A Handbook of Saxon Sorcery & Magic: Wyrdworking, Rune Craft, Divination & Wortcunning - Alaric Albertsson 2017
Animal Runes
Runes and Rúncræft
The early English also had a more intimate relationship with the animal kingdom than most of us do today. Sadly, this relationship tended to be more adversarial than affectionate, and animals were often treated cruelly. This was not unique to the Anglo-Saxons. It was a common attitude in all cultures at that time, and the animals fared no better in England after the Anglo-Saxons abandoned their own gods and converted to Christianity. The value of compassion toward other species is a recent development in human history. Under the old English Common Law, animals were classified as either property (livestock) or as brute animals. The former enjoyed more legal protections than the latter, but only because they were regarded as moderately valuable property.
I do not condone or suggest a return to these barbaric ideas. There is nothing honorable or admirable about cruelty to animals. In the United States, in 1874, animal welfare laws opened the way for laws protecting children when Mary McCormack Connolly was prosecuted for beating, starving, and abusing a young girl who, according to Henry Bergh, deserved the protections accorded in the state of New York to any “animal,” even though the girl was a human animal. At that time, there were no laws in New York against cruelty to children. The girl, Mary Ellen Wilson, was removed from her abusive foster home thanks to the state’s animal welfare laws. Later that same year, the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was established. A society that is cruel to animals tends to be cruel to its own children, and vice versa. Perhaps compassion toward other species is a luxury that only modern people can enjoy. If so, let us remember that we are, indeed, modern people. We can afford compassion.
Animals were not always classified anatomically. The Anglo-Saxons classified animals according to function and habitat. The word deer (déor) meant any species of wild, land-dwelling herbivore. This included deer as we use the word today, but the essential quality was the animal’s wild nature in contrast to that of the domesticated beast. As an adjective, déor meant courageous or bold, qualities the Anglo-Saxons admired in wild animals.
Fish (fisc) meant any water-dwelling creature. Most often these were fish as we classify them anatomically, but, as we will see later in this chapter, the beaver was considered a “river fish” because it makes its home in the water.
A worm (wyrm) was any lowly creature associated with the earth. It is cognate with the word vermin, which came into the English language through Old French. The early English had a love-hate relationship with the earth that we still hold today. On one hand, it is the earth that sustains us. On the other, the earth or soil is a place of disease. We still think of anything “soiled” as being unhealthy. The earth is also where we inter the dead. Wyrmes were creatures contaminated or soiled, particularly snakes, since these animals have no legs to lift them from the ground. But the word was also used for any generic reptile and even for mites or insects.
The mightiest of wyrmes was not a biological creature at all, but a spirit creature: the dragon. The dragon is a powerful and destructive spirit. Today you may occasionally hear people say that they “work with” dragons in some spiritual way. Whatever these spirits are, they are certainly not European dragons. You do not work with a European dragon for any length of time. Either you destroy it, or it destroys you, and the latter outcome is far more likely. The people who claim to work with dragons may have connected in some way with Chinese dragons, which are benevolent in nature and entirely unrelated to the great wyrmes of Europe, or they may be influenced by modern fantasy fiction, which often portrays dragons as benign creatures.
The European dragon is not a creature that a person can establish a relationship with. In the lore of England and Scandinavia, dragons are the embodiment of pure destruction. They are often but not always winged. They often but not always have legs, although the torso is more like that of a snake. The legged varieties may be quadrapedal (four legged) or bipedal (two legged). In later folk tradition, these were classified by different names—legless lindworms, bipedal wyverns, and quadrapedal dragons—but the Anglo-Saxons made no distinctions. The dragon in the epic story of Beowulf also had a venomous bite, which was Beowulf’s demise. Like biological wyrmes, such as snakes, dragons are very much creatures of the earth. They not only touch the earth, they live within it, in caves and grottos.
