Rune Might: The Secret Practices of the German Rune Magicians - Edred Thorsson 2018
The Traditional Runic Systems
Background
What we refer to as tradition is a phenomenon with two facets: (1) perennial ideas that transcend any specific historical manifestation, and (2) ideas and practices that are handed down from one person to another (from teacher to pupil) and from one generation to the next. Ideally, these to facets interface and work together. Often, however, historical and cultural conditions make this productive interface difficult, or even impossible, except in the most secret of enclaves.
When looking at the runic traditions from an esoteric perspective, we see that there are actually four systems to be taken into account:
1. The Older Futhark (24 runes)
2. The Anglo-Frisian Futhorc (29—33 runes)
3. The Younger Futhark (16 runes)
4. The Armanic Futhork (18 runes)
The first three of these have deep historical roots, while the fourth system is mainly the result of the occult vision of Guido von List. However, all these systems can be seen for what they are: various facets of the underlying runic reality, of which the various rune rows are the most external phenomena. The fact that there is a degree of fluctuation in the traditions is perhaps to be expected of the Germanic magical systems, which so highly value the state of flux and resulting possibilities for growth. In this book, various techniques are based on one or the other of these systems. Therefore, the “runer,” the one who undertakes to explore and exercise the runes, should be familiar with the fundamentals of all of them and with how they all fit together to form the whole of the esoteric runic tradition.
THE OLDER FUTHARK
Although no specific technique outlined in this book makes direct use of the Older Futhark, it is important to understand that from a historical and traditional point of view, this row of 24 runes is the oldest and most original of all the systems. It is the foundation and root from which the other systems developed and grew. The primacy of this system is clear for all to see who take the trouble to look up the history of runology in any standard (non-occult) reference work. Those who want deeper instruction in this system are directed to my own works in the bibliography of this book and to the Rune-Gild, which makes extensive use of this system in its rune-work.
The system of 24 runes, as seen in table 6.1 below, was used in ancient times from the dim beginnings of the runic tradition to about 800 CE in both Scandinavia and Germany. At that time there was a smooth and regular transition to the 16-rune system of the Younger Futhark in Scandinavia. In table 6.1, as in the tables for all the other systems, the numerical value, phonetic value (sound), shape, name, the exoteric meaning (the literal translation of the name), and the esoteric meaning (the underlying significance of that name in the runic context) are given.
THE ANGLO-FRISIAN FUTHORC
In historical terms, the elements of the Anglo-Frisian Futhorc were in use from perhaps as early as 400 CE, and this system persisted until well into the Middle Ages. During the medieval period this system was well-preserved in a manuscript tradition, both in England and on the European continent. Its original homeland was in present-day Holland and northern Germany, the ancient region inhabited by the Frisians, Angles, and Saxons. From there it was brought to England in the middle of the fifth century.
The systematic principle of the Anglo-Frisian Futhorc is one of expansion. It is simply an extension of the Older Futhark, with some sound-value modifications. As the exoteric and esoteric vocabulary of the Anglo-Frisians expanded, so too did they expand their runic system. They simply added those signs they needed on to the end of the rune row. This apparently came in two phases. In the first of these phases, the system was expanded to 29 runes. This stage is exemplified in the “Old English Rune Poem” (see The Rune-Poems [Rûna-Raven, 2001]). In the second phase, the runes were expanded to a total of 33 runes. This latter tradition was the one especially prevalent in the manuscript runes found on the continent of Europe among the monasteries where many Anglo-Saxon monks worked.
From an esoteric standpoint, it seems likely that those responsible for expanding the Anglo-Frisian Futhorc were deeply initiated into some mysterious—that is, runic—vision of the staves. This is true even for those who expanded the row to its ultimate length of 33 runestaves. It is an intriguing fact that the final three runes in this row—the cup, the stone, and the spear—seem to refer directly to the Graal mythos. But this reference would appear to be a particularly Germanic understanding, with possible influence from the Sarmatians, with a twofold meaning for each of these symbols. The cup is both the sacred drinking vessel from which Woden’s mead of inspiration is drunk and the cup used at the Last Supper, which was supposedly taken to Britain by Joseph of Arimathea: the Christian Grail. The stone is the stone altar of sacrifice as well as the stone Graal, as described exclusively in the medieval German tradition of Wolfram von Eschenbach in his epic poem Parzivâl. In this tradition, the Graal is said to be a stone that was knocked from Lucifer’s crown during the war in heaven between Lucifer and the Trinity. The stone was then brought to earth by a band of “doubting angels,” who took neither side in this heavenly war. On earth they entrusted the stone to a secret order of chivalry who guard and care for it. The spear is, first and foremost, a Germanic symbol of sovereign and divine authority, and also the main weapon of Woden. In later Christian traditions, it is said to be the spear of the Roman soldier Longinus used to stab Jesus as he hung on the cross. This is also seen as part of the Graal reliquary and appears whenever the Graal appears.
In occult circles, Friedrich Bernhard Marby made use of the 33-rune Anglo-Frisian Futhorc, which he taught was the primal runic system inherited from the Atlantean Mother Land (Thule), which goes back to an age some twelve thousand years distant in the past. In his published writings Marby never undertook a systematic esoteric delineation of his whole runic system. Instead, his works on runic gymnastics abound with the practice of individual runic exercises for the key I-rune (see chapter 7) and for the vowel sounds that he identifies as “Hall-Runes” (resonant runes). More recently, a somewhat more traditional view of the Anglo-Frisian system has been outlined by Marijane Osborn and Stella Longland in their book Rune Games (1983).
