Healing whispers, where mind, body and soul are one
Runes
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Runes are the characters of ancient alphabets: Teutonic (24 letters), Anglo-Saxon (32 letters), and Scandinavian (16 letters). Runic characters are similar to Latin letters, except that they tend to have few curves and consist mostly of straight lines, suitable for carving with knives. Runic letters were used for over one thousand years. |
For most people, the runic alphabet died out sometime between the 13th and 16th centuries. But for those special New Age people with one foot in the world of secrets and the other in the world of mysteries, runes are used as a form of divination.*
The Norse used Runic characters mostly for practical
purposes, such as marking graves, identifying property, or for
defacing other's graves and property with graffiti, such as at
Maes Howe in Orkney. New Agers ignore these uses and prefer to
side with superstitious 12th century Norsemen and women who
thought they could see the future in alphabetic characters on
wood or stone. Somehow, the image of Viking warriors,
worshippers of Thor and Odin, kneeling down to cast runes to
decide whether or not to invade Ireland, seems incongruous.
The word 'rune' derives from the Old Norse and Old English run
which means "mystery." The real mystery is why anyone would
think that writing the letters of an alphabet on little pieces
of wood or stone, putting them in a bag, and then drawing them
out and throwing them or laying them down in certain ways, would
answer their questions, give them direction for the present,
guide them to see the future or help them make good decisions.
Runes may have gotten their reputation for being tools of
divination when Christian Church leaders claimed they were used
to cast magic spells or communicate with the devil. Many New
Agers seem to like Tolkein, so the fact that his Hobbits used a
kind of runes in their writing may have enhanced the association
of runic letters with magic and mystery.
The good doctor is giving new meaning not only to his life but
to science as well. Nevertheless, he says he has found rune
reading to be "transformational" and leading to "breakthroughs",
which are common goals of New Agers.
How is it that random alphabetic stone selection can be so
useful? Easy. Anything can be a source of transformation and
breakthrough if you decide to let it be. Runes, tarot cards, the
I Ching, enneagrams, Myers-Briggs....anything can be used to
stimulate self-reflection and self-analysis. Anything can be
used to justify coming to a decision about an unresolved matter.
Coming to a decision brings relief, reduces anxiety, and may
well seem like a breakthrough and transformation. Using
something like rune stones to help make your decision relieves
you of responsibility for it. The choice was made for you by the
stones and your subconscious mind, so you are off the hook if
anything goes wrong. Furthermore, since there is no standard
interpretation of any of this stuff, you can always change your
initial interpretation to fit new facts or desires.