Biological animals were sometimes given traits or qualities that defy the laws of nature. The European robin, known to the Anglo-Saxons as the réadda, was believed to be universally male. The bird was mated or married to the wren, which was always female. But this sexual irregularity must have been symbolic. Surely the Anglo-Saxons readily observed that robins nest with robins, and wrens with wrens, and never with the other species. The réadda was considered sacred to Thunor, and as a sacred bird, it still holds a special meaning even in America today. When the descendants of the Saxons eventually came to the shores of North America, they named the indigenous red-breasted thrush after the bird they were familiar with—the sacred robin. But the American robin disappeared in the autumn. Its behavior was unlike the non-migratory European robin, a bird long associated with the Yuletide. Unlike the European robin, the North American réadda deserted the land with the coming of winter. What a relief it was to see the sacred bird return in the spring! What a welcome symbol of divine blessing! Many North American avian species migrate south every winter, but it is the red-breasted bird sacred to red-bearded Thunor, god of strength and protection, that Americans still look for as a sign that spring has returned.
The Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem focuses on four animals that were useful in some way. All four of these are mammals. Two of the species mentioned are domestic and the other two wild. And one of these animals, sadly, is now extinct.
FEOH: Cattle
(FAY-och, ending with a glottal stop, as in loch)
Phonetic Value: f, as in fife
Feoh byþ frofur fira gehwylcum
sceal ðeah manna gehwylc miclum hyt dælan
gif he wile for dryhtne domes hleotan.
Cattle are compensation for everyone,
though each man shall greatly share his
if he will be awarded honors from his lord.
The Old English word feoh has two meanings: cattle and wealth. Today these are distinct concepts, but fifteen centuries ago in England, each was the equivalent of the other. A household with even a few head of cattle was a prosperous household. Related to the aurochs—a wild European species of cattle that came to be represented by the ur rune—domesticated cattle provided not only milk, butter, cream, and beef, but also leather for shoes, belts, and armor and horn for combs and utensils. The manure from these cattle revitalized the fields. Land itself was a measure of wealth, but cattle were a movable form of wealth. Cattle could be traded or given away. Or stolen. Cattle raids were an early version of the bank robbery.
So this rune means, in a phrase, “movable wealth.” But its mystery is deeper than this. In the Rune Poem, we are admonished to share or deal out (dælan) our wealth. We are to do this if we want to receive honors or praise (domes) from our lord. I have often seen the word dryhtne interpreted as “the Lord,” the Biblical god, and this is possibly what the scribe intended since the runic mysteries were not recorded until the Christian era; but we need to remember that the Rune Poem was recorded at a time when everyone but the king himself had someone as his or her liege. It is just as likely, if not more so, that the term refers to one’s local lord. This lord would not be impressed by a vassal who hoarded his own cattle. To maximize their value, for the community to prosper, cattle needed to be loaned out and sold or traded. The cattle needed to move.
Dickens’ A Christmas Carol exemplifies the mystery of feoh. Our hearts go out to the crippled Tim Cratchit, but the most pitiful character in the story is Ebenezer Scrooge. Despite his wealth, Scrooge is miserable. His life is friendless and empty. He seems lost until three spirits convince him to share his wealth—to set it in motion. At the end we see that other people, most notably the Cratchit family, have prospered from this new generosity, but nobody has prospered as much as Scrooge himself. Loved and admired, he has finally taken his place as a valuable member of his community.
Feoh is one of the four F runes. Unlike the other three, however, feoh actually does represent the phonetic F of the Roman alphabet. In form, two lines or cross-strokes extend out and upward from the longer vertical stroke. The rune’s appearance resembles a person in profile with his arms outstretched. It looks as if this person is reaching out to receive something. Or is he giving something? It does not matter, as these are two sides of one coin. The upward cross-strokes indicate movement, in this case the movement of wealth or potential.
When feoh appears in a divination today, it is not likely to represent cattle unless you own or work on a ranch, which excludes most of us. Instead we need to look at this rune as a representation of wealth in motion. The latter part of this is important. A million dollars in cash stuffed into a mattress is not feoh, it is just paper. This rune may not mean money at all in the modern sense. It is a person’s wealth—any valuable asset, tangible or not—whether this manifests as a talent, a skill, knowledge or, yes, a large bank account. All of these can only achieve their potential when set into motion.
