on its roots, or
transform them with various numerical codes. They may be hidden on the
backs of items of jewelry, concealed about the person, or marked in
water or mead, which may later disappear. By thus projecting the
meaning into the unconscious or the otherworld to gestate, the
accomplished result re-emerges. The ultimate form of this hiding is
burning with fire, which is often the final fate of most magickal
devices and releases the energies bound within them to complete the
working; one may then ritually drink the ashes. While a branch of a
tree is customary material for most operations, the roots may be used
for darker subterranean purposes; either should be taken from an
appropriate direction off the body of the tree, and an offering to the
tree should be left (a coin, ribbon or libation). Runes may also be
buried where the person one desires to affect will pass, or concealed
to protect the home.
In more modern terms the
noted sorcerer Austin Osman Spare focused his will and desires into
figures called sigils, by expressing the intention into a short, simple
sentence, eliminating all repeated letters, and forming those remaining
into a monogram or geometric figure containing the shapes of all. This
figure, encoded beyond conscious meaning, was charged in various ways
and then projected into the unconscious mind and deliberately
forgotten; it there created an astral stress that worked itself out in
the material world. This method is quite similar to the making of
bindrunes, and in fact the simple and similar shapes of the rune staves
readily lend themselves to the formation of such figures. The
fascinating subject of Spare’s highly individual form of sorcery can be
studied in the works of Kenneth Grant, Neville Drury, Gavin Semple,
Peter Carroll and other authorities in the post-modern system called
Chaos Magick, as well as in his own rare and frequently obscure
writings. His concept of the Alphabet of Desire, and many other aspects
of his system are useful for the modern runic adept.
Reading
This may refer to
understanding the meanings of the individual runes in divination, or to
proficiency in the codes already mentioned, or even to simple literacy
in an age when this was an unusual talent. Runes were generally written
left-to-right, although right-to-left sometimes occurs in the earlier
inscriptions; occasionally also alternating rows like a plowed field in
a pattern called boustrophedon (from the Greek: ‘as the ox
plows’). Sometimes alternate words were colored black and red to
distinguish them, or a single dot was placed between words to divide
them, with multiple dots used to indicate sentence breaks or point to a
vital rune by numerical coding. Twin lines or borders can be drawn,
which provide proper spacing and size for the staves. Adjacent double
letters are seldom repeated in an inscription, even when they end and
begin successive words; sometimes forms called bind-runes were used to
link repeated letters, to use one stave for more than one letter,
whether to save space or adjust a numerical count of figures.
Considering the wide span
of time and the area over which runic inscriptions appear, and the very
wide variations in level of literacy and the development of various
local dialects and languages, as well as the often obscure and archaic
nature of magickal formulae, many academics have defined the First Law
of Runic Studies as: “Any runic inscription will have as many
interpretations as there are scholars studying it.” A number of runic
inscriptions have been found which simply consist of the whole futhark.
The writing of the entire alphabet serves as a powerful protective
formula in several cultures, symbolizing as it does the complete
universe in its proper order:
“In former times, when
literacy was a rare thing, to write the entire alphabet somewhere was
considered to be a magical, protective formula. This tradition survives
in the Christian church, where, during consecrations carried out
according to full ritual form, the letters of the Roman and Greek
alphabets are written by the bishop with his pastoral staff in ashes
forming a cross on the floor of the new church. Although it is
rationalized as being symbolic of Christ, who is described as the A
(alpha) and Z (omega), the beginning and the end; in Greek alphabet
lore, both characters have the meanings of riches and abundance. This
rite is a survival of the divination conducted by the Pagan priesthood
of ancient Rome when laying out a sacred site for a temple.” (Games of the Gods by Nigel
Pennick, p. 74)
To read implies
understanding, and also the primal act of Naming, by which things are
created and controlled.
