The Scythian Origin Myth, the Four Hallows, the Grail Runes and the Indo-European Caste System

Over the years I have from time to time discussed the Indo-European pagan origins of the grail or graal mythos and how this is rooted in pre-Christian Celtic religion and reflected in the last three or possibly last four rune staves and names. I have also referred to the Scythian connection in the past which I first encountered in Alu An Advanced Guide to Operative Runology by Edred Thorsson (2012, Weiser Books). Edred devotes an appendix in his book to discussing the grail runes (Appendix C Grail Mythos in Old English Runes?)

It would appear that according to Herodotus, writing in The Histories the ancestor of the Scythians was called Targitaos, the son of Zeus (the Greek name for the equivalent Scythian deity) and the daughter of the river god Borysthenes (the Greek name for the Dnieper). He in turn had three sons, Lipoxais, Arpoxais and his youngest Colaxais. These three sons fathered their own tribes. This origin myth bears some similarity to the Germanic origins myth referred to by Tacitus in his Germania. Mannus, the son of the 'earth born god' Tuisto fathered three sons who were the ancestors of the tribal confederations of the Ingaevones, Herminones and the Istvaeones. It is of course possible that these myths are a later survival of an original Proto-Indo-European origins myth.

An alternative view of these three sons is that they are the fathers of three castes rather than tribes. Only the ruling caste, the Skolotoi (Royal Scythians) who were descended from Colaxais worshiped the deity Thagimasadas (identified by Herodotus as the equivalent of Poseidon). This reminds me of the Germanic caste system myth in the Rigsthula of the Poetic Edda. It is the third and youngest caste, Jarl that bears the first Germanic king and this is represented by Kon, the youngest son of Jarl. Likewise Odin has a special relationship with the Jarl caste and it is my contention that the god referred to as Rig is in fact Odin, not Heimdall as this otherwise would not make a great deal of sense. I have discussed this elsewhere on my blogs and do not intend to repeat the arguments in favour of that theory here.

Herodotus goes on to relate that four gold implements fell from the sky to the sons of Targitaos, a plough, yoke, cup and a battle-axe. Dumezil interpreted these as symbols of the Indo-European caste system. The fact that these symbols appeared before the three progenitors of the Scythian castes is significant in my opinion. Only Colaxais was able to touch these gold implements without them bursting into fire and thus his descendants became the guardians of them. Quite obviously the plough and yoke became symbols of the producer or farmer caste. The battle-axe symbolised the warrior (and thus noble) caste whilst the cup represented the priestly one.

At this point I just wish to clarify that the Scythians are regarded as an Indo-European people of Iranian origins. This has been concluded via a study of  the genetics of ancient bodily remains, anthropological descriptions by classical authors, their language (Scythian, a branch of Eastern Iranian), culture and religion. Genetic analysis of six Kurgan warriors indicates that they were carriers of the R1b1a1a2 or R-M629 haplotype which is very common in western Europe and reaches its greatest intensity of 92.3% in Wales. Various classical writers describe the Scythians as having red or fair-hair, being of light skin and having grey or blue eyes and being tall in stature. These physical characteristics closely match those of the Germanic and Celtic peoples and no doubt point to a common distant origin.


The religion of the Scythians appears to have been derived from early primitive Iranian pre-Zoroastrian religion and a number of their deities have been identified. One of their primary deities whose name is unknown corresponds closely to the Greek Ares. As the Scythians were a war-like people this should not surprise us!

In recent years scholars have begun to reassess the King Arthur and grail legends in the light of Scythian history and mythology. Notable examples of this include From Scythia to Camelot: Radical Reassessment of the Legends of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table and the Holy Grail (Arthurian Characters and Themes) by C. Scott Littleton and Linda A. Malcor (2000, Routledge) and Arthur the Dragon King. Man and Myth Reassessed by Howard Reid (2001, Headline Book Publishing).