This rune often suggests that the querent share something. What this “something” is will vary from one person to the next. Depending on the situation and the other runes near it, feoh can also indicate that the querent will be receiving something, but this is never a gift, which would be indicated by the rune gyfu. Instead the querent is receiving something earned. For the same reason, this rune does not refer to charitable acts or gifts. It is a compensation for service or goods, or what the early English people called a feohbót when paid in a tangible form.
In rúncræft, feoh is the ultimate rune for money spells. It can be combined effectively in a bindrune with beorc or wynn for a general prosperity talisman. Use it in a charm to help in seeking employment. Combine feoh with ur and os if you are applying for a management-level position, or with rád if you want a job or career that involves travel.
However you use this rune, do not forget its inherent mystery. Feoh is not a get-rich-quick scheme or a windfall inheritance. It represents valuable assets that must be managed. Just as the rancher must breed his heifer, guard the growing calf, and eventually sell or butcher the animal or breed it in turn to stimulate milk production, your assets—whether these are skills or knowledge or actual money—must be stimulated in some way to grow and circulate. To move. In my experience, the most effective prosperity spells utilize this concept. It is not enough (usually) to say, “I want money.” What we call money, whether it is a coin or rectangular sheet of paper or a plastic card, is just a superficial symbol for an exchange. You must know exactly what you wish to give, as well as exactly what you hope to receive in exchange.
And of course, for anyone reading this book who does own or work on a cattle ranch, feoh certainly can be referring, in both divination and magic, to your livestock!
In your mind’s eye, envision two people transacting the sale of a heifer or steer. See the exchange of coins, but know that the animal is equally important. The exchange moves in both directions. One person offers coins, the other person offers a beast. Remember that feoh represents potential in motion, and that money is only one manifestation. Contemplate the form of rune itself, keeping in mind that the upward strokes indicate motion. Feoh speaks to us of the movement that nurtures balance and growth.
UR: Aurochs
(OOR)
Phonetic Value: oo, as in boot or took
Ur byþ anmod ond oferhyrned,
felafrecne deor feohteþ mid hornum,
mære morstapa þæt is módig wuht.
The aurochs is brave and has horns above,
this very fierce animal fights with its horns,
a great wanderer of the moors, it is a proud creature.
Sometimes confused with the European bison, the aurochs was actually a wild, powerful, and temperamental breed of cattle. Aurochs were often depicted in Paleolithic cave paintings. In early Europe, to hunt and successfully kill one of these beasts was proof of a man’s courage and skill. Unfortunately this very perception of the aurochs as an honorable opponent helped drive the breed to extinction. These great creatures were no longer roaming Britain by the 1200s, and the last surviving aurochs—a female—died in Poland in 1627. The Anglo-Saxons respected the aurochs both for its ferocity (felafrecne) and for its pride or spirit (mód). In this passage of the Rune Poem, we see nothing but praise for the great wanderer of the moors.
Larger than domestic cattle, the male aurochs was black and had a pale stripe running down its back. Females were a dull reddish color. Both sexes were notable for their large, forward-facing horns. These horns are significant in the Rune Poem, mentioned for their unusual position (oferhyrned) as well as for their role as the aurochs’ natural weapons (feohteþ mid hornum). But what is the significance of the horn? Depictions of ceremonial helmets adorned with horns have been found in Denmark, Sweden, and England. These helmets were not worn into battle. They were probably used in religious or magical rituals. What exactly did they represent?
It is unlikely that horned helmets are related to the Pagan depictions of antlered humanoids such as the seated, antlered figure found on the Gundestrup cauldron. Antlers are not the same as horns. A fully developed antler is a dead bony growth that is shed at the end of the year. Antlers are usually only found on adult male animals, and thus are symbolic of masculine energy and sexuality. In contrast, horn is a hard protein substance covering living bone throughout the life of an animal. In some species only the male has horns, but in other animals—including the aurochs—both males and females are crowned with these growths. Horns begin to grow soon after birth and are an important means of defense. As a symbol, the horn represents sheer power regardless of sex, age, or season.
