May/June 2024 Alchemical Voice

There is no separation between mankind and other living
beings as we all carry the power of the deities and other
beings - aesirs, vanirs, giants and trolls. The branches of the
world tree represent the different paths that can be chosen,
just as life is not just a predetermined destiny which cannot
be altered by any means. It is one and the same tree, yet
there are many choices as each twig and leaf can make the
whole difference between one outcome and another.
Why the old myths are not just fairytales
Over the centuries, alchemists, witches, astrologers and
shamans have in one way or another recorded their stories to
pass on the knowledge to those who understand how to
interpret their tales correctly. It was the safest way to keep
those secrets hidden from empires and dictatorships that
wanted to rule the world.
The secret tales were kept away from the common man by
the powers of modern religions and were substituted by
science. It could have been fatal, at the time, to work against
the politics of the ruling classes.
Still, it was important to maintain the traditions practised by
the elders, so they found a way to preserve this knowledge.
The network available back in the day was that news would
travel the world by minstrels and storytellers and they did this
with elaborate poetry and singing.
Compare those poets and singers to artists and actors of
today and you will understand the significance of presenting a
good story. And just like many movies of today can have
underlying messages and double meanings, so did those
ancient stories.
Don´t forget that the ancient people were just as intelligent
as we are today; they actually had bigger brains.
Runes versus tarot cards
As previously mentioned, runes are just as powerful in
fortune-telling as tarot cards. There are two different sets of
runes used in Scandinavia. The most commonly used for
divination is the older Nordic futhark, also known as the
Germanic futhark, which consists of twenty-four runes.
43