TEUTONIC MAGIC - Awaken Video

6: RUNIC THEORY: LEARNING THE RUNES
The goal in runic workings is to control the power of the runes so as to create the effect you want. For this
purpose, it is first necessary to have a deep knowledge of the runes themselves and secondly necessary to
understand the ways in which they may be used and the reasons why they work as they do. Something of
this has already been spoken of under the Well of Wyrd; this chapter will deal with the more active
aspects of runic theory. The runes may be thought of as forces which come forth into being and shape it:
collectively, they embody the entire that-which- is/is becoming/should become. There are many different
ways of coming to know and use their might, but all of these come down to the drawing of these forces
into yourself and guiding them forth to work your will. Some forms of runic magic require no tools other
than the trained mind and will. The most durable and complex, however, call for an earthly vessel into
which the runes may be carved so that their might continues to flow from it until the streams of power are
actively broken by the destruction of the “body.” The advantage of these practices is sometimes offset by
the fact that it is more difficult to carve and color runes unnoticed than it is to shape and send their force
out to your target; but something which is properly charged with runic force and bound can hold the
charge as long as is needed for most purposes, though it cannot renew its flow as a carved taufr (talisman)
does.
While the nature of Teutonic terminology may make it seem rather paradoxical to talk about
setting the runes into the Well of Wyrd in one chapter and about using their forces directly to achieve an
end in the next, there is actually no paradox implied. When you make a medicine to heal someone, for
instance, you may have laid a layer in the process of writing them a weird of health, but until you have
caused it to be used for that purpose, you will not have completed the writing of that weird. To be
effective, the magic of the runes must be applied and directed according to their own rules and the basic
laws that rule all forms of esoteric power. To write weird is to act; but to write it wittingly, you must
understand your actions and their effects.
In learning the runes you will find that there are two ways by which you must approach them; the
way of the mind and the way of the soul. The way of the mind is that of research, logic, numerical
calculation, and experimental evaluation; the way of the soul is that of meditation, feeling, and practice.
Neither way alone can teach you the workings of the runes. The first by itself leads to barrenness, the
second to delusion. In this book I have striven to present a well- rounded basis for the vitki to build her/
his own working and understanding on, but as this is largely a work of the mind, it is needful for each
person to balance what he/she learns here with personal thought and practice.With all the methods of
meditation, as with one’s practical workings, it is necessary to keep a galdrabok (magical diary) in which
one records new lore and rites, all that one experiences in meditation and practice, as well as everything
that happens in daily life which seems to touch on one’s path as a vitki.
MEDITATION
The first step in understanding the runes in one’s soul, after one has set them firmly in one’s mind, is
meditation. It is best to begin by meditating on each rune on your own. This can be done in many ways,
each of which has a somewhat different effect. It is good to begin by staring at the shape of the rune and
intoning either its name or the galdr-sound (mantra) associated with it. Thorsson suggests that each rune
be painted in red on an index card [1] and this is likely the easiest way to set them into one’s awareness.
This should be done for five minutes or so, at a rate of one rune a day. It is best to do it in the morning
when getting up, trying to visualize the rune at intervals during the day; or else just before going to bed,
writing down one’s dreams in the morning. Of course, meditation can be performed at any time.
Another practice which some people find works well is the use of stadhagaldr or runenyoga (standing
with one’s body in the shape of a rune for the purpose of drawing in its force). This practice was
developed by the Armanen-runeworkers in Germany. Its antiquity is not too well known, although
artifacts showing the human body twisted into shapes like those of the runes, and the modem Icelandic
practice of teaching children the alphabet by having them stand in letter-shapes, may support it. This
method is beyond the scope of this book; a full description of how to use it and its effects, together with
the positions, may be found in Edred Thorsson’s Futhark: A Handbook of Runic Magic.
19