This book is considered by many to be the best book about runes. Perhaps a controversial statement, but this is indeed one of the first books about runes to appear in the post-Soviet space. And, perhaps, almost the only source of information available then, in the 90s, when there was still no dominance of all kinds of literature about runes, but also scientific historical sources in the public domain.
You will find the runes
and you will perceive the signs,
strongest signs,
the strongest signs,
Hroft painted them,
and the gods created
and Odin cut them out
Hawamal (Speech of the High One).
Elder Edda
This work is known for causing division and fierce debate among people who study runes as a tool for spiritual self-discovery. It's all about the author's unconventional reading of the meanings of some runes, as well as his very bold, if not daring move - making changes to the rune system itself. Ralph Bloom proposed the introduction and use of the so-called "empty rune" or Odin Rune, and also changed their order and interpretation.
Biography of R. Blum and his story about how he came to runes
Perhaps it’s worth saying a few words about the author himself. Unfortunately, not much is known about him. Ralph Blum is our contemporary, born in 1932 in Los Angeles, and died last spring (2016) at the age of 83. He was involved in a lot of things in his life: he was an anthropologist and a writer, a cultural figure, and a film producer. Once he even visited Russia. I never particularly pursued the fame of a “great runologist”; his website about runes does not exist on the Internet, and apart from books and a few interviews, there are very few references. Blum's acquaintance with runes occurred in the 70s, when he was conducting research in England, and this was a significant event in his life.
Blum talks about his acquaintance with runes like this: “I didn’t find the runes - it would be more correct to say, the runes found me. I was introduced to runes by a wonderful woman in Redhill, Surrey, while doing research in England. I took the set home to Connecticut with me and completely forgot about it. Then, one memorable night, when my wife had just left me, I was dusting books in the library when a small bag fell from the shelf into my hand. I remember exactly what I said then in a loud voice: “Okay, I need to know why you are coming into my life.” Now not only was I broke, depressed and jobless, I was also talking to rocks in the middle of the night. And this is just the beginning of the story."
The author's attitude to the runic system
Ralph Bloom himself called runes an “oracle” in the sense that they are a tool for obtaining answers to questions that people have used at all times, be it fortune telling by the shape of clouds, inhaling sulfur vapors from a crack in a rock, as the Delphic oracle did, or fortune telling by the flight of birds. However, he believed that runes cannot be used to predict the future - they are guidelines to better understand the present moment and find out where to move next, as well as a tool for self-knowledge.
“One of the most interesting definitions I've heard of runes is that they are emails from God,” Blum says in an interview. For himself, he considered the runes to be a faithful and valuable friend, from whom you can get advice at any time and “who always has time for you.” The book begins with the words that now few people have heard of runes, except perhaps immigrants from Scandinavia, crossword puzzle writers and readers of J.R.R. Tolkien. Now these words sound funny, because only the lazy have never heard of runes, but in 1982, when the book was published, this was really relevant. Blum, in his own words, took on the role of a sort of “midwife” for the ancient oracle, which he was going to return to people.
Fortune telling: layouts and throwing runes
In the first part of the book, the author provides links to historical sources, in particular, Tacitus, who described the very procedure of throwing runes. However, he is silent about something: there is no precise indication that Tacitus is talking specifically about runes, and not any other symbols. That is, there is still no historical evidence that the runes were thrown in the described way. But Blum very freely draws such parallels, further providing information about a “later innovation” - an empty rune, which he himself actually introduced, since it was not mentioned anywhere else before.
Next, Blum gives runic layouts, clearly borrowed from the system of fortune telling on Tarot cards, which he does not hide, and describes the process of fortune telling, giving examples from life of how runes helped or gave advice to his friends. In fact, he was the first to apply this divination system to runes, which is now widely used in esoteric circles. It is interesting that the Russian-speaking reader was introduced to the “Book of Runes” by Victor Pelevin in his work “Divination on the Runes or the Runic Oracle of Ralph Bloom,” where he retells it with his comments.
Eclectic approach and Jungian analysis
In his understanding of the runes, Blum relies on the theory of C. G. Jung, considering them a bridge between the Ego and the Self, allowing one to achieve presence in the current moment, stop internal chatter and listen to the voice of one’s own unconscious. His approach is eclectic: he easily combines runes, prayers and customs of the Navajo Indians, believing that in the great work of self-discovery, anything is permissible. However, to adherents of the traditional approach, such a mixture of traditions may seem incorrect.
It should be taken into account that the book was written in the eighties, and Blum became acquainted with the runes in the late seventies, this was the era of LSD, “flower children,” all kinds of methods of expanding consciousness and the search for spirituality. Around the same time, transpersonal psychology was born, during these years Timothy Leary wrote his works on research on psychedelic drugs, and all kinds of esoteric teachings flourished in America, mixing elements of different traditions, just as America itself mixed different peoples.
Although Blum studied the primary sources, he believed that one can and should penetrate into the meaning of the runes on one’s own through meditation, since reliable knowledge about them has been lost, and what has been preserved is not enough. He approached this study creatively, doing a lot of internal work. Blum suggests asking the runes questions aimed at self-knowledge: “What is my nature?” or “What is my calling?” and the like. He defines the life of a person in search of himself as the path of the Warrior; Blum considers the Ego in the psychoanalytic understanding to be the starting point of this path. His interpretations of runes are psychological and are more applicable for deep reflection than fortune telling. The author's language is simple and understandable, the explanations are quite intelligible and adapted to modern realities.
In conclusion: how will this book be useful to the reader?
This book will be interesting material for those who are interested in various tools for self-knowledge, but those who want to seriously study runes as extant Scandinavian sacred writing should turn to academic sources. In conclusion, it would not be out of place to say that the author of this article came into the hands of the “Book of Runes” in the first year of the psychology department and agreed very well with the symbolism, semiotics and Jungian analysis studied at that time. For the inexperienced reader, the book will help you establish contact with your subconscious and get acquainted with the ancient system of runes as symbols that describe the world. Runes represent simple things and states, such as flow, fire, ice or wood, that have existed since the beginning of time and remain in the world forever, which is why the system is suitable for a person of any era, both ancient and modern. The author conveys it to the reader with great love and infects him with his interest in this path of knowing himself and the world.
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The oracle does not give instructions on what to do or predict the future. The Oracle directs attention to those hidden forces and motives that shape the future with their imperceptible presence within every moment of the present.
Martin Rainer, professor
Taken: , 1
LETTERS AND MAGIC
The human embryo, as it develops, repeats all the stages of evolution - and every person implicitly contains the history of life on Earth. In the same way, the elements of languages contain ideas and ideas of which we often have no idea. “Languages today,” wrote the American Japanese scholar Ernest Fenollosa, “are thin and sterile because we think less and less about them. We are forced, for the sake of speed and accuracy, to attribute to each word the narrowest possible meaning... Only scientists and poets painfully grope for the threads of our etymology and, as far as they are able, recreate our speech from forgotten fragments.”
Futhark - a runic alphabet of twenty-four characters - is now little known. It was once used for ritual purposes, poetry and fortune telling. According to legend, wounded by his own blade, Odin hung on the World Tree (Yggdrasil) for nine days, enduring thirst and hunger, until he noticed the Runes. Before he fell, he caught them.
Given to people, the Runes became an oracle. Each of the twenty-four elements of Futhark (the twenty-fifth rune is pure) has its own name, meaning and is a sign of a certain process or situation. The alphabet does not appear in its usual capacity, but as a set of magical symbols.
The role that language plays in our lives is so great that it is not even noticed. But once upon a time, the ability to display the surrounding world in combinations of symbols - hieroglyphs, letters, pictograms - made such an impression on people that even civilizations that were dissimilar to each other developed typical approaches to what underlies any culture - language and its alphabet. For example, Kabbalah, the basis of all Western occultism, based on the Bible, taught that the word is the basis of everything created, and since words consist of letters, then each letter can be considered as an active force with real power, corresponding to a special manifestation of the Divine. It was believed that by combining letters and their corresponding numbers, one could not only find out the future, but also influence it.
The magical alphabet existed even in the alphabetic Chinese culture - its role was played by eight trigrams (or even just two lines - broken and continuous), forming sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching, which are believed to describe sixty-four abstract processes reflecting everything that can happen in the Universe. It is interesting that if the Runes are a gift from Odin, then the I Ching trigrams were sent by Heaven to Emperor Fu Xi, obviously the heavenly origin of the language is an archetype common to different cultures.
The Arcana of the Tarot, associated with the Hebrew alphabet, as well as the I Ching, are still used for fortune telling, but the fate of the runic oracle turned out differently. The last rune masters lived in Iceland in the seventeenth century, their knowledge was passed on through initiation, and the direct tradition of the art of rune throwing - Runemal - has not reached us. Knowledge about the Runes turned out to be “dissolved” in ancient sagas, in unsolved inscriptions on stone slabs that can be found from Greenland to Yugoslavia, and, of course, in these signs themselves.
Reborn Oracle
Before Ralph Bloom began working with Runes, he had never seen runic text. The first set of Runes came to him quite by accident, in England, and consisted of twenty-four Futhark runes, to which a pure Rune was added. In addition, two pieces of paper were included with short interpretations of the meaning of each sign. There were no instructions for using them, and pretty soon the Runes ended up on the cabinet. A few years later - already in America - he accidentally came across a bag of Runes. And then the idea occurred to him to ask the Runes themselves how they should be used. From that moment his work on the “Book of Runes” began. Ralph Bloom has studied all available literature regarding the history of Runes, their origin and use. When doubts arose regarding the meaning of a sign, he turned to the I Ching for help, quite rightly believing that in working with an oracle nothing is as useful as the help of another oracle. The end result of his efforts was the “Book of Runes,” containing a description of various methods of divination by Runes and an explanation of the meaning of each symbol. The interpretations of the Runes that Ralph Bloom offers are in themselves an extremely interesting text, “implicitly” containing an entire esoteric system.
“The motto of the Runes,” he writes, “could be the same words that were carved above the oracle gate at Delphi: know yourself. Runes are a teacher. But some may find it more convenient to get closer to them during the game. Oracles are instruments for serious and sublime play, and the value of games is that they free us from the effort of learning, giving us the opportunity to learn as children learn.”
