Runes. History and origin of runes. What do ancient sacred signs say? Rune Odal - meaning and fortune telling

In Northern Europe, runic writing was widespread for 13 centuries, in one of the Swedish provinces - until the 19th century. Currently, runes are one of the objects for discussion. Much attention to runes gives rise to incorrect historical theories.

What it is?

The common name for symbols in the ancient Scandinavian and Germanic alphabets is runes. They are divided into 3 groups - atta. Each att includes only 8 runes. The Elder Futhark is the name of the first Germanic “alphabet”.

This name appeared based on the pronunciation of the letters of the first 6 characters. Ancient symbols were written on different materials (stone, wood), they were in the form of a set of straight stripes. It was most convenient to carve ancient signs on solid materials.

As a rule, the direction of runic writing was carved from left to right, but there were other options. There was also a way of writing in which the direction was influenced by the parity of the line. For example, the 1st line was written from right to left, the second - vice versa, the third - the same way as the first. If the direction changed, then the letters were written in mirror images.

Numerous studies have shown that in Sweden alone, experts have found approximately 3,000 runic inscriptions. Two thousand such elements were discovered in Norway, Denmark, Greenland, Iceland and other countries.

The main thing from the history of runes

Ancient writing appeared in the 3rd century among the northern peoples. The ancient symbols began to enjoy the greatest popularity during the Christian period of Scandinavia. Even the spread of Latin languages ​​and writing did not cause the disappearance of ancient alphabets, including Old Icelandic.

Moreover, the runic letter supplemented the Latin alphabet with new letters. Later, Latin-language inscriptions arose, for which the runic alphabet was used. Entire Christian prayers or just the beginning of them were written in runes. As an example, we can name the famous prayers “Ave Maria“, as well as “Pater noster“.

In Sweden and Norway, records of Latin words were found, which are indicated by ancient symbols. The ancient Turkic alphabet is also associated with runes. The Kek-Turkic writing is mistakenly considered to be “runes”, Old Hungarian and "Old Slavic alphabet". These writings have only an external resemblance to runic signs.

What are the runes?

In Northern European languages, the meaning of the term "rune" is similar to the word "whisper". In Irish, "run" is "solution" or "secret". Since ancient times, the inhabitants of Ireland have used runes for fortune telling and making important decisions. Later, the rune system became the basis for the alphabet. There are confirmed facts about the connection between writing and symbols carved on stones. Today in the Russian alphabet there are 10 letters that correspond in shape to rune signs. There are even more letters in the Roman alphabet - 13.

The 3rd century BC is the time when runes spread to Scandinavia and the continent. Today, scientists distinguish 7 main types of runic writing: Danish and common Germanic, Anglo-Saxon, Icelandic and “ Marcomannic", Gothic, Helsing. There are other runes that have their own characteristic features. According to experts, different types of ancient symbols belong to certain eras.

A. Listel (Norwegian rune specialist) proved that the ancient runic was publicly available. Runes were used for love notes, courier notes, and this is confirmed by numerous examples. In the Middle Ages, residents of European countries used runic calendars.

Currently, both experts and amateurs are mystifying ancient records. In fact, runes carry a certain meaning. It was rune stones that allowed us to learn about important historical events. Some ancient records “tell” about the construction of the bridge, others about the history of a particular settlement. Unfortunately, there are practically no mentions of dates in runes. In one of the stone “history textbooks” there is information that “the Dreng besieged Hedeby.” It is impossible to reliably say which year these runes belong to. The city of Hedeb was besieged by enemies more than once.

Ancient records “told” about events and also contained attitudes towards them. An example of this is the songs carved on stones: a blasphemous ode - nid, a laudatory ode - drapa. The law prohibited the composition of derogatory songs.

Rune creators

Although runic writing was publicly available, masterpieces of the correct form were created only by professional craftsmen. Such specialists were otherwise called erils. This is confirmed by the inscription on the rune stone, which dates back to the 6th century. Modern runologists know about 140 names of ancient specialists. Of course, this does not include work with errors or poor quality carvings.

Gunnar (Kunar) is one of the first Christian masters who created ancient inscriptions. Gunnar signed 2 stones, as a result of which it was possible to establish that he owns about 40 works. Famous masters include Asmund Karason, the author of 22 runic stones that date back to the 11th century. Based on linguistic features and similarities in work, Asmund Karason is credited with between 24 and 54 runestones. Runes created by masters have stylistic, orthographic and paleographic similarities.

About Russian runes

Cyril and Methodius are the founders of Slavic writing, which was “born” in the 9th century. They used the Greek alphabet as a basis. The Glagolitic alphabet is considered the first alphabet of the Slavs; later it was reworked into the Cyrillic alphabet known to us. Although the Glagolitic alphabet served to create the literary Old Church Slavonic language and all Slavic writing, it had to be transformed into the Cyrillic alphabet. This is explained by one simple reason - the Greek spelling of letters.

There is no exact information about the existence of “Slavic runes”. Until this time, many people associated the writing of the Book of Veles with Slavic runes. In the modern scientific community, the writing of the “Book of Veles” is recognized as a hoax. Figures from the temple of Rethra allegedly confirm the discovery of “Vendish runes”. These figurines, together with the Book of Veles, are recognized as unreal.

Runes of modernity - what are they?