Returning to the issue of the grail legend Edred Thorsson makes the argument in his afore-mentioned book that the symbols of the grail are represented in the last three rune staves of the Anglo-Saxon or (more correctly) the Northumbrian runic futhorc. Calc symbolises the cup or chalice, Stan the stone and Gar the spear of Parsifal. Each of these three symbols, chalice, stone and spear are integral parts of the legend. In the version related in the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach it is the stone rather than the chalice which represents the grail. Wagner in his last work Parsifal emphasises the spear and the chalice. Like Eschenbach Heinrich von Ofterdingen in his Wartburgkrieg depicts the grail as a green stone that fell from the crown of Lucifer. For more interesting background information on this topic I recommend both of Otto Rahn's books translated into English:- Crusade Against the Grail: The Struggle Between the Cathars, the Templars and the Church of Rome and Lucifer's Court: A Heretic's Journey in Search of the Light Bringers (Inner Traditions, 2006 and 2008).

All of this raises the question as to why was the grail mythos encoded in the last three Northumbrian runes? Edred posits the theory that the ultimate origin for the grail runes is to be found in the stationing of Alans in Northumbria by the Roman Empire. With the withdrawal of Rome from Britannia in the early 5th century the Alans appear to have been an influential community in that region of the country. Edred points out that the Alans are of course related to the Scythians and would have been familiar with the legend related by Herodotus. He speculates that the grail runes may have a similar or related meaning. What is certain is that these runes find their parallels in the four hallows of the Celtic gods, the Tuatha De Danann in Irish mythology.

The four hallows are the Stone of Fal, the Spear of Lug, the Cauldron of the Dagda and the Sword of Nuada. It should be noted at this point that the rune which appears immediately before the three grail runes is Cweorth. Some students of the runes have speculated that the etymology and possibly the shape of the stave may indicate a sword and it is certainly worth bearing in mind but it is unfortunately not provable.

Edred further speculates that the three grail runes like the four gold Scythian implements may symbolise the tripartite Indo-European caste system. The spear rune Gar which is closely associated with Odin symbolising the warrior or noble caste, the cup or chalice the rune Calc, the priestly caste whilst Stan the stone rune symbolising the caste of producers. If Edred's theory is correct then we should apply the same interpretation to the four hallows. The Spear of Lugh (partially mythically cognate with Odin) and the Sword of Nuada (mythically cognate with Tyr) represent the warrior and noble caste. The Cauldron of the Dagda would symbolise the priestly caste whilst the Stone of Fal would of course relate to the producers. It is certainly a tempting theory.

Armanen Runes and the Black Sun in Modern Heathenry Volume 1-a Review

Recently Aelfric Avery published a three volume set on the Armanen Runes. Some time ago I completed my first reading of volume 1, published by Lulu Books. I have not yet purchased the other two volumes in the set but I will do in due course.

Mr Avery is better known for his works on Gothic mythology and religion so it is good to see him turn his hand to the more esoteric works of the early 19th century. There is very little material which has been translated into English on the Armanen Rune masters. Thus far the most noted translators and reinterpreters have been Dr Stephen Edred Flowers (Edred Thorsson) and the 55 Club. I have occasionally translated some extracts of the more obscure literature on my blogs, most notably by Friedrich Bernhard Marby.

Mr Avery sets the groundwork for Armanism in volume 1 by giving a history of it and its main thinkers and pioneers, being Guido von List, Friedrich Bernhard Marby, Rudolf John Gorsleben, Siegfried Adolf Kummer, Karl Maria Wiligut and Peryt Shou as well as post war rune masters such as Karl Spiesberger, Adolf Schleipfer, Karl Hans Welz and Edred Thorsson. It may be argued that Marby was not an Armanen rune master as he did not work with the Armanen Futhorkh but the Anglo-Saxon/Anglo-Frisian Futhorc but nevertheless he was a rune master and had a deep influence on the Armanen tradition and was the originator of rune yoga or rune gymnastics, later developed by Kummer. Mr Avery does emphasise this point in his book. So for these reasons it is valid to include this great man within a work on Armanism.