Each book interacts in a certain way, “resonates” with existing ideas and literature. In this sense, The Book of Runes can be placed somewhere between the I Ching - it is capable of performing the same function - and Richard Bach's Illusions - it contains a similar mood and also captivates with its natural and clear optimism arising from a completely new angle of view on what is happening to a person in life. This feeling of novelty arises not due to the presence of unusual explanations of what is happening or secret recipes for correct behavior, but due to the fact that you unexpectedly recognize in what is printed on a book page what you have already known for a long time somewhere in the depths of your soul, you see in a new way first of all, your own inner world. Indeed, “know yourself”...
“I prepared The Book of Runes,” writes Ralph Bloom in the introduction, “with the Warrior of the Spirit in mind. Free from worry, completely alone and unattached to results, the Warrior of the Spirit cultivates absolute faith in the struggle for knowledge and constantly remembers that what counts is having the present present... I hope that the Runes in their modern use will help the Warrior Spirit - to the one who is busy in the battle with his “I” and whose goal is the transformation of this “I”. (In The Book of Runes, the term “I” is used to denote the small “I” or ego-I, and “I” is used to denote the Higher Self, the omniscient Self or the witness Self, the inner observer).”
It is this high level of spiritual energy that distinguishes the “Book of Runes” from the stream of mantic literature published in the West. Let us add that in four years it went through five reprints.
DIVINATION TECHNIQUES
Here are two of the fortune-telling techniques described by Ralph Bloom.
RUNE ONE. This is the most practical and simple use of oracle. For a general interpretation of the position, one rune is pulled out. Factory-made Runes are pebble-like ceramic tiles of approximately rectangular shape, approximately 2x3x0.5 cm in size with a sign cut out on one of the planes; they are stored in a small bag, from where they are taken out during fortune telling. They can also be made of wood.
This method is closest in spirit to the ancient Delphic prophecies. During fortune telling, the essence of the situation is “read”. (As the author himself puts it: “Aha! So that’s what it’s all about.”) The same technique allows you to find out what is happening to someone far away: you need to focus on this person for a second, and then pull out the rune.
THREE RUNES. This method, which, according to Tacitus, was used 2000 years ago, is quite suitable for most cases. The theme of fortune telling is clearly formulated, and then three runes are drawn out separately and laid out from right to left. (Better - clean sides up.) The first rune (right) describes the current situation, the second (central) - the required direction of action, the third (left) - the situation that will follow. The way the runes are rotated will affect the result of fortune telling (signs in normal and inverted positions are interpreted differently) - but this is also part of the mantic process. Another way to interpret the signs when fortune telling using three runes: the first is you now, the second is a challenge, the third is the best possible resolution of the situation. The Book of Runes gives an example of the use of this technique.
“A friend who came to me for a runic fortune telling after his wife left him was in great pain, realizing how much this relationship meant to him and suffering from his loss. The question was:
“What should this gap teach me?”
Here are the runes he pulled out:
We interpreted them as follows: the first rune, Algiz, the inverted Rune of Security, related to his feeling of complete defenselessness, vulnerability. It contained advice to remember that only the right actions and the right behavior provide security at such a time: knowledge is protection. What happened should serve his growth and development. The second rune, Kano, is the Rune of Revealing. Trust what is happening, this rune says. He can now see things in their true light, see what must go from his past life. The third sign was Nauthiz, the Rune of Limitation and Pain. Growth will be accompanied by suffering. The departure of his wife will allow him to begin serious work on himself. It must be remembered that progress must be preceded by purification.
Bottom line. The runes said that, despite the fact that he feels vulnerable and open, with pain comes the clarity necessary for self-change, and, as he develops, he should use difficulties and misfortunes. Despite the reversed rune and the pain accompanying this situation, I felt - just like him - that the fortune telling was successful and encouraging.
INTERPRETATION OF RUNES
The mantic formulas of the “Book of Runes” resemble the “I Ching” not only functionally, but also in that their text also has different “layers”. But here there is not a chronological, but a semantic stratification: in the interpretation of each sign there is both a purely “mantic” level that describes the situation and contains practical recommendations, and a conceptual one: at this level the same formulations can be repeated in explanations of different symbols, but in general - everything Twenty-five fragments form a semblance of an esoteric system, the attractiveness of which is enhanced by the “implicitness” of its presentation. We do not have the opportunity to give interpretations of the runes in full, so we will limit ourselves to excerpts: the result of this operation will not replace the “Book of Runes,” but, in any case, will create some idea about it. So:
1. “I” (MANNAZ). The starting point is “I”. Only clarity and the desire to change will be effective. Staying humble is the advice of the oracle. No matter what your merits, be flexible, focused and moderate. Try to lead an ordinary life in an unusual way. Be satisfied by doing your job for its own sake. No frills.
THE RUNE IS REVERSED. If you feel blocked, this rune advises you to be honest with yourself. Don’t think about those around you, but calmly look inside yourself in search of the enemies of your development. You will see that the external “enemy” is nothing more than a reflection of what until that moment you could not or did not want to recognize as coming from within. The challenge here is to break the inertia of past habits.
2. PARTNERSHIP. GIFT (GEBO). The appearance of this sign shows that unity, unification or participation - in some form - is just around the corner. But real partnership can only exist between separate and integral individuals who do not lose their separateness even in unity and unity. Let the heavenly wind dance between you. This sign does not have an inverted position because it denotes the gift of freedom from which all other gifts flow.
3. SIGNS. RUNE OF THE MESSENGER (ANSUZ). The key note here is receiving: messages, signs, gifts. Even timely warning can be considered a gift. Try to be very attentive and sensitive during meetings, visits, random encounters, especially with those who have more wisdom than you. The sign corresponds to a new sense of family unity.
THE RUNE IS REVERSED. You may be preoccupied with what appears to be a broken connection, a lack of clarity or understanding - either in your past or in your current situation. You may feel like something is preventing you from accepting what is offered. Feelings of futility, wasted effort, a fruitless journey can make you feel despondent. But what happens is timely in your situation. If your well is clogged, it's time to clean it.
4. SEPARATION, RESOLUTION. INHERITANCE (OTHILIA). This is a time of diverging paths. Old skin must be shed, outdated relationships must be terminated. The required action here is submission and quite possibly retreat, accompanied by the knowledge of how and when to retreat and the strength of will to do so. Property is associated with this rune - it is a sign of acquisitions and winnings. However, the gain, the “inheritance,” may come from something you have to part with.
THE RUNE IS REVERSED. This is not the time to be bound by old conventions and authorities. Ask yourself what “feels” right for you and act in accordance with the Light that now illuminates your life. At this time, what is needed is not rigidity, but fluidity. When this sign appears, remember: we act without doing, and everything ends up being done.
5. POWER. MASCULINITY. FEMININITY (URUZ). This is a sign of completion and new beginnings. It shows that your life has grown beyond its form, which must die so that the energy of life can be embodied in a new birth, a new form. What is happening now may be causing you to experience death within yourself. Remember that a new form, a new life is always better than the old one. Prepare yourself for a new opportunity that looks like a loss. Search among the ashes and discover there a new perspective and a new birth.
THE RUNE IS REVERSED. It may feel like your own power is being used against you. For some, this sign will serve as an alarm signal, and minor failures and disappointments will serve as hints. For others - the more insensitive and ignorant - it will be associated with a serious shock. Reversed, this rune requires a serious analysis of your attitude towards your own personality. But don't go out of your way into the darkness. Once in deep water, learn to dive.
6. DEDICATION. SOMETHING HIDDEN (PERTH). This rune relates to the Sky, to the Unknowable, and is associated with the phoenix - a mystical bird that burns itself and is reborn from the ashes. The paths of this sign are mysterious and hidden. What is achieved does not manifest itself easily or readily. This rune of search. It symbolizes the intensely experienced aspect of initiation and is associated with the deepest level of being, with the foundation of your destiny. For some, Perth means the experience of psychic death. If necessary, let go of everything, without any exceptions. Nothing less than the renewal of the Spirit is the stake.
THE RUNE IS REVERSED. The advice is not to expect too much or - not to expect in the usual way, because the old has come to an end: you simply cannot do everything in the old way and not suffer. The inverted sign advises you not to think too much about the end result and not to become attached to memories of past achievements; by doing otherwise, you are robbing yourself of the real present, the only time when self-change is possible.
7. CONSTRAINT. NEED. PAIN (NAUTHIZ). Normal or reversed, this is a difficult rune. Having to deal with harsh coercion is her lesson. The role of this sign is to designate our “shadow” zones, places where growth is inhibited, which leads to weaknesses that we negatively project onto others. This rune says: work with the shadow, explore what is inside you that attracts unhappiness into your life. The need for restraint is beyond question here. The appearance of this rune makes you understand that there are stops ahead - reasons to once again weigh your plans. Let the difficulties of this moment help you straighten your relationship with your “I”. Remember that purification precedes progress. And, again, consider using failure.
THE RUNE IS REVERSED. When we stop accepting something inside us as ours, what we stopped recognizing produces devastation. This requires cleansing. By undertaking it, you will strengthen your will and strengthen your character. Start with the most difficult and move to what is easy. Remember that originally “suffer” meant “to be subjected to.” So you are exposed to the dark part of your path. Controlling anger, restraining impulses, maintaining strong faith in yourself - this is what is required now.
8. FERTILITY. NEW BEGINNINGS (INGUZ). Completion of endeavors is what this sign implies. The appearance of this rune means that you already have enough strength to achieve completion, resolution, after which a new beginning will come. Completion is most important here. If you need to finish something, make it your main task. The appearance of this sign symbolizes the exit from the chrysalis state. At the same time as you let go of the old, you will be freed from tension and uncertainty.