Runic writing was used not only in ancient times. Runes were used to represent the symbols of the National Socialist Party, which functioned in Germany. Two S runes were chosen as symbolism; they are placed on a black background. Himmler's decree confirms that in total 14 of the 24 ancient signs of the elder Futhark were used in SS symbols. It was the runes that served to indicate the stages of career advancement and the personal qualities of members of a political association.

John R. R. Tolkien is a famous English writer. For his works, he created special languages ​​for the inhabitants of Middle-earth. This includes “Lunar runes”, as well as “kirt”. The writer came up with all this based on Futhark.

Today, programmers are well aware that ancient characters were used to create Unicode. Version Unicode 3.0 has been supplemented with runic symbols, which are assigned separate positions. There are a total of 76 ancient characters in Unicode, which also includes different forms of the same character.

The word "rune" means "secret" or "secret". Already among the very first signs inscribed by a human hand and having a clearly magical character, we find the prototypes of some runes - and this is already the 17th-16th millennium (!!!) before the birth of Christ.

Gradually, over the course of thousands of years, these symbols, received in revelations or in some other way, were collected, accumulated, classified - and approximately in the 3rd-1st millennia BC. the previously established systems of magical signs began to gradually turn into sacred alphabets. At that time, they were conceptualized precisely as sets of sacred symbols with phonetic meanings assigned to them, which made it possible to use these signs for writing. Such understanding applies not only to the runic alphabet, but also to other sign systems - for example, we can cite the Hebrew alphabet, the magical and sacred use of whose symbols is very widely known.

Today it is generally accepted that by the middle of the 2nd century A.D. the classic all-Germanic runic system was formed -. It was named after the phonetic meanings of the first six runes of the formation. Over time, Futhark has undergone a lot of changes - in total there are up to a dozen different variations of it, differing both in the number of characters in the alphabet and their writing, and in the time/place of creation. These recycled runic symbols, which often have nothing in common with Futhark, are sometimes called Junior Runes. They were used mainly for writing, in contrast to the symbols of the Elder Futhark, which always retained their sacred meaning.
I would like to once again draw your attention to the fact that Futhark is not an alphabet in the usual sense of the word, but rather a runic system or series, that is, a rigidly fixed list of runes, with their phonetic and magical meanings and names. The classic Futhark contains 24 signs, but sometimes, as Ralph Blum did, they add the Void Rune, or the Odin rune.

As with any other magical system that uses symbols, before you start working with runes, you must understand the meaning contained in each of them. You can memorize the meanings of runes for as long as you like, but until each of them evokes in you its own, unique series of meanings as clearly as the word “house” evokes the image of a house, you will not be able to understand what the appearance of this sign means in fortune telling and will not be able to use them to shape reality. Remember, each of the runes is only a symbol, a designation of the power behind it. You will have to comprehend it, process it and assimilate it - and only then will you be able to attract this power into your life using runes.

This task is usually achieved like this: firstly, you will need to get yourself a set of runes that you will constantly work with. Take this task responsibly and don’t think that at least some will do now, but then I’ll learn and get myself some real ones! This is an illusion, trust experience. You are unlikely to be able to part with Your Runes - and this is exactly what they will become during the course.

It would be nice to make a set of runes yourself, but in fact, this is not a necessary condition.

Secondly, you need to get acquainted with the runes. That is, just memorize the name of each rune. The writing of each rune should be strongly correlated with its name - approximately as strongly as the letters and sounds of the Russian alphabet are correlated for you. :-)

And finally, thirdly, you need to establish a strong emotional and spiritual connection with the runes. Start with the first rune Fehu - read the description, try to feel the commonality that is contained in all these different meanings. Take a close look at it - perhaps its graphic design will evoke some associations in you. Listen to the name of the rune, try to look for your personal name of the rune - what you want to call it. Meditate on the rune, reflect on it, put the rune under your pillow when you go to bed. And then after a while you will feel that the rune seems to have “fallen into place.” That’s it, now it’s yours - and you can move on to learning the next rune.

By the way, I advise you, even after you have mastered all the runes, to re-read their descriptions from time to time. Each time you will be surprised to discover new facets even of a completely, seemingly familiar rune.

Origin and history of runes

The origins of runic art - as well as the origin of the runic symbols themselves - go back to ancient times. It is generally accepted today that the formation of the first Germanic runic system - Futhark - dates back to the first centuries AD. Indeed, this time can be considered the time when runic art took shape in the form in which it later existed in Northern Europe - although not without changes - until the late Middle Ages. However, the origins of Art are much older.

There is no doubt that the very first signs, inscribed by a human hand or carved from bone and wood, were of a magical nature. The oldest monuments of this kind belong to the Paleolithic and date back to the 17th-16th millennia BC. Examples of such monuments include rune-like symbols inscribed in ocher on a mammoth skull found at the Mezhirichskaya site in Ukraine, signs carved on European rocks, or “sun wheels” carved from bone and discovered at the Sungir site near Vladimir.

Already among such ancient graphics we can find symbols that became the prototypes of future common magical signs: swastika, cross, Celtic cross, wheel, some runes, etc. Probably, gradually these symbols, received in revelations or in other ways, were collected and accumulated, subjected to classification and changes. Around the VI-V millennia BC. refers to the unprecedented rise of culture in Central Europe, accompanied by the powerful development of crafts and arts, including the magical arts. From that time, clay figurines of deities, magnificent ceramics, and the remains of sanctuaries, temples and settlements have reached us. The ceramics of this culture, discovered on the territory of modern Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary, are rich in magical images, many of which should probably be considered direct predecessors of the development of both the runic alphabet and non-alphabetic European magical symbols.