THE YOUNGER FUTHARK
The 16-rune system of the Younger Futhark was historically in use throughout the Viking Age (between about 800 and 1100 CE). Some knowledge of this system was preserved in secret throughout the Christianized medieval period, even though cultural forces attempted to destroy the runic tradition in its true form. The Younger Futhark is an unusual and conscious reformation of the Older Futhark system. It is highly unusual that at a time when the Scandinavian dialects were becoming linguistically more complex and developing more sounds, the writing system used to represent this language was simplified by reducing the number of signs available to represent those sounds. This is almost unheard of in the history of alphabets. What made this possible was the fact that the runes were not being reformed by or for those who were interested in maintaining a utilitarian script. It was reformed by those who were more akin to priests (the runemasters) than to scribes or grammarians. The signs were reduced in number according to an orderly method in which the symbolic values of the runes that were eliminated were absorbed by the remaining ones. Thus, a streamlined system was created. The Younger Futhark has been the least used by the modern occult revival. The numerological work of Roland Dionys Jossé is, however, based on the 16 runes of the Younger Futhark. It is also important to realize that the 18-rune system of Guido von List and the Armanists is really an extension of the Younger Futhark.
In the Rune-Gild, extensive work is done with the Younger Futhark, which in fact has the greatest potential of any of the systems for esoteric or inner work. The reason for this is that the system is in harmony with the symbolism of the Edda and other works of Old Norse literature. This creates a deep mythic context for the Younger Futhark that the other systems lack. In practical terms, the best exploration of the Younger Futhark published for the public to date is found in my Northern Magic (Llewellyn, 1992).
THE ARMANIC FUTHORK
The 18 runes of the Armanic Futhork have a purely esoteric heritage. This system originated with the occult vision of Guido von List, who based the system on the eighteen runic stanzas of the Eddic poem “Hávamál.” List claimed to have esoteric knowledge that the 18-rune futhork was indeed the primeval system from which all others were derived. Although no historian or philologist would agree, the Armanic system did become the main one used by German rune magicians and esoteric philosophers: it was the basis for S. A. Kummer’s practical work (which he characterized as Armanic); it was accepted by Gorsleben and used as the basis for his runic investigations; and it was generally accepted as traditional among most German rune occultists until quite recently. Because of this wide acceptance and the decades of magical practice supporting it, the system seems to have acquired a certain storehouse of occult power. The best-known postwar popularizer of rune magic, Karl Spiesberger, also used the 18-rune system in a way most similar to that employed by Kummer. The only significant non-Armanic rune magician, and the only man to steer his own way through the seas of German runic esotericism, was F. B. Marby, who made use of the Anglo-Frisian system mentioned above.
In table 6.4 the Armanic Futhork is presented, but because it is fundamentally different in nature from the other historical rows, it must be treated in a somewhat different way. The names of the runes are really thought of as kernel or seed words from which the so-called Aryo-Germanic language developed, and according to which esoteric meanings of modern words may be derived. Although we do not have sufficient space in the present book to delve deeply into this complex body of esoteric lore, which rivals the complexity of the Hebrew Kabbalah, in chapter 8 there is a fairly extensive discussion of this Listian code and its possible application to practical magic.
So, in essence, there are only four true runic systems. Other pseudosystems have been invented out of whole cloth, or aspects of the systems have been significantly distorted by recent writers, especially in the Anglo-American occult marketplace. I do not feel it is necessary to address any of these systems or their aberrations. What is needed, however, is a systemic synthesis of the four legitimate rune-magic traditions. Once such a synthetic understanding is gained, it will be easier for the runer to make use of the magical practices and lore particular to each of the systems, while maintaining a solid base of traditionally anchored knowledge. There can be no doubt, from any point of view, that the 24-rune Older Futhark is the oldest and most original of all the traditions. It is the primary thesis, which actually represents the original Germanic synthesis of universal knowledge. It is from a knowledge base in this system that a synthetic understanding of all the other systems is most easily achieved.
Although there are esoteric and cosmological keys to unlocking the internal relationships of these four systems, it is more the purpose of this book to look at the practical use of individual runes and certain runic combinations as taught by the German rune magicians of the early part of the twentieth century. Therefore, I will keep any cosmological speculations to a minimum here.
Those who have been schooled, or who have schooled themselves, in the tradition of the Older Futhark will note that qualities of the Armanic system relate to the 24-rune system in approximately the ways outlined in table 6.5.
Keep in mind that these are not equivalents but only rough correspondences. The older tradition can teach the runer much more about the Armanic system than the Armanic system can be used to understand the older tradition.
As they are both products of the human spirit, much like language is, each of these two systems can be translated into one another. But as with all translations, there is a good deal of art in the process, and no perfect translation is really possible. Although they may be dialects of the same basic metalanguage, these rune rows all have high degrees of internal integrity that keep them independent of one another. The runer dedicated to the investigation of authentic runic traditions should approach the material in this book cautiously, taking useful, practical techniques and leaving the cosmology and speculation on the system to others. The advantage of the Armanic system to magicians within the Western tradition of magic who are not dedicated to a Germanic path of initiation is that the Armanic system is more a phenomenon of the general occult revival spanning the nineteenth and twentieth centuries than is the tradition of the Older Futhark, which is a far more unique creature of the Germanic world. I must add too that although the Armanic tradition is a modern phenomenon, it remains a Germanic one.