9. PROTECTION. DISGUSTING FORCES (EIHWAZ). By being tested, we find the strength to overcome obstacles and prevent defeat. At the same time, we develop an aversion to behavior that creates difficult situations. There seems to be an obstacle in your way - but the delay may turn out to be favorable. Don't rush forward too much. This is not the time or situation where you can feel your influence. This sign's advice is patience. This requires foresight and persistence. Prevent expected difficulties with the right actions. We are not so much those who do, but rather those who decide. When our decision is pure, action requires no effort because it is supported and strengthened by the Universe.
10. SECURITY. SEDGE OR REED. ELK (ALGIZ). Control of emotions is essential. In times of change, turns in life's course and accelerated self-change, it is important not to give in to emotions - both pleasant and unpleasant. This sign is characterized by new opportunities and challenges. But they come with abuse and adverse effects. This rune serves as a mirror for the Warrior of the Spirit - one who is involved in a battle with himself. The security of a warrior is similar to the warning rustle of sedge or the curved antlers of an elk - both help maintain free space around. Remember that timely action and correct behavior are the only things that provide real protection.
THE RUNE IS REVERSED. Be attentive to your health, carefully monitor the connections you make during this time, and do not add to the burden placed on others. If you feel comfortable getting involved with people who are “using” you, remember this and take responsibility for your position - then you can only benefit.
THE RUNE IS REVERSED. There may be significant disruption in your life, loss of property - from minor to very serious. You may have to sit helplessly and watch as what you have gained begins to disappear. Even if there is a reason for joy, do not slide into meaningless fun. Reversed, this rune indicates that doubtful situations are abundant and come in many forms and guises. By dealing with the shadow side of this sign, you have the opportunity to recognize where your true nourishment lies.
12. JOY. LIGHT (WUNJO). This rune is a fruitful branch. The period of torment is over, and you have, in a sense, “come to your senses.” The necessary shift has occurred, and you are now free to reap its benefits—whether they relate to material gains, your emotional life, or your sense of well-being. This is the alchemical stage where knowledge is transformed into understanding. Joy accompanies new energy, previously blocked. There is a new clarity that may require you to abandon existing plans, ambitions, and goals.
THE RUNE IS REVERSED. The birth process is long and difficult. A crisis, a difficult stage - even if short - is close. Thought and reflection are needed, because light and shadow are still intertwined, and doubts and hesitations can darken joy if you do not understand that now is their time. Seen in the right light, everything is a test. By focusing on the present, treating others with sincerity, and trusting what happens to you, you cannot fail.
13. HARVEST. FERTIL SEASON. ONE YEAR (JERA). Rune of favorable outcomes. It applies to any activity or enterprise with which you are associated. The appearance of this rune will give you the strength to maintain a good mood. Remember, however, that quick results cannot be expected. A period of time is always required, hence the key words "one year", symbolizing the full cycle of time before harvest, harvest or deliverance. You have prepared the soil and planted the seed. Now you must take good care of it.
14. DISCLOSURE. FIRE. TORCH (KANO). This is the rune of opening, renewed clarity, dispelling the darkness that has covered some part of your life. There can be no mutual disclosure in a relationship. You can serve as a trigger, a chronometer, by realizing that the light of understanding is again available to both of you. Understand that although, on the one hand, you are limited and dependent, on the other hand, you exist as an exact center from where, merging, the harmonizing and favorable forces of the Universe radiate. You are that center. Simply put, if you were operating in the dark before, there is now enough light around to see that the patient on the operating table is you.
THE RUNE IS REVERSED. Expect darkness in some situation or relationship. Perhaps a friendship, a partnership, a marriage, or some part of your personality that has already lost its strength and usefulness is dying. This sign requires that you joyfully cast aside the past and be prepared to live with emptiness inside for some time: it requires the development of inner constancy - the ability not to succumb to the inertia of old paths while waiting for new ones that, in due course, will lead to the light.
15. WARRIOR ENERGY (TEIWAZ). This is the rune of the Warrior of the Spirit. His battle is always with his own self. Finding the will through action, not being attached to the result, the constant awareness that all that can be done is to allow the Will of Heaven to flow through oneself and not stand in one's own path - these are the characteristics of the Warrior of the Spirit. When this sign appears, it is about character formation. If the appearance of the rune is associated with romantic affection, it means that the relationship in question is timely and providential. When it comes to your dedication to a cause, an idea, a path or a way of behaving, the Warrior Rune advises persistence, although sometimes the kind of persistence required is patience. In ancient times, warriors painted this sign on their shields before battle. Now that more refined energies are at work, this same symbol strengthens your resolve in the struggle between self and self.
THE RUNE IS REVERSED. The danger is that energy leaks or is sucked out through thoughtless or untimely action. If the relationship is short-lived, do not be sad and know that its term has expired. Questions of faith and trust are raised here, and with them, the correctness of your way of existing in the world. Reversed, this rune requires an examination of your motives. Are you busy conquering yourself or are you trying to conquer someone else? Do you care about results, or are you focused on the task for its own sake? You will find the answers within yourself, not in outside advice. And when you consult with the Runes, you consult with your “I”.
16. GROWTH. REVIVAL. BIRCH (BERKANA). This sign denotes fertility, which promotes growth - both symbolically and in reality. Growth can relate to daily or family activities, or to your relationship with your Self. This is a “bringing” rune, in the sense that it leads to blossoming and maturation. This requires deep penetration into things, consciously and carefully. All dark corners must be cleaned: this must be done carefully, and sometimes skilled assistance is necessary.
THE RUNE IS REVERSED. Events or, more likely, character traits are preventing the growth of new life. You may feel discouraged due to your inability to take the right action. But what is required here is not despondency, but diligence and thoroughness. Examine what happened, your role in it, your needs and the needs of others. Are you putting your wants before the needs of others? Go deep until you can identify all the obstacles to growth in the situation.
17. MOVEMENT. PROGRESS. HORSE (EHWAZ). It is a sign of passage, transition and movement, new habitats, new approaches or new life. It also denotes movement in the sense of correcting or improving any situation. This rune is characterized by gradual development and steady progress, slow growth through countless shifts and changes. This can apply to both business and the development of ideas. Relationships must also undergo changes in order to exist and develop.
THE RUNE IS REVERSED. The movement encounters an obstacle. Be sure that what you do (or don't do) is timely. It's not a matter of missed opportunities: we just have to understand that not all opportunities are open to us.
18. FLOW. WATER. WHAT LEADS (LAGUZ). This rune corresponds to our need to plunge into life without understanding or judgment. It meets our desire for comfort and satisfaction of emotional needs. Success is achieved through contact with what you know intuitively, through “tuning” to your own rhythms. The rune of the "I", in true relation to the "I", Laguz, signifies what the alchemists called "conjunctio", the sacred marriage.
THE RUNE IS REVERSED. A warning about the dangers of overexertion, excessive effort, a warning against trying to exceed your capabilities or go beyond the limits of your strength.
19. DESTRUCTIVE NATURAL FORCES. ENERGY OF THE ELEMENTS. HAIL (HAGALAZ). Change, innovation, freedom and liberation are the qualities of this sign. Its appearance indicates an urgent inner need to free oneself from limiting identification with material reality and experience the world of the proto-mind. This is the rune of elemental destruction, events completely beyond your control. Expect the destruction of your plans, because this is a powerful awakening force, although its forms of action may vary. The action of this sign is best described by the words “complete break.”
20. COMMUNICATION. AN ASSOCIATION. REUNION. JOURNEY (RAIDO). This is the rune of connection, the harmonization of something that has two sides, two elements, the rune of the final reunion, which is achieved at the end of the journey, when the upper and lower become one. When you are pure, you can neutralize your own reluctance to allow right action to flow through you. As always, the journey is one of self-healing, self-change and union. Trusting your own process is the essence of this sign.
THE RUNE IS REVERSED. Reversed, this sign advises you to be especially attentive to personal relationships. At this time, breakups are more likely than reconciliations. It will take effort on your part. Keep your humor - no matter what happens, it's up to you to decide how to respond.
21. GATE, PLACE OF INACTION (THURISAZ). This is the rune of inaction. Therefore, one should not approach the gate or pass through it without thinking. Imagine that you are standing in front of a gate on the top of a mountain. Your whole life is left behind and below. Before you move forward, stop and remember the past: the learning and joys, victories and sorrows - everything that brought you here. Take it all in, bless it all, and let it go. By freeing yourself from the past, you restore your energy. Now step through the gate.
THE RUNE IS REVERSED. This sign requires you to think. Making hasty decisions at this time may lead to regret because you are likely to act out of weakness, deceiving yourself about your motives and creating new problems that are much more unpleasant than the ones you are trying to solve.
22. BREAKTHROUGH. TRANSFORMATION. DAY (DAGAZ). The appearance of this rune marks a major shift or breakthrough in the process of self-change, a complete transformation of state - a 180-degree turn. In every life there is at least one moment that - if it is guessed and caught - changes its course forever. So act with full faith, even if the moment requires you to jump empty-handed into the void. If this sign is accompanied by a Pure Rune, the scale of transformation may be such that it will foretell death, the successful completion of your path. Sometimes this rune foretells a great period of achievement and prosperity. Darkness is behind you, the day has begun.
23. STAGNATION. WHAT IS OBSTACLE. ICE (ISA). It is winter in your spiritual life. You may find yourself confused in a situation that you cannot even see the meaning of. You may find yourself powerless to do anything other than submit, retreat, even sacrifice some long-cherished desire. Be patient because this is a period of latent development that precedes rebirth. Achievements and successes are now unlikely. During this time, do not hope or rely on help or friendly support. In your isolation, remain careful and do not stubbornly try to exercise your will.
24. INTEGRITY. VITALITY. SUN ENERGY (SOWELU). This sign symbolizes the integrity required by our nature. It embodies the desire for self-realization and shows the path that you should follow, not for some hidden reasons, but because the core of your personality requires it. The search for wholeness is the task of the Warrior of the Spirit. But you, by nature, are already what you are trying to become. You must realize your essence - your personal myth - and give it form, express it creatively. With great power, this sign makes life force available to you and marks a time of recharging and restoration down to the cellular level. But you may retreat when faced with a pressing situation, especially if events or people require you to “expend” your energy. Timely retreat is one of the arts of the Warrior of the Spirit. At the same time, for some, this rune contains advice to open up, to let light into that area of life that was a secret, fenced off.
