How to unlock the Runes

My understanding of runes has been a long journey of immersion in these deceptively simple symbols. It is a journey that I am still living, still learning, and still loving.

I work with the 16 runes of the younger futhark, and my understanding has developed mostly through my practice of the 16 rune stances from the tradition of Stav. These rune stances can then be used to explore movements- often martial in practice and using a staff- to better understand the energy of each of the runes shapes.

Each of the runes has Gods or Goddess's associated with them- I work with a pantheon of 19 Deities. The best way to understand the Deities is to read about the Norse myths. There are many great books out there. I love Neil Gaman's "Norse Mythology", nothing quite beats the Poetic Edda though.

I am always loath to discuss rune law for two reasons. Sometimes my understandings will differ from other peoples because of my close association with Stav. But mostly because I am friends with people who know so very (very very very) much more than me. My brain may be wired using the runes- but sometimes I find it hard to express the information.

So this blog is a stepping stone to help you find the relevant information- to help you explore the runes.

The Heir to our tradition is Ivar Hafsjold- and you can find his website here.

Graham Butcher is a British teacher, focusing predominantly on the martial side and he has a site here

The stances, the foundation of our tradition, can be found here, here and there is another video here.

And a link to the rune poems can be found here

I love the runes.

16 simple shapes contain the potential of everything.

They can not be understood by association alone- they need to be felt, explored, meditated with, moved, sung, breathed into.

Just as a photograph of the Grand Canyon can not reflect the awesome nature of the place, so the written rune can only really be unlocked by experiencing the energy.