THE
RUNES
Rune means 'mystery' and 'secret' or 'secret council'
and is found in most Germanic and Celtic languages indicating
the wide spread of runic lore among the northern tribes
of ancient Europe. Some authorities claim that the word
was originally Celtic and borrowed from the Celtic tongue
by Germanic peoples, though more have argued the reverse,
since it is found in widespread meanings in the Germanic
family of languages. There is much debate on the true
origin of the runes but in its mythology we find the
symbolic nature of the sigils truly expressed. The Norse
myth of the wounded Odin hanging from the world tree
Yggdrasil and obtaining the runes at the supreme climax
of his symbolic shamanic ordeal defines the earth linked
symbolism of the secret markings. The poem Havamal (meaning
'Song of the High One') in the Elder Edda describes
how Odin, in an attempt to gain something of value for
mankind, experienced a self-imposed ordeal by hanging
upside down on a tree for nine days and nights with-out
food or drink pierced by his own spear. During his suffer-ing
he lost an eye but found the Runes, which were revealed
as a gift to humanity from the non-ordinary reality
of shamanic experience. They provided a means of acquiring
knowledge about the hidden forces of Nature and the
processes which enable manifestation to take place.
They enabled the develop-ment of perception to reach
out beyond the range of the physi-cal senses - a 'seeing'
with the Spirit through the opening of 'inner' eyes,
and a 'listening' to unheard sounds through the opening
of 'inner' ears. Personal transformation was possible
because the Runes themselves are great transforming
powers. Follows a translation by W.H.Auden of part of
the poem Havamal called Runattals from the Poetic Edda.
Wounded I hung on a wind-swept gallows
For nine long nights,
Pierced by a spear, pledged to Odhinn,
Offered, myself to myself
The wisest know not from whence spring
The roots of that ancient rood
They gave me no bread,
They gave me no mead,
I looked down;
with a loud cry
I took up runes;
from that tree I fell.