25. UNKNOWABLE. GOD IS ONE (Pure Rune). Emptiness is the end, emptiness is the beginning. Here the Unknowable tells you that it has come into motion in your life. This emptiness contains powerful potential. Empty and at the same time full of content, it embraces the fullness of being, everything that must come true. Favor for what is happening and readiness for it are the requirements of this Rune. After all, how can you establish control over something that has not yet taken shape? This Rune often requires an act of courage, like leaping into the void empty-handed. Its appearance is a direct test of your faith. On the one hand, the Pure Rune represents karmic forces - the total sum of what you have done and the boundaries of what you are and will become. On the other hand, this Rune teaches that even the debts of old karma shift and change at the same time as you change and develop. Nothing is predetermined: there is nothing that cannot be avoided.
FROM STRICTLY SCIENTIFIC...
“When I was little, I knew how to write poetry, but did not know the art of calligraphy, and my cousin Tan-ju wrote well, but did not know how to write poetry. And so, when I was telling fortunes, the brush wrote successful poems, but the handwriting was sloppy; when Tan-ju was telling fortunes, the hieroglyphs turned out neat, beautiful, but the poems were superficial and pretentious... That is, we can say that the spirits themselves are not spiritualized, they are spiritualized People. Yarrow, a turtle’s shield, dry grass, bones - although you can find out from them what is destined for you, trouble or happiness - they become miraculous only with the help of a person.”
These words of Ji Yun, a Chinese scientist of the 18th century, extremely accurately convey the essence of the scientific view of mantiku. Almost the same idea, only expressed in a more modern manner, is stated in the preface to the “Book of Runes” compiled by Ralph Bloom. The author of the foreword, Professor Martin Rainer, writes: “How can a random selection of marked stones tell us something about ourselves? Perhaps the interpretations related to the runes are so exciting that each of them contains at least something that can be correlated with at least something that happens within the conscious mind - every day, at any time, with anyone. This is the simplest possibility that can be accepted from a strictly scientific point of view.”
It would seem that in both cases – both Ji Yun and Martin Rainer – a completely convincing explanation of the mechanism of the oracle’s work is given: a certain procedure allows the fortuneteller to realize what he already knows on a subconscious level; the mantic ritual itself serves as a “channel” between consciousness and subconsciousness. Obviously there is some truth to this, but here's what Professor Reiner adds: “My own play with these Runes has shown coincidence after coincidence and an apparently consistent 'fit' with each Rune reading that is difficult to explain using the mechanism just described... Personally, I prefer not to draw definitive conclusions, remembering that observations should not be discarded simply because there is no satisfactory explanation of the processes behind them.”
Who speaks to us when we use the oracle? Who is this teacher who can explain our problems to us with such ease - and accuracy? And how can we explain the amazing simplicity with which consciousness finds the application of even the most obscure of fortune-telling formulas? Here is the epigraph to one of the chapters of the “Book of Runes” (it is taken from a book called “A Course in Miracles”).
“We are all teachers, and what we teach is what we need to learn, so we teach it over and over again until we learn it ourselves.”
Or, as Richard Bach writes in another course in miracles:
“When you study, you only discover for yourself what you have already known for a long time...”
Taken: FbAutId_1, 1
1
The Book of Runes, Ralph Blum. London, 1984.
(back)
Taken: FbAutId_2, 1
2
Bach Richard. Illusions. See: “Science and Religion.” 1989. No. 1, 2, 3.
That is, I was sure that he was from somewhere
From the era of Blavatsky, and no later than that)) It was all the more unexpected to come across a short message on the Internet in May 2016 about the death of this man. Yes, yes - Bloom, like Asvinn, our contemporary, who left this earthly world from cancer last spring at the age of 83. Due to the fact that many rune researchers subject Blum to various kinds of attacks and criticism, I wanted to know more about what this man really is? What influenced his fascination with runes and what role did they play in his life? That's why I decided to leave aside the discussion of the degree of usefulness of Blumov’s, the author’s order of runes with their unconventional interpretations, and try to figure out for myself what kind of personality the author of the famous “Book of Runes” was.
And, I must say, the search for details of Blum’s biography disappointed me. Due to the fact that there is practically no information about this person on the Internet. It is known that Ralph Blum was born in 1932 in Los Angeles. He was one of three children of Ralph Blum Sr. and American silent film star Carmel Myers, and therefore at birth received the name Ralf Henriques Blum II. He was a writer, cultural activist and anthropologist. He even managed to come to the then Leningrad (60s of the last century) to study Soviet cinema, and later became known as the producer of the films “An American in Paris” and "Mysteries from Beyond Earth" (documentary about UFOs). Was married twice. In recent years he lived with his wife (writer Elizabeth Blum) in two countries - America and Greece (Ikaria Island). That's all, actually.
Undoubtedly, the most significant detail of Blum’s biography is his acquaintance with runes,
Which ultimately resulted in the famous "
The Book of Runes". Russian Blumov's "Book of Runes" was presented to the reader in 1990 by no less an original person - Viktor Pelevin, who wrote the article"Rune Divination or the Runic Oracle of Ralph Bloom." And, although this caused an outbreak of popularity in Russia for Blum himself, his book, as well as all ancient runic art in general, Ralph Blum does not strike me as a man who was chasing fame, PR and honors and positioning himself as a kind of “runic guru.” In any case, I didn’t find an author’s website dedicated to working with runes.and the background of some modern "figures" lpersonally for me is, in general, an indicator of certain human merits))) There are actually very few of his speeches or conversations with admirers/followers/curious listeners on the Internet at the moment. In all my time I have come across only one 10-minute recording (somewhere on YouTube and, naturally, in English), where Blum, already at an advanced age, very kindly shared some of his thoughts about runes and life. I also found one of his interviews, several interesting excerpts from which I would like to quote here (translation from English by A. Rempel).- Bloom o runic oracle: “My favorite definition of Runes was given by one eccentric, eccentric old guy who called them “e-mails of God”, which, in general, does not sound so stupid! If you look up the word “oraculum” in the Latin dictionary, it translates as “divine message".
- Bloom o runic forecasts for the future: "No, the future is God's business, not ours. Runes focus on the present, helping us understand our doubts and possible directions, determine the "right decision" in any situation. Which, although controversial, leads to a favorable future."
- Bloom about yes/no questions: "Using runes is simple and straightforward. You never ask a question in a yes-no manner. You also don't ask questions about the future. Instead, you address the Runes with a question that is relevant now. For example, "How can I improve your relationship with so-and-so?”
- Bloom about the existence of a conflict between runes and religion: "As a Christian, I would never recommend using Runes if they conflicted with my faith. What I know from studying history is that in the Middle Ages there was a period called the "period of dual faith" when faiths coexisted. Generally speaking , I was once in Norway and saw Runes carved on the door of a church. “Oh yes,” said the custodian, “the church was Christian on Sundays and pagan on Fridays! We did great!”
Another answer to this question can be found in Romans 8:28: “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” I'm sure this is true, and that Runes is no exception." - Bloom about the similarities and differences in the meanings of runes now and in the Viking Age: “There are both similarities and differences. But the point is this: The Oracle always responds to the request of the time during which the question is asked, and to the actual needs and requests of those who ask and interpret the answer.”
- Bloom about the role of runes in your life: "... I really think of Runes as a “faithful and valuable friend.” In truth, when I have no one to discuss issues that concern me with, I often talk to Runes. The Oracle always has time for me and definitely has what something valuable to say."
It seems to me that in order to understand both Blum’s personality and runic work, it is also worth taking a closer look at the words he said in the preface to his book: “Runes are a teacher. But Some may find it more convenient to get closer to them during the game. Oracles are instruments for serious and sublime play, and the value of games is that they free us from the effort of learning, giving us the opportunity to learn as children learn."
I'm not a fan of Blum's runic innovations
, I ask questions that are not welcomed by him and make predictions for the future,but, nevertheless, his approach to the study of runes turned out to be close to me.Just like Blum, I became acquainted with runes completely by accident (and I am sure that the vast majority of students came to runes this way). I also have pleasure and often say that for me this is a unique type of creativity, where strict frameworks and strict rules cannot exist. It really turned out to be a more convenient path for me, the pioneer of which can rightfully be considered the writer and cultural anthropologist Ralph Bloom.And, of course, one can have different attitudes towards individual moments of his runic research, but at the same time it is still worth paying tribute to the mind, abilities and creative thinking of this person.Personally, I am always impressed by such personalities!Ralph Bloom's book is dedicated to the healing properties of runes. Runes are considered not only as a remedy for bodily ailments; with their help you can achieve peace of mind, solve psychological problems, and establish harmonious relationships with the outside world.
Book source - http://crimea-board.net
Also read with the book “Healing Runes”:
Preview of the book “Healing Runes”
Bloom Ralph X., Logan S.
Ralph Bloom's new book is dedicated to the healing properties of runes. At the same time, runes are considered not only as a remedy for bodily ailments; with their help you can achieve peace of mind, solve psychological problems, and establish harmonious relationships with the outside world.
Jeanne Elizabeth Bloom. Your courage, grace and wisdom are a blessing from heaven in my life. To Alan B. Spifko, founder of Abraham Fund, whose inner generosity paved the way for healing in this world. Martin and Penny Rainer, who taught me to feel the water and watch the wind. To all those whose personal human lives are infected with a virus that forces us to think worse about ourselves than we are. This book is dedicated to destroying this virus.
R.H.B.
This book is dedicated to God and the great teachers in my life. To my mother, Ruth Torbett Logan, for teaching me the passion of faith.
To my daughter, Wenda Williams, for teaching me how to love. Erica Knowles, one of my wisest teachers. Brad Davis and Joseph Runningfox for teaching me how to fly.
S.L.
© 1995 by Raph Bum
© A. Platov, 2001
© Sofia Publishing House, 2004
© LLC Publishing House "Sofia", 2004
APPEAL
I seek You so that I may have the grace to abide in Your presence.