In form, the rune ur shows the auroch’s impressive horns facing downward. From skeletal evidence we know that the horns normally faced forward. If they were drawn “up,” the image would be of an aurochs staring at the sky. Facing down, they are in their power position. The beast has lowered its head and is ready, if necessary, to charge. The aurochs is in a stance that reveals its full potential.
This full potential, this strength, is indicated when ur appears in a divination. It usually means that the querent has the strength and courage to meet a challenge. In a single rune reading, when only one rune is drawn, ur could indicate that the querent needs to summon up strength or courage, which could mean that unforeseen challenges are coming. But even here the rune suggests the querent has enough personal strength to overcome these challenges.
As for its use in rúncræft, I have found ur to be especially effective in healing magic. It is a rune of vitality. Combine it with eolh or æsc in a bindrune for a charm to bolster the immune system, or with éoh for a general health charm.
But the power of ur is not limited to healing. Use ur with wynn and sigel for a potent good luck charm. Or use it with feoh and os if you’re seeking a managerial position or promotion. Entrepreneurs can use this rune with feoh and gyfu to help with success in their business dealings. Just be certain that you only use ur when you truly want to empower a charm or spell with unfettered vitality. The power of ur, like life itself, can be wild and unpredictable. When used for anything other than healing, ur can produce unexpected results. The aforementioned entrepreneur’s business charm using ur, feoh, and gyfu, for example, might be the key to a profitable opportunity—in a city a thousand miles away.
Ur can also be used alone for self-empowerment. Use both your hands to mark the symbol before you in one gesture. Begin with the fingertips of both hands touching. Then move your left hand down sharply, while simultaneously moving your right hand out and down to form the rest of the runic character. As you do this say, “Ic eom ur” (eech EH-om oor), which means “I am the aurochs.” As I mentioned in the last chapter, I believe using the language of the runes—Old English—is more powerful, but only if you can do so comfortably and with confidence. This simple self-empowerment spell can be enacted whenever you feel the need for renewed health, mental fortitude, or increased courage.
In your mind’s eye, envision the aurochs as it prepares to charge. See the great beast lower its head, its horns pointing downward to form the shape of the ur rune. Feel its power and mass. Ur is a rune of strength.
EH: Horse
(ECH, ending with a glottal stop, as in loch)
Phonetic Value: e, as in bed; a, as in bait
Eh byþ for eorlum æþelinga wynn,
hors hófum wlanc, ðær him hæleþ ymbe,
welege on wicgum, wrixlaþ spræce,
and biþ unstyllum æfre frofur.
The horse is for lords the joy of the aristocracy,
horse hooves boastful, where around the hero,
prosperous in respect to horses, it exchanges discourse,
and its restlessness is ever a help.
The horse was known throughout Europe four thousand years ago, but it was originally domesticated at least two thousand years earlier in central Asia. Being relatively expensive to maintain, the horse was a symbol of wealth and aristocratic status. A single horse can require fifteen to twenty-five pounds of forage and up to ten gallons of water every day. Thus, nobles rode on horseback while peasants usually walked.
We see this connection between the horse and its master’s status in the Rune Poem. The horse is presented as a noble animal, a mount fit for a hero (hæleþ). It is described as a joy (wynn) and boastful (wlanc). But the horse is not a mere object or tool. It is, for the hero, an ally. A partner. The hero consults or converses (wrixlaþ spræce) with the horse. And then, in its role as a mount, the horse becomes a help or benefit (frofur) to the noble hero. The horse enables its master.
