Die Schwarzesonne (Revised)
By: Steve Anthonijsz
This article was originally written under
the pen name Radböd Ártisson. All runic symbols have been removed and replaced
by the names of the staves for easier reading in .HTML format.
I
have seen a number of commentaries put out by modern rynsters discussing the Schwarzesonne,
or Black Sun design. There exists one major problem in all these
interpretations: all of them have been based on the so-called Elder Fuþark
despite the fact that the designers of this symbol based their conceptions on
the Armanen
Futharkh. The Armanen Futharkh was the only runic system available to most
Germans in the early part of the twentieth century. Certain antiquarians and
scholars knew of other rune rows, but little work was done with them, as there
was simply no information available at the time.
Would
anyone attempt to make a commentary on the Kylver stone inscription using the
Northumbrian Fuþorc? Of course not, as this inscription was carved in the
Gothic Fuþark. Would it be wise to attempt to find deeper meanings in Icelandic
galdrastafir by using the Prof. Hermann Wirth’s “Holy Row” or maybe King
Wladamar’s Runes despite the fact that we know that these designs were based on
the Standard
Nordic Fuþork? No? If this is the case, then why would we not view a symbol
such as the Schwarzesonne using the Armanen Futharkh on which its
interpretation was based?
This
brief analysis is an attempt to redress the aforementioned issue. All
interpretations of the runes in this treatise are taken from Siegfried Adolf
Kummer’s Runen=Magie,
written in 1933 (tr. Edred Thorsson as Rune-Magic, 1993). Kummer was not
only a German rynster (living in Dresden in the years just prior to World War
II, and having founded his Rune School Runa in 1927) contemporary with the
interpretations made at Castle Wewelsburg discussed below, but was arguably one
of the greatest runenmeisteren ever to have worked with the Armanen system.
To Irminists the Schwarzesonne is a very important symbol. To other Heathens it seems to be one recognized as bearing some significance, but it generally considered rather vague and obscure. What is really known about the secrets of the Schwarzesonne?
This symbol may be traced back into the mists of human history, as a symbolic representation of a solar eclipse. This occurs when Mâno moves directly between Sunna and Mittigart, causing a brief period of darkness. This experience has, in various world mythologies, been associated with either the end of the world and/or some drastic change (such as a new dispensation) approaching. The fact that the appearance of darkness conquering light may have profound mythological implications ought not be surprising!
The
most familiar Black Sun design first appeared on the floor of Castle Wewelsburg in
Westphalia before the building was taken over by the Schutzaffel (SS) just prior
to WWII. Although some of he SS occupants who worked with the runes continued
to use the Armanen system, the majority came to give preference to the runic
system favoured by Karl Maria Wiligut. Wiligut,
incidentally, was one of the key individuals involved in choosing the
Wewelsburg for the uses of the Nazi SS. Because of re-interpretation through
Wiligut’s ‘Teut-onic Rune Row” and later embellishments made by party leaders,
the interpretation of this symbol as used by the Nazis proved to be somewhat
different from its original intention.
The selection of Castle Wewlesburg was far from arbitrary.
Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke[1]
reports:
During the Nazi electoral campaign of January 1933 Himmler
travelled
throughout Westphalia, making his first acquaintance with ‘the
land of
Hermann and Widukind’. The
mythical atmosphere of the Teutoburger
Forest, a drive up to the Hermannsdenkmal in fog, and the romantic
Grevenburg Castle, where the Führer’s party stayed overnight,
impressed
Himmler deeply and made him think of acquiring a castle in this
area for SS
purposes. After two other castles had been considered in the
course of the
year, Himmler viewed the Wewelsburg with members of his Personal
Staff
on 3 November 1933 and made his choice that very evening. After a
further
visit in April, the castle was officially taken over by the SS in
August 1934.
The Wewelsburg began its new career as a museum and SS officers’
college
for ideological education within the Race and Settlement Main
Office, but
was then placed under the direct control of the Reichsfürhrer-SS
Personal
Staff in February 1935. This transfer reflected the increasing
importance of the
castle to Himmler and the germination of this plans for an SS
order-castle,
comparable to the Marienburg of the medieval Teutonic Knights. ¶
The
impetus for this changing conception of the Wewelsburg came almost
certainly from [Wiligut], who had accompanied Himmler on his
visits to the
castle. [Wiligut] predicted that the castle was destined to become
a magical
German strongpoint in a future conflict between Europe and Asia.
This idea
was based an old Westphalian legend, which had found romantic
expression in
a nineteenth-century poem.
