Levels of the Runes

When we speak of the Runes as expressions of vectors along which Power moves, we must understand that these vectors manifest on many different levels.

The Great Flow of Power streams through the worlds and takes on a distinct form at each of the levels of perceiving consciousness. In the same way, each Runic vector directs Power on every such level.

Take the World-flow of increase — the Power of development expressed by the Rune Fehu. On the level of the Macrocosm it appears as the Power of the Primary Fire. On the level of individual human consciousness it appears as the urge to acquire and possess, or it can appear simply as an upcoming paycheck. On the level of lower states of consciousness it appears as a herd of wildebeest racing across the savanna and stripping it bare, or as the steppe’s wild spring bloom.

Therefore, when you use the Runes as a Magical or Mantic instrument, you must remember that these vectors have many manifestations that demand attention. Berkana can mean the Universal Protective Power, or mother-goddesses, or a person’s mother, or simply the birch outside the window. And Tiwaz can mean the Balance of the World Law, or masculinity in its pure expression, or the god Tyr (or Khoros), or even the policeman who lives next door.

The same holds for all the other Runes. Hagalaz can mean nothing more than heavy rain with hail or snow, and Isa can mean a cold snap.

When you engage with Runic vectors, you must try to grasp their first principle: the most general description of the guiding force they express.

The great art of Galdr lies in identifying the Runes’ proto-vector and tracing the axis of analogies along which it manifests, establishing the greatest possible number of manifestations of this vector across the greatest possible number of levels and aspects.

Do not neglect the lowest manifestations of this Power, the literal meaning of the Runes, because the names of Runic symbols were given on the basis of the most visible manifestations of the Powers that stand behind them.

Whatever level of Runic manifestation a Magus gravitates toward, he must not forget the other levels. When he focuses on the heights of Spirit, he must not forget the lower world. When he observes the world of concrete manifestations, he must also rise to the cloud-high peaks of all-consciousness.

Only in this way, rising and descending,

«Ascendit a terra in coelum, iterumque descendit in terram, et recipit vim superiorum et inferiorum.»

the Magus unites the universe in his consciousness and expands himself to the measure of all that exists.

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