Brother Lawrence
Experience the presence of God in everything, in what comes and in what goes. In Prayers, awaken the presence of God. In your attempts, remember to be present. In meditation, breathe in presence. Also, allow presence
reflected in your behavior, For surely God will sing in your thoughts,
speak in your mouth and
shine in your deeds. Let the presence of God be the medicine,
to heal your life, lift your heart and
renew your spirit.
Experience the presence of God in everything, in what comes and in what goes.
Ralph X. Bloom
The book you hold in your hands is paradoxical.
Ralph Blum’s first book, “The Book of Runes,” was already unusual and controversial, the Russian translation of which was recently published by the Sofia publishing house. The author's change in the order of the runes in Futhark - the sacred order - giving the runes not quite traditional meanings and much more make the first book such. In this new book, the author, this time in collaboration with a well-known healer in the USA, takes a new step in the same direction - he creates a specialized runic oracle. Its purpose follows from the first words of Thomas More, who wrote the preface to the English edition: “Man always needs treatment, since we are all not completely healthy in soul and body.”
We encounter the paradox of this book already on its first pages. “We share the usual Western distrust of paganism, superstition and magic,” writes Thomas More. Agree, this is a somewhat strange beginning for a book based on the magical alphabet of pagan times. The authors seem to fully share the opinion of the Church, which, in the words of the same author, “opposes the idea of a kind of magical universe in which some special actions themselves produce a result.” But if the universe is non-magical, then how can runes operate in it, and if “certain actions” in it cannot “produce a result,” then what “healing” do the authors offer the reader?
I confess that the first thing that personally caused me some wariness when reading this book was the imperative certainty of the phrase that opens it: “...we are all not completely healthy in soul and body.” Susan Logan writes in her Foreword: “Through hard work, faith and fortitude, we have brought healing to the world.” What is the “healing” that the authors “carry,” and can it even exist in their world - in a world where there is not a single healthy person?
Let's try to understand what the “healing” is that the authors offer the reader. Despite the fact that they really use the ancient northern magical alphabet, with their constructions they actually deny the main postulate of the northern Tradition - the postulate that everything has its causes and its consequences - and therefore the main moral law of the North - responsibility for
yourself and your actions. Think about their words that compassion and pity are the main source of “healing.” Co-suffering, that is, suffering together, implies that the stronger, more courageous, wiser person shifts part of the suffering of the weaker, more stupid one onto his shoulders, and therefore relieves him of responsibility, denying that all our troubles have a source only in ourselves. This is similar to the well-known “paradox of alms” - the more we give to beggars on the street, the more beggars there are: why should the weak work if he knows that he can get money from the strong? So is suffering with the patient the path to healing?
The authors express a very specific - at least if we speak from the point of view of Tradition - attitude towards suffering itself. “Time and time again,” writes Susan Logan, “life has taught me that adversity can be as healing as joy and happiness.” And just below, he enthusiastically quotes the words of Robin Norwood: “We can believe (...) that our suffering has meaning, purpose, and dignity.” I do not dare to argue, perhaps, in the statement that suffering is worthy, meaningful and even healing, and there is some meaning - but not in the Northern Tradition.
One of the main values of the northern Tradition are Strength and Good, the Good that a person managed to create with his life. It is these values that a strong person - a prince, a magician, a warrior - shares in the minds of the ancient Nords with the weak. It is not at all difficult to see that the idea of this book is completely opposite - instead of support and help, which are the spread of Power and Good (from the strong to the weak), the authors offer pity and compassion, which are the spread of powerlessness and pain (from the weak to the strong)...
...And yet the most paradoxical thing in this book is precisely that such views, which the ancient Nords would undoubtedly consider to be from the “camp of the weak,” are tied to the ancient northern sacred alphabet. It seems logical that the runes of Road, Victory, and Strength disappeared from this alphabet as a result of the author’s “adaptation to modern conditions,” and were replaced by the runes of Shame, Compassion, and Fear. The question that begs itself is one that Ralph Bloom asks himself in his Preface: “I have just taken an alphabet of two thousand years ago, changed the order of the letters in it and transposed the ancient interpretation of the oracle into modern language *. (...) I asked myself: do I have the right to make a new attempt to adapt the original Runes? And in the paragraph below he answers himself: “I now firmly believe that I took up this work according to God’s Will.” Well then...
...The authors are undoubtedly right about one thing: this book is truly full of compassion and pity and it will truly bring relief to those who crave it.
We are talking about the previous book by R. Blum - “The Book of Runes”. - AL.
A person always needs treatment, since we are all not completely healthy in body and soul. That is why we devote a significant part of our lives to one or another “medicine”. The trouble of our time is that our cure is always partial and we never complete it. We draw a line between illnesses of the body, emotions, values and relationships. We rely too much on reason and technology, thinking that once we understand the cause of our suffering, we will immediately fix it. It seems to us that if we find the best specialist in modern technology, we will be able to get our hands on the secret elixir of physical and mental health.
People free from the captivity of modern ideas look at illness differently. The ancient Greeks had a custom of making a sacrifice in the temple of the god of healing Asclepius and spending the whole night there in the hope of healing. Today, some communities consult clerics or shamans who are skilled in herbs and dream interpretation. People now sometimes try to adopt its means and methods from traditional medicine, but it is quite obvious that one cannot suddenly suddenly return to a primitive state and pretend that modern medicine and therapy never existed. We must acknowledge the serious gaps in our approaches to healing, reconsider them in the light of all the materials and evidence available to us, and then develop new and inspiring ways of healing.
We realize that our healing, especially when it comes to mental disorders - addictions, depression, emotional shifts, relationship breakdowns - is impossible without a deep understanding of the essence of the problem. Therefore, we besiege doctors, therapists and buy books that tell us where we are wrong and how we can get back on the right path. But I suspect that we are not going far enough in our attempts to get to the heart of the matter. It is not enough to grasp at a new theory or method of treatment that promises relief from mental troubles. We must radically change our lives, change our starting point, thus getting rid of many contradictions in our worldview and philosophy that split us and cause us pain and suffering. In our attempts to understand the essence of what is happening, Healing Runes by Ralph Bloom and Susan Logan can be a reliable guide.
A revolution in the ways of knowledge has become a vital necessity for us. Nowadays there is a tendency to solve all problems using the mind. If we are talking about sports, then, instead of doing physical exercises ourselves, we discuss numbers and results. In the process of learning, we fill our heads with facts instead of trying to understand those things that cannot be measured. In psychotherapy, we are interested in reasons and explanations, not ways to heal the human soul. To get rid of the restlessness and despondency that characterize our times, we need to expand our knowledge, to go beyond simple explanation - to where the soul is in motion and therefore changes and heals.
I used to think that the answer could be found through intuition and that we could somehow extract brilliant ideas from this usually neglected part of the mind. But now I understand that intuition is not fundamentally an activity of the mind, but a position in the world and a method of knowledge that can become a guide for the soul, although it may not be able to satisfy the mind's craving for clear and unambiguous answers.
I realized that true intuition requires more skill and understanding than the work of the mind; it presupposes the presence of a specific object, image or ritual procedure. It does not provide precise knowledge, but rather provides information, often vague, contradictory and paradoxical, poetic in nature. We do not receive instant or final answers, these answers are revealed over time and may never be fully revealed.
After all, the knowledge that is born from intuition - and from the oracle - is so deeply rooted that it seems to belong more to the realm of religion than psychology - which is why some people do not dare to approach it, fearing to step beyond their beliefs and religious beliefs.
We also share the usual Western mistrust of paganism, superstition and magic. It is known that church representatives are wary of oracles. Apparently, they want to defend the concept of human free will and Divine freedom. The Church opposes the idea of some kind of magical universe in which certain actions produce results, and warns against using magic for personal gain.
Nevertheless, the oracle is a common component of all religions, from the Greeks with their custom of consulting the Delphic oracle to the priests of the Old Testament who interpreted the signs of nature, and to St. Augustine. In his Confessions, Augustine confesses his love for oracles and tells the moving story of how, at the height of his despair, in the midst of the disasters that befell him, he heard a child's voice tell him: “Read.” And he took out the Bible and read the first lines that caught his eye. He describes it as a divination technique - searching for words that will determine a new course in life. The words he read contained advice to give up a dissolute life and, taking them to heart, he set out on a completely new path, later becoming a bishop, theologian and saint.
As oracular tools, Runes lead us down a path of deepening reflection and awaken the soul when significant feelings and events take place. This indeed borders on religion, but remember that the oracle, from the point of view of medieval philosophy, is nothing more than the handmaiden of theology. There is no contradiction between them; rather, one serves as the basis for the other.
Ralph Blum does us a great service by offering us a new series of "interpretations" of the Runes. He and Susan Logan presented them in language that is elegant and appropriate for our times. Their words can give rise to our own thoughts and dreams, leading us to knowledge as durable as the alchemists' philosopher's stone and as poetic as the colorful peacock's tail, which the alchemists considered a symbol of the multi-colored soul.
I am convinced that all healing comes ultimately from a shift in the depths of our ideas, and this is what the Runes produce if you listen to them sensitively, as the authors of this book do. Runes provide the rationale for our own lives and anchor our decisions in the innermost depths of the heart. If we all have one disease in common, it is a shallow spot in the ocean of our imagination. Healing Runes offer a cure for this disease. At the same time, they promise not just relief from anxiety, but hidden gifts that signify the presence of the soul - trust, pleasure, beauty, love and religiosity.
AWAKENING THE SOUL
Until a person makes a commitment, doubts remain, the possibility of retreat, constant futility. There is one elementary truth about all endeavors, the neglect of which ruins countless ideas and magnificent plans: the moment you make a commitment, Providence moves too. All events happen to help you, otherwise they would never happen. A whole stream of events stems from the decision made - many incidents, meetings and material assistance - and everything happens in such a way that no one will even believe it. If you think you can, or believe you can do something, start. The action carries magic, grace and power.
Goethe
When I wrote the comments for the Book of Runes*, I did not realize that I was actually creating my own
own guide. The Guide You Need to Become More Conscious
human being and take greater responsibility for your life.