The Black Sun design emerged on the floor of the
Führersaal (= “Leader Hall”) at Castle Wewelsburg, made of dark green
marble against a grey background. Some writers claim that it was found already
worked into the tiles, whilst others allege that Himmler had it worked in to
the tile pattern. The SS interpretation of this symbol and its use in religious
ceremonial is not well understood. However, it’s reasonable to assume that, if
the inspiration did, in fact, come from Wiligut, that Theosphy would have
heavily influenced these ideas. The Theosophical conception relates to the idea
of an ‘invisible sun’ around which the All is assumed to revolve. Wiligut
evolved this idea manifested as an extinguished star that had once shown over
the mythical land of Hyperboria. The rays of this un-dead star, he believed,
still energized the Aryan soul.
Interestingly, an identical rendering of
Wewelsburg’s Schwartzsonne may be found as a wall painting at a WWII military
bunker at Hamburg below a statue of Bismark. Its origins are unknown.
We may view the Schwarzesonne in two ways: either (1) as a ring
composed of twelve Sig runes, or (2) as three overlaid fyrfoßen. If one
contemplates the symbolism in either fashion, however, one will discover that
these two separate interpretations will lead to complementary conclusions.
The first way that we may consider the Schwarzesonne is as a ring
of 12 Sig runes spoked in a wheel to appear as solar rays. 12 is the
number of the Tyr rune. For an interpretation of this stave let us turn
to Kummer:
The
t-Rune, Tyr, is the Rune of good fortune, of spiritual victory,
of rebirth, of
creation,
but also of destruction and eternal change; Thor, Tyr, Tiu, Zir, Teut.
It
is the Rune of the Teut = Teut-ons = Deut-sch [Germans]. It indicates a
concealment,
disguise; also within it operate the Three: Arising-Being-Passing
away
to new Arising- therefore turning, twisting, striving ever upward. Tyr,
the
Third, the threefold power. The spiral current, the cosmic rhythm; the
arrow-
and lance-head in the shape of the Tyr-Rune.
Kummer informs us regarding the Sig rune:
“The s-rune, Sig, Sal, Sol, the Rune of the Sun’s power, of
victory [Sieg], Sal
and Sig = Well-being and victory; of the Light, of the Hale, of
the soul, of the
kindling, lightning; Sig = the sunlight the Sieve, the
Seventh (head of the
ruling council), the clan of blood-Kin. The Sig-rune is the
rune of the fighter
and the victor; it provides victory and makes the enemy cowardly,
weak and
powerless. Numerical values is 11.”
The runic key for the S-rune is “guiding”.
If we multiply the numerical value of Sig (11) by the
number of Sig runes used to compose the Black Sun design (12), we arrive
at a product of 132. We may examine each of the digits composing 132, but we
must also reduce this value to 6. Let us see how these numbers and their runic
correspondences affect our view:
1 is the number of the Fa rune. Back to Kummer:
“The f-rune, fa, Fa-tor = Father; generation in
Spirit and in Matter, kindling a
fire, fire- engendered
magical force which shapes everything; the eternal
return of the Fa-tor—pure
Love which constantly works in a creative manner.”
3 is the number of Thorn:
“The th-rune, Thor; thurs, thorn. Thorn is Will and Deed.
Donar = Don-Aar,
the singing sun, the thunder, Thor’s
hammer. The Thorn of Fate, the Thorn of
Life, but also the Thorn of Death which
leads to rebirth; no Life without Death,
no Death without Life. Sleeping Beauty, who is awakened by the
Thorn of Life.
The Gate (The Golden Gate and the Gate of Misfortune in folk
tales.)”
2 is the number of the Ur rune:
“The u-rune, the ur [primal, original], Rune of
primal fire, original creation,
primal birth, primal Spirit, original knowledge, primal light,
original position,
primal cause, original eternity, primal time, origin, original
writing,
judgment [or-deal], primal ba-sis, original mother, the Norn Urda,
Uranus,
primal arising, primal being, primal passing-away. The origin of
all
manifestations is the Ur- the Ur of the All, the Ur
of the Earth. Urn.”
And if we reduce all of these by reducing 132 to 6, we arrive at
the Ka:
“The k-rune, Ka, is the rune of Cause and Effect, of
poetic justice. Its sound,
k, indicates
to spiritual and physical ability, to cures, art [Kunst], those who can,
king, queen, Kun,
Kano, the canoe as a feminine symbol; Arkona, the Knowing One,
the Norn. Kala, the
secret of traditional Knowledge. Ka, the Rune of pure,
conscious, Racial
generation and multiplication.”
The
implication of this symbolism is that the Germanic soul rises victorious. Our
völk are healed-- spiritually speaking--after centuries of foreign and internal
propaganda that led to our own destructive self-persecution. While a certain
amount of anger and extreme reaction is inevitable, in the end our people prove
to be resilient. Our reawakened triuwa is not the same as that of our ancestors
(Os) but is equal in its dynamism and purpose.
