Meditations on FA: Arising from the Ginnungagap

With this meditation, I find myself returning to the beginning of the Futhorkh. No longer are these meditations required coursework, but rather the insights of an initiated Rune Master. Along the way, I found many of the runes difficult to understand. They were made so both by what I knew and by what I had yet to learn. Perhaps the greatest challenge was to unlearn what was incorrect and to let go of cherished illusions. Lao Tzu wrote, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” What better words to launch our journey of FA. Written on 11 July 2021.

*********

To understand the meanings of the various runes is more challenging than most readers would think or most authors of rune books would have us believe. Those on the Armanen path recognize that simple stand-alone words are insufficient in providing the true meaning of the mysteries that are runes. I have embraced a method that includes study and meditation as well as actual work with the rune in question to arrive at a place of understanding. The key primary sources that we have at our disposal are the Hávamál, the Old English Rune Poem (OERP), the Norwegian Rune Poem (NRP), and the Icelandic Rune Poem (IRP). Along with these sources, I consider the relevant passages from the Eddas and the Sagas and the writings of the rune masters who have tread this path before me. I have come to the conclusion that the rune poems present a special challenge, not only due to the obscurity of the language used, but because later Christian poets may have purposefully distorted the meanings of the runes in question.[1] Challenges also present themselves by way of translation. I have found, at times, great variation in translation of key words and phrases. To help address such issues, the Armanist is advised to review multiple translations, and where possible the text in its original language. Finally, while the Rune Masters are critical to read for mastery of the runes, students will discover that they are not always in agreement with each other, and as bold as it may sound, not always correct.

Perhaps solving the secrets of the runes is not so much about finding answers to the mysteries, but rather the process of self-discovery. My meditations have revealed that each rune is truly multi-faceted. There is both a simple exoteric explanation and a complex esoteric answer to each. I have found that the runes also relate to each other. Therefore, one only comes to a complete understanding when considering the rune as part of a set—sometimes this may be a pair of runes or a grouping of three or more, or the entire Futhorkh itself. The order too is of great relevance. As I consider the entire Futhorkh, I see a story revealed with a clear beginning, middle and end. The story contained in the runes may be said to actually be several stories –or to have several applications or meanings. One may discover a Norse chronological tale that takes us from the dawn of time in Ginnungagap to the heavenly rebirth of Gimle. We may also recognize in such a story that of our own lives from birth through life to rebirth. Finally, for the Armanist seeking mastery of the runes, the runic tale may be an instructive course that teaches the meanings of the runes and maps a path of discovery and wisdom that each of us may explore not only for understanding but for personal growth and transformation.

As I have revealed much of both my thinking and my method, it is best then to embark on my journey with the rune FA, the fiery potential that lights the way for all that is to come.

For the Armanist, the section of the Hávamál known as Rúnatáls-þáttr-Óðins “Odins Rune Song” is of utmost importance. Guido von List discovered the relationship between these verses and the runes and explained, “the song presents characterizations of the eighteen runes with mystical interpretations. When these strophes are paired with the names of the runes, they enlighten us in a very special way and essentially provide the solution of the ‘secret of the runes.’”[2] Karl Hans Welz translates the relevant Hávamál verse 146 as follows:

“I know the songs that no wise one knows
And none of the children of men
The first song is Help. Help it will
Against anguish, sorrows, and all distress!”[3]

To gain clarity around how FA may help “against anguish, sorrows, and all distress,” I consider first the OERP. There we read,

“Wealth[4] is a comfort to any man / yet each person must share it out well / if he wants to win a good name before his lord.”[5]

Externally, the form of this wealth could come as several authors, following List,[6] have indicated in livestock –which would equate to mobile or transferable wealth. In the later rune poems NRP and IRP, the wealth that once was a comfort and helped with all forms of strife, takes on a negative tone, “Wealth causes kinsmen’s strife,”[7] and “Wealth is kinsmen’s strife and sea’s flame and serpent’s way.”[8] These verses, which both date from the Christian era, may distort the original idea and substitute a key Christian doctrine “For the love of money is the root of all evil.”[9]

It is important to recall however that even the OERP speaks of the importance of sharing the wealth. There are several stories in the lore that may be relevant to this concept, but foremost among them is likely contained in the pages of The Saga of the Volsungs. There we read how the dwarf Fafnir turned himself into a dragon with the sole purpose of hoarding an enormous hoard of gold. Fafnir’s gold-lust even results in his murder of his father to obtain the treasure for himself.