The letters that I have received all these years from people who used Runes as their own adviser taught me very
"The Book of Runes", published in 1982 by St. Martin Press, was intended to serve as "a tool for discerning God's will in our lives." The Runes themselves are of Germanic and Scandinavian origin. Runes are an ancient alphabetic letter, each of the letters of which had a name and a significant sound that carried a number of meanings. At one time, Runes were used to compose official documents, to write poetry, for inscriptions, and also as an oracle to communicate with the Divine. Runes were widely used until the end of the 12th century. (See p. 35, chapter “A Brief History of Runes.”)
important lesson: something very personal to me can be usefully applied in the lives of people around the world. When the words of one person resonate in the hearts of so many people, it clearly shows how deeply connected we are to each other. We have the same goal, we form one community, one partnership.
“The Book of Runes” was my gift to myself - an assistant on the path of spiritual healing. I am currently going through an emotional healing process. This new book is for all of you who have chosen the same path for yourself.
Recently, life put me in such a situation that I had no choice but to be honest with myself and with others. Over the years, it became clear to me that many of the people who attended my lectures and seminars were well ahead of me on the path of self-discovery and healing. In the past, such a discovery might have frightened me. And it was when I began to look at these people as a source of inspiration that I realized that I was truly ready to change.
I spent many years trying to heal, developing my spiritual awareness, before I realized the vital need to face the emotional and psychological problems that were rooted in childhood. Like many people in the 70s and early 80s, I preferred to deal with my problems with spiritual vision, to rise above them, to “transcend”. This did not bring reassurance. Getting out of denial couldn't have been more difficult. In the early 90s I worked hard trying to surface.
Then I attended my first Twelve Step meeting. Over time, I began to take part in various programs of this school, which were an amazing revelation for me. In the very first weeks I discovered that, by the strictest criterion, I was susceptible to at least five major addiction diseases.
So I kept coming. It was there that I met people who talked to me all night, fed me, listened to me.
Thanks to ongoing programs and the caring support of friends, thanks to the love of my wife Zhanna, I recognized in myself a great thirst to regain the depth and richness of my feelings.
After forty years of studying the oracular systems of the world, I am convinced that we all need to look deep within ourselves, stop empty talk about why we are like this; find our own truth and, working on it, perceive those Divine tasks for which we are here.
In 1992, while I was working on a new edition of The Book of Runes after its first publication, Susan Logan came to me and proposed a new project. Having extensive experience in Twelve Step programs, Susan wanted to create a healing tool based on the Runes -
interpretation of additional rehabilitation programs, as well as other forms of traditional therapy.
I have a problem. Even though I instantly understood the value of her idea, I felt unsure. I have just taken a two-thousand-year-old alphabet, rearranged the order of its letters, and translated the ancient interpretation of the oracle into modern language. Many people have already consulted the Book of Runes, using the Interpretations to check the correctness of their actions and choices. I asked myself: do I have the right to make a new attempt to adapt the original Runes?
My friend Thorsten Orlikowski, MD, an immunologist at the University of Tübingen in Germany and an outstanding Rune researcher, inspired me. He said: “As you know, life is three levels at once: spiritual, emotional and physical. In The Book of Runes you are addressing the spiritual level. Now we need to develop the meanings of the Runes to support people in their emotional and physical healing. Therefore, this is a completely natural next stage of work.”
After this conversation with Thorsten, I realized that I could work with the meanings further without violating the integrity of the ancient oracles.
I now firmly believe that I undertook this work by God's will. We live in a world of crises, a world full of suffering and pain. Basic
The question of our time is the healing of our planet and all its people. Healing Runes serve this purpose. While writing Healing Runes, two questions arose over and over again: my relationship with God and my feelings in connection with this relationship, both of which were reflected in the pages of the book. This book is about healing our relationship with the Divine as well as various other types of healing. Working in the Twelve Steps and working with Susan sensitized me to the healing power of faith.
However, while looking through the Interpretations of Healing Runes, I became concerned when I saw how often we mentioned the word “Divine”. I asked myself: “Are these lines too filled with God? Will this not be painful for those who know the Higher Power and who tremble and shrink when trying to “express in words the unspeakable”?
I can answer the last question by referring to the excellent book by Larry Dossey, M.D., Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and Healing, in which he speaks of the Divine as the “Absolute.” Touching upon the feminine aspect of the Divine, he dispels all doubts:
At this historical moment, when we feel an urgent need to recognize the value of the feminine principle, it is perhaps important to note that the problem of designating the Absolute is not resolved by simply converting all male names and pronouns to female ones. The Absolute is certainly beyond any description, including gender.
Keeping this in mind, the reader may, in any subsequent example, imply at his discretion any name he prefers for the Absolute - the Great Spirit, the Goddess, God, Allah, Krishna, Brahman, Tao, the Universal Mind, the Almighty, Alpha and Omega, the One*.
I believe we are all greatly indebted to Dr. Dossi for his clarification. With him I salute all the names of the Divine.
Besides, can there be “too much” God? What else is there besides Him? To accept God as we understand it in all our daily thoughts and actions and words is to understand the truth about our own nature.
An oracle is nothing more than a sacred means among many others through which God speaks to us.
In 1988 I wrote: “All the people of this country have a strong desire to be filled with the Spirit. We strive to become conduits for a Power greater than ourselves." Susan and I hope that Healing Runes will play a role in celebrating the voice of Divinity in our daily lives.
* Larry Dossey, M.D. Hearing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine. San Francisco, 1993.
I've finally come to a point in my life where I need to look back. We have been friends with Runes ever since my dear friend Julia Adams first introduced me to them. They now became what I needed to complete my healing journey. This was the impetus for collaboration in writing this book.
Working with Ralph on the book was a powerful, sometimes challenging, but always inspiring experience. Healing Runes are an attempt to strike a balance: to summarize everything that has come to me over thirty years of healing, and to give something in return.
Sometimes we lose our way before we have found ourselves. Healing Runes are a compass that guides us along the path of returning to the whole. One thing is certain: this journey will be different for each of us. For one it is the chosen path, for another it is the path of struggle for life.
Working hard, maintaining faith and strength of spirit, we brought healing to the world. In the past, I often felt that I was no longer able to continue, and then I thought about what my patients had to endure, how they had to survive and overcome it. As a healer, I have heard my voice so often: “Don’t give up. Never give up". Time and time again, life has taught me that adversity can be as healing as joy and happiness.
Robin Norwood's work is a great example of the inspiring message of never giving up. In his book Why Me, Why This, Why Now, he talks about the power of compassion and how often people are afraid of anything that can heal them. Norwood writes, “We can believe not only that our pain will one day pass, but that our suffering has meaning, purpose, and dignity.”*
I hope Healing Runes will help you get back to basics. Forgiveness is the source. Courage and Gratitude and Compassion and Humor are the source. If we want to heal, we need to restore the basis of our nature and therefore our lives.
As I reflected on the lives of those who came to me for advice, I remembered two stories. I remembered a powerful woman named Beatrice, sport* Robin Norwood. Why Me, Why This, Why Now: A Guide to Answering Life's Toughest Questions. New York, 1994.
a shift athlete dying of AIDS. She hoped that I would help her regain the lost part of her soul, the part that would help her find inner peace and peace in the face of death. One day she asked me about how I had endured suffering in my life. For some reason I laughed. A moment later we were laughing together, and at that moment, through my tears, I shouted: “Compassion! This is what you are looking for! When you are able to give yourself this gift, you will look at the world through the eyes of love.” A few weeks later, in harmony with herself, Beatrice passed away.
Compassion is the twenty-fourth Healing Rune. Serenity, Fear, Devotion, Trust - let each of the twenty-five Runes accompany you on your healing journey.
In conclusion, let me tell you a story that still means a lot in my life.
Many years ago, a woman named Dara came to me to gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of her unusual life. Fifteen years ago she was in a terrible car accident. Almost 75% of her body was burned. During our first meeting, I was struck by her strength, the way she accepted what had happened with her majestic physical beauty. Even then, at a very young age, she had the knowledge that this disaster was part of a larger plan. This kind of knowledge has always helped me believe in the power and strength of humanity.
Runestone from Uppland (Sweden)
spirit. Gifts' life is proof of the healing power of Divine love in our lives.
Beatrice, Dara, and all my patients over the years have sown seeds in me that will one day bloom into flowers in these pages.
PRAYER
Holy Spirit,
Giving life to all living things,
The mover of all creatures,
The root of everything
Cleansing them
Crying over their mistakes
Healing their wounds
You are our true life,
Radiant, beautiful,
Awakening the Heart
From deep hibernation.
Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)
Many civilizations around the globe have made significant contributions to their healing heritage, but it is not the purpose of this work to categorize these contributions. Our task is to show how healing is connected with oracle and, accordingly, with Runes.
For thousands of years, perhaps since the beginning of the recorded era, humanity has welcomed all forms of healing. The philosophy has always been: use whatever helps, heals, eliminates or reduces pain.
Western medicine has now begun to explore the wisdom and knowledge of the shamans of the rainforests and Siberian taiga, as well as the indigenous healers of America. People of all cultures - doctors, specialists, ordinary people - now accept and practice some form of alternative medicine (it is estimated that this includes a third of all Americans). Both the Tao and the Delphic Oracle instruct us: “Know thyself.” Nothing compares to the power of these two simple words.
CI
Today we hear a lot of talk about energy and energy medicine, as well as the mysterious force known as Qi. None of this is new, as journalist Bill Moyers reminds us in his amazing book Healing and the Mind. For the Chinese, as well as for their doctors,
the body is a set of energy channels. The energy, which the Chinese call Qi, flows through a system of channels, or meridians, that do not coincide with any physiological structures. When a patient becomes ill, our Western doctors look for physical or chemical abnormalities. Chinese doctors are looking for hidden forces that are out of balance. They claim that their task is to restore the invisible
with the ordinary eye harmony. For Westerners, sticking needles into the body is a physical intervention, but not for the Chinese. It is said that by inserting needles into specific points on the body... and massaging acupuncture points, Chinese doctors control the flow of Qi*.
