Meditations on IS: Crossing Bifröst

This essay finally took form in the closing days of 2021, being completed on December 30. I see that I began recording my thoughts on IS some two and a half years ago. Certainly my ideas have evolved over that time. While many Runemasters begin their exercises with IS, and with it falling ninth in Futhorkh order, it is revealing to me that it is the sixteenth of my written rune meditations. It appears that I could not have written it any sooner than I have.

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I begin my meditations on the ninth rune, IS by considering Hávamál verse 154. Here Odin reveals how he uses this rune to calm raging seas.

“A ninth one is mine:
If danger is out in the sea
To protect my good ship
I conjure the wind on the billowing floods
And I sing into slumber the sea.”[1]

The exoteric meaning of the ninth rune is ice. Upon reading this verse, it immediately comes to mind that through the process of freezing, waves and running water become still. Guido Von List had this same thought, “Through the ‘doubtless consciousness of personal spiritual power’ the waves are bound—‘made to freeze’ –they stiffen as if ice.”[2] Von List understood, from an esoteric perspective, that this verse describes emotional turmoil and the ability through will to control it. He writes, “All of life is obedient to the compelling will.”[3] Continuing this theme, Karl Hans Welz explains that Hávamál 154 is “a clear reference to the four elements that the hermit[4] has to master so he or she can reach the goal of Oneness with the Higher Self.”[5] He goes on to describe the objects of this verse in terms of the elements:

“The ship, being solid, refers to the material plane, the earth element, or consciousness. The wind is the mind, or the air element, while the floods refer to the emotions, or the water element. The billowing floods refer to emotions that are stirred up by thought that attaches itself to futile objects of the external world and to illusions. These illusions are the result of your identifying the mapping of your perception with the object itself.”[6]

To gain greater clarity on the meaning of IS, I turn to the standard rune poems. The relevant Norwegian Rune Poem (NRP) verse is:

“Ice we call a broad bridge;
a blind man needs to be led.”[7]

The Old English Rune Poem (OERP) uses similar imagery. It describes IS as a “floor made of frost.”

“Ice is too cold and extremely slippery / glass-clear
it glistens most like gems / a floor
made of frost, fair in appearance.”[8]

Considering these verses from the perspective of Germanic spirituality, the frozen bridge imagery immediately brings to mind Bifröst–the Rainbow Bridge that connects the earthly world of Midgard (ON: Miðgarðr) with Asgard (ON: Ásgarðr), the world of the gods. In his Gylfaginning (“The Tricking of Gylfi”) Snorri Sturluson describes Bifröst:

“Has no one ever told you that the gods built a bridge to heaven from earth called Bifröst? You must have seen it, maybe it is what you call the rainbow. It has three colors and great strength and is built with art and skill to a greater extent than other constructions.”[9]

Bifröst is called the foremost of bridges.[10] But Bifröst is no ordinary bridge; it connects material existence with spiritual existence. All who have attempted meditation as a method to gain access to the spiritual realm experience the “noise” of their unquieted mind. In Yoga the concept to quiet such noise is called pratyahara (“withdrawal of the senses).[11] The goal of pratyahara is to slow and silence the distractions of the mind. As new practitioners of this method attempt to calm or “freeze” their emotions, they almost certainly find the process to be difficult –quite “slippery” indeed. Just when we think we have slumbered our emotions and thoughts, they erupt fiercely once again. No matter how fair that frosty floor may appear, it is quite easy to slip and fall.

The IS rune then is one that connects man with the gods. It bridges the gap between the Earth-bound material plane (Midgard) and the spiritual plane (Asgard). The Runemasters of the 1920s and ‘30s often described IS with what was then a technical and contemporary term, an “antenna.” Radio was in its infancy during this era –so utilization of such a metaphor not only sounded “modern” but also provided a scientific explanation. Siegfried Kummer wrote in 1932 for example this description of the Rune Yoga position for IS, “the student should not forget that in the I-rune position he consciously projects himself as a living antenna into a sea of currents (waves) that give him spiritual power.”[12] Karl Hans Welz continued to use the antenna imagery in his "Song of IS" from the 1990s:

“IS -- Connecting with Heaven and Earth, I am antenna for the rays of original power.”[13]

Rudolf John Gorsleben described IS in similar terms, albeit sans the antenna metaphor, “The IS rune…connects the human with that which is of the heavens.”[14] He also wrote, “This rune connects us with the All-God, the God of the universe.”[15] Edred Thorsson also utilized bridge imagery to describe IS. Emphasizing the psychological term “ego,” often associated with IS (“ich”), he explained:

“The ego is the chief bridge between man and the gods, but this is indeed a slippery and dangerous bridge. If the ego is seen as an end in itself, rather than a passage to a higher self, the process of development can be doomed.”[16]

While not identifying Bifröst directly, Karl Welz also highlighted the I-rune’s connection between Runemaster and heavenly divine powers:

“IS -- With IS, I direct cosmic streams from above to below, and from below to above. IS is my will which brings cosmic forces to manifest in the material planes.”

