Christina Marvel will be speaking at The Dark Market on
Sunday, October 14th
4:00pm
Lecture Topic:
Rune Galdr
To understand what Galdr is, one must look at what the Runes are. The runes were ancient symbols that were carved into stones, swords, and household items. The earliest runic inscriptions date from 150 AD and were used into the early Medieval Ages. To many they were a symbolic alphabet system, but since the Germanic people shared culture and information orally, then we can assume that the Runes had much more significance. The word Rune comes the Proto-Germanic word “Runo” which means a mystery, a secret, or a counselor/advisor. Each Runic symbol represents a concept that relates to Germanic cosmology. Each Rune is also a series of sounds that uses other runes. For example, the Rune Fehu is the Rune of “cattle” and movable wealth. The word has four runes in it: F-E-H-U (Fehu-Ehwaz-Hagalaz-Uruz) so each Rune contains a formula or a story that connects it to the other 24 Runes. The Elder Futhark was the first used Runic Alphabet that was recorded in the Germanic Regions from 150-800 AD where the oldest inscriptions are found in Denmark and Northern Germany.
The Old Norse word “Galdr” was defined as a spell or incantation. It comes from the Proto-Germanic word “Galdraz” which means to sing or chant. In the book Germania, written by Tacitus in 98 AD, he wrote of the German people:
“They also have the well-known kind of chant that they call baritus. By the rendering of this they not only kindle their courage, but, merely by listening to the sound, they can forecast the issue of an approaching engagement. For they either terrify their foes or themselves become frightened, according to the character of the noise they make upon the battlefield; and they regard it not merely as so many voices chanting together but as a unison of valor. What they particularly aim at is a harsh, intermittent roar; and they hold their shields in front of their mouths, so that the sound is amplified into a deeper crescendo by the reverberation.”
We see that Galdr had a part in not only changing the emotions and minds of the warriors, but there have been historical evidence of Runic Galdr affecting the outcomes of events. In the old stories, there is a hint that Runes need to be chanted with “valor” or emotion and they are chanted for a purpose.
In the last 5 years I have been studying the history of Rune Galdr and documenting it’s effects on myself and others. What I have witnessed, is that when a person hallows (to make sacred) their mind and sings the Runes, that what they desire to happen will happen. Runes seem to have a way of opening our minds to the parts of us that are untapped potential and it allows that potential to rise to the surface. I have taken a holistic approach to Rune Galdr which is more in line with Taoist principles of creating a personal sense of dedication, strength, discipline, and personal evolution. In the 25 years of studying magic from over 5 different schools of thought, I have found that it is our untapped subconscious that is the reason any kind of magic works. In my experience, Runic Galdr helps the Conscious mind unite with the unconscious mind so that thoughts can become reality and what we dream can come into fruition. The journey into this unknown part of the self, is also full of many wonders and terrors. For as Buddha says, the first part of meditation is Bliss and the second part of meditation is Terror. We must be able to face both in order to truly know who and what we are.
I have developed a Runic Galdr meditation that can act as a simple framework for one to experiment and build upon. I have based it upon the map of the 9 worlds that I originally learned in “The 9 Doors of Midgard” by Edred Thorsson. I have since modified the Map to include concepts of time and space. The meditation has the Rune seeker singing each of the 24 Runes of the Futhark 9 times. They will meditate on charging the 9 parts of their soul with each Rune as they chant. I have also created body movements to help with creative visualization and to move the Runic energy through the body. In most magical schools, the focus has always been about how to achieve results, but I have learned that the ultimate goal we all have is in BECOMING. For me, Rune Galdr is not an art, but a practice. A daily practice where I sing the ancient holy sounds that call Ancient Gods to instruct me on how to BECOME.