The Runes: The Second Aett

The second aett of the elder (or Germanic) futhark is known as Heimdall's Aettir.
The eight runes which make up Heimdall's Aettir, give a story-line similar to
the story of the Major Arcana of the tarot, in that it contains two falls.
The story appears at the end of the lesson.

Hoel sound: "H" number: 1 color: White

This rune is a symbol of the weapons of the frost giants:
hail, ice, frost and winter. The very things that make the frost giants such a
threat. During the long winters, the Scandinavian people would often hole up
indoors for the entire winter. This meant, of course, long months of boredom
trapped in the same room with several other people. Out of that boredom a
tendency to pranks and outright nastiness could emerge. As such, it is the rune
of that lesser part of all of us. With its placement as the first rune of
Heimdall's Aettir, this rune of the trickster also symbolizes the overcoming of
those urges through meditative silence, as Heimdall is a god given to this very
thing. The prankster nature of Loki is then, defeated by the silent nature of
the watcher, Heimdall. In Norse mythology, there was a great deal of
interbreeding between men, gods and giants. As such, this is the rune of the
little bit of giant in all of us.

Face up: a need for struggle and effort in order to win a victory

Face down: a self-imposed defeat, but that defeat may be a blessing in
disguise, and a necessary step to an even greater victory

Nyd sound: "N" number: 2 color: Blue

Nyd is a rune of the internal power that makes the impossible possible. It is a
rune of individual strength, of the sudden rush of personal power that enables one
to win through in a crisis. It can also be seen as the coming of orlog (destiny)to
set things right.

Face up: victory, triumph, and great success are at hand, they need only to be grasped

Face down: powerful opponents who can be overcome, avoid the doomsayers and false counsel,
the power to overcome is there, but problems need to be solved one small piece at a time.

Isa sound: "I" number: 3 color: Black

Isa is the spear, in all its forms including the staff or wand. The spear is a
symbol of masculinity, just as the cauldron is a symbol of femininity.
The spear is also the symbol of authority, power and command. Isa is very much
a rune of victory through meeting challenges head-on.

Face up: divine justice and authority in the face of trouble, no matter what
anyone does to you, they can not take away your honor, act with the thought
that justice is invincible and it will show itself so

Face down: negotiation may achieve more than conflict,look to the strength
of friends to help you but remember that to have a friend you must be a friend,
be careful not to make enemies where there were none before

Ger sound: "Y" number: 4 color: Brown

This rune represents the wheel of the year. This is the cycle of both seasons and
of life, from birth to death to rebirth. When speaking of the wheel of the year,
one thinks, of course of the harvest leading to the planting of the new crop,
and to the next harvest. This is then, also a pleasant symbol of community activity
and sharing. Ger lacks the tit-for-tat aspect of Gyfu, but is an expansive,
two-way hospitality, with nothing asked in return. Of course, this sort of
hospitality hints at prosperity, but not in the way of the wealth of Feoh. The
prosperity of Ger is one born of harmony with nature, and the rewards of right action,
and the long term harvest of things planted in their proper time.

Face up: a time of harvest, just rewards for past actions are near at hand, this could
be a little disturbing if one has not been leading a balanced life - there are bad
harvests sometimes, but this is not the main idea behind this rune, it is mainly a joyful
rune

Face down: the time for harvests is a long way off, now is the time to plant the seeds
that will grow, after this the work can slow down, know that work is never done, but one
must rest during the slow periods

Eoh sound: between "E" and "I" number: 5 color: Green

Eoh is representative of the yew, a tree sacred to runecraft. The yew is an evergreen,
embodying eternal life, but humans are barred from that in a physical sense, by the fact
that the needles of the yew are poisonous. So Eoh is a rune of the natural limits of life.
There are things which we cannot achieve as humans, and it is a waste of precious time and
resources to try to accomplish those things. Just as Gyfu embodies the idea that "a gift
demands a gift," Eoh embodies the saying "better not to pledge than to pledge overmuch."
This is a symbol of natural restriction, as opposed to the unnatural limits of Hoel.
This defines the static boundaries within which we work in this lifetime, and within which
great things can be accomplished.

Face up:
the greatest achievements of all
humanity could all be summed in the span of man's hand, do not seek either too much or too
little, do not think too lightly of your limits as they leave room for opportunities to
grow and succeed - if you grasp them

Face down: emotional instability, fooling yourself more than others, to succeed
you must know yourself and have the mastery of yourself, begin a journey of inner
exploration

Poerdh sound: "P" number: 6 color: Red

Poerdh is the funeral mound, the final boundary of human life. It is a
rune of death, a change in the state of being, but not in the same sense as Rad
or the tarot card "Death." Poerdh carries with it a sense of finality, failure
and loss. The Norse led a very difficult life, and the loss of a loved one was
always a very near possibility. This is a symbol of the grave, of things or
people moving on beyond us, where we cannot follow just yet.

Face up upright: a time of crisis, an emergency and need for immediate action, and
also a time for judgement, the decisions made in this time will affect your life
for a long time to come - choose wisely and carefully

Face up reversed: stagnation, infertility, decay, may indicate the loss of someone
close(whether through growing apart, moving whatever)

Face down upright: defeat, chaos, dissipation, a warning to stick to the essentials,
some things are not worth fighting for since they add nothing to the summing up of
your life

Face down reversed: chaos, defeat, destruction, trying to avoid
your fate can put you in even greater hardship, if you have put yourself in an
unsteady position give in to the balancing forces of the universe - face your
fate and led the unbalanced fall so that you can start fresh

Eohl sound: "Z" number: 7 color: Purple

Probably the best known of the runes, Eohl is a sign of protection from hostile
forces. As elsewhere in the runes, a rune of danger (Thorn, Rad, Hoel, Poerdh)
is placed next to a rune of protective or higher powers (Os, Ken, Nyd, and Eohl,
respectively.) Note that Eohl is not necessarily a protection from evil forces,
just hostile forces (which could include things such as fire or winter storms as
well as people who intend to defame your character of embarrass you, etc.)

Face up upright: health, pleasure, an unbeatable position of success, being on top
of the world

Face up reversed: a reminder to put yourself in others' shoes before turning your
hand away from them, even when their problems are self-imposed they may need help
from others to get back on their feet

Face down upright: dishonesty and deceitful gain, possibly a warning to change
your ways but more likely a warning to watch out for someone trying to cheat
you, look over all contracts and agreements (even verbal ones) carefully before
signing or agreeing to them

Face down reversed: you have let your defenses down too far, build up your defenses
in preparation for hard times which may be personal (like a family emergency)or
impersonal (like a recession), build yourself physically and work out a stress-relief
plan to use in the hard times which may be coming

Sighel sound: "S" number: 8 color: Yellow

Sighel is the rune of the sun, a symbol of salvation, protection on a spiritual
level and the forces of light prepared against those of darkness. While Ken is
harnessed or controlled power, and Os is controlling power, the power that Sighel
embodies is transcendent, passing through and touching all things. It is the power
that remains after Ragnarok, that of new life.

Face up: a just reward, achievement, the ability to succeed is there if you just
bring it out, good luck, an all-around symbol for good luck and happiness

Face down: an imbalance caused by either having "too many irons in the fire" or by
relying too heavily one on force or aspect of things, decide which things are important
and pull away from the rest in order to devote full energy and attention to those things.

This page updated 2005
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