Mr Avery discusses the relationship between Wotanism (von List) and Armanism, the thorny subject of National Socialism and the Armanen runes, the use of the term 'Aryan', Irminism, Aryan Kristianity, Hyperborea, Atlantis, the Midnight Mountain, ancient civilisations, Root Races, Vril, alchemy, the Holy Grail, Isais, the Black Sun, the Swastika and even  Zoroastrianism. As far as I know Mr Avery is the first and thus far only published writer to link the Black Sun with the runes and to introduce the religion of Zoroastrianism in connection with Armanism. It should be noted that in recent years Dr Flowers has researched Zoroastrianism and published several books on how this religion may be adopted by modern day Indo-Europeans and magical practises within this tradition.

Volume 1 contains a great deal of hitherto untranslated material which is essential reading for all latter day Armanen and I have to say that Mr Avery's work is both old in the sense of the source material but at the same time refreshingly new with his ingenious interpretation. With this 3 volume set and his recent translation of Siegfried Adolf Kummer's Heilige Runenmacht (Holy Rune Might) this young man has established himself as someone to follow in the coming years. It is very rare to find a modern writer who is not shackled by false notions of political correctness and who is both a practicing heathen and an Armanen. This book may be purchased on Amazon, Lulu Books and ebay. Without the least hesitation I wholeheartedly endorse and recommend this incredible book to my readers.

The Triquetra-a Symbol Common to the Germanic and Celtic Peoples

The symbol known as the triquetra is generally assumed to be a Celtic or solely a Celtic symbol and often a Christian one at that. Whilst the symbol became ubiquitous in early mediaeval Celtic inspired art in the British Isle its origins reach back into pre-Christian times and are not confined to just the Celts. A form of this symbol may be found on Scandinavian rune stones and a photographic example of this is attached to this article. The rune stone in question is catalogued as U 937 from Funbo in Uppsala, Sweden, now situated in a park at Uppsala University.

A triquetra also is to be found on the 7th Anglo-Saxon frith stool in Hexham Abbey, Northumberland. I have seen the stool but I cannot recall now after more than 20 years whether at the time I noticed the symbol or not. The presence of a triquetra on an Anglo-Saxon stone chair or 'throne' points to the possible use of this symbol by the Anglo-Saxons. It certainly remained as a spiritual symbol with the transition from heathenism to Christianity when it became known as the 'Trinity Knot', symbolising the triune Christian god as 'Father, Son and Holy Ghost'.

The triquetra is often compared to the Norse Valknut but I find the comparison to be quite superficial although I would argue that stylistically it is similar to the triple horns of Odin symbol, an alternative Odinic triple symbol. The symbol does appear on early silver Anglo-Saxon coins although it must not be assumed that at the time that this was intended to be depicted as a heathen symbol. The form of triquetra on this coin: Anglo-Saxon coin does strongly resemble the form on the U 937 Funbo rune stone. A form of the symbol also appears on English Viking era coins and here is an example of one from York: Viking Coin My readers will notice that this form of the triquetra strongly resembles the triple horn of Odin symbol. I have provided links to the website which feature images of these coins rather than posting their images on here as I am unsure of their copyright status.

Walther Blachetta briefly discusses the triquetra in his Das Buch der Deutschen Sinnzeichen, 1941:

"The triquetra is likewise an old Germanic form of the trefot and the sign for the threefold duty, which God, the world and mankind place on every life. " (My translation )

Please note that the German term for the triquetra is Die Dreierschild. Of course the interpretation by Blachetta must be regarded as a personal opinion as we cannot possibly know after so many centuries how our ancestors viewed the symbol and its meaning for them but there may very well be a certain overlap in meaning with other Germanic, Celtic and Indo-European symbols which are triple in nature.