Due to the increasingly favorable attitude of Western medical practitioners towards acupuncture and acupressure, terms such as “Qi”, “acupuncture points” and “meridians” are now becoming dominant from alternative ones.
INCUBATION
In ancient Egypt, there was a tradition of sleeping in a temple in the hope of healing sleep.
Later, the inhabitants of Western Europe - the Greeks and Romans - began to seek recovery in a similar way, calling it “incubation.” Sick people and seekers of spiritual guidance came to churches to see priests, who diagnosed them or gave them advice. People who experienced the state of kncubation, or "temple sleep", often received advice from priests in the form of the Bi Moyers interpretation. Hearing and the Mind. New York, 1993.
dreams given in the temple, since such dreams were considered prophetic and equated with the word of God. In fact, it can be said that during the temple sleep the patient himself becomes the oracle.
MIRACLES
“When you seek alternative healing, don’t deny Scripture,” said my friend, the Rev. Wallace C. Reid, a now retired Baptist minister. “In my opinion, there is nothing higher than a miracle in unconventional treatment.” Take, for example, Elijah bringing a dead boy back to life (1 Samuel 17:17-24), or Jesus healing a leper (Matthew 8:2-4). Jesus' compassion for humanity is expressed in the promise (John 14:12) He made not only to His disciples, but also to subsequent generations of believers: “He who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will also do, and greater works than these will he do.”
When an incurable disease like cancer disappears spontaneously, there is no explanation and we talk about a “magic cure.”
Runestone from Asferg (Sweden)
WELSH RUNE
Let in this fateful hour I call on the forces of Heaven, Let the sun burn in brightness And the snow become silvery white, Fire in all its might - Flashes of lightning frighten the darkness, Let the fast pandemonium of the winds, Let the abyss of the sea bottom, The good inflexibility of the earth, The steepness of the inaccessible rocks, Let this is all according to the will and mercy of Heaven itself. Suddenly the Demon will flare up between me and the power of Darkness, and the Demon will disappear.
Traditional
The word “Rune” suggests not only a form of writing, that angular form of a long-abandoned handwritten font, but a whole world of mystery... When Bishop Ulfilas translated the Bible into Gothic in the 4th century, the words about the “mystery of the Kingdom of God” an. He translated Mark using the word “Rune”.
Ralph W.W. Elliot "Runes: An Introduction"
Whenever possible, always explain to people what tradition you are working with. And if they are part of it, show it to them. At the end of the day, you need to be interested in and respect what is part of your heritage.
Margaret Mead
An aura of mystery will always surround the origin and sacred use of the Runes, the alphabetic writing used by the ancient Germans and Scandinavians. According to tradition, it is believed that the Runes were Odin's gift to humanity
Odin is the main deity in the pantheon of Scandinavian gods. His name comes from the Old Norse “wind”, “spirit”.
Odin hung for nine days and nights on the world tree Yggdrasil, pierced by his own spear, tormented by hunger, thirst and pain, helpless and alone, until he discovered the Runes and mastered them with incredible effort.
ORIGIN OF RUNES
There is no strictly defined opinion among scholars about when and where runic texts first appeared in Western Europe. For centuries - perhaps millennia - even before the Germanic tribes began to use any form of alphabet and alphabetic writing for ritual and cult purposes, they used glyph pictures, or symbols, that were carved or scratched into rocks. Most of these prehistoric rock art, or bdristningar, dating from the Second Bronze Age (c. 1300-1200 B.C.) and the transition to the Iron Age (c. 800-600 B.C.) are related to Indo-European cults of fertility and sun. The symbols most commonly found among rock art include human and animal forms, human body parts, military motifs, swastikas, sun symbols, funnels, wheels, and other variations of square and round shapes.
The creation of runic writing began when these picture symbols were mixed with elements of the already existing Latin, Greek, Etruscan and Northern Italic alphabets.
When this confusion occurred is evidenced by several combined alphabets found in the Alps, used in inscriptions dating from the 6th-1st centuries. BC
In his excellent book Runes: An Introduction, Ralph W.W. Elliot speaks of the fusion of these two separate traditions - "alphabetic writing, on the one hand, and symbolic content, on the other", pointing out that whoever invented the runic alphabet must have been familiar with pre-runic symbols. Elliott writes: “All we know is that someone from some Germanic tribe had the leisure (a factor often forgotten) and a remarkable sense of phonetics to create a runic alphabet on the Northern Italic model , whom he met somewhere in the Alpine regions in the period approximately 250-150. BC"*.
Another scientist - researcher Rune, my English friend, looks at this somewhat cynically: “It's actually very simple. At that time, these guys from the Germanic tribes, naked, painted blue, drove and pursued the Romans like crazy. So someone had the good idea to give them an alphabet to keep them out of harm's way."
It is noteworthy that runic scientists are unanimous that runic writing from its very inception was not utilitarian and that evidence of its sacred function is, firstly, the connection of secular letters with pre-runic symbols used in pagan Germanic rituals and religious actions, and -secondly, what is even more striking is their closeness to the Germanic gods. Thus, the runic alphabet finds itself at the very heart of Germanic religion.
To the pagan mind the earth and all created things were alive. Branches and stones served to express Runes, since it was believed that natural objects were the embodiment of the sacred. On
* Raph W. V. Eiott. Runes: An Introduction. Manchester, 1959. There are several useful books on Runes, but I especially recommend this one. If you've developed an appetite for Rune literature, see Elliot's selected bibliography or the selected bibliography in The Book of Runes.
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Over the centuries, Runes have been carved into pieces of hard wood, engraved into metal, and cut into skin. Most often, Runes are short wooden sticks or smooth flat stones with symbols inscribed on one side.
We have almost no information about who was involved in the inscription of Runes, who was considered a master of Runes, how these people learned this skill and how the accumulated knowledge about Runes was passed on from teacher to student.
What we know is that individual Runes acquired sacred meaning and, over time, became the first active oracles in Western Europe. The Roman historian Tacitus in 98, in Book X of his work “Germania”, gives the most frequently quoted and clear description of the Runes used as an oracle:
A branch was cut from a fruit-bearing tree and divided into small parts, onto which certain distinctive marks (notae) were applied; these sticks were scattered at random without any order on a white cloth. Then the priest of the community... after invoking the deities with his eyes turned to the sky, selected three pieces, one at a time, and made an interpretation using the signs made earlier.
Although Tacitus says nothing more about the nature of these notes, Professor Elliott comments: "No doubt these were already Runes."
FROM RUSSIA, FROM ORKNEY ISLANDS, TO GREENLAND AND GREECE
Runes were spread from one place to another by traders, travelers, warriors and even Anglo-Saxon missionaries. Runic glyphs were used to record trade transactions, write poetry, compose sagas, and decorate buildings, weapons, and the prows of ships. Runic artefacts and inscriptions have been found in Orkney and Shetland, the mainland of Scotland, Greece, Greenland and deep into Russia. Runic inscriptions have also been found in North America, although so far no scientist has recognized them as authentic.
We can learn a lot from the inscriptions on runastenar, the monumental runestones found throughout Scandinavia. Often located at crossroads, at the confluence of rivers, they informed travelers about how the Vikings made money, behaved in battles and how they died. These imposing stones were memorials of some sort, but were often used for the purpose of registering a death, especially if it involved the death away from home of some wealthy or important person whose death was marked by information about an inheritance, debt, or oath that should were passed down to posterity. Often, to protect the interests of the heirs, their names were clearly indicated on the memorial stone.
My favorite monument from this period is an eighteen-foot stone cross known as the Ruswell cross, made for a church in Dumfriesshire in Scotland, where it still stands today. por. The main inscription, emphasizing the significance of the biblical siennas depicted on the cross, is carved with Runes. The lines are from the ancient English poem “The Dream of the Crucifixion”:
Christ was on the cross. Still, many came in a hurry, Traveling from afar, Hastening to the Lord. I've seen it all.
The author of the poem is unknown. The voice that speaks the poem is the tree of the Cross.
Runes became most widespread in the period from 800 to 1200, during the era of Viking dominance in Europe. As the Viking Age passed, the Runes began to disappear. Their use as an alphabetic script ceased. And the wisdom of the Rune masters left with them, since everything sacred in this tradition was passed on from mouth to mouth and was never written down. Eventually, in 1639, the use of Runes in Iceland was officially banned. For almost 350 years the Runes were silent and the benefit of the oracle was lost to us*.
For a more detailed history of the Runes and the oracle tradition, see the “Book of Runes”.
Now, with the renewed desire for closer relationships
with the Divine, the oracular tradition began to be seen for what it really was, and in time, it regained its rightful place in the lives of God's people.
Runic images,
carved in. as security magic signs on window jambs (England)
SONG OF NAVAJO
Mountains,
I became part of them...
Plants, spruces,
I became part of them...
Morning mists, clouds,
Precipitation,
I became part of them...
Desert, dew, pollen,
I became part of them.
author unknown
Inside the house he prepared an oracle to set up the ark of the covenant of the Lord there.
1 Samuel 6:19
The answer is always here. When we need it, the answer is here. No matter what happens, our higher self knows exactly what is best for us. It is not a political, social or intellectual entity, it is the core of our being. It doesn’t matter how long ago we consciously communicated with her, the power is always within us... She always trampled tensely. It doesn't matter whether we went to church last Sunday or have never been there. The spirit is always inside us. We just have to recognize it, thank it, and realize that everything is okay now.
Yanla Vanzant
comes from the Latin orakuum, the latter derived from agage - to speak or pray - and means primarily a Divine message, an instruction or message from the Supreme.
The word "oracle" also means the mechanism or medium through which the Divine message comes. The turtle shell was heated over a fire until cracks appeared on it. They looked at the pictures and shapes that appeared in the clouds, during the flight of birds, and on the surface of the water. They listened to words coming from a whirlwind or a burning bush. Messages conveyed on bones, imprinted in clay, carved in stone. Messages from the Divine come from everywhere and are everywhere - for those who have ears to hear and eyes to see.