Even later, in the 3rd-1st millennia BC, the previously established systems of magical signs began to gradually turn into sacred alphabets, which were interpreted in those days precisely as a set of sacred symbols with phonetic meanings assigned to them, which made it possible to use these signs for writing. This is how the related Phoenician and Etruscan alphabets arose, and later Greek and Latin. The runic letter has a similar origin, going back to the alphabets of the Northern Italic group - i.e. to the alphabets of the northern Etruscans and the Italian Veneti.

The peoples of Central and, possibly, Northern Europe became acquainted with the prototype of the runes - the Northern Italic script - no later than the second half of the 1st millennium BC. In 1812, during excavations near Negau (Austria-Hungary), more than two dozen bronze helmets dating back to the 4th century BC were discovered. These finds define the transitional stage in the development of Art, to which this book is devoted - the stage of transformation of Italic symbols into northern runes. The fact is that the inscription on one of the helmets, written in an alphabet transitional from Italic to Runic, clearly belongs in language to the ancestors of the future Scandinavians. The inscription is transliterated as Harigast i Teiva; both words, connected by the preposition (conjunction?) i, are proper names, and the latter - Teiva - is most often interpreted as a variant of the name of the common German god of war and sky Tiwa (Tyur).

Probably by the middle of the 2nd century AD. The classic all-Germanic runic system - Futhark - was formed. It originally appeared in Denmark, around the 3rd century. from R.H. Its distribution in the rest of Scandinavia dates back to the 4th - 5th centuries - on the continent.

I will warn you against a possible mistake: Futhark is not an alphabet in the usual sense of the word, but a runic system or series, i.e. a rigidly fixed list of runes, with their phonetic and magical meanings and names. Futhark contains 24 signs, divided into three groups - atta (att); Each att consists of eight runes. Based on the phonetic correspondences of the runes of the first atta - f, u, th, a, r, k,... - this system got its name - Futhark.

About two hundred inscriptions made with Futhark runes or, as they say otherwise, Elder runes, have survived to this day. Most of them are inscriptions on stones, weapons and jewelry.

Sometimes the inscription on a rune stone is just a few characters, sometimes it can be a person's name or a magic word. There are also stones containing entire “essays”.

Such, for example, is the Eggyum inscription, the translation of which, although only partially possible, is extremely interesting:

The stone was not (lit) by the sun,
and the knife did not touch him;
(evil) wizards must not expose (the stone),
neither deceived
nor blinded by witchcraft.

He created the navy sea
and lubricated the oarlocks with it
tired from drilling the boat.

Who came here to the land of horses...
Fish swimming...
Bird singing...
He died an insidious death.

However, there are only a few inscriptions as mysterious as the Eggyum one. For the most part, runic inscriptions on stones have little to do with magic. Such, for example, is the elder runic inscription on the “Vodurid stone”, which has become a classic example.

The inscription reads:

Viv cut this stone for Vodurid.
Three daughters divided the inheritance
like his closest relatives
among the survivors.
And I, Viv, cut runes
for my lord - Wodurid.

Many stones, in addition to the inscription, also bear relief, sometimes painted, images, usually representing gods and heroes. Thus, on a memorial stone from the island of Gotland (8th century AD) Odin is depicted riding a beautiful eight-legged horse - Sleipnir - into his possessions, Valhalla, the palace of fallen warriors, and the Valkyrie, the winged “maiden of battle”, who meets him.

In addition to stones with inscriptions, the earth and private and university collections have preserved for us other monuments of runic magic. These are, for example, inscriptions made on a weapon containing the name of its owner or the name of the sword or spearhead itself. One of the oldest such finds is considered to be spearheads from Brest (former USSR), the production time of which is determined as the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. The classical alphabetic Futhark runes are combined on their surface with non-alphabetic runic signs, such as three- and four-branched a swastika, a circle with a dot in the center, etc. The metal tip of the scabbard of a sword from Schleswig, made in the form of a stylized skull, is also curious. On each of its sides there is an inscription, the meaning of which is still not reliably known. It is only assumed that these words are the names of two people, since they are close to two generic Germanic names. But why are these names on the sword sheath? What is this - evidence of military friendship or a dedicatory inscription - or something else?

Runic inscriptions on ancient jewelry are very diverse, and a good half of them contain spells or magic words and combinations of runes; some tell about the author or owner of the item. The classic example of this kind is undoubtedly the golden horn from Gallehus.

Along its edge there is a wonderfully executed and not yet fully understood mythological image and a runic inscription that reads: “I, Khlevagast from the Holtiev family, created the horn.” As an example of a dedicatory runic inscription, one can cite the reading of the runes inscribed on one of the ancient brooches (a brooch is a kind of clasp fastening the collar of a cloak): “Boso cut the runes - to you, Dallina, he gave [the brooch - author].”