Horses were venerated among the earliest Anglo-Saxons who settled on England’s shores. The hero-brothers Hengest and Horsa, who are said to have led the later Anglo-Saxon migrations, have names meaning “stallion” and “horse.” There is some speculation that Hengest and Horsa may be twin horse gods or spirits who have been erroneously described as historical figures. In any event, the horse held a place of honor in Anglo-Saxon culture. The Christian missionary Augustine denounced the custom of dressing in horse costumes, which we may presume was a religious or ceremonial tradition among the Saxons.
In form, the rune eh resembles the Roman letter M. When we look upon this character, we see what the hero sees as he or she sits astride the beast. Before us we see the upright pinnae, or auricles, of the horse’s ears. These pinnae can rotate to assist the horse’s sense of hearing in all directions. From the hero’s perspective, sitting on the horse, they look like the shape of the eh rune.
It is possible that eh represents an actual horse when it appears in a divination—if the querent happens to own a horse. Most often, though, the rune is revealing a deeper meaning. What eh represents is an ally that empowers the querent in some way. Today, the most literal and direct interpretation could be a reference to the querent’s automobile if he or she possesses one. A car enables its owner to move faster and farther, and to carry large loads. Like the horse once was, an automobile is often a symbol of wealth or status. And so it is entirely reasonable for the wiglere interpreting the runes to consider this particular rune as a representation of the querent’s car or truck. This assumes that the querent owns a personal vehicle, and that the interpretation of “car or truck” is consistent with both the question and with other runes that are drawn in the reading.
It is just as likely, however, for eh to indicate something else that enables or empowers the querent. This could even be another person. If eh represents an object, it is some kind of ally that empowers the querent. It is something he or she must have faith in. The querent must be able to exchange discourse with the object (wrixlaþ spræce) on some level. If you do not think this object could be an automobile, consider how many times you have heard people mutter words of encouragement as they turned their keys in the ignition. You are much less likely to hear anyone speaking in a similar way to a light switch or a bar of soap. These things improve the quality of life, but they do not really empower us the way some objects—such as automobiles—do.
In rúncræft, eh is good for summoning allies. Use it in a bindrune with tir for achieving a goal. Tir will keep you on target, while eh will attract allies or help you become aware of them. Very often we do not recognize the people and tools that can help us reach our goals. You can use eh with æsc and yr for a charm to maximize your spiritual fortitude. The charm will not give you more of this part of your Self—known to the Saxons as mægen—but it will optimize what you do have.
Eh is also a rune to use for any magical working linked to your car or truck. In the previous chapter, while discussing the rune eolh, I described a simple runic working for protecting your vehicle before a long drive. By using both eolh and eh, you can ward your vehicle when you are not actually driving. There are times when we need to park our vehicles in public or semi-public locations for extended periods of time, leaving them vulnerable. For this working, you’ll be delineating both eolh and eh. The charm consists of two steps, one for each rune, but should be enacted so these two steps flow together smoothly.
Familiarize yourself with the characters of both eolh and eh. Face your vehicle and mark the shape of eolh before you. Make a sharp downward stroke with your dominant hand. Then use both of your hands to make the two outward strokes of the rune in a single gesture. As you draw this rune, firmly say, “Eolh weardath” (EH-olch WEH-ar-dath).
Now, for the second part, mark the shape of eh. Begin with your hands together, lifting them up and out for the central strokes of the rune. Then bring both hands down sharply to mark the outer strokes as you say, “Thisne eh” (THEES-neh ech). When performed correctly the spoken part of the charm should emerge as a single charge, “Eolh weardath thisne eh!”
When contemplating this rune, envision in your mind’s eye a well bred, nicely proportioned horse. See the intelligence in its eyes. Imagine yourself touching the horse and then pulling yourself astride its back. This is an ally. Speak to it gently, for it is “ever a help.”
IOR: Beaver
(YORE)
Phonetic Value: eo, as in Creole
Ior byþ éafisc, and þéah a brúceþ,
fódres on foldan, hafaþ fægerne eard,
wætre beworpen, þær hé wynnum léofaþ.
The beaver is a river fish, and though he resides there,
he forages on land, he has a fair dwelling,
water surrounding, that place he joyfully holds dear.