Sacrifice
This may also refer to the
final burning, or to pouring a libation in thanks to the gods, or to
some other offering or promised gift, or to an actual blood sacrifice
as part of the ritual being worked. Animal sacrifice was traditional in
many cultures, and it seems to me that making a ritual event out of the
necessary slaughter at summer’s end is a virtue, not an abuse; an
attitude somewhere between the reverence of primitive hunters towards
the sacred animals and the relative depravity of our modern commercial
slaughterhouses. For practical purposes in today’s world, however, the
word on animal sacrifice is "don’t try this at home”. The time
for this is long past, the neighbors will start to talk, and you can
get the same results through sex, drugs and rock & roll anyway.
However, the pouring of libations, the giving of thanks, seems a matter
of simple courtesy to the gods; and many offerings of weapons, vessels,
and other forms of wealth have been found submerged in sacred springs
or in bogs all through the north, passed into the sacred Well of Wyrd
or Fate and the hands of the gods. Nine coins in a well, spring or
fountain might be an acceptable modern substitute, or the offering of a
suitable clay model, poem, or other piece of art.
Galdra
The general term Galdra
(pl. galdrar) for magickal incantations may derive from a word
describing the croaking of ravens (birds of Odin) or the crowing of
cocks (which are linked to Heimdall). The working of a runic spell appears to be
activated by spoken verses expressing the sorcerer’s will; the
‘sending’ process? Norse skaldic poetry was an elaborate art,
filled with complex kennings (mythic references) that veiled the
meaning of simple statements beneath a layer of evocative traditional
symbolic terms; it also had several forms of verse. See The Skalds and
the introduction to the Poetic
Edda, both by Hollander. As in many other
cultures, the poet was thought to have magickal powers and receive
inspiration from the divine. Since northern magick often appears to
rely mainly on the expression of the individual Will, rather than
calling upon pantheons of deities or lesser spirits, what is vital is
the clear expression of your desire in whatever poetic style is
comfortable or, indeed, none at all. While some form of Old Norse would
be an appropriate magickal language, still Modern English is one of its
legitimate linguistic heirs in the stream of Germanic tongues.
Galdrastafir
In medieval Norse and
Icelandic magick various sacred signs are used to hallow or charge
various works of art; most famous are the sign of the hammer, the
sun-wheel, or the swastika. Ancient rock-carvings include these and
other images, such as ships, spears, men and animals, plows and wains,
(see Chariot of the Sun
by Gelling & Davidson) while the much later Icelandic Galdrabok (translated by
Steven Flowers) contains combinations of runic signs in inscriptions
with a certain number of staves or in more complex figures.
Many are based upon the
aegishelm or helm of awe, a protective sign based on variations of a
star made by crossing 4 lines on a central point, making an 8-rayed
figure, which terminates in angular trident or arrow forms; there are
many variations. Another is the so-called sleep-thorn, employed by Odin
upon the Valkyrie Sigrdrifa. Simple geometric figures such as the
triangle, square, pentagram, or whatever holds an appropriate number of
staves can also be employed as a basis for bind-runes, linking the
bases of the staves with the tops of the figures extending outwards.
Stadha
& Runestreams
Stadha or postures
imitative of runic forms and channeling their powers were posited by
the Armanen rune-masters of the last century in a form of “rune-yoga”,
inspired in part by the elaborate figures engraved upon the famous
golden Gallehus drinking horns (dating from about 400-500 CE); these
were decorated with men, gods, animals, fish, serpents, weapons, runes
and cosmic symbols of various kinds. Versions of these positions are
given in Thorsson’s essental book Futhark.
Hand-figures or mudras
controlling runic forces are also possible, and Armanen versions appear
in Rune Might by the
same author. These late 19th and early 20th century writers of the
Armanen school, who include von List, Marby, Kummer and others, devoted
much thought to the streams of force governed by the runes; these
include the subterranean or chthonic currents sought by dowsers and
students of leylines and geomancy, the terrestrial streams that flow
upon the surface of the earth, and the cosmic streams of solar, lunar
and stellar energy that reach the earth from space, as well as the
purely self-contained powers generated within the body of the rune
master.
Candle
Magic
Traditional folk magick
often includes the burning of candles of various colors for various
purposes, a tradition surviving in Catholicism, Wicca, Santeria and
Voudon, among others. This technique can easily be combined with runic
magick; the name of the sorcerer or of the person to be affected is
carved upon a candle of the correct hue along with appropriate formulae
or bind-runes, and this is then burned with invocations over a series
of nights. There are a number of variations possible; for example, to
bring two lovers together a pair of candles may be named and moved
closer together every night; or to curse someone a black candle may be
impaled with pins or nails, dipped in foul herbs or noxious fluids,
whipped, and burned. Many mail-order companies are now in the business
of marking candles with bind-runes and selling them at an inflated
price.
Equipment
The major tools used in
runic rites might include a blade, a drinking horn or cup, a wand or
staff carved with the runes, and a bracteate broach or disk marked with
them, worn by the rune-master; these might roughly correspond with the
sword, chalice, wand and pentacle/disk used by virtually all modern
witches and ceremonial magicians and depicted in the four suits of the
minor Arcana of the Tarot, or to the sword, cauldron, spear and stone
of Celtic myth. The blade may be used for carving runes in wood or holy
signs in the air, and is a symbol of defense against evil. The
wand or staff, like Odin’s spear, is an age-old symbol of invocation
and authority, and perhaps of use in geomantic measure or astronomical
observation as well. The horn is used in drinking toasts, pouring
libations, and charging magickal eucharists or runic potions; mead is
traditional as a vehicle for the poetry and wisdom of Odin, while beer,
wine, water or milk may well be appropriate for other deities. The
bracteate broach or disk was one of the ancient accoutrements of the
rune-master, and a number of examples survive; these often include
images of horse and rider, various birds and beasts, or Odin himself,
as well as the entire futhark written out in full. These were stamped
into metal disks and were both powerful protection and a reservoir of
magickal energy.
The altar may be a table
indoors or a stone slab in a grove. Other equipment might include a
libation bowl (an evergreen branch may be used to sprinkle liquids and
later returned to its tree), candles or torches, and a metal bowl for
burning incense (although Norse evidence of this is limited, fire is a
ritual necessity); also images of the gods as you can find or devise
them. Raven or other feathers, crystals, stones, antlers or horns, or
whatever else appeals to you can be included; and a metal arm-ring upon
the altar is traditional, and was used in the swearing of oaths in
ancient times. More specialized symbolic tools or weapons might include
a spear for Odin, a hammer for Thor, an antler or horn for Frey, a
necklace which represents Brisingamein for Freya, a spindle for Frigg,
a sword for Heimdall or Tyr, a harp for Bragi, bow & arrows for
Ullr or Hod, etc. Sacraments might include almost any food feasted upon
by the Vikings up to and including the Yuletide boar, the mead sacred
to the high god Odin, and the golden apples of eternal youth given by
the goddess Idunna.
Ritual dress should include
a hooded cloak; otherwise simple Norse medieval garments are
appropriate. Thorsson states that red pants are the traditional garb of
rune masters, and suggests a white tunic and a white headband
embroidered with the futhark in red. Bare feet and/or ritual nudity are
not uncommon, and outdoor sites are preferred. The usual orientation of
runic rites is to the north.
While the magickal circle
seems to be absent from Norse rites, sacred nine fold (a square divided
into 9 sections) grids or lattice-forms are recorded, as in the act of
necromancy described in the Faroe Islander’s Saga. There is also the
holy burial mound or man-made square wooden platform where the Volva or
prophetess sits during the rites of the seidhr-magick; examples of
these rites appear in both Eirik’s
Saga and Vatnsdaela
Saga. The sacred seat of the Thul or rune master is also
referred to in the Eddas and might be either a High Seat or throne, or
a low three legged stool. All of these seats of power represent the
center of the world, and the custom of sleeping out upon a burial mound
to receive visions was well known.
The most powerful times of
day are the four quarters of the Sun: dawn, noon, sunset and midnight.
While astrological considerations seem largely absent from runic
magick, one might take into account the season of the year and the
phase of the Moon: waxing for workings of increase and blessing, waning
for decrease and baleful charms.
It is virtually impossible
to cover every aspect of Norse magic here, but there is a standard
division between its two main forms: Galdra and seidhr. The first is
Odin’s runic magick and works by incantations and magickal songs, and
he is king of the Aesir gods; while seidhr, more shamanistic, was
taught by the Vanir goddess Freya and involved shapeshifting, erotic
sorcery, prophecy and astral journey in a trance state. A third form,
ergi, involved black magick, perversion, necromancy and cursing. I have
not attempted to create an explicit system of practice here; the
accomplished Vitki (‘wise one’ or sorcerer) will devise rites
based upon the outlined operations here.
Banishing
A fairly standard practice
in all forms of magick, however, is to banish opposing forces and
establish a sacred space. The following method is based
upon the Asatru banishing and the more elaborate version given by
Thorsson in Futhark,
p. 91):
At each of the four
quarters, then above and below you, cut the sign of the hammer of Thor
in the air with the blade or wand (or a hammer!) boldly saying:
“Hamarr i Nordhri
helga ve thetta ok hald vordh ok hindra alla illska!” “Hamarr i Austri helga ve
thetta ok hald vordh ok hindra alla illska!” “Hamarr i Sudhri helga ve
thetta ok hald vordh ok hindra alla illska!” “Hamarr i Vestri helga ve
thetta ok hald vordh ok hindra alla illska!” “Hamarr yfir mer helga ve
thetta ok hald vordh ok hindra alla illska!” “Hamarr undir mer helga ve
thetta ok hald vordh ok hindra alla illska!” In the center repeat: “Hamarr helga ve thetta ok
hald vordh ok hindra alla illska!”
This can be fairly literally
translated as:
“Hammer in the North,
East, South West, over me, under
me,
hallow this sacred enclosure and
keep watch and hinder all evil!”
Repeat this at the end or
closing of the ritual.
A Brief
Word to the Wise
Among the many methods of
raising power employed by sorcerers, priests and shamans the world over
are: chanting and words of power such as mantras; wild dancing; deep
breathing exercises; blood sacrifice; trance; concentration, meditation
and visualization; rhythmic drumming; prolonged fasting and
sleeplessness; hypnosis; alcohol and drugs; sensory deprivation and
bondage; strong emotional arousal; flagellation; yoga; sadism and/or
masochism; complex symbolism; and of course SEX of every kind.
Discretion is very much advised. With this information you should now
be at liberty to express your will to the runic powers in a suitably
aesthetic manner.
I opened with these
traditional questions:
“Knowest how one shall
write, knowest how one shall rede? Knowest how one shall
tint, knowest how one makes trial? Knowest how one shall
ask, knowest how one shall offer? Knowest how one shall
send, knowest how one shall
sacrifice?” (Hovamol, v. 145)
This is my own answer:
I know how to call them, Primal powers Linked to signs That bind Nine Worlds.
I know how to carve them, With blade of steel In wood or stone, In flesh or bone.
I know how to stain them, Filled with blood Red with power Burning in black night.
I know how to send them, Bound to branches Bending eastward Weaving in the wind.
I know how to hide them, Secret concealed In code of number Or buried deep in earth.
I know how to read them, With a single Eye Twin ravens flight And wisdom wide.
I know how to offer them, Dissolved in flame Pure as white ash Dust on the wind.
I know how to sacrifice, With mead outpoured Nine sacred songs The Names of all the Gods.
I the Wise One mark the
runes, Bright as Fire Dark as Ice Upon the Tree where Odin
hangs.
