Post by Yoko on Mar 7, 2005 15:05:03 GMT -5
In norse mythology, the God Odin was the original RuneMaster. He did this by hanging himself on the Yggdrasil tree of life for nine straight days and nights. Pierced and bleeding by this own spear and having no water or comfort. Odin obtained thru his own efforts the reception of the great gift of Rune Wisdom and knowledge. Odin during those days and nights of self sacrifice is said to have passed through the nine worlds of the Yggdrasil into the realm of Hel, the underworld. This great initiation of Odin thru self sacrifice is found also with other Gods, Goddess's and Initiates in other traditions and religions. How very ironic that so few understand or accept the inner meaning of the tarot card 'The Hanged Man' much less apply it in their own personal searches for their path of wisdom. They seldom realize the great disrespect they bring to elders of many traditions including that of the Norse traditions of telling a elder to hang on the tree of self sacrifice for them and when they climb down, tell them the wisdom they found for them. What seems vital and important in helping one grasp the meanings of each Rune is symbolically contained in the various recorded poetic stanzas of the Norse elders in their writings called 'The Sayings of Har, which is directly translated to mean The Sayings of The High One, Odin.
One such sayings of the High One is:
I know, that I hung
on the windy tree
all of nights nine,
wounded by spear
and given to Odin
myself to myself
on that tree
which no one knows
from what roots it rises.
They dealt me no bread
nor drinking horn.
I looked down,
I took up the runes.
I took them screaming,
I fell back from there.
In other Rune branches such as that of Runemaster Guido von List and known as Listian or the Armanic Runes, there are slight variations to the Sayings of Har. In them each stanza is specifically in regards to a single specific Rune, the first Armanic Rune is defined in the first poetic stanza and so on until the last Armanic Rune is defined in the last poetic stanza.
This approach is very much in keeping with many other earth based traditions where wisdom and deep mysterys are often placed into easily remembered and easily told traditional legends, stories and songs which are helpful in successfully maintaining the inner core of those traditions over many centurys and many generations.
One such sayings of the High One is:
I know, that I hung
on the windy tree
all of nights nine,
wounded by spear
and given to Odin
myself to myself
on that tree
which no one knows
from what roots it rises.
They dealt me no bread
nor drinking horn.
I looked down,
I took up the runes.
I took them screaming,
I fell back from there.
In other Rune branches such as that of Runemaster Guido von List and known as Listian or the Armanic Runes, there are slight variations to the Sayings of Har. In them each stanza is specifically in regards to a single specific Rune, the first Armanic Rune is defined in the first poetic stanza and so on until the last Armanic Rune is defined in the last poetic stanza.
This approach is very much in keeping with many other earth based traditions where wisdom and deep mysterys are often placed into easily remembered and easily told traditional legends, stories and songs which are helpful in successfully maintaining the inner core of those traditions over many centurys and many generations.
