Hello, I have recently been researching runes, and their use. They have caught my interest. Because of this I have been looking for websites or books that have some info on runes. I have found a few things but nothing exhaustive. Any help would be appreciated.
Re: Seeking Runic Knowladge By: Lark Moderator / Adept
Post # 3 Jan 13, 2016
I'm sure that others in this forum will offer other suggestions for learning more about the runes, and by runes I am assuming you mean the Elder Futhark. Personally, I would suggest the following books:
"Taking Up The Runes" by Diana Paxson
"Runelore" by Edred Thorsson
"At the Well of Wyrd" by Edred Thorsson
As for on-line resources, I personally like this one: http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/intro.html
I personally have found the best source to be personally taught, for the knowledge of the runes to be passed from person to person, rather than read from a book or site. Books are good for a quick reference, but are often fairly simplified for a diluted target audience.
If I recall correctly, I think Odin himself spent massive amounts of time meditating (in order to find the runes themselves) But perhaps imitating his behavior you can also gain a better understanding of the runes and get a feel for them, and having books also helps but what makes a difference is applied experience!
I personally wouldn't advise copying Odin's method, as he traveled the Nine Realms, sacrificed his eye and himself, and died to become a god again.
He gave to us the runes, so that we would know them without sacrificing what he did. Our challenge is weeding out the nonsense.
I wrote an entire thread on rune magic that sits pinned on the top of this forum area. You may want to check that out.
As for the rune meanings, I advise you to look up the Rune Poems. There are only a handful of them and that is all anyone knows truly about the runes and their meanings. The rest is seriously just scholarly and layman guesses based off the little we have on the Norse from the Eddas and the Sagas as well as a dozen or so artifacts. The pickings are slim.
I prefer Odin's way. You see, his story shouldn't be taken literally. He hung upside down on the world tree (between the worlds as we seek to do within our magic circle, as above so below and all that jazz) and then he made a sacrifice of himself and "died" and then came back to life. This is metaphorical. Buddhists know very much about "no self" or removing the ego to seek enlightenment and otherworldly knowledge. To sacrifice the Self or ego is a huge thing and very difficult for most people. Shamans and magick practitioners from all walks of life strive to experience a "death" of a variety of sorts (not always literal), which is essentially being destroyed and remade/rebuilt in a way which is alignment with their "Great Work"--GD reference but it gets the point across. Personified wrote a fantastic thread here about the Shaman Death and I suggest that you read it to better understand what Odin truly did. When he "took up the runes" it is also metaphorical. The runes mean "secrets" or "mysteries". So in his plight to find true wisdom he was successful in realizing the mysteries of life and death...existence itself. And that is what the runes represent. They are likened to the four elements, but expanded into 24 aspects of existence. By studying and focusing on the lessons of each one within our own personal work, we are discovering the secrets of the Mysteries. Ah! But such a thing cannot occur in one ritual or one year...perhaps not even a lifetime. It is a goal one chases their entire life hoping that by the end of it, they've unraveled the Truth and have truly gained wisdom of the worlds.
And that is the power of the runes. And it's still a secret. Don't let the books out there make you believe differently. I suggest reading the old texts, the Eddas, the sagas, the poems, and then embark on your own adventure on the tree.
If you don't understand what I mean by your own adventure, then you may want to look into what pathworking is. Personified could give you a load of good books on that subject. I'm not a book learned person when it comes to spirituality. I only read the esoteric section of the bookstore to understand the occult community LOL! I mostly read mythology, folk lore, and scholarly/academic literature.
I would never contradict the well-informed suggestions above. In all research, including magical research, always try to gain information from primary sources, and the Rune Poems are likely the closest one can come.
However, because of the personal nature of magic, you may benefit from a little exercise. Learn the meanings of the runes from whichever sources appeal to you. Then write out the runes on seperate scraps of paper and try carrying around one rune a day, seeing the impact it has on your day and your mindset. Completing this took me some time but I find myself intimately comfortable with the definitions and potential uses of runes.
Essentially this is a less intense form of Odin's method, which relies more on your powers of observation than your skills of intuition
I agree with larks sources, although sunnyway has quite a bit of new age junk thrown in there, and Thorsson would occasionally use arabic divination as a way to fill in gaps here and there. though, not enough to dismiss him as an author.
Einar Selvik also gives rune workshops every now and then, and the songs from his band, Wardruna, can provide decent meditations on some of them, though they shouldnt be a go-to source.
also, a few years back i wrote a post on the rune basics. (http://www.spellsofmagic.com/read_post.html?post=503722&offset=11). it was some time ago, and i didnt know as much as i do now. but its still not a bad reference. alot of the comments on the thread are also helpful