Another way that we might reflect on this emblem is to see it as
three fyrfoßen (swastikas)
overlaying one another. 3 is a “holy number” that is greatly represented in
Heathen mythic lore. It represents completion of, or giving life to a process.
Completeness in the mythic lore is characterized in a number of profound
examples: e.g.; the 3 progenitors of the 3 divine clans: Wuotan,
Willo and Wîh fathering the Ensi, Wanen and Alpâ respectively; the three
visible roots of Irminsûl reaching into Urdabrunno, Huergelmer and Mîmesbrunno.
Even ancient poetic forms were often based on triplicates. And, of course, the
fundamental Armanic principle of the threefold cyclical
process, ‘Arising-Being-Passing away to new Arising,’ representing the key to
the evolution of both the individual and of the ethnic unit.
There are three fyrfoßen to embody the three cycles of
rising, being, and passing away/rising again.
The fyrfoß, of course, is a variant form of the Gibor rune. Of Gibor
Kummer states:
“The g-Rune, Gibor, Ge, Gea,
Geo = Earth, God, gift, giver, Gibor—the Rune
representing the Fyrfos, the swastika, the
fire of Love, constant re-creation
and
eternal rebirth. Giborallar, the altar of the All-Father, the Giver; the
Giver-Rune,
in which is contained the Mal- cross [the "times-sign"], the
crossing,
the marriage of two Selves, of two powers. Gibur is the Eternal in
human
hearts. Gibur Arahari! = Man, be one with God!—or—Give us primal
power,
Soul of the Sun, Arahari! Numerical value 18.”
If we
were to multiply 18 (the value of Gibor) by 3, whose symbolism has been
discussed above, (for each fyrfoß) we come to 54.
5 is Rit:
“The
r-Rune, Rit; counsel [rede], wheel [flarf], red, rita, rota—
holy,
invulnerable,
innate Righteousness. Cosmic rhythm, whispering, raging,
rolling,
rubbing, rustling, etc. The Savior [Rei-ier], the Righteous, the Rider
[Knight],
the Hero [Recke], Ararita, the Law, the symbol of the All-Rite. The
Rune
of Righteousness and Integrity.”
4 is
the Os rune.
“The
o-Rune, Os; East, Easter, Ostara, the goddess of Spring. Os is the rune
of
spiritual speech, of power, of language; through spiritual regeneration, every
negative
force can be overcome. Os = womb, Osrun which conceives—that
which
is conceived by Spirit and Love becomes a reality.”
Os
is the only rune in the Futharkh with an alternate form. The alternate form of Os
is Othil which, while representing the same general principles,
carries a stronger emphasis on Heritage and Inheritance.
54
> 9, which corresponds to the Is rune. Kummer describes Is:
“The
s-Rune… indicates the magical Nine of completion. It is the Rune of the
upright,
enterprising, conscious leader and magician. Its symbol is the World
Axis,
the Irmin-column = Irminsul.”
9 itself is the holiest of numbers. While it
transforms anything that it touches, it remains constant in and of itself. This
number, like 3, is also well represented in the mythic lore: the 9 worlds;
Wuotan hanging from Irminsûl for 9 nights and returning with 9 prodigious
songs; the 9 mothers of Heimo…
Thus,
following this route of interpretation, the Schwarzesonne represents the
reuniting of the human soul with the divine, the religious/ceremonial
acceptance of our ancestral heritage, putting us in sync with the ways of our
götter. Our reawakened triuwa is built on a foundation of Mutual Exchange and
Welcome with our ancestral gods. The Black Sun acts much as a talisman intended
to work for the victory of the Germanic psyche. Granted, this purpose was
greatly distorted by the unenlightened Nazi ethic when the SS took over Castle
Wewelsburg in January of 1939. The Nazis associated the glyph with strange
theories of Atlantis and its supposed language called “Vril.”
Today
we can reclaim this symbol for what it was intended—perhaps in an even more
enlightened interpretation, as our minds are not being affected by the various
religious, social, and political extremes of pre-war Germany. This symbol
represents the spirit of the Reawakening, the continuation of the work that
began in the Germanic Revival during which the symbol was developed.
The
notion of such a profound change is directly related to the idea of
self-actualisation. In his spiritual quest, the seeker strives for
self-evolution through challenge, and often he will meet transformative
situations that will cause these dramatic effects. In these times the challenge
may be met by a combination of hope and fear—the same emotions we can imagine
our altmâgâ[2] feeling
seeing a solar eclipse. But like the eclipse, the Schwarzesonne is not an
individual experience, but one shared among the entire völk.
The
Black Sun’s shape, as well as the use of the twelve Sig runes,
graphically demonstrates the glory of the Reawakening upon the Germanic soul,
shining its grandeur among our folk. This meaning is echoed by alternative
interpretation of the three overlaid Gibor runes.
Hail
the götter!
Hail
the völk!
Hail
the Reawakening!