The runes never remained unchanged.
In the 5th century AD, runic writing and runic magic came to the British Isles - along with the Germanic tribes of the Angles and Saxons. British magicians and priests were not satisfied with Futhark and created their own runic system, which was a processing and addition to the original one (Futark). These runes (28 of them) are known as early Anglo-Saxon runes. Later, by the 9th century, another Anglo-Saxon runic system was created, containing 33 signs - the late Anglo-Saxon, or Northumbrian, runes.

As in the British Isles, runes in Scandinavia also gradually changed, but the Scandinavian priests took the opposite path. Preserving Futhark for magical needs, they developed more and more runic alphabets, which were used almost exclusively as a means of writing. Thus, the first revised alphabets contained 16 characters, similar in outline to the Futhark runes, the last ones (XI - XII centuries) - 15 or fewer characters, sometimes having nothing in common with Futhark. In total, about a dozen alphabets were created in Scandinavia: several in the Danish style and a little more in the Swedish-Norwegian style. These Scandinavian adaptations of Futhark are sometimes called Junior Runes.

The Junior Runes made a huge number of inscriptions on memorial stones in Scandinavia; the total number of such stones, if you count them conscientiously, will probably exceed three to four thousand. The vast majority of these inscriptions date back to the 11th century, are not associated with any magic and are purely memorial structures.

As an example, here is a photograph of a rune stone from Shusta.

The runes are carved on the body of the serpent, forming three wide loops encircling the image of the cross. (It should be noted that this is quite typical for younger runic inscriptions on standing stones - a combination of the Christian cross and the pagan symbol of the Serpent. However, many researchers of ornaments on runic stones believe that the cross here is a pagan symbol reinterpreted with the advent of Christianity.)

The translation of the inscription is as follows (E.A. Melnikova):

Runa ordered [this] monument to be made for Spjalbud and for Svein, and for Andvet, and for Ragnar, her sons and Helga; and Sigrid after Spjalbud, her husband. He died in Holmgard in the church of [St.] Olav.
Epirus carved runes.

Note: Holmgard - Novgorod the Great.

With the introduction of Christianity and the spread of the Latin alphabet, runic writing quickly lost its significance as the main means of writing, although it existed for quite a long time after that.

Despite the openly militant anti-pagan attitude of the growing Christianity, it turned out to be far from easy to displace the runic signs that had been used for many, many centuries. As already mentioned, the number of monuments of runic writing dating from the beginning of the 1st millennium (that is, created after the baptism of Scandinavia) is enormous; Moreover, pagan runes even penetrated into Christian ritual use. An excellent example of this is the baptismal font carved from light stone from Burserud Church in Småland.

On the bowl of this font, hewn as one piece from a block of sandstone and dating from the 13th century, is carved the inscription in classical minor runes: “Arinbjorn made me, Vidkunn the Priest wrote me, and here (I) will stand for a while

One of the most important areas of use of runes in later times was, not counting purely magical purposes, the creation of runic calendars. They were distributed throughout almost the entire north of continental Europe, as well as in areas neighboring the northern countries. In Norway these calendars were called primstav, in Denmark - rimstok (from rim - “calendar” and stok - “stick”). In Scandinavia, such calendars were used until the middle of the 19th century, in Karelia and the northern regions of Russia - much longer.

One of these calendars was made at the beginning of the 19th century. in Karelia and is currently stored in the Petrozavodsk Historical and Architectural Museum. The calendar signs are applied to a wooden staff 1.5 m long. Like most runic calendars, the calendar of the Petrozavodsk Museum is perpetual.

Another interesting example is the Lithuanian runic calendar kept in the Vilnius Museum of History and Ethnography. This calendar is much older (XVII century); Unlike most of its kind, made in the form of a staff, this monument is a book of 10 tablets measuring 6x8 cm.

In general, the cessation of the use of runic signs as an alphabet dates back to the 14th - 15th centuries. However, the runic tradition turned out to be extremely stable, and individual cases of the use of runes were recorded much later. Thus, in Scandinavia, runes were used for memorial inscriptions and the construction of spells until the 16th century, and on the island of Gotland - even in the 17th century. Moreover, there is evidence that in remote areas of Sweden, such as Dalarna and Härjedalen, for Especially important rune records were occasionally used in the middle of the current century.

If we talk about the purely magical use of runic signs, then we can safely say that the tradition of runic magic was preserved in its entirety at least until the 11th - 13th centuries, in a damaged and partially deformed form until the late Middle Ages, and as relics and the “remnants” of ancient high magic - up to the current century...

Notumbria is one of the ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in Britain

Yakut writing has an ancient history, dating back to the 6th century. You can verify this by getting acquainted with the exhibits of the NEFU Museum of Literature named after M.K. Ammosov, where, on the eve of Statehood Day of the Republic, a round table was held on the topic “The Mystery of the Yakut Runes.” There is evidence that the Sakha people, the ancient Huns and the Turko-Mongols have not only common ethnic roots, but also common episodes from the past.

