Runes
and the increase of male power
First ætt : Audhumla’s family and the primal runes
The
runes belonging to this ætt describe well-defined ideas (concepts) that are
primary features of humankind.
Fehu : Freyja’s rune, of wealth, of soft femininity. Primal protection rune.
Uruz : rune of female and male strength, of the fertilizing waters dripping
over Yggdrasil toward our world. Primal healing rune for a fast healing leaving
no scars.
Thurisaz: rune of
the giants, of male brutality, it puts to sleep the female magic powers. Primal rune of brutality.
Ansuz: rune of
the Æsir, seen as gods of magical speech and of cleaning mystics. Primal speech
rune.
Raido: rune of
the shamanic ride and of the sorcerer’s drilling eye. Primal shamanic magic rune.
Kaunan: rune of decay
seen as an internal fire and of resistance to magical aggressions. Primal
healing rune for a lengthy and painful healing.
Gebo: rune of
confidence in partnership.
Primal married life rune.
Wunjo: rune of
comfort and physical delight. Primal happiness rune.
The eight runes of the second ætt are the ones
of our natural environment and of our relationship with this environment, as
they have been understood by the pre-Christian Nordic scholars.
The three runes of the cosmos
Hagla or Hagala is the rune of hail, the one of the
icy ‘big bang’ that drove the creation of cosmos, of the
purifying cold.
Naudiz : rune
of the unavoidable destiny, and of the dread of facing one’s destiny. Rune of cosmos’
ending, still icier than its creation, the ragnarök.
Isaz: rune of the ice bridge that links the living’s dwelling to the one of
the dead’s.
Jeran: Freyr’s
rune, of prosperity brought by the year’s harvest and of the happy relationship
between humankind and their ‘small world’. Rune of the mature sorcerer helping
the beginners in magic.
Ihwaz or Iwaz: rune of the yew and of the world’s tree, Yggdrasil, that
keeps in place our world. It symbolizes sturdy
manliness, a constantly renewed marital love, a sane mind, someone you can rely
upon. Yggdrasil is by itself a part of our universe and it symbolizes plant
life.
Pertho: rune of Mother Night
(thus of the winter solstice),
of the big storms dues to the furious hunt (improperly called ‘wild hunt’ –
thus of the disruption in weather conditions). It is also symbolizes a woman
open to her surroundings.
Algiz: rune of the elk, of insanity and sanity that run
within the human brain. The elk symbolizes animal life.
Sowelo is the rune the ‘she-sun’, in charge of keeping the delicate balance
of the universe, of feminine warmth.
The first ætt deals with concepts relative to
the human world, to the relationship between each human and humankind. The second
ætt provides a much broader viewpoint since it deals with our universe and our
relationship with the cosmos. The third ætt, so to say, ‘narrows’ the viewpoint
since it describes how the clan should behave, and how each individual should
behave in his\her clan.
Tiwaz: rune of the God Týr, of faithfulness to the sworn
word, of intelligent victory, which unites the clan. It symbolizes the cohesion
of a human group.
Berkanan: rune of
the healthy youths, whose growth forecasts better days.
Ehwaz: rune of the horse. Together with Fehu, a
primary protection rune. Rune of the links between the clan and the ‘obscure’
forces. As opposed to a clinging legend, it helps fighting our nightmares.
Mannaz: rune of the humans, of humankind. It defines
humankind.
Laukaz: rune of disputed meaning: rune of water or
rune the leek (or onion, or garlic etc.)? It is anyhow the runes of the
internal strength, of ‘viridity’. Rune of a 'primitive' Thórr, God of the
storms and of internal strength. It is the rune giving us the strength to feel
pride in belonging to a clan and, at the same time, to be welcoming to
strangers.
Ingwaz: rune the king as being the gatherer of humans.
Rune of a balanced prosperity. This rune explains to clan needing growth how to
grow while respecting its human and natural environment.
Dagaz: rune of the day and of the daily restoration
of the clan, after the isolation in sleep. Rune that turns the monsters into
stone.
Othala: rune of the link with the ancestors, of our
inheritances.