The Original Magical and Divinatory Use of the Runes

I read the most incredulous thing in a book recently in which the author(s) derided the use of the runes for purposes of divination, stating instead that they were a way of life , went on to make some disparaging remarks about magic and 'chicken bones 'and 'damned' those that taught otherwise! Well this may surprise the aforementioned author(s) but the pre-Christian Germanic peoples did in fact practice magic and moreover the use of the Runes were a primary tool in accessing advice from the preternatural realm. The first clear reference to what appear to be Runes is contained in Germania 10:

"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." (Translation by Church and Brodribb)

 
The priest or the rune reader confirms the reading via other means such as the calls and flights of birds and the interpretation of the neighs and snorts of sacred horses. So it is clear from Tacitus that the ancient Teutons relied heavily on these magical and divinatory practices. That however does not make them unique but it does demonstrate that the runes originally had a magical character and origin which was confirmed a millenium later in mediaeval Iceland in the Eddas and Icelandic Sagas. Of course Tacitus does not use the term runes as this most likely was unknown to him. The term Tacitus uses is notae (signs). Whether these notae resembled the Common Germanic or Elder Futhark runes no one can say but Dr Stephen Edred Flowers in his Runes and Magic (2011, published by Lodestar) points out that the Meldorf brooch (ca. 50 CE, Schleswig) does contain "inscriptions of probable runic character". The brooch thus dates 48 years prior to the publication of Germania.

Another thing that strikes me as interesting about the Germania reference is the fact that the runes could be read and were read not just by priests but by the head of the household. This being the case it would suggest that runic knowledge was far more widespread than is currently appreciated. Also it causes us to question how this fits in with the notion of the more specialised Rune Master.

The method of reading the runes referred to in Germania is in my opinion one of the simplest and yet most effective. There is a danger that by introducing too much complexity into our systems that we move away from the numionous to the human realm; something we must avoid doing. 

The Teutonic Concept of Time and The Threefold and Ninefold Rune Layouts

The ancient Teutons did not think in terms of linear time. This mindset was imposed upon them by the Christian church with its concept of a Beginning (Genesis) and an End (Revelation). Ultimately this thinking was encapsulated in the concept of the Christ (the Alpha and Omega). This alien and faulty thinking has had a negative effect on the psyche of the Teutonic peoples, inculcating a fear of death and divine judgement. Returning to our ancient Gods and embracing the knowledge of the Runes modern Teutonic man can escape this negativity and embrace a life of courageous action and purpose.


The Teutonic concept of time appears on the surface to be similar to the Christian one but as I have said, 'on the surface'. How did the ancient Teutons view Past, Present and Future? The concept of time as posited by the Master Guido von List can be formulated as : Arising-Becoming-Passing Away to New Arising and so time rather than being linear as in the Semitic world view, is in fact circular as in the movement of waves upon the sea. This analogy is the best way of looking at it. According to the Master Edred Thorsson this can be expressed in mythic terms: Urdhr (That which has become)-Verdhandi (That which is becoming)-Skuld ( That which ought to become). See Edred Thorsson's The Big Book of Runes and Rune Magic: How to Interpret Runes, Rune Lore and the Art of Runecasting, 2018, Weiser. Thus the 'future' is not something which is fixed and unalterable but can be shaped by the Initiate if he or she has sufficient knowledge and will.


Most modern Rune Casters tend to favour the 3 Rune Reading and indeed this tends to be the one which I naturally gravitate to as within this simple reading we can engage meaningfully with the Nornir, those mysterious  divine ladies who give counsel even to the Gods. Who are we then to spurn their counsel?  So very simply the drawing of the first Rune represents the counsel of Urdhr, the second, Verdhandi and the third, Skuld. As Edred points out in Northern Magic. Rune Mysteries and Shamanism, the "dynamic opposition" between Urdhr ("significant [real] past action") and Verdhandi ("ever-present point of [real] existence") produces a "synthesis of which will result in predictable channels." This analysis of the first and second Runes by the Rune Caster enables informed choices to be made. The third Rune does not in itself predict what must come to be because the future is not predetermined but it is an indicator of the probable results of the interplay of the first 2 Runes. The Initiate who makes use of this knowledge can work within his or her own Wyrd to shape the future.


There is some historical evidence in support of the threefold reading of the Runes and this can be found in Tacitus' Germania:

"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."  (Germania 10, translated by Church and Brodribb)

As an aside observation the reader should note that contrary to the assertion of Caesar (De Bello Gallico, 6th Book, Chapter 21):

"The Germans differ much from these usages, for they have neither Druids to preside over sacred offices, nor do they pay great regard to sacrifices. They rank in the number of the gods those alone whom they behold, and by whose instrumentality they are obviously benefited, namely, the sun, fire, and the moon; they have not heard of the other deities even by report."

The simple 3 Rune layout can be developed if needs be into a more complex model. Edred in his aforementioned book discusses a 9 Rune layout where each aspect; Urdhr, Verdhandi and Skuld have 3 Runes a piece. This enables the Rune Caster to gain a more detailed interpretation from having more information at his or her disposal and the number 9 has clear mystical associations, being sacred to the Rune Lord Himself, Woden. The layout of these 9 Runes should form a Valknut. Not surprisingly he calls it the The Valknutr: A Ninefold Method. This makes the layout more Teutonic than the better known Celtic Cross method.