Peter's writings
The fact that the Yakuts had their own writing is evidenced by writings with runic signs on the rocks along the banks of the Lena. They were discovered by Academician Okladnikov in the upper reaches of the river on the Shishkinsky rocks, below the village of Kachug. Then further north, near Verkholensk and in several other places. The world's northernmost monument of runic writing was discovered on the left bank of the Lena below the village of Sinsk, Khangalassky ulus, near the village of Petrovskaya.
“In the Yakut language, even before the arrival of the Russians, there were such terms as “letter”, “letter”, “letter”, “write” - “suruk” and “bichik”, says a senior researcher at the Institute for Humanitarian Research and Problems of Indigenous Peoples of the North SB RAS, candidate of philological sciences Bagdaryn Nurgun. – Both of these words have the same meaning among other Turkic-Mongolian peoples.
Yakut legends testify to the presence of writing among the ancestors of the Yakuts. One of them talks about the flight to the north of Elley, who taught the Yakuts how to keep cattle and horses in the harsh conditions of the taiga and prepare kumiss: “Elley used to have writing, but he forgot his book in his homeland.” Another tells that Alley “was literate, had books, but he threw his books into the river when he fled from home.”
By the way, after moving to the north, the Sakha also lost the agricultural skills they had previously possessed. They knew how to smelt iron from ore and make axes, knives, palm trees, cauldrons, spear and arrowheads, and chain mail. Like many eastern peoples, the Yakut blacksmiths were held in high esteem.

In the context of world history
Work to unravel the Yakut runes is being carried out as part of the compilation of the academic “History of Yakutia” and is funded by the Academy of Sciences of the republic. And not only. For several years, successful research has been carried out in our region by the Sakha-German expedition of the Humboldt Foundation and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research.
“The study of large scientific problems, as well as the generalization of individual materials, must be approached comprehensively, with the involvement of various sources, including archaeological, ethnographic, geographical and many others obtained from expeditions, archives or published publications,” continues Nyurgun Sulbe uola. – This research method allows even in short articles to give a fairly holistic picture of the historical phenomenon being studied. Ancient runic texts are the main source for a comprehensive study of the socio-economic life of the Turkic tribes of the 6th–8th centuries and the features of their social system.
Many scientists note that problems relating to the origin of the Turks, the characteristics of their social organization, stages of settlement and movement, are of great importance not only in the context of the history of Central Asia and Siberia, but also the world. It is the analytical, scrupulous study and use of various sources that will allow us to consider the history of Eurasia as a single holistic process.

Atypical for Siberia
Yakut runic writings are currently the least studied linguistically in Siberia; they cause heated discussions among runologists and Turkologists. In recent decades, more and more new finds have been discovered on the territory of the republic. Now the total number is approaching 90.
Most of the runic monuments of Yakutia have not yet been deciphered. All of them, already known and newly discovered, are not carefully documented using modern technical means and require cataloging, which hinders the organization of their protection. According to Evgeniy Gorokhov, an employee of the NEFU Museum of Writing, these days it is important to record and preserve for science these priceless monuments of runic writing, since many inscriptions have already been irretrievably lost due to human activity, for example, during the construction of roads, due to rock falls and stones or spoiled by ignorant contemporaries. The incompleteness of developments in the field of reading many inscriptions in Yakutia is due to the poor preservation of some of them, as well as due to the presence of a number of signs that are atypical for the ancient Turkic runic monuments of Siberia.
The writing of Turkic runic monuments in Yakutia is characterized by great variability in the graphemes used. The abundance of variants of individual characters and the presence of additional “atypical” runes make it possible to distinguish different schools of ancient writing. In addition, on the territory of the republic not only traces of historical runes are observed, but also the further development of runic writing can be traced.

The main god of ancient Iceland - autocrat Odin was a ruler and a wizard at the same time. He was more of a wizard than a ruler, I must admit... One day, Odin left the bright land and set off on a lonely Path - to the very foundation of the World. The time has come to master the Secret and give it to people - to make their lives easier...

Odin's path lay to the roots of the World Tree - to the immortal backbone of the worlds - the ash tree Yggdrasil. Having crucified himself on this World Tree, Odin hung in the interworld.

On the appointed day, out of nowhere - divine runes - the ancient magical alphabet of the Celts - appeared to him. Language is the blood and sweat of the people, but also its medicine, and if necessary, then its weapon. The language of runes is still spoken by gray mossy stones - the boulders of the North.

Healers and poets speak the language of runes. We, too, will speak to you in the language of ancient runes. Runes are predictors of fate and teachers-mentors on the path of Life. He who knows the keys of ancient speech also knows the keys of Meaning. The fog is dispelled by runes.

This rune is like a “lawless comet” “in the circle of calculated luminaries.” Breaks into the established order, dispels the stale air. There is a lot of fresh air in this rune. From this, wings begin to grow.

If an empty rune is given a lined sheet - she always writes across - she is outraged by someone’s lined spaces, she values ​​​​her “emptiness”.

Empty - royal rune, “carte blanche”! Previously, kings gave ambassadors a blank stamped paper with the signature at the bottom: “I authorize, King!” Write whatever you want there, go for it. Everything is paid for!

Houses and walls help. It was not for nothing that the giant Antaeus fell with his chest to his mother, the Earth, in order to gain magical strength for battle. An offensive will be confident when there is somewhere to retreat - under the protection of a good, strong rear. For many it’s simple – home, parents, small homeland...

Here it is important to understand - whose children are we after all and where is our homeland? Some will be satisfied with the answer in the most literal sense, in the sense of metrics, while others will look for their relatives and homeland in more intricate ways. It is common for a person to be born twice: the first time from the mother, the second time from the spirit. Where were you born for the second time?