Das Drachenauge (The Dragon's Eye)

This is a very interesting symbol for it is geometric and associated with the Germanic peoples. Some information on this symbol is available in Walther Blachetta's Das Buch der Deutschen Zinnzeichen (1941):

"The Dragon's Eye is the symbol of the well-ordered, triple structure of the world and all beings and stands for - balance. Almost corporeal is this symbol to be perceived and shows then a three-dimensional, equal-sided pyramid, thus a structure of equal height, breadth and depth." (My translation)

Annoyingly Blachetta does not elaborate further in his book about this symbol and whilst Rudolf Koch includes this symbol in his The Book of Signs (1930) he gives no information whatsoever except that it is a symbol once used by the ancient Germanic peoples. Neither author gives any source for the symbol. It has been adopted as a logo for the American political group Identity Evropa (now known as the American Identity Movement) so clearly they must accept its ancient Germanic or European origins. Why Blachetta or Koch call this symbol the Dragon's Eye is anyone's guess! An inverted Dragon's Eye features on the coat of arms of Egg an der Guenz in Bavaria.

Due to the lack of information from scholarly sources on this symbol it is of course open to us to interpret it using our own ideas and best guess work. The symbol incorporates an Algiz or Elhaz rune, dividing the three triangles which together form an equilateral triangle. The Old English form of the rune name is Eolh, meaning elk. This gives the rune an element of 'protective force' (See Futhark. A Handbook of Rune Magic, Edred Thorsson, 1984). It is reasonable then to ascribe to this symbol a magical protective quality.

Regarding the symbol's actual rather than perceived origins I can offer no insight. Any of my readers who are able to add to this information are welcome to post a comment at the bottom of this article.

Swedish Government Considering a Complete Ban on all Germanic Symbols

When I launched this new blog a few months ago it was with the intention of avoiding the discussion of politics as my previous blogs were more often than not branded by my enemies in this way. However on this occasion I have decided to break my 'golden rule' as the subject matter goes beyond politics. I am indebted to my good friend and folk comrade Runebinder in drawing our attention to this recent article on the RT website: Swedes up in arms as government mulls potential ban on ancient 'Nazi' runes The relevant post on Rune Binder's blog-https://volkisch-runes.blogspot.com/2019/05/some-of-you-may-have-seen-various.html

When I read this news report at first I did not believe it; as Runebinder points out the Swedish government is not just simply considering a partial ban on specific Germanic symbols that could be linked to National Socialism but an entire ban on the Germanic symbolism of the Swedish people. This is blatant cultural Marxism and once again we see examples of self-hatred manifesting itself amongst the co-called and self-appointed Swedish 'intelligentsia' (if only some of them HAD a modicum of 'intelligence'!) and political elite. As some of my American readers would say the Swedes are 'cucked' and for once I support the use of an 'Americanism' because I cannot conceive of a more appropriate and succinct adjective to describe what is obviously a manifestation of a deep rooted psychosis.

Any legislation that would ban the use and display of the runes and even the hammer of Thor would severely impact upon those who follow the pre-Christian heathen Germanic religion and the promotion of that religion. It could effectively outlaw the ancestral religion of the Swedish people. Indeed it goes further than even this. If the government get their way the indigenous Swedish people, regardless of their individual religious beliefs and affiliations would be robbed of their history, culture and even their very identity. The Marxist political elite realise that a Sweden with a Germanic past is not a 'multi-cultural' or 'multi-racial' Sweden and as in Orwell's Ninteen Eightyfour the past must be erased and rewritten. This is truly Orwellian in its intensions and must be resisted by the Swedish people through any non-violent means possible whether those means be legal or not. When a government ceases to have the interests of its indigenous population at heart then it must be challenged and removed by the people as one would remove any form of tyranny. The following is a link to a relevant Swedish website https://samnytt.se/regeringen-vill-forbjuda-runskrift-asatroende-och-kulturarvsintresserade-rasar/

Rune Galdr

In my experience I have found that there are 5 elements to rune galdr and these may be summarised as follows: Breathing technique. Intonation of the runic name or mantra. Adopting the runic posture. Visualisation of the rune. Concentration on the essence and meaning of the rune. Although these are specific acts and disciplines which must initially be learned and mastered individually, with time and experience the master will engage in all 5 actions simultaneously. When this occurs one will effectively be engaging in not only a spiritual practice which each of the above mentioned elements constitutes but will be causing real change to occur in both the spiritual(subjective universe) and the physical (objective universe).


