[[germanic-lang]] [[buck-22.42-magic-witchcraft-sorcery]] # Runes [[individual-runes]] [[runic-words]] [[rune-poems]] ## Scholarship ### Overviews [[r-page1998]] ### Misc. [[hall-a2009]] [[m-macleod-b-mees2006]] # Etymology Proto-Germanic rūnō Old Saxon rūna Old High German rūna Old Norse rún Gothic rūna Related to Modern German raunen ("to whisper") ## AS rūn ("a runic letter" or "mystery/secret/whisper") Fuþorc • Not used for lengthy inscriptions until the Christian conversion • Used to make talismans/charms (See Nine Herbs Charm) • Invoked duringwarfare, sickness, sea voyage, childbirth, and death • Originally not intended for the masses Decorated the cremation pots (especially with a symbol like the d rune) Name Value Meaning feoh f OE "wealth/cattle" ūr u -aurochs -In Germany: killing one was a test of strength and achievement þorn þ, ð Earlier name probable þyrs ("giant") since that's the case in Scandinavia ōs o -OE "god" -ASRP: "os byþ ordfruma œlcre sprœce" "os is the origin of all speech" -Norwegian: "river mouth" -Latin: "mouth" So: It may mean Woden as the discoverer of runes, or simply mouth rād r -OE "riding, journey" -In the runic poems of England & Scandinavia it simply meant riding a horse, but could also be likened to the afterlife cēn c OE "torch" gyfu g OE "gift, generosity" -an essential part of Germanic life (lords to warriors, and people to gods) wynn w OE "joy" hægl h OE "(weather) hail" Formed a group with nȳd & īs nȳd n OE "need/affliction" īs i OE "ice" gēr j OE "(fruitful) year/abundant harvest season" -May have been connected with Freyr ēoh eo OE "yew-tree" ASRP: simply a yew tree -Possible meanings: -Battle: Yew wood is hard, an therefore makes good bows -The Celts cut ogham characters into wands made of yew -Yew objects (especially amulets) had runes carved in them -Both optimistic and pessimistic: evergreen yet very dark leaves -Romans associated it with poison and death -Yews found in church yards, perhaps because they were built on pagan sites peorð p ASRP: peorð byþ symble plega and hlehter / wlancum [on middum], ðar wigan sittaþ / on beorsele bliþe ætsomne "Peorð is a source of recreation and amusement to the great, where warriors sit blithely together in the beerhall." eolh x OE "elk" Norwegian "yew-tree" sigel s OE "sun" tīr t OE "glory" Tiw ASRP: takes it to be "a stellar constellation" Tiw is a guiding star; well does it keep faith with princes;  it is ever on its course over the mists of night and never fails. beorc b OE "birch" -Possible meanings: -Symbol of rebirth (in the spring) eh e OE "horse" mann m OE "man" lagu l OE "sea/water" ing ŋ OE ASRP: Ing was first seen by men among the East-Danes,  till, followed by his chariot, he departed eastwards over the waves. So the Heardingas named the hero. -Possible meanings: -Freyr ēðel œ OE "native land/home" dæg d OE "day" āc a OE "oak tree" -Possible meanings: -Grimm found that oaks, more than any other tree, were considered sacred æsc æ OE "ash tree" -Possible meanings: -Yggdrasill ȳr y OE ASRP: Yr is a source of joy and honour to every prince and knight; it looks well on a horse and is a reliable equipment for a journey. īor ia, io OE ēar ea OE "the grave/death" ASRP: The grave is horrible to every knight,  when the corpse quickly begins to cool and is laid in the bosom of the dark earth. Prosperity declines, happiness passes away and covenants are broken. ## Runes Poem Sigrdrífomál: Runes were used in perilous situations TYR Rune: Miguel Angel Fernandez: - One of two types of arrows: □ Vertical: - Points to the heavenly realm (related to the Sagittarius archer-type) - the individual's striving to upright conduct evolutionary character of time "the tension between the transcendent and immanent realms" (this tension is what creates all gyre motions) - Points to a specific point, a goal □ Horizontal: - currents of samsara, physical laws - circle around the vertical - Directionality --> trajectory is necessarily anti-chaos/orderly, so is symbolizes determinism/fatality Runes (AS)