Family inheritance sometimes acts as a family “curse”. Some inherit the talents and palaces of their glorious ancestors, while others inherit the junk and long-standing family feuds of their own. Nevertheless, we ourselves take the load of dusty rubbish into our own hands with greed and a falsely understood honor - we can refuse the inheritance. “Family Vices and Fate” is a vile fiction! We are connected with our Family only in part, we are under its influence solely of our own will - after all, you and I are all, first of all, children of God, do not forget this.

Long live the sun, may the darkness disappear! Do not forget that runes are a gift from the northern peoples, and for them the coming day means the long-awaited death of the six-month polar night. Death to the giant Hiisi! Taking this rune in a more reduced and comical version, you can safely exclaim: “The ice has broken, gentlemen of the jury, the ice has broken!” All the animals attached bows to their tails!

However, this same rune can be very harsh towards those who, during the polar night, were not on the side of Good and Light and gave up. The Snow Queen may also not like the fact that her icy palaces are collapsing under the influence of the ardent love of some funny Gerda. And in general, the sight of collapsing palaces, no matter whose they are, can frighten anyone. Sometimes, even the “gerds” themselves...

Tie all your “property” into a bundle, count it and don’t waste time. For there is a time to scatter stones and there is a time to gather stones. Now is the time to collect and evaluate from a jeweler. Wait for the right moment to appear in public to scatter your treasures around, but for now, just revise, re-evaluate, recount, repair and restore them, replace unsuitable specimens and prepare for the “formation review” of the remaining ideal ones. How many guns do you have? Are you ready to answer this question? And which of them shoot without missing?..

Hide for a while so that after a while you can return and stun.

Water has one function that we, modern people, forget about - transport! Well, did you remember our ancestors?! Who perceived river arteries as the main and only ones - Roads! (And the earthly roads we are accustomed to did not exist before the Romans - the world was covered with forests and swamps)... Now we, who have remembered everything, will understand this by no means meaningless expression: “go with the flow.” Surrender to the Flow! It’s good to go with the flow when you are carried along by the cheerfully murmuring waters of a river connecting different lands. And even... different worlds.

The water boils under the oars,

The steering wheel will not shake in your hand.

Along the morning river

It’s better to stay on the shore and let them call you a “land rat”! Carrying a boat on yourself and walking is not the worst thing!

After all, ahead along the river there is a funnel, a whirlpool. The funnel spins the boat in place, or even drags it to the bottom. Before sending the whole boat further, throw a sliver - won’t the river spin it, won’t it greedily devour it, sucking it into itself with a guttural sound?

You can expect to meet a “black hole man” - who stupidly absorbs the matter of the Universe and gives nothing back. The same “funnel”, but on a cosmic scale. Let at the right moment a saving sacrificial sliver be in your hands, which you don’t mind throwing into the whirlpool in order to see its true face and avoid worse losses. At some point, it’s useful to walk with your feet or just hang out on the bank - inactive, but safe!

Rune of initiation and rebirth. The time has come to get to know yourself and answer the question: “Who is “I” and how do I differ so significantly from other people?” We take a chisel in our hands and begin to cut off excess pieces from a block of marble so that the “statue” of our self-created Personality is at least a little like Michelangelo’s David. The greatness of the idea.

It's time to send yourself to school for the second time.

All sorts of Obstacles stand in the way of the Hero during his initiation - this is how it is in fairy tales. But all these obstacles are taken from the head of the hero himself and do not concern anyone else. The darkness will dissipate as soon as we understand that the world mirrors our inner world. Obstacles are our own, temporarily materialized, dark sides of our personality. By consistently defeating all “objections,” we defeat the pitiful dragons within ourselves. We ourselves are what we say about the world. In a “low”, clownish version, the rune teaches the obstinate: “You are a fool!”

This rune will add the missing “horsepower” to you in order to make a leap that surpasses human strength and move to a more favorable position in life by making a “knight’s move.”

The symbol of the rune is a pair of horses, a metaphor for a harmonious, creative, progressive partnership. Like two horses in one harness, people who are faithful to each other and hardworking will together endure what neither a single person nor someone who has entered into a chimerical alliance with a swan, a crayfish and a pike can endure.

Don't be so upset that people are imperfect. Anyone who has accepted and fully felt this wisdom, who does not demand the impossible from people - to be ideal in relation to us, is often cheerful and satisfied with life, and therefore healthy.

It’s only a fairy tale that will soon be told, but it won’t be done soon. Where are you going in such a hurry? If you hurry, you will make people laugh. As the people say: “Everything will change ten more times”... So: unharness your horses, drunken boys. The horse also needs rest sometimes.

All the power of creativity, care, care, maintenance of life is contained in this “female”, giving birth, “wearing” and “feeding” - pitying the world - rune. Quiet beauty - the beauty of the northern birch stands against the artificial beauty of false beauties, barren and evil.

There is an expression “as affectionate as a mother.” It is clear to everyone. And it perfectly expresses the spirit of this rune. It's time to ask the question: "Has my face turned into an angry stepmother's grimace?" Who are you: mother or stepmother in relation to the Universe and all its creatures?..

You can't create anything because you don't know how to go about it. Nevertheless, there is one and only way of creation - creation of something lasting: love - even very stupid or “criminal”. What is done out of love or in the name of love or simply with love will work out by itself. What is made out of pride or hatred - in general, for the sake of empty worldly vanity - is a house of cards that is displeasing to the world.

« And God gave me courage that I never had»...

