Rune Mythology
In their original order, runes reflect the story of
Creation, according to the perceptions of the early
Norse peoples. As our universe began, the story goes,
so did the runes. They embody the forces that create,
sustain, and destroy all the patterns of the universe.
This all, referred to as the "Oneness," is a term that
means the infinite wholeness of everything. Nothing exists
outside of Oneness. Religions have personified Oneness in
many ways, as both male and female, but ultimately Oneness
is the union of everything that was, will be, and is.
Norse mythology plays an integral part in the understanding
of the runes. Traditional information regarding rune mythology
comes from two collections of Old Norse writings known as the
Eddas. The first, known as the Elder or Poetic Edda, is a col-
lection of thirty-four Icelandic poems dating from the ninth to
the twelfth centuries. The common belief is that the collection
was put together by an anonymous person around 1250 C.E.
The poems use alliteration and a simple strophic (rhythmic) form
as their devices. Most of the poems of the Poetic Edda deal with
mythology, and they can be divided into two sections, mythical
and heroic.
The second collection of writings is called the Younger or
Prose Edda and is the work of the Icelandic poet and historian
Snorre Sturluson. Scholars have suggested that this collection
was intended as a handbook for aspiring poets who wished to
become court poets. The Prose Edda includes a preface on the
creation of the world, mythological stories, rules governing
poetic style, and an analysis of the ancient poems. These
writings explain the creation of the Nine Worlds, including
Earth, and also the mysteries of the runes.
In the beginning, before the world was created, the only
thing that existed was Ginnungapap, essentially primordial
stuff that, in the Norse version, was likened to a yeasty
rime. On one side of this rime was Muspelheim, which emitted
the element of fire and heat; and the other polarity was
Nifelheim, representing the forces of fog, ice, and cold. Like
bread or beer, the yeasty rime mixture, or wort (root or herb),
within Ginnungapap began to be affected by the heat and cold,
much as the yeast in bread and beer is affected by the level of
hot and cold, the perfect balance providing the optimum environment
for the yeast to grow. Too much heat and the yeast dies; too much
cold and the yeast goes into stasis. Much like the Earth, which,
in providing the perfect environment-not too hot, not too cold-
produced the essential prerequisites for life, the yeast mixture
in Ginnungapap continued to grow. Within its form sprang a giant
cosmic cow known as Audhumla. The cow licked the yeasty rime, and
by so doing freed the first of the giants. More giants took form
and inhabited the rime, and they became known as the "rime giants."
The number of rime giants grew until Odin, the son of Bor and Bestla
(daughter of a giant), and his two brothers, Vili and Ve, slayed
the great giant Ymir. They then placed the giant's body at the hub
of Ginnungapap, where they fashioned all of creation from it, inclu-
ding Midgard (Middle earth) and eight worlds that split off in each
of the eight directions. Worms and other creatures that gathered to
feast on Ymir's brain were transformed into the dwarfs and elves that
inhabit the worlds of Svartalfheim and Alfheim, respectively. From Ymir's
blood, Odin and his brothers made the sea and the lakes, from his flesh
the earth, from his hair the trees, and from his bones the mountains. His
teeth and jaws were used to make the pebbles and rocks. The other rime
giants fled to one of the lower worlds, Jotunheim, where they reside still,
representing in rune mythology the forces of chaos. The third rune, Thurisaz,
particularly embodies the energy of the giants.
At this point in the Norse creation myth, the first man, Ask, a human-shaped
ash tree, and the first woman, Embla, a human-shaped elm tree, appeared. Odin
and his brothers then gave Ask and Embla the gift of life, symbolized in the
runes by Gebo, the G-rune.
Odin was also the god who gave the runes to humankind. In a shamanic
intiation, he climbed Yggdrasil, the World Tree, and hung suspended
between the Nine Worlds for nine days and nights. Wounded by his own
blade, he went without food and water, and after taking a magic potion,
discovered the runes. At the moment of his discovery, Odin received com-
plete wisdom directly from the source. The runes gave Odin power over all
things. In an instant, he understood the potential of the runes as a sacred
tool and body of divine knowledge.
Odin's discovery of the runes represented a shaman's journey between the
realms that make up the levels of existence. Like Odin, you can use the
runes to enter each of the "nine lays of power," and learn to harness and
direct these boundless energies. From the Nine Worlds of the World Tree
come the energies that affect all life.
Each of the Nine Worlds of creation has a position on Yggsdrasil. Alfheim,
home of the elves, and Asgard, land of the gods and goddesses of the Aesir,
lie above Midgard. Svartalfheim, home of the dark elves or dwarfs, and Hel,
home of Hella and those who die from natural causes, lie below Midgard. The
other four worlds are Nifelheim in the north, Jotunheim in the east, Muspel-
heim in the south, and Vanaheim in the west.
In Norse mythology, there are several families of gods. The family of the
Aesir, the human gods, has members that include Odin, Frigga, Thor, Tyr, and
Heimdall. The Vanir, who live in Vanaheim, are the nature gods, and include
Njord, Frey, and Freyja. Under each rune you will find more information about
the Norse gods and goddesses and how they relate to each rune meanings. For
example, Tiwaz, the T-rune, receives both its name and meaning from the god Tyr,
who embodies law, justice, and war. The depiction of Tiwaz is an arrow or spear
pointed upward.
Rune mythology also tells of "Ragnarok," a time when the three "evil" forces
in the world finally gained power and brought about the end of the world. These
three forces were:
1) the Fenris Wolf, who finally devoured the sun and moon and killed Odin,
2) the giant serpent, who came up out of the ocean, creating earthquakes
and natural catastrophes, and
3) Loki, the god of chaos and trickery, who finally, through his malicious
nature, brought about the darkness and the end of the world.
After the catastrophe of Ragnarok, a handful of deities survived, plus two human
beings who hid in the trunk of the World Tree. These two people then began the
human race again, and life was reborn. The last two runes, Dagaz and Othala,
symbolize this period of rune mythology. Dagaz represents the light of the sun,
while Othala represents the DNA coding that all humans have, which enabled
them to begin the human race again.
The Runes
The History of the Runes
Elder Futhark's Three Aettir
The First Aett
The Second Aett
The Third Aett
Rune Interpretations
Spiritual Runes
Rune Magic
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