Dark Runes: An Introduction to the Odian Left-Hand Path

By Leon D. Wild.

Dedicated to Polaris.

The magical practices of the ancient North are becoming more accessible and workable to black

magicians through modern scholarship and dedicated institutions such as the Rune-Gild.

Rune-Magic is a very mysterious magical system, and has much potential for self-exploration

and magical success. The Ninth Night journal is also named from this dark Northern tradition.

The Hidden and dark communicator of the Northern mysteries is Odhinn - who may be seen

as the Northern form of the Prince of Darkness. Odhinn is the God of consciousness and

the mind -the province of magic.

Odhinn is the principally important deity of the North, for Rune magicians - although the true

Odian [the Odian *emulates* Odhinn, while the Odinist worships - this is a key difference

between the Right and Left-Hand Paths] should also appreciate the interconnections with the

other gods, both of consciousness (the Ases) and the fertility / "natural" gods (the Vanir).

That Odhinn held a prominent place in the subjective imaginings of the Northern / Germanic

cultures is evident from his manifold names. From "All-father" to High One, Evil-Doer, One

Eye, the Crafty one, The Wanderer... he was also seen as fearful.

Odhinn's primary mythological actions are of great importance to dark rune magicians such

as his famous initiation on the world tree, Yggdrasil described in the Havamal Saga of the

Poetic Edda in stanzas 138 and 139:

I know that I hung on the wind-tossed tree

all of nights nine,

wounded by spear, given to Odhinn

given myself to myself,

upon that tree of which none telleth

from what roots it doth rise

Neither horn they upheld nor handed me bread;

I looked below me -

aloud I cried -

caught up the runes, caught them up wailing,

thence to the ground fell again.

Odhinn is the shadowy, cloaked wandering and isolated god, with one eye given in a sacrifice

[of self-to-self] in the depths of the well of wisdom. Odhinn is attended by the two Ravens,

Huginn [mind] and Muninn [memory] and the wolves Gere [Greedy] & Freke [voracious]. These

wolven 'helpers' show that Odhinn is a god of consiousness with an indulgent streak!

Odhinn is armed with the magical spear Gungnir, which strikes like lightning at his Will. Odhinn's

magic is of the Runes, and the galdr associated with them. Galdr magic is verbal magic of

words, sounds and harmonies. There are many hints of this in the Eddas and rune-poems.

Odhinn also learned Seithr magic from Freyja.

Odhinn's connection to the trickster god Loki is of importance also. Loki and Odhinn are blood

brothers, and there is evidence that Loki may be a hypostace of Odhinn. He could be viewed

as a "shadow" aspect of Odhinn.

Loki, despite later Christian identification with the Devil in the aspect of Utgard-Loki, may

be viewed by the Left-Hand Path magician as a positive god. Loki does initiate great changes

and disruption, but these are ultimately productive. In this light is the manufacture of the

many magical artifacts that help coalesce the various powers of the god of the Aesir and

Vanir - such as Mjollnir, Thor's hammer, Odhinn's spear Gungnir, the ship Skifbladnir and Odhinn's

magical ring Draupnir.

Loki is alsomythologically responsible for Odhinn's eight-legged horse Sleipnir, as he gave

birth to it! Ragnarok, that great time of testing, is viewed esoterically as a time of renewal.

Baldur may go to Hel, but Odhinn has whispered a Secret Word in his ear...

The key to Odhinnic magic is encoded in the Mysteries of the Runes - which are mysteries

of the conscious mind. There are several cultural variants of the Runes, but most Rune-Magicians

of today work with the Elder Futhark of 24 Runes, with the rationale that they are the most

pure.

The younger Futhark of 16 Runes is useful for the exploration of Viking era Runic magic. Other

variations include the 33 runes of the Anglo-Saxon Futhark, the Frisian futhark and lastly the

Armanen Futhark. The Armanen system was developed by the Austrian occultist Guido Von

List, and was widespread in pre-WWII Germany.

Rune occultism was generally suppressed in Germany by the Nazi party, although inner echelons

of the SS studied them as a part of the Germanic 'Ancestral Heritage'.

The secrets of the Runes are encoded in their shapes, their angles, their names, their number

and their correlations with the mythological corpus. The Runes are direct Mysteries of the mind,

awareness and Self of humanity, hence of importance to the magician who seeks self-knowledge.