“IS -- Beyond space-time, I am timelessly connected with the Divine power which rules the universe. IS brings this power to manifest. I am drawing power from the deepest depths, from the spheres of the Earth, and from the highest heights, from the spheres of superior worlds, from both sources of spiritual and psychic life.”[17]

Applying these concepts to the bridge that connects Midgard with Asgard, perhaps finally we solve the mystery of how King Gylfi traveled to Asgard in Snorri’s Gylfaginning. Gylfi’s journey would have been impossible unless his journey was an internal or spiritual one.[18]

One of the few authors who makes the direct association of the I-rune with Bifröst is Paul Rhys Mountfort who notes that in the Viking era ice served the function of freezing vast stretches of water enabling them to be crossed. He writes,

“This connects ISA with Norse mythology’s Bifröst Bridge, the mother of all bridges, also known as the rainbow bridge, a mystical pathway that connects Midgard and Asgard and is guarded by the god Heimdall.”[19]

He continues,

“When you think about it, a rainbow is merely a vaporized form of water—as doubtless the pagan Norse could observe when the sun shone on their pristine waterfalls—and is ultimately made of the same stuff as ice. Bifröst allows gods to travel to Middle Earth to walk and talk with men and women, and it may similarly allow us glimpses of the domain of the gods.”[20]

Strangely, when we explore the Eddic texts we find that Bifröst is often associated with fire. In Gylfaginning Gylfi/Gangleri asks if fire burns over Bifröst. He is told,

“The red you see in the rainbow is burning fire. The frost-giants and mountain-giants would go up into heaven if Bifröst was crossable by everyone that wanted to go. There are many beautiful places in heaven and everywhere there has divine protection around it.”[21]

The association of the rainbow bridge with “burning fire” is unexpected to the modern mind with our more scientific understanding of what a rainbow is. For the ancient Norse, we know that ice was considered the opposite of fire. In fact, Nordic cosmogony describes a great collision of the worlds of fire and ice in the great void of Ginnungagap that gave rise to life. Considering IS’s position within the Futhorkh, we find it to be the ninth rune of eighteen. The first set of nine runes is bookended by FA representing primal fire and IS representing ice. With IS, these diametrically opposed elements come together in a way that, on one hand provide a bridge to the higher world, and on the other establish a mechanism to prevent some from crossing that selfsame bridge. Fire is used in a similar fashion to protect the valkyrie, Sigrdrifa as she lay sleeping until the brave hero Sigurd passes.[22]

The Eddas make it clear that the bridge between worlds requires defense. That chore is the primary responsibility of the god Heimdall, chief guardian of Bifröst. Snorri describes Heimdall in this way:

“He is known as the white As. He is great and holy. Nine maidens bore him as their son, all of them sisters. He is also called Hallinskidi and Gullintanni: his teeth were of gold. His horse is call Gulltopp. He lives in a place called Himinbiorg by Bifröst. He is the gods’ watchman and sits there at the edge of heaven to guard the bridge against the mountain giants.”[23]

In addition to his role as guardian of Bifröst, Heimdall provides warning to the Aesir by blowing the mighty Gjallarhorn to signal the beginning of Ragnarök. Notably, Snorri describes Bifröst shattering when the hordes of Muspell attempt to cross it.

“And strong as it is, yet it will break when Muspell’s lads go and ride it, and their horses will have to swim over great rivers.”[24]

When “Muspell’s lads” –Muspelheim is a world of fire --shatter Bifröst, they are forced to swim over great rivers to arrive at their destination. The Grímnismál (‘The Lay of Grimnir”) describes a similar situation for Thor. While the rest of the Aesir cross Bifröst each day, seemingly without issue, Thor must wade across four rivers to reach Yggdrasil from Asgard:

“Kormt and Ormt and the Kerlaugs twain
Shall Thor each day wade through,
(When dooms to give he forth shall go
To the ash-tree Yggdrasil;)
For heaven’s bridge burns all in flame,
And the sacred waters seethe.”[25]

As I have discussed elsewhere,[26] throughout the Eddas, bodies of water symbolize an etheric plane that must be crossed to reach the various worlds where deities or beings reside. Thor seems to either lack some spiritual ability that would enable him to cross Bifröst or possess some physical—perhaps Thurs-like –quality that would “break” Bifröst should he cross it.

Returning to Heimdall, the Eddas provide us with limited understanding of Bifröst’s guardian. Passages that refer to him are often challenging to interpret. We are told for example that he was born of “nine maidens,” his sword is named Hǫfuð ("man-head"), and that he lives in a hall called Himinbjorg (“Heaven’s castle”). It is enlightening to ponder Heimdall’s association to Bifröst from a runic perspective. Could it be for example that the “nine mothers” of Heimdall refer to the first nine runes of the Futhorkh? Heimdall lives in the hall Himinbiorg that is right beside the Bifröst—therefore adjacent to IS. While we typically group the runes in three aetts, we may also divide them into two sets of nine. Heimdall may then be said to be born of the first nine runes from FA through IS –representing the material plane. He is also the guardian, not only of spiritual travel to Asgard, but also symbolically of the nine runes that follow. As we explore the second set of nine, we shall see that runes ten through eighteen –from AR through GIBOR –address the higher spiritual plane.

While this idea may seem fantastic, the Rígsþula (“The Lay of Rig”[27]) makes several references to Heimdall’s use of the runes and understanding of runic lore. Might the following verse from Rígsþula be a veiled reference to the eighteen-rune Futhorkh?

“He made himself master of manors eighteen,
gan share his wealth and shower it on all.”[28]

References to Heimdall’s sword Hǫfuð (“man-head”) may also be revealing. The Skaldskaparmal (“The Language of Poetry”) reveals that Heimdall “was struck through with a man’s head.”[29] While a “man’s head” is a strange kenning for a sword, we might better understand the imagery if we consider the mind as sharp and piercing. Heimdall’s sword