GEBO
G
Aett: 1st Aett, Freyr’s Aett
Position within the Aett: 7
Position within the Futhark: 7
Meaning: Gift
Concept: Orlog
English Letter Value: G
Sound: G (a hard “g” as in girl, not as a “j” as in gymnasium)
Pronunciation: Gay-bow
Other Names: Anglo-Saxon: Gifu, Gyfu
Armanen: Gi or Ge
Germanic: Gebo
Gothic: Giba
Icelandic: Giof
Norwegian: Giof
Younger: None
Element: Venom
Associations:
Polarity: Masculine and Feminine
Element: Venom
World: Midgard
Galdr: Gaaaaaaybooooooh
Rune Poem(s)
Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem
[Gift] is for every man
a pride and a praise,
help and worthiness;
and of every homeless adventure
it is the estate and substance
for those who have nothing else.
Level One Meaning(s)
The primary meaning of this rune is gift or gifting; not just the giving of a gift but also the receiving of a gift. The giving of gifts were seen in three parts: 1) the giving of gifts between individuals, 2) the giving of gifts from the Gods to humans, and 3) the giving of gifts from humans to the Gods. Lets look at the giving of gifts between individuals first.
Gifting was a very important part of the Northern way of life. From the Havamal, verses 40 and 41, we can get a glimpse of the way our ancestors thought about gifting:
40. None so free with gifts or food have I found
That gladly he took not a gift,
Nor one who so widely scattered his wealth
That of recompense hatred he had.
41. Friends shall gladden each other with arms and garments,
As each for himself can see;
Gift-givers' friendships are longest found,
If fair their fates may be.
[BELLOWS TRANSLATION]
As you can see in verse 41 a great deal of importance was given to mutual giving. To the Northern peoples gift giving was not considered to be a one way affair. Along this line, the Havamal, verses 42 and 43, goes on to say more about this:
42 To his friend a man a friend shall prove,
And gifts with gifts requite;
But men shall mocking with mockery answer,
And fraud with falsehood meet.
43. To his friend a man a friend shall prove,
To him and the friend of his friend;
But never a man shall friendship make
With one of his foeman's friends.
[BELLOWS TRANSLATION]
In these verses we see that in the Northern society all gifts received, even the negative ones, demand a gift in return; “repay gifts with gifts.” This was the “grease” that made the society run smoother. The Havamal goes on to say:
44. If a friend thou hast whom thou fully wilt trust,
And good from him wouldst get,
Thy thoughts with his mingle, and gifts shalt thou make,
And fare to find him oft.
[BELLOWS TRANSLATION]
With this verse we can see that gift giving was the cement that held together good friendships.
The crucial theme of all these verses was balance between friends and that the balance in gifting was preserved. In other words; to keep one individual from being in debt to another. This is very different from the way that many of us have been taught from birth through the teaching of the Christian church. Many of us feel uncomfortable receiving a gift, yet joyous in giving a gift. Yet, at the same time, feel compelled to give a gift to someone who has given us one (we were taught that this is just good manners). The “good manners” may be a hold over from our Northern European ancestors.
One of the best examples of gift giving that has survived in many forms is the role of the king in ancient society. The king, or other ruler, was considered to be the “giver of rings.” This custom worked on the principle that the recipient of an arm-ring (which later evolved to signet rings) from a king was to give a gift to the king in return. In this case, the gift would not be a physical gift but the gift of loyalty to the king and to defend the king and his realm even unto death.
The g-rune is also, as stated earlier, associated with the gifts received from the gods. These gifts can come in the form of bumper crops, special talents, a spouse, etc. Any gifts that come directly from the gods is covered by this rune. As well as any of the gifts we humans give to the gods in return; as always, a gift for a gift. These can include: a special performance of music dedicated to the gods or performed only to the gods, sacrifices to the gods, etc. As an example, at the end of many a blot or sumbel I have heard, when emptying the drinking horn, “From the Gods to the Earth to us, from us to the Earth to the Gods.” This both shows our ties to the Gods and returns the gift of drink back to them; since all can be considered a gift from the gods, especially food and drink.
Gebo also has its dark side to it as well. The Havamal warns us about that in verse 146:
Better no prayer than too big an offering,
By thy getting measure thy gift;
Better is none than too big a sacrifice,
. . . . . . . . . .
So Thund of old wrote ere man's race began,
Where he rose on high when home he came.
[BELLOWS TRANSLATION]
In this case it warns us about giving too much. The Northern people expected that the gifts that were exchanged would be of nearly equal value. If the gifts that were given were of a greater value or were of a greater quantity to could make the receiver feel bad and/or inadequate. Which did not make for a very good relationship (remember, the g-rune is about balance; especially in the giving of gifts).
In general, what gebo teaches us is that “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch”; no matter what the gift is, no matter what the intent of the gift is, there is always a price tag attached to it. That is not to say that the price tag is necessarily onerous, it can be quite pleasant (like the love and friendship received from a friend that is returned); but a gift always demands a gift.
Gebo is also associated with all forms of partnerships, whether they are business partnerships, friendships, or marriage. This is easy to see since in all of these partnerships there is a “gift” of some sort is given between the parties involved. Whether that “gift” is money, time, support, or a wedding ring. Under this association also comes other aspects of the g-rune; such as legal matters, boundary marker or, even, the x’s that are found at the end of a letter representing a kiss (the declaration of love [in all its forms] is a gift from the heart that is given with the expectation that the gift will be returned). In legal matters, the g-rune was used as a seal of one’s pledge to another. For ages the signing of a contract by one who could not write was done by an X (gebo) on the signature line. Lest we forget, there is always the markings on beer barrels that are so familiar to us. This use may go back to the fact that one of the markings placed on the poison cup by Egil, to counteract the poison, in Egil’s Saga may have been a gebo rune; thus the three x’s on the barrel are there to insure the goodness of the brew and to tell others that it is safe to drink.
The g-rune is also the rune of synergistic energy. This association goes hand and hand with the association of gebo with partnerships of all kinds. Whenever two, or more, people put their minds towards a single goal (no matter whether that goal is on the physical, magical, or spiritual planes) the energy created by them is greater than the sum of its parts. It synergizes and the people are able to accomplish more that they could if they tried to it as individuals.
Associated Deity(ies)
Odin: Although Odin is associated with all the runes, he is more intimately associated with certain runes. Gebo is one of those runes. Odin is associated with the gebo rune due to its association with gifts and the gifts that were given to the first humans. Also, since Odin is considered the archetypal chieftain/king, he was expected to be very generous and give costly gifts to those who pledged their loyalty to him. One of the gifts that was given to Odin was Draupnir, the marvelous golden arm-ring that would reproduce itself. These “dropped” arm-rings would be given to those of Odin’s choosing in return for their loyalty (as was done by Earthly king mentioned previously).
Vili and Ve: The brothers of Odin are also associated with gebo due to their association with the gifting of Ask and Embla.
Idunna: She can be associated with gebo due to her gifts of the golden apples to the Aesir that kept them from aging.
Gefn: One of Frigg’s handmaids who was able to “gift” her hymen for a jewel of great value, yet was able to remain a virgin. He name means “Bountiful Giver” and is considered an Earth Goddess. All women who died as a virgin passed into Gefn’s care.
Thor: Thor was many things to many people. Warrior, oath taker, protector of Asgard. But to the farmer, he was the bringer of rain. To them, this was his “gift” to them.
© 2005