Four works by Edred Thorsson (Stephen E. Flowers, PhD]) which are particularly useful for those wishing to master these techniques are: Nine Doors of Midgard. Rune Lore. Futhark. Rune Might. Although Nine Doors of Midgard uses exclusively the 24 rune Elder or Common Germanic Futhark the techniques may be adopted for use with the 33 rune Anglo-Saxon or Northumbrian Futhork, the 16 rune Younger Futhark or the 18 rune Armanen Futhork. It should be noted that Rune Might exclusively focuses on the Armanen Futhorkh. Whilst Edred focuses mainly on the Elder Futhark in most of his runic works he is clearly influenced by the teachings of the great Armanen Rune Masters; in particular Guido von List. He has been instrumental in bringing these vitally important works to the English speaking world with his translation and publication of von List`s Das Geheimnis der Runen (The Secret of the Runes), Die Religion der Ario-Germanen (The Religion of the Aryo-Germanic Folk), Der Unbesiegbar (The Invinceable) and In Rune Might he puts forward the essential teaching and practices of the Armanen. Edred has also published the works of Karl Maria Wiligut in The Secret King: Karl Maria Wiligut, Himmler`s Lord of the Runes (2006) and recently updated and added to the text in a later edition: The Secret King: The Myth and Reality of Nazi Occultism (2007).

Gibor, the Fyrfos and the Phoenicians

Professor L.A. Waddell in his The Phoenician Origin of Britons, Scots and Anglo-Saxons Discovered by Phoenician and Sumerian Inscriptions in Britain by Pre-Roman Coins (1924) states:

"The Hitto-Phoenician origin of this design is evident from the Phoenician coin from Gaza here figured in which darts are also used to show the direction of revolution as in the Scottish Swastika:...."

He is referring to a coin which is also figured on page 878 of Thomas Wilson`s Swastika The Earliest Known Symbol and its Migrations (1894). The Swastika symbol featured on the coin is clearly the same symbol as the Gibor Rune of Guido von List`s Armanen Futhorkh/Futharkh.
Wilson states:

"The Swastika sign is not perfect, only two arms of the cross being turned, and not all four".

I do not for one minute accept that the Phoenicians who Professor Waddell considers to be Aryan and not Semitic would have carelessly produced a sloppy and imperfect Swastika on their coins. This to me is not conceiveable. I believe that this was a deliberate act to conceal the full nature of the Swastika for some reason best known only to them.

The Gibor Rune which is the 18th and last of the Armanen Futhork is clearly a half way stage between the equilateral Aryan Solar Cross and the true Swastika. It visually combines both elements. Of course we have always known that these two solar symbols were linked and scholars speculate which came first. If one considers the Solar Cross which is an equilateral cross in a circle one can see how by a simple adaptation the rounded Thulean Swastika can be made to appear. The Swastika has many variants and meanings. In Das Geheimnis der Runen von List refers to Gibor as signifying God, the All Begetter. This is not Der Gott of the Christians but Das Gott of the ancient Germans. He is the Begetter of the All, Das All which contains Das Ich-The I, the awakened self which is signified by the Is/Iss/Isa Rune, the Rune which is first necessary to master when practicing Runic Yoga for all the other Runic forms stems from this. Regular invocation and meditation in the Is stance focuses concentration and intensifies Self-awareness; it awakens Das Ich-The I which of course is the main task of the Arman, the Sonnenmensch.

From the Is stance the Arman can then simply adopt the cross stance referred to in Siegfried Adolf Kummer`s Heilige Runenmacht. Kummer`s curriculum of Runic Yoga involves 13 Runic forms and full instructions on this curriculum may be found in Edred Thorsson`s Rune Might, probably THE most important book he has published to date. I followed this curriculum many years ago and it assisted in deepening my skills in Rune Magic. Also the astute observer will notice the similarity to the Wolfsangel Rune. The presence of Gibor amongst the Phoenicians in Gaza demonstrates how far Aryan man travelled over the earth in his faustian quest for knowledge and is further evidence to support the theory of the Aryan Phoenician.