What sort of animal is described by ior? The exact species of this “river fish” is debatable. Ior is sometimes translated as “eel,” but nothing in this passage of the Rune Poem suggests to me the behavior or appearance of eels. The eel does not forage on land and, while it does live in both fresh and salt water, it is not a creature notable for its “fair dwelling.”
More likely the Rune Poem is speaking of the beaver. This rodent was highly valued throughout Europe for its fur and scent glands, called castor sacs, which were used medicinally. The expression “river fish” may seem like an odd way to describe the beaver, but animals were historically classified according to habitat and function, rather than according to their anatomy. The word deer (deor) originally meant any species of wild herbivore. Thus the Rune Poem describes the aurochs—discussed earlier in this chapter—as a very fierce deor, even though there was nothing cervine about the animal. In the same way, the beaver was classified as a fisc because it made its home in the water. And it is very specifically a river fish (éafisc), in contrast to the eel, which is found in the sea and estuaries, as well as in rivers.
By the 1500s, due to strong and consistent demand for its fur and castor sacs, the European beaver was no longer found in England. Over the past few years, there have been attempts to reintroduce this rare animal in Gloucestershire and Lancashire. Both the European beaver and the American beaver are similar in size and behavior, but they are nevertheless different species.
As the Rune Poem says, the beaver forages on land (fódres on foldan) for both food and building materials. Larger trees are felled to build a dam across running water. The resulting pond is a refuge from predators, and becomes the site of the beaver’s “fair dwelling” (fægerne eard), or lodge. Smaller trees provide food for the beaver, which subsists primarily on a diet of bark and twigs.
What the Rune Poem praises in the beaver, both in the animal’s behavior and lifestyle, is its adaptability. This is an amphibious creature, living in the water and yet foraging on dry land. Not only is the beaver adaptable but so too is its environment. No animal other than man shapes its surrounding ecosystem so thoroughly. With instinctive architectural talent, the beaver creates ponds and wetlands where none existed before.
In form, the character of ior appears to depict an overhead view of the beaver; the central line representing the body—including head and tail—with the other strokes forming the four legs.
This same character evolved in the Younger Futhark, the Scandinavian runes, as a representation of the rune hagol, which suggests some connection between the two. As we will see in the next chapter, hagol is a rune of transformation, a concept not far removed from adaptability. The form or shape came to represent different concepts in two different runic languages. In a similar way the word biscuit has two meanings—similar but different—depending on whether you’re speaking British English or American English.
It is the beaver’s characteristic of adaptability that ior speaks of when it appears in a divination. In this it bears a superficial resemblance to beorc. Whereas the latter indicates that the outcome will unfold in an unexpected way, ior in a reading indicates that the querent himself must adapt somehow. Either the querent must be adaptable, or he must, like the beaver, adapt his surroundings to meet his needs. There is a need for flexibility in some aspect of the querent’s life.
Ior can be effectively used in rúncræft to foster creativity, since this quality so often goes hand in hand with adaptability. Use it alone or in conjunction with os in a charm to deter writer’s block. Combine ior with ur and lagu if you want to develop a new habit or break an old one. Use it with feoh and wynn if you want to break out of your current career and try something new. Ior is useful in any working that requires you to be adaptable or creative, so be creative in your use of it!
In your mind’s eye, see the beaver in its “fair dwelling.” The animal slides into the water, paddling beneath the surface toward its lodge of sticks and logs. It is equally at home on land and in water, adapting to both environments. And yet it has adapted its environment to suit its own needs by creating a large pool of safety. The beaver adapts, and simultaneously creates adaptation.
Review
1. Feoh is often interpreted as money or prosperity, but what is the most important quality of this rune?
2. When did the aurochs disappear from Britain?
3. Describe the differences between horns and antlers. How does this affect their symbolic meaning?
4. List three things that the eh rune might represent for you in a divination.
5. What quality in a beaver (or “river fish”) is praised in the Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem?