Runic divination
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Runic divination is a modern practice of divination based on interpretation of the ideograms contained within the Proto-Germanic Elder Futhark and other Runic systems. Runic divination as it is now practiced is not based on historical evidence. Some modern authors like Stephen Flowers have based their systems on Hermeticism and classical Occultism, while others like Ralph Blum have drawn from modern Self-help and New Age techniques.
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[edit] Historicity
Historically it is known that the Germanic peoples used numerous forms of divination and means of reading omens. Tacitus (Germania 10) gives a detailed second-hand account:
- Augury and divination by lot no people practise more diligently. The use of the lots is simple. A little bough is lopped off a fruit-bearing tree, and cut into small pieces; these are distinguished by certain marks, and thrown carelessly and at random over a white garment. In public questions the priest of the particular state, in private the father of the family, invokes the gods, and, with his eyes towards heaven, takes up each piece three times, and finds in them a meaning according to the mark previously impressed on them. If they prove unfavourable, there is no further consultation that day about the matter; if they sanction it, the confirmation of augury is still required.[1]
Other oft cited sources for the practice of runic divination are chapter 38 of Snorri Sturluson's Ynglinga Saga, where Granmar, the king of Södermanland, travels to the Temple at Uppsala for the seasonal blót. "There, the chips fell in a way that said that he would not live long" (Féll honum þá svo spánn sem hann mundi eigi lengi lifa).[2] Another source is in the Vita Ansgari, the biography of Ansgar the Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, which was written by a monk named Rimbert. Rimbert details the custom of casting lots by the pagan Norse (chapters 26-30).[3]
A few Viking Age rings with runic inscriptions of apparently magical nature were found, among them the Kingmoor Ring.
[edit] Modern systems
Many modern authors advocate the use of divinatory runes made of clay, stone tiles or even crystals or polished stones. Modern authors like Ralph Blum sometimes include an ahistorical "blank rune". Several authors - most notably Freya Aswynn and Diana Paxson - have attempted to draw a direct correlation between runic divination and Tarot cards. They routinely discuss runes in the context of "spreads" and advocate the usage of "rune cards", which are a direct borrowing from Tarot cards.
[edit] Stephen Flowers
Stephen Flowers in the wake of his 1984 dissertation on "Runes and Magic" published a trilogy of books under the pen-name Edred Thorsson which detailed a method of runic divination loosely based on historical sources and hermeticism. These books were entitled Futhark: A Handbook of Rune Magic (1984), Runelore: A Handbook of Esoteric Runology (1987) and At The Well of Wyrd (1988) which was later reprinted & retitled Runecaster’s Handbook: The Well of Wyrd. Runic divination is a component of the "esoteric runology" course offered to members of the Rune Gild, as detailed in The Nine Doors of Midgard: A Curriculum of Rune-Work. Although Thorsson has a strong reputation for credible research into runes, his membership with the Temple of Set, and incorporation of neo-Satanic ideas into rune magic, has led some authors to question the authority of his work.
[edit] Ralph Blum
The modern usage of the runes was popularized by Ralph Blum in his self-help book The Book of Runes which was marketed with a small bag of "rune cookies" or 25 round tiles with runes stamped on them. Blum's expertise on the runes is unknown, but numerous critics have noted a correlation between Blums' runic divinatory attributes and the I Ching. [4] Indeed, Blum explains in The Book of Runes that he relied heavily on the I Ching for his interpretations. Given this is the case, he might have used just about any set of symbols, even of his own making. His lack of any reference to the actual history of these symbols means that his ideas about runes constitute little more than uninformed guesses. Since his first foray into the runes, Blum has written Ralph H. Blum's Little Book of Runic Wisdom, The Relationship Runes, The Healing Runes and The Serenity Runes the latter two books having a distinct Christian self-help approach. Blum has also written books on UFOs, Zen and the Tao Te Ching.
[edit] See also
[edit] Literature
- Ralph Blum, The Book of Runes : A Handbook for the Use of an Ancient Oracle: The Viking Runes with Stones, St. Martin's Press; 10th anniversary ed edition (1993), ISBN 0-312-09758-1.
- Edred Thorsson, A Handbook of Rune Magic, Weiser Books (1983), ISBN 0-87728-548-9
- Edred Thorsson, A Handbook of Esoteric Runology, Weiser Books (1987), ISBN 0-87728-667-1
- Fries, Jan, Helrunar: A Manual of Rune Magick, Second Edition, Mandrake of Oxford (2002), ISBN 978-1869928384
- Sweyn Plowright, The Rune Primer, Lulu Press (2006), ISBN 1-84728-246-6
- Meadows, Kenneth (1996). Rune Power: The Secret Knowledge of the Wise Ones. Milton, Brisbane: Element Books Limited. ISBN 1-85230-706-4