Runes are encoded in the blood of the descendents of the North, although their gifts may

be reaped by any who dare take them up, regardless of cultural background. The Runes are

keys to travelling the hidden nine worlds of the world tree Yggdrasil, and to the exploration

of Northern soul-lore.

The most precise way to study the Runes is to concurrently study factual, academic methods

of runology and germanic studies, both mythological and historical. With this synthesis of

subjective "hidden" knowledge and the knowledge of current scholarship, the Runester will

forge creations and magic that will be truly effective in self-exploration and magical success.

Some good starting books on runes and runology are

_Runes: An Introduction_ by Ralph Elliot, Manchester, 1959 and

_Runes_ by R I Page, University of California Press 1987.

The most comprehensive in-depth theoretical background to runes and analysis of rune-magic

is titled "Runes and Magic: Magical Formulaic Elements in the Elder Runic Tradition" by Dr.

Stephen E. Flowers, Lang 1986.

Freyja and her sensual and "shamanic" arts of Seithr suffered the most under the persecution

of missionaries, who were afraid at the carnal and sensual aspects of this work. Seithr work

is slowly being pieced together by Northern magicians and scholars, although there is much

work to be done in this regard.

The systematic study of Rune magic has a long history, beginning in the first codifying of

the runes by ancient rune-masters, and their teaching to subsequent generations of students.

There is evidence for a cross-tribal gild of ancientrune-masters, the Erulians.

Modern rune magic has reached its most advanced and codified state in the halls of the Rune-Gild

and also in the dark halls of the Temple of Set's Order of the Trapezoid.

The Rune Gild is the most authentic Runic initiatory environment. It fosters intelligent rune-magic

and real scholarship into the mysteries of the North. The founder, Edred Thorsson, has written

many essential books in this field, such as _Rune-Lore_ and _Northern Magic_.

The outer curriculum of the Rune Gild is the book "The Nine Doors of Midgard", which is

a curriculum designed to enable a learner magician progress to a Fellow of the Rune-Gild.

It has exercises in Rune-Meditation, the Hammer Working, Rune Carving, Sendings, Galdra,

Seithr and divination, all focused on eventual self-based results. It contains an annotated reading

list also.

The Rune-Gild explores with a psychecentric eye the mysteries of the Northern cosmology,

elements, and afterlife. For more information on Gild activities, write to the Gild in the contact

section.

The Order of the Trapezoid of the Temple of Set is a dark gateway to the North. It also has

a focus on the way of Wotan, and encourages the exploration of Germanic magic [including

the Runes, electrical magic, artificial mythology, SS Ahnenerbe magical research] in a "Trapezoidal"

- or "angular" sense - beyond the boundaries of tradition.

The Order of the Trapezoid is only open by invitation to Adepts of the Temple of Set. A

description of the Order of the Trapezoid is in Dr. Stephen Flowers' _Lords of the Left-Hand

Path_ and also in his _Black Runa_ which is a collection of Flowers' articles from _Runes_

the journal of the Order of the Trapezoid. _Black Runa_ contains an article essential to the

understanding of a Setian approach to the Runes, titled _Trapezoidal Runology_. Both titles

are published by Runa-Raven Press.

The Temple of Set also has an several informal study groups that cater to black magical runic

exploration, one such is The Okkult Netzwerk Germania which focuses on the Nine Doors of

Midgard Curriculum.

However the Runes are taken up, when they are done so with an understanding of the historical

and cultural background, and the knowledge and wisdom borne of experience the dark Northern

whisper and lightning of Odhinn will be manifest in the results that the Runic magician sends

forth.

Reyn Til Runa!

Selected Bibliography.

Elliott, Ralph. (1959) Runes: An Introduction. Manchester.

Flowers, Stephen Edred

- Lords of the Left-Hand Path (1993)(MS), Runa-Raven Press.

- Black Runa (1995). Runa-Raven Press.

- Runes and Magic: Magical Formulaic Elements in the Elder

Runic Tradition" (1986) Lang 1986.

Hollander, Lee. (1962) Poetic Edda. University of Texas.

Page, R. I. (1987) Runes. University of California.

Thorsson, Edred

-Runelore. (1987) Weiser.

-The Nine Doors of Midgard. (1991) Llewellyn.

-Northern Magic.(1992) Llewellyn.

-Rune-Song. [and tape]. (1993) Runa-Raven.

- The Secret of the Gothick God of Darkness (1995) in

Fringeware Review no. 6(66).