Rune Might: The Secret Practices of the German Rune Magicians
The book is divided into two parts. Part one is more historical and reference material. Part two consists of active work using runes. I provided a breakdown of the book. It is a wonderful book on historic uses and beliefs of runes. I learned so much about runes in Germany and the people that used and abused them. This is a wonderful book if you are interested in learning more historic uses of runes. This book should be on the shelf of anyone interested in working with runes.
Part One
Chapter 1: Early History
This quote is a wonderful description of runes, “The chief ‘mission’ of the runes, in the view of manh of the German rune magicians, is to help reawaken the vital essence that was lost in ties past, and the abilities that were associated with it.” (Page 5) There is information of runic scholars: Guido von List, Friedrich Bernhard Marby, Johannes Bureus, Thomas Karlsson, Stephen E. Flowers, Michael Moynihan. There is also information about Occultists: Tarnhari (Ernst Lauterer), Lobesam (Karl Maria Wiligut), Albertus Magnus, Jakob Bohme, Philipp Stauff, Hermann Pohl, Rudolf von Sebottendorff.
Chapter 2: The Armanic Renaissance
Philipp Stauff was a founding member of the Guido von List Society and an Armanist. His wife took over the Society after Philipp’s untimely death. Hermann Pohl was the first leader of Germanenorden, a secret society in Germany. Rudolf von Sebottendorff was an important part of the Thule Society.
Chapter 3: The High Tide of Rune Magic (1919-1935)
Runes were renewed during this time also known as “Germanic Spring” and a time of optimism. Rudolf John Gorsleben wrote about theoretical fields of occultism. He was also associated with the Thule Society and founder of the Edda Society. Werner von Bulow was the grand master of the Edda Society and the designer of the “runic clock” and the producer of the Hagal journal. Ernst Tristan Kurtzahn wrote the first German-language book on the tarot. Siegfried Adolf Kummer developed rune yoga (Runenyoga). He also founded the Rune-School Runa near Dresden. Arnold(o) Krumm-Heller founded the Fraternities Rosicruciana Antiqua in Mexico. He also taught an esoteric course on runic practices.
Chapter 4: The Swastika and the Runes
Herman Wirth was a Dutch scholar. Karl Theodor Weigel was a symbologist. Karl Maria Wiligut (Weisthor) was the designer of the Death’s Head Rings worn by the SS officers.
Chapter 5: From the Ashes: A New Runic Revival
Because of the how the Nazis used runes, there were adverse opinions of their uses. Karl Spiesberger tried to remove the racial aspects of them. Roland Dionys Josse presented numerology associated with the 16-rune system. After WWII, German authorities tried to runes and similar symbols because they were thought to be dangerous. There has been a resurgence of runes in Germany starting in the late 1980s.
Chapter 6: The Traditional Runic Systems
There are four systems that most practitioners use. They are the Older Futhark, Younger Futhark, Anglo-Frisian Futhorc, and Armanic Futhork.
Part Two
Chapter 7: Rune Yoga
Made popular by German rune magicians, it was most likely created by Indo-Europeans. Each rune has a body position that can be used to send and receive energy. There are exercises and instructions on how to perform these poses. Once an individual learns the poses, there are a few rituals.
Chapter 8: Rune Mantras
Rune mantras are a form of singing. Usually the mantras are combined with the yoga poses. This section also includes examples of rune yodeling.
Chapter 9: Group Rune Rituals
Practitioners engaging in rune rituals act like magnets and create positive and negative poles. It is suggested that the practitioners’ gender should be evenly divided. The exercises in the book are designed for both two or more practitioners and include sexual and non-sexual exercises.
Chapter 10: Rune-Dance
The rune dance uses the yoga poses and puts them in motion. Several of the dances are accompanied by sounds.
Chapter 11: Runic Mudras
Siegfried Adolf Kummer suggested using mudras with runes in one of his books. There are examples for eighteen mudras. In the last year, I started using mudras with my yoga practice. These are great additions.
Chapter 12: Steads of Rune Might
Friedrich Bernhard Marby developed the theory on the importance of location and time when using runes.
Chapter 13: Healing Runes
It is a common belief that runes are linked to the body through the yoga poses and mantras. I have used these poses over the years and found them to be almost like meditation.
Chapter 14: The Working of the Graal Cup
There is an example of an energy raising exercise to work with the Graal.
Chapter 15: The Ritual of the Ninth Night
Peryt Shou believed there was an exercise for a runic magician to draw power. The exercise is included in the book.
Appendices:
On Pronunciation
Runes and the Interpretation of Fate
The Runes around Us
Krist-All
The Exernsteine as a Runic Stead
The Esoteric Runology of the Fraternitas Saturni
This is a very complete book on runes. Over the years, I have read many books by Edred Thorsson since he is such an expert. I was excited when I saw this book. It held up to his usual standards and I was not disappointed. I highly recommend it to any rune practitioner, new or adept.