The oracle tradition spreads throughout the world: oracle bones have been found in China; in Africa, many tribes turned to oracles, relying on their wisdom and authority. In 1986, when I met Don Diego, the spiritual teacher of the Yaqui Indians, and showed him the runic glyphs, he told me that his people also had their own oracle. Then he took a thick pencil and, on a piece of brown wrapping paper, drew seven oracle letters of his tradition, each of which reflected one of the Runes.
It is a fact: a significant number of different cultures at one time had a tradition of oracles, thanks to which the Divine will revealed to people was recognized.
DIVINE TRANSMISSION MACHINES
Although the tradition of oracles is largely a feature of ancient cultures, we are not as far removed from it as we might think. The connection to this tradition is evident in what one friend of ours likes to call the “household oracle, the transmission machine of the Divine.”
There is a long history of these home oracles, methods that people have developed to reach out to the Divine in private. Healing runes belong to this tradition.
Since the time of the Roman Empire, they used a technique known as Sortae Vergiiane (oracle according to Virgil): anyone who was looking for advice on how to act correctly in a given situation opened Virgil's Aeneid and read the first line that caught his eye. For centuries here, in the West, those who want to know the Divine will on any matter similarly consult a dictionary or the Bible.
The most popular American oracle was known as the Oracle of Noah Webster. Our grandparents, if they were overcome by doubts or simply needed advice, opened the dictionary and pointed their finger wherever necessary. and received an answer from the words in which the person fell.
Over the years I have met people who, having no idea about
oracles and oracular tradition, opened their Bibles in the same way and for the same purpose, and trusted in the wisdom of Holy Scripture so as not to stumble. And in our time, following the ancient oracular tradition, the Holy Scriptures are used as an adviser, telling us how to do the right thing and how to behave.
There are a huge variety of oracles. It has long been my habit to consult the Daily World and live by its wisdom. Other people use oracles of their own invention (such as a home spinning wheel) from which they receive advice. It seems that, as a result of the increasing pressure on our lives, we are witnessing the restoration of the oracular tradition.
What is new about this is the scale of the phenomenon and the wide access to the acquisition of oracular tools - popular works of sacred art that are understandable to any reader, such as “Medical Cards”** and “Sacred Path Maps”***.
* The Daily World is a wonderful collection of inspirational articles published monthly by Unity. Unity Village, MO64065.
** Jamie Sams and David Carson. The Medecine Cards. Santa Fe, 1988.
*** Jamie Sams. Sacred Path Cards. San Francisco, 1990
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LISTEN TO YOUR HEART
Few of us realize the power once contained in the word “oracle.” You may not know how to respond if someone asks you, “Have you ever had experience with oracles?” Let me put the question differently: “Have you ever felt the presence of the Divine or has the Lord ever answered your prayers?” If the answer is yes, then you have experience with oracles.
However, this book is more of a practical guide than a historical overview. The oracle's task is to help you get in touch with a part of yourself, to find out everything you need to know at the moment about your life. Healing Runes are one way to talk to God and listen when God speaks.
One thing should be said before you even start working with oracles: with time and experience, you will suddenly realize that you can put the oracle aside and just know.
We are in possession of the Divine, in fact we are oracles, fully capable of receiving all the necessary wisdom from meditation, from a prayer life in the Holy Spirit, simply from silence, Psalm 46, verse 10, defines the conditions of oracle listening in a very simple and perfect form: Be in silence and know that I am God.
Do you remember Jiminy Cricket's straightforward advice in Pinocchio: "Let the
Will it be your conscience? The truth ultimately is that we don't need anything external to tell us what is right and what is wrong. When inner peace is achieved, then some healing is certain to take place. Although the first steps in the healing tradition were taken by the Chinese, who mastered many pulses, it was the Egyptians in the West who discovered the human pulse and called it the “voice of the heart.” Melody Betty, in her book Lessons in Love, writes: “To know the mind of God... listen to your heart.”*
The pulse, heart, mind of God is the living expression of the oracle.
NOTHING IS NEW
The Way of Miracles and Aikido say the same thing: Know how to forgive, do not be afraid, do not oppose yourself to an attack, focus all your energy in the “here and now” of your mind. Be peaceful. Stay calm. In the serenity of peace, allow your seeing and hearing to come from the One Self, which contains the unlimited will of God. In the free flow of creation you will know what to do.
Path of Miracles
Do you know that the energy and life of God is within you, just waiting for you to turn to it? Now you can be confident in your wholeness through bold faith and conviction: the almighty life of God moves in and through me, I am whole, I am well-being, I am strength. Thank You, God.
Daly Ward
Everything in life becomes interesting when the sacred answers the call.
Caroline Miss
How do Healing Runes work? You are in a state of crisis. It feels like the world is collapsing. You are facing a crisis and need the advice of a trusted friend. But neither your doctor nor your best friends are nearby. With your question in mind, do the following:
First, take the Runes. Reach your hand into the bag and take out one pebble.
Second, look at the picture of the rune and the page number on the back cover of this book.
Thirdly, refer to the “Interpretation” and read the commentary on the Rune to make it easier to work with sensations in this situation.
Of course, not every sentence in the Interpretation will fit your situation. But whenever you pull out a Rune, there will always be a few key phrases that will clearly show what you need, your problem. Moreover, the oracle will even expand your question and show another difficult situation, another side of your life that requires attention.
From the time I first began to turn to the oracles - since the summer of 1977, it became a habit for me to think about the problem on my own as much as I could, also using prayer, before turning to the Runes. Sometimes, let me remind you, this process takes only seconds. What I am saying is that Healing Runes are an invaluable tool in helping us when we meditate on our situation. But they are nothing more than a tool.
The essence of these Runes is that they have the ability to serve us on the path of healing. Whatever it is within you that calls for healing, Healing Runes will support it, adding wisdom and love when making decisions.
Often you will find that oracles
help in living our daily lives, although not necessarily in relation to today. Rather, in relation to what you really need. As you become more familiar with how oracles work, you will know what to ask and when to ask.
Each of you will go through different stages in your relationship with the oracle as a tool to give advice. At times you will use Healing Runes every day, and at other times you will not use them at all. Like the Viking Runes that preceded them, Healing Runes have proven to be a trusted witness, a good companion for those who choose self-healing as their path. When you are at a crossroads, in a life crisis. when the question simply arises of how to do the right thing, and you want to act for the good of all things, the oracles will serve you.
THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN FOR YOU
In recent years, recovery has become America's multi-billion dollar industry. Bestselling authors - including John Bradshaw, Melody Betty, Robin Norwood, M. Scott Peck and Mariani Williamson - have sold more than 80 million books. There are countless
number of cassette recordings, seminars and symposiums are held. However, among everything that is offered on the vast market on this topic, there are no “ready tools” with which people could immediately look beyond the pain, fear, self-doubt, confusion. Healing Runes are intended to support people, give them advice, strengthen their desire and determination to get healthier at all stages of the healing process.
Suze and I
Odin's Rune (Empty Wyrd Rune) is a newcomer to classic futhark. The Odin rune appeared with the light hand of Ralph Bloom and became the 25th rune in the runic alphabet. To this day, the empty rune causes heated debate among runologists about its need and place in the runic system. Adherents of the classical Northern tradition criticize Blum for his loose interpretation of the runes, changing the order of the runes in the alphabet and introducing the empty Odin rune. However, despite the controversy, the Odin Rune has already taken its place in the sun; many, including authoritative practitioners, use it in fortune telling. We will assume that Odin's rune is a product of the development and modification of the runic system. Regarding the use in fortune telling and adding 25 runes to the set, I believe that each person is free to decide this for himself. It is quite possible to get by with the classic 24 runes, however, the appearance of an empty rune in fortune telling emphasizes, draws attention to the layout, shows the importance of information, and introduces an element of mystery.
The meaning and interpretation of the Odin rune (Empty Wyrd rune) in the runic layout.
The meaning and interpretation of the Odin rune in the runic layout depends on the question asked, but most often these are unexpected circumstances, fate, karma, uncertainty, emptiness, closed information.
Ralph Bloom himself in The Book of Runes described the empty rune as follows: “Emptiness is the end, emptiness is the beginning. This is the Rune of universal unification; it can be seen as a moving evidence of your most direct contact with your true Destiny, which again and again, like a Phoenix from the ashes, is reborn from what we call fate.
The appearance of this Rune may foretell death. But this death is usually symbolic and may relate to some part of your current life. Getting out of the power of restrictions is the most important task of the Warrior of the Spirit.
So, the Unknown is telling you that It is entering your life. This emptiness contains unspent potential. Filled and empty at the same time, this Rune implies the whole of Being in its exhaustive totality, everything that can be realized. The appearance of the Empty Rune can bring to the surface our deepest fears: “What if I fail?”, “What if I am abandoned?” or “What if I lose everything? But our Appearance of the Empty Rune can bring to the surface our deepest fears: “And the highest good, and our true possibilities, and all our richest fantasies are contained in the emptiness of this Rune.
This Rune requires a willingness to act and the ability to take responsibility, otherwise how can you control something that has not yet taken shape? The Empty Rune often requires from you courage no less than what is necessary for a reckless leap into the void. Its extraction is a direct test of faith.
The unknown represents the path of karma - the sum total of your actions and their consequences, the lessons you must learn from this life. This Rune also teaches that your old karmic debts change and develop as you yourself change and develop. Nothing is predetermined: it is the creative power of the unknown that beckons us.
Whenever you extract the Empty Rune, take heart: know that work on yourself occurs throughout your entire life.
Ralph Bloom and his Book of Runes.
Despite the criticism of Ralph Blum, the fact remains undeniable that his works, written in simple accessible language and appearing in 1990 in the post-Soviet space, aroused enormous mass interest. Blum’s books “The Book of Runes” and “Healing Runes” opened runes to a wide range of readers and gave a powerful impetus to the revival, study and development of runic art in general. It should be noted that Ralph Bloom was a supporter practical application ancient knowledge in modern life. « For me, Runes are a tool for knowing the Divine will in our lives. Or, more simply, they are a way to listen to that part of ourselves that knows everything we need to know to live here and now... A tool that helps us stay on course, not lose our way in life.”