The Ar Rune and the Aryan Cyclical Nature of Time

Ar rune of the Armanen Futhorkh.









The Ar rune of the Younger Futhark and the Jera/Ger rune of the Elder and Anglo-Saxon Futhark/Futhorc have the meaning of 'year' in the sense of time being cyclical, not linear which is an alien concept to the Aryan peoples. These terms stem from the PIE *Yer which conveys this meaning and this in part supports my contention that the Aryans and their descendant peoples such as the Teutons thought of time in this way.

Ann Groa Sheffield in her Long Branches. Runes of the Younger Futhark comments that the term has the extended meaning of a "good year, abundant harvest". Our Germanic ancestors who were far more rooted to the soil had a much more intimate connection with the seasons than the majority of us have today. They had a living experience of the cyclical nature of time and this is the essence of the 'year' as we should interpret it. Every year which we experience here in Midgard consists of the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter which in a way reminds us of the four ages of gold, silver, bronze and iron which are found in the surviving mythologies of the Indo-European peoples. These ages continue to come around again and again.

Edred Thorsson in his Northern Magic. Rune Mysteries and Shamanism remarks that Ar "is the rune of the eternal return according to the cycles of nature and also those in the metaphysical realm." The Aryan in the sense of the spiritually awakened twice-born continues to incarnate within his racial, tribal and clannic blood-lines until he has reached the level of the Einheriar where he or she no longer needs to incarnate by necessity which is represented by the rune Nauthiz/Nyd/Naudhr/Not, the graphic opposite to the Younger Futhark and Armanen Futhark Ar rune. At this point he or she incarnates at will at a time and place of his or her choosing.

The Aryan is intimately connected with farming and the plough is the product of his ingenuity. Jan Fries in his Helrunar. A Manual of Rune Magick states that the OHG garo and OE gearn stem from the PIE *garwa-z, meaning 'complete, ripe, ready'. The similarity with Garman/German is striking. The conventional interpretation genuine from the Latin germanus, meaning 'genuine' or 'spear man' (Gar-man) but the German being a deendant of the Aryan is also the farmer and cultivator. This is brought out in the fact that one of the meanings of Ar is the 'plough'. The development of agriculture is also bound up with the creation of cities-civilisation. Indeed the Younger Futhark and Armanen Futhorkh/ Futharkh version of the Ar rune as opposed to the Jera/Ger rune is a glyph of the plough.

The Futhark-Order out of Chaos: the Synthesis Between the 'Left' and 'Right' Brains

Frequently we see arguments being made by academics that the origin of the runic Futharks lies in alien alphabetic systems such the Etruscan, Old Italic or Greek. However there is no doubting that the runes are intimately related to the culture of the Germanic peoples and have a distinctive look which makes them readily identifiable like no other writing system. Now it is certainly true that some of the rune staves do closely resemble the letters of the Roman alphabet but the more honest of scholars at least admit that there is great uncertainty. Indeed I would call this uncertainty a mystery which is at the heart of the meaning of the Old Saxon word runa.

R.I. Page in Runes (1987) points out the "obvious similarities with the Roman alphabet" and also discusses the Eastern European origins thesis and the involvement of the Goths in their creation. He also brings to our attention a theory from the 1920s regarding the runes being created by "Romanised Germani" from the "Alpine valleys of southern Switzerland and northern Italy." He also reminds us that an alternative theory put forward by the Danish scholar Erik Moltke that the runes were "the creation of one of the Germanic tribes of Denmark."  He find the latter theory the "most attractive" but concludes that "the matter still remains unproven".

Clearly there is no concensus in the academic world to account for the origins of the Futhark and whatever explanation they may tender it is without doubt a system which has been derived by and derived for the Germanic peoples for the various Rune Poems make clear that within the Futhark there is a clear outline of a cosmology which is unique to the Germanic peoples.
Our mythological texts, most clearly in the Eddas give a spiritual and divine explanation for the origin of the runes:

"139. I ween that I hung | on the windy tree,
Hung there for nights full nine;
With the spear I was wounded, | and offered I was
To Othin, myself to myself,
On the tree that none | may ever know
What root beneath it runs.