The key word of this rune is courage. For both men and women. If you don’t have courage, it will appear, and it will be given from above. If you don’t know what it is needed for - courage - in our peaceful life - there will be an opportunity to understand this. If you have courage and always have, you will be rewarded for such a rare gift and will show your heroism very soon, crowning yourself with glory.

The main thing is to firmly know what you want and what you are fighting for.

You spend your energy, like all living beings, but in the wrong way. The point is not to “don’t give your energy to anyone or anything,” but to invest it in something worthwhile.

Everything that you previously distributed, donated, took out, now direct it towards the development of your own inner world - the result will not be slow to show!

The sun warms and gives growth. The movement of affairs in Posolon is in the direction of the sun, from left to right, clockwise. Following the truth, avoiding lies and evil in all their forms. The ability to distinguish between Truth and Falsehood, to separate lambs from wolves in sheep's clothing. Good will. The rune asks a question that everyone must inevitably ask themselves: “Who am I with?”

The sun is scorching. Movement of affairs Counter-salt, against the course of the sun, counter-clockwise, deceitful direction, distortion of the truth, actions out of spite and in spite of, donkey stubbornness, blindness of pride, evil will. To act under the influence of a rune in this position is to deliberately go over to the side of evil and untruth. Destruction instead of creation. The use of individual talents to harm people and nature.

In myths: the curse of the young man Phaeton, who could not restrain his father’s solar chariot. Revolt of children against parents. The fall of Icarus, who flew to the sun on wax wings. Over-enthusiasm for “children’s toys” and vain vanity - instead of accomplishing modest good deeds for which we are called to this earth.

Priest, priest, praying King David. A man who asks for protection from Heaven, no longer relying on the changeable, treacherous earthly things.

Psalm No. 90. He who lives under the roof of the Most High rests under the shadow of the Almighty. Mystical ecstasy, a prayer for a miracle, the appearance of a sign. Ask and it will be given to you. In a reduced, secular version - the right choice of patron.

Victimization of frivolity.

A person who is defenseless in society is a fool. The one who lives “upside down”, “without a king in his head”, “somehow” is defenseless. Such people easily become victims of smart scoundrels - everything can be blamed on sloppy and forgetful fools.

Don't let yourself be fooled! Stop doing “headstands” and recklessly trusting random people. “Enough of childishness, go and reign.”

Door to Summer, “Wicket in the Wall”, magical Doors.

The rune symbolizes any portal of transformation, any qualitative changes in a person, our long-awaited access to a new level, a mysterious Invitation. Graphically, the rune depicts the mother’s womb, which means a ritual, symbolic “birth for the second time” - by passing an adult through a certain Threshold. The fallen rune warns: right now the doors are still open, they are waiting for you. In a more primitive aspect: sharp advancement up the career ladder, meeting new people from a completely different circle.

Revolutionary situation: it is no longer possible to live in the old way, the old is no longer there, but it is still unknown how to live in a new way. A situation of being stuck between the established patterns of the past and the unformed habits of the new choice.

The only answer to such a challenge is to live for today. Only those who learn to live for today become strong, calm and fearless in the face of all enemies and adversity.

Like its tree symbol - the flexible, tenacious and evergreen yew - the rune symbolizes vitality, flexibility and therefore longevity, as well as immortality in the highest sense. Turn to what is truly immortal, not subject to changing fashions. This is reliable protection in any storms of life. Something that can withstand the blows of fate. Meeting with such a person, business, idea.

The long-awaited changes will be very slow, but sure. You just need to stock up on the patience and wisdom of an experienced farmer to wait for the harvest from the sown grains without going crazy from tormenting doubts or boredom.

If something in your life has ended, sum it up - calmly, collecting a “harvest” of lessons and “conclusions”. Having summed up the results of the rounded cycle, celebrate the New Year, without repeating, if possible, the gross mistakes of the previous one.

A rune that can “freeze” any situation, any movement, any relationship, any development of affairs. The flight is cancelled, the car breaks down, a friend lets you down... If something has stopped and stalled, piling up a snowball of obstacles - thank fate, it means that this is the only way it’s better now. “Coachman, don’t drive the horses,” says the Isa rune. A snowstorm will catch you on the road, so it’s better to sit in the warmth of the inn and don’t move anywhere until the weather forecasters make a more accurate forecast.

A temporary delay that always irritates an uninformed traveler, but almost always miraculously saves his property, life, and gives him impossible chances of happiness. Sometimes you can meet your destiny by staying at home.

Runic writing was once common in Northern Europe in the 13th century, and in the Swedish province of Dalarna until the 19th century. But even today the runes are not forgotten. The attention to them is so strong that it even gives rise to pseudo-historical theories.

Runes - what are they?

Runes are the general name for symbols (letters) in the ancient Germanic and Scandinavian alphabets. It is divided into three groups - atta. Each att consists of eight runes. The first Germanic runic "alphabet" is called the Elder Futhark.

According to the phonetic correspondences of the runes of the first atta - f, u, th, a, r, k - the alphabet got its name. Runes were carved on wood and stones, and therefore formed as a set of straight strips that were convenient to knock out in hard material.

The direction of writing was mainly from left to right, although in the earliest inscriptions boustrophedon is often found (from the ancient Greek βοῦς - bull and στρέφω - I turn, like the movements of an ox in a plough). This is a way of writing in which the direction alternated depending on the parity of the line - if the first line is written from right to left, then the second - from left to right, the third - again from right to left, and when the direction changed, the letters were written in a mirror.

