bending wyrd: the practical heathenism of an everyday pagan
Personal Interpretations of the Runes
Why I Use The Elder Futhark
While many rune-casters look towards the younger Futhark or the Anglo-Saxon Futhork for their craft and readings, I prefer the older system. I feel like this 24 rune system not only provides more depth to any reading, more flexibility to any casting, and depicts the Northern Mythology in a chronological sequence of events, from the nothingness that was Ginungagapp to the birth of Ymir, the formation of the eight steads and the Aesir, and the formation of Midgard by Odin and his brothers--the descent from spirit into matter--and then the subsequent rise from matter to esoteric learning and spiritual growth. More importantly, I use the Elder Futhark because those runes in particular speak to me in their system and layout in a way none of the other variations do. In all things magical and mystical, do as your intuition instructs--it is a powerful psychic tool, one that is too often ignored when it should be headed from the start.
Introduction to This Page
On this page, I will go in depth into my interpretation, based on my personal studies on the Eddas and the detailed teachings and research of others, of the Elder Futhark. This will include the many functions of each rune, not just in divination, and the cosmology of the Futhark as a whole, as well as each of the three Aettir the 24 runes are divided into. It will also include the god and elemental associations of each rune, and which rune (when applicable, as this only applies to non-invertible or reversible staves) corresponds to which of the Nine Steads, or Nine Worlds, of Yggdrasil. As more information is gathered, and as my practice expands, more information will be added as my outlook and interpretations. evolve with my skill and knowledge. I desire to share as much as I can with my peers, for knowledge of the Troth, rune lore, and the mythology of the Germanic peoples is sparse and far too hard to come by.
The Elder Futhark is a set of twenty-four runes broken up into three groups of eight--or three Aettir. Each Aett is named after the god or goddess which presides over the first rune of each Aett. They are Freyr's Aett, Hel's Aett, and Tyr's Aett. Prior to each Aett, I will explain the cosmology of it--how the Aett and the runes within it correspond to the myths of our people in almost perfect sequential order. This theory was made known to me by the brilliant Freya Aswynn, and I highly recommend her works to all as an invaluable fount of working knowledge of the runes and the culture and magic of the Teutons.
The First Aett--Freyr's Aett
This is the plane of primeval creation, linked directly to the myths of how all came into being--when there was nothing but the fires of Muspelheim and the venomous rivers and icy mists of Nifelheim. The rivers of Nifelheim strayed too far from their borders, into the cold void of Ginungagap, where there was nothing. The rivers became hard like slag and froze over, and the poison rains of Nifelheim drizzled down onto these rivers and froze into a rime. So far did the rivers venture and freeze, that they came too close to the borders of Muspelheim, the land of fire. The fire of creation melted the rivers and vapors that had frozen into ice and rime, creating a misty and fertile place in Ginungagap. From this merging of opposing primal forces, the active and passive forces of creation, Audhulma the great cow was engendered, the mother of all, who nurtures Gods, Men, and Jotnar without discrimination. Ymir still slept within the ice; from his sweat, the first Jotnar came into being. Audhulma licked the ice to awaken Ymir; from the ice she licked, the fist of the Gods came to being. Fehu is the active, primal heat of Muspelheim--for there is a duality to fire; there is the concentrated and controlled heat of the smith's forge, and there is the rampant blaze of the forest fire. Here, fire is employed creatively to engender life. Uruz is the primal, passive force of creation; 'Ur' is the oldest prefix to denote something as being original, or primal. Uruz is a rune of the earth, and while Nifelheim is not thought of as an earthy realm, it certainly fits the role as the passive part of creation, that which is impregnated and changed by the active force to create. Another correlation to these myths is that both of the first two runes of this Aett are bovine; the first living being to appear out of the creative union of active and passive forces was Audhulma. Next was Ymir and Jotun-kind--the giants, which correspond neatly to the third rune, Thurisaz. Next, we have Ansuz, the rune of the gods; the next step in creation was the coming forth of the beings that would come to be known as the Aesir. Here is where the process of creation was taken over and became ordered by the Gods,, as opposed the unconscious primal forces. The Aesir killed Ymir and fashioned the Earth from his corpse; they also set the Sun in Moon in the sky and ordered their places and dance in the heavens; this is represented by the Raido rune. I believe Kenaz related to both these heavenly torches, as well as to the knowledge the Aesir gained from participating in the process of creation, for through that knowledge were they able to usher in the Golden Age of plenty, represented by Wunjo, before the introduction of greed and baser desires was introduced, when joy for joy's sake was abundant. Wunjo represents both that joy and time of plenty, as well as the perfection in the completion of creation.