 140. None made me happy | with loaf or horn,
And there below I looked;
I took up the runes, | shrieking I took them,
And forthwith back I fell." (Havamal, Elder Edda, Translation by H.A. Bellows)

The Elder Edda thus makes it clear that the runes were discovered by Odin. It does not however state that they were invented by Him and this is an important distinction that my readers must bear in mind. Whilst Odin did not invent the runes I have come to the conclusion that He gave them order! He and He alone created the Futhark, the order in which they fall. I came to this conclusion following my reading of Jan Fries' Helrunar. A Manual of Rune Magick (1993) over 10 years ago. Fries is not a folkish author but his book is worthy of reading for it contains much useful information. There are numerous illustrations of pre-runic symbols from caves in Norway. These Bronze Age carvings are known as Hällristningar and are quite clearly the inspiration for the later runes of the various rune rows. There are literally hundreds of these pre-runic symbols and their study is worthy of merit, something which has been neglected for a very long time. Is it not time that this was rectified?



Somewhere in antiquity there appears to have been a synthesis between Germanic pre-runic symbols and possibly European alphabetical letters and this synthesis has as its product the Futhark. Most students of the runes will be familiar with the Common Germanic/Elder Futhark, the Anglo-Saxon, Frisian and Northumbrian Futhorcs, the Younger Futhark and the Armanen Futhorkh/Futharkh but few will realise that there are many more rune rows than these. The standardised Younger Futhark which we are familiar with today has regional variations such as the Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Orkney and the Gothenburg Futharks. Furthermore there is a late mediaeval Latin Futhark, twig runes and dot runes. Outside of the known rune rows we also have the Mediaeval or Healing Runes referred to in Nigel Pennick's The Complete Illustrated Guide to the Runes (1999). I believe that there is a case for including these 9 runes with the Northumbrian Futhorc as a 5th aett. This is a project of mine which I will continue with in a few months time once I have retired and have more time to devote to this.
One of the main reasons why we have so many different rune rows is due to dialect changes amongst the various Germanic peoples once the rune staves became used as alphabetical symbols although their original useage was magical. The original rune hoard however is to be found in the Hällristningar. Odin as Lord of the Runes, the great High Lord of magic through a shamanic experience caused the synthesis of some of these pre-runic symbols with alphabetical symbols to form the Futhark and so structured the Futhark that it presents a complete cosmological picture of the Germanic peoples. In this moment of inspiration Odin caused a connection to occur in the left and right hemispheres of the human mind, represented by His ravens Hugin and Munin. Hugin representing analytical thought or the 'left brain' and Munin representing the subjective mind, the Unconscious or the 'right brain'. The fusion of the two parts of the mind caused the Futhark to come into being, order came from chaos. Indeed in Odin Himself we have the unique synthesis of order and chaos, light and darkness which makes Him a deity which is representative of the Germanic mind and soul.

Nigel Pennick writing in his Secret Games of the Gods sums up the experience of Odin's torment upon the world tree in the Havamal perfectly when he says "the two sides of the brain were linked by a unified response to a single sign." Awakening and inspiration is surely the synthesis of rational thought and memory. Indeed Edred Thorsson states "This kind of knowledge (vissa or mannvit) is ultimately facilitated by the spiritual faculty of wode (ON odr: 'inspiration')." (Gildisbok, 1994)

The Armanen Runes-Based on the Younger Futhark?

"Table of Armanen Runes with names and sound values", by Jugydmort, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0  Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armanen_runes This image has not been changed and the image owner does not endorse this blog.
