In total, during the research, about three thousand runic inscriptions were discovered in Sweden, and about two thousand more were discovered in the regions of Denmark, Greenland, Norway, Iceland and other northern lands.

History of runes

Having appeared among the northern peoples at the beginning of the 3rd century, runic writing received its true dawn in the Christian period of Scandinavia. Despite the widespread use of Latin languages ​​and writing, many ancient alphabets, including Old Icelandic, were preserved and used.

In addition, the runic enriched the Latin alphabet with several new letters - they denoted sounds that were not found in Latin. Even Latin-language inscriptions appeared, written in the runic alphabet. Christian prayers, or their initial words: “Pater noster” and “Ave Maria” were often written in runes.

The merger was confirmed by records of Latin words found in Sweden and Norway, indicated by runes. Often the ancient Turkic alphabet is also called runes. Due to the external similarity of the symbols on the stones, the Kök-Turkic writing, which originated in the 6th century in Siberia, and the ancient Hungarian writing, and even the hypothetical “ancient Slavic alphabet” periodically become “runes”.

Types of runes

The meaning of the word “rune” itself is close to the word “whispering” in the languages ​​of Northern Europe. The word “run” in modern Irish means “secret” or “decision” - the Irish used runes for fortune telling and decision making. But when the need for writing arose, the rune system formed the basis of the alphabet. Scientists have archaeological evidence of the connection between writing and runes. In the modern Russian alphabet there are 10 letters, in shape corresponding to the signs of the runes, and in the Roman alphabet there are 13 such letters.

During the 3rd century BC, runes spread from Denmark to Scandinavia, and subsequently to the continent. Currently, it is customary to distinguish several types of runic writing: common Germanic, Gothic, Anglo-Saxon, “Marcomannic”, Icelandic, Danish, Helsing and other runes, although similar to each other, but, according to runologists, belong to different eras and practices.

Stone notepads

The Norwegian runologist A. Listøl proved in the last century that runic writing did not confirm membership in any secret societies, but was publicly available. Examples of the use of runes as “household notes” by the 11th century include messages such as “Love me, I love you, Gunnhild, kiss me, I know you” and courier notes such as “Thorkel, the coinmaker, sends you pepper.” In medieval Europe there were also runic calendars.

Many contemporaries like to mystify ancient records, but some runes carry a meaning equal to an announcement from the housing and communal services administration at your entrance. For example, they report the construction of a bridge or the time of tax collection. Thanks to runic stones, it was possible to learn about many events that influenced the course of the history of a particular settlement, but, unfortunately, very few stone “history textbooks” contain mentions of dates. One of these stones says that “the Dreng besieged Hedeby.” It is very difficult to say for sure what year these runes are dated, because the medieval city of Hedeba was known for its wealth, which is why it was often besieged by enemies. The runes not only narrated events, but also contained attitudes towards them. This can be seen in the example of carved songs: drapa is a song of praise, nid is a blasphemous song. Moreover, the writing of nids was prohibited by law.

Rune creators

Despite the general availability of runic writing, real masterpieces of the correct form and content were created only by professional craftsmen, erils. “I call myself insidious, I call myself a raven, I, Eril, carve runes” - an inscription on a Swedish runestone of the 6th century. Modern runologists can name about 140 names of ancient masters, eliminating the work of amateurs with low quality carvings and errors in the text.

Gunnar (Kunar), who lived at the beginning of the 11th century, is considered one of the first Christian masters. Thanks to two stones signed by the master, it was possible to establish the ownership of more than forty works based on stylistic, paleographic and linguistic features. Another eril, Asmuntr Karasun, author of 22 signed rune stones from the 11th century. Another 24 to 54 stones are also attributed to him, based on the orthographic, paleographic and pictorial similarities of the works.

Russian runes

Creating Slavic writing in the 9th century, Cyril and Methodius took their native Greek alphabet as a basis. The first alphabet of the Slavs, the Glagolitic alphabet, although it contributed to the emergence of Slavic writing and the literary Old Church Slavonic language, due to the Greek writing of the letters, it was later reworked into the ancient alphabet of the Slavs, known to us as the Cyrillic alphabet.

The existence of the so-called “Slavic runes” has not been proven today. Until now, many people identify the writing of the “Book of Veles” with the Slavic runes, which is recognized by the scientific community as a hoax. In the 18th century, it was announced that “Vendish runes” had been found on figurines from the temple of Retra, but these figurines, like the “Book of Veles,” were recognized as fake.

Runes of modern times

The runes were used in the symbols of the National Socialist Party of Germany (two S runes on a black background). In total, by order of Himmler, 14 of the 24 Elder Futhark runes were used in SS symbolism, with the help of which the main stages of career advancement and personal characteristics of members of the organization were indicated.

J. R. R. Tolkien created special languages ​​for the inhabitants of Middle-earth for his books, including the “Lunar Runes” and “Kirt”, which he invented based on Futhark. Programmers probably know that runes were also used to create Unicode. Starting with Unicode 3.0, runic characters were given separate positions (16A0-16F0), and a total of 76 runic symbols were listed, including different forms of the same character depending on the runic alphabet in which it was included.