IMPORTANT
On
the following page is the Rune Song of Odin. This and the Magical Poem
that follows it contain a lifetime's work in evocation and contemplation.
This is all the help that some students had for centuries. No matter how
far you go with Runes there will always be more to find in these two texts.
To help you develop the mental equipment to do this exploration is a major
aim of this book.
Odin's Rune Song
I know myself hanging on the wind cold tree for nine icy nights.
Wounded by the spear, consecrated to Wodan
I consecrated to myself.
I was hanging on the mighty tree which conceals man
Where man grew out of its roots.
They
offered me neither bread nor wine
So I bent down in search.
I recognized the Runes; wailing I grasped them.
Until I sank down from the tree.
Now
I began to increase, to be wise,
To grow and to feel well.
From the word, word grew after word
And deed shaped to deeds with deeds.
Now
I know the songs like no wise one knows
And none of the children of men.
And should these songs, o human child, be un-learnable to you for sheer
endless time;
Grasp them as you get hold of them, use them as you hear of them.
Hail you if you retain them!
THE MAGICAL POEM
F A
I know the Songs that no wise woman knows
And none of the children of men.
The first Song is HELP, and help it will
Against sorrow, hurt, and any distress.
U R
A second I know; quite useful to the children of men
Who practice the healing hand:
It chases disease and all pain,
It cures hurts and all wounds.
T H O R N
A third Song I know: If urgency tells me
To tie the opponent with magic
Then I dull the steel of my foes
So that their swords will not cut anymore.
O S
A fourth Song I know: If an enemy puts
A tie of pliable limbs;
Then I speak the spell, the shackles break on the feet
And the fetters break on the hands.
R I T
This I know as a fifth: If in hostile flight
An arrow shoots into the crowd;
Not matter how it threatens, I block its force
By grasping it tightly with the look of my eyes.
K A
A sixth on is mine: Should a warrior hurt me
With the roots of soft wood;
This warrior who awakens the hate within me
Shall be struck before it gets me.
H A G A L
A seventh I know: If the hall blazes high in flames
Above all the people;
No matter how it burns, I still save them all.
The Magic I know to perform.
N O D
An eighth one is mine: quite useful to hear
For all the people in danger and need.
Where hate should arise between man and man
I settle it fast.
I S
A ninth one I know: I danger is out in the sea
To protect my dear ship
I conjure the wind on the billowing floods
An I sing into slumber the sea.
A R
A tenth one I know: When ill wishing spirits
Fly high in the air; I cause them to turn around
Back to their homes, deprived of their covers;
Back to their roots, bewildered their minds.
S I G
This I know as eleventh: Then I Lead
Into battle the friend, the beloved;
I sing it into his shield, so he will win in battle
And luck around him everywhere.
T Y R
A twelfth one I know: If I see the hanged man
On the tree, shaking in the wind
Then I scratch and I stain Runes
The warrior can talk and descends from the tree.
B A R
A thirteenth I name: If I wet the Son
With holy water
When he is facing the foes he cannot perish
And no blade can strike him into the dust.
L A F
A fourteenth I sing to all the assembled people
When I name the Divine names;
For nobody knows the characters of Albs
And of all Aesir as well as I do.
M A N
A fifteenth I count: That which Volkrast, the gnome
Sang by the gates of the day;
To strength for the Aesir, and to force for the Albs,
And to clear my own senses.
Y R
A sixteenth I know:
If from wise maiden I desire joy of love
Then I change the intent of the maiden
And I turn her feeling around.
E H
A seventeenth I know:
To join together two lives
In love through wise law;
Both are willing, and no one will lightly part after this.
G I B O R
An eighteenth I learned, but I would not let this
Know a just anyone else; for the best Everyone keeps for himself.
That which leads to the end of the songs.
The one only knows who is in my arms as my only lover.
To achieve a maximum understanding of these Rune songs you need to open
up to their symbolic contents and their evocative Meanings; which do happen
with practice of the Runes, Needless to say, the more you practice, the
more of the deep symbolisms will be revealed to you.
Odin's
Rune Song, and the eighteen stanzas of the Magical Poem, show quite clearly
that initiatory content of this mysterious, ancient, tradition. Personal
experience will give you all the direct evidence you need about the 18
Sacred Futhork Runes. Since the outlines of the Runes are derived from
the hexagon with its three inscribed diameters, thus forming 6 equilateral
triangles, the connection with eighteen, the number of the Runes, is obvious.
Singing
Runes compares with singing mantras of power. Once you sing a Rune consciously,
than you turn on a switch that gives you access to transcendental energies,
whether you want this to happen or not. Slowly the Runes will communicate
to you how to manage and use these energies, provided that you are spiritually
ready to accept the Runes, and ready to overcome the bondages of the world
tree and of your self-imposed limitations.
Here
we said that the Runes would act as triggers and communicate with you.
Each of these mappings reflect but one aspect of Runes. Of course, no
matter what description of the Runes we produce, such a description is
not all of what Runes are.
Runes
are beyond all mappings. Whether you see Runes as energies, as triggers
to energies, as spiritual entities, as gods, as mantras or all of these
is irrelevant. Runes will remain beyond any description. Rune experience
includes realms beyond description, beyond words, on the un-speakable
levels of experience.
Every
Rune connects with worlds of creation and formation. Therefore, when you
connect with Runes, you may expect material effects that correspond to
the specific Rune that you work with. Be aware too, that the most powerful
methods are often the simplest ones. They are often of a simplicity that
is beyond the understanding of many people. Such people practice for years
to master what they could have mastered right away. The deepest mysteries
are often the simplest to penetrate: but they self-protect against misuse
and profanation. |
Continue
-- Rune Keywords and Correlations