“Fafnir became so ill-natured that he set out for the wilds and allowed no one to enjoy the treasure but himself. He has since become the most evil serpent and lies now upon this hoard.”[10]

Shortly thereafter, the great Germanic hero Sigurd kills Fafnir. The dragon’s enormous wealth is ultimately of no help whatsoever. The importance or true value of livestock, gold, money or wealth in general is therefore strictly in its potential. The mythical giants and dragons that hoard gold and treasures accomplish nothing with their tremendous wealth. The real value of such wealth is in its potential to be used – whether to acquire goods or services, or to provide gifts (“share it out well”).

Beyond the exoteric message well conveyed by the tale of Fafnir, FA has a deeper esoteric meaning of great significance to the budding rune magician. FA may be said to represent the internal “wealth,” “worth,” or “potential” of each person. FA also represents a primordial fire. Etymologically, List associates FA with “fire-generation.” The concept of primordial fire or fire-generation may on the surface seem at odds with the concept of wealth, but makes its association through the concept of “potential.” Mythologically we turn to the formation of the multiverse following the Ginnungagap. Ultimately, the Ginnungagap was about potential. It was not particularly useful as a “yawning gap” but gained its creative potential when the worlds of Muspelheim and Niflheim (the forces of creative fire and ice) collided. FA then is the potential prior to the manifestation. While many consider the story of the Ginnungagap macrocosmically, we must learn to also apply such ideas at a personal, microcosmic level.[11] Following this idea, Karl Welz writes, “FA teaches me that I am the creative potential of my universe. FA teaches me that I am the spark that sets creation in motion.”[12]

Considering FA as part of the Futhorkh, it is not only the first rune but also part of an aett (family or set) of six runes. I have found it very useful to apply List’s formula of Entstehen- Sein – Vergehen zum neuen Entstehen (“Arising – Being – Passing away to new arising”) to my understanding of the runes. The first aett then is associated with “Arising,” the second with “Being,” and the final aett with “Passing away to new arising.” The overall message then of the runes of the first aett is one of arising. At the very beginning of this grouping we have FA. In FA we arise and begin to fulfill our potential.

If we consider the runes as a grand course of self-instruction, FA indicates that the student beginning on the Armanist path must first show signs of potential. Welz in his "Song of FA" writes, “Rune of the beginning! You mark the beginning of my new path to mastery of the unlimited powers of the Runes.”[13] FA is at once the beginning, and the place at which students of the runes begin their journey.

To FA, List applies the motto, “Generate your luck and you will have it!”[14] We begin to understand the power of our positivity and the impact that we have on the subjective and objective universe through FA. Our personal creative ability and positive outlook enables us to generate our luck rather than being a victim of blind fate or karmic debt. Our personal creative ability is our comfort. It is not ultimately gold or wealth that helps with all sorrows and strife, but rather the fulfillment and realization of our potential.

Notes:

1. I have explored this topic at greater length in my article, “The Challenge of the Runes” at: https://talesfromtheironwood.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-challenge-of-runes.html 

2. Guido von List, The Secret of the Runes, trans. Stephen E. Flowers (Rochester, VT: Destiny Books, 1988), 49. 

3. Karl Hans Welz, Letter of Instructions # 1: The Rune FA. https://runemagick.com/rune_magic01.html 

4. The Old English term that is the equivalent to FA is FEOH. 

5. Stephen Pollington, Rudiments of Runelore (Cambridgeshire, UK: Anglo-Saxon Books: 2011), 45. 

6. In Das Geheimnis der Runen (The Secret of the Runes), List utilizes an etymological method to determine rune meaning. He associates FA with livestock [Vieh] and with property. As these concepts are not mentioned in any of the rune poems, it follows that contemporary authors have borrowed either directly or indirectly from List’s insight. 

7. Pollington, 52 

8. Pollington, 54. 

9. 1 Timothy 6:10 

10. Jesse L. Byock trans., The Saga of the Volsungs (New York: Penguin Books, 1999), 59. 

11. This is not to suggest that the microcosmic application is more true than the macrocosmic, but rather that each is true and are reflective of each other. The relationship between microcosm and macrocosm is a key magical principle. In his Magick, Liber ABA, Book Four, Aleister Crowley explains, “There is a single main definition of the object of all magical ritual. It is the uniting of the Microcosm with the Macrocosm.” 

12. Welz. 

13. Welz. 

14. Von List, 50.