The Armanen Futhorkh/Futharkh is a curiosity in the sense that unlike the Elder (Common Germanic) Futhark, the Anglo-Saxon (Northumbrian/Anglo-Frisian) Futhorc and the Younger Futhark it is not an historically attested rune row although that does not invalidate its occult and esoteric utility. Indeed the Armanen Futhork was devised for specifically esoteric purposes but Guido von List does not elaborate on these practices in any detail. This work is left for others who came after him. Von List focused on the meanings of the individual rune staves and other such matters. He provided the bedrock for Armanism. It was for other runologists such as Friedrich Bernard Marby and Siegfried Adolf Kummer to devise workable systems such as Runic Yoga and other magical practices.

Interestingly the Armanen Futhorkh closely follows the Younger Futhark in terms of the choice of runes. Some however do differ in form. For instance the Fa rune is truncated at the bottom part of the stave although its branches still fork upwards. The Os rune is reversed with the branches on the left side. Apart from this they are remarkably similiar. He even chooses the Younger Futhark version of the Hagall rune for his Hagal. Hagal is the mother rune of the Armanen Futhorkh and I can see why this version is used rather than Elder and Anglo-Saxon versions which resemble the Roman capital letter H. Two additional runes were used; Eh and Gibor. Eh does not resemble the Ehwaz or Eh equivalents of the Elder and Anglo-Saxon rune rows. Instead it resembles a reversed Nauthiz or Nyd rune. Gibor is unique and does not appear in any of the other rune rows and appears to be based upon the Fylfot and the Wolfshangle rune.

Apart from the similarity in form to the Younger Futhark the Armanen Futhorkh does incorporate quite an eclectic mix of rune names, some taken from the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, ie Ur, Thorn, Os, Is, Yr, Man and Eh. From the Younger Futhark we have Ar and Tyr. Fa, Rit, Ka, Hagal, Not, Sig, Bar, Laf and Gibor are unique variants specific to the Armanen Futhorkh, especially the Gibor rune.

People tend to associate the Armanen Futhork with National Socialist Germany but the National Socialists did use other runes as well, most notably the Wolfsangel and Erda mediaeval runes. Even today the Armanen Futhorkh is a very popular rune row in Germany, rivalling the traditional Elder Futhark. Most of the available literature on the Armanen runes remains untranslated from the original German but attempts have been made in recent years to rectify this and a number of works have been published recently in English. Once I have worked through these books I will provide a review on this blog.

RUNA: A Personal Mystical Experience

Many years ago when I was a young man of approximately 20 years of age I had a hypnopompic dream or at least I thought that it was a dream. I may very well have been in a light trance at the time. Back then and even now it is difficult for me to distinguish which it may have been. I heard an audible voice say to me as I was lying on my bed, "Behold I show you a mystery" which corresponds with a verse from the New Testament (I Corinthians 15:51, AV):

"Behold I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory."

Back then I had already started out on my spiritual path and my quest for wisdom, knowledge and truth. Living in a nominally Christian country it was natural that I should seek such wisdom in the Christian tradition and so I had began an exhaustive biblical study to seek answers and indeed to seek not only the  answers but most importantly the questions! However I was not consciously familiar with this verse although I may very well have encountered it in my readings and thus it may have sunk down into my subconscious mind. However this may have happened its revelation to me marked a moment of transition or initiation into the mysteries or RUNA as it would be called in the Rune Gild. One could call this an initiation.  In Runamal I (page 13) Dr Stephen Edred Flowers (Edred Thorsson) reveals how he audibly heard the word RUNA in his ear in June 1974 whilst on a drive home to Austin, Texas. The receiving of this word from an invisible source marked the beginning of his initiation. From that point onwards Woden guided him in his quest via the Runes. I would advise my readers to obtain a copy of this work which has been republished by Lodestar in 2017 as he has much to say on the meaning of RUNA.


It is significant that only the very first part of the verse from I Corinthians was revealed to me which had no obvious Christian content whatsoever. Only now after 40 years do I understand the message of this dream if that is what it is. "Behold I show you a mystery" corresponds very well to the motto of the Rune Gild: 'Reyn til Runa!' (Search out the mysteries). My experience was only a few years after Dr Flowers received RUNA. It is through the dream state that our ancestors were able to communicate with the Gods and other advanced spiritual entities. They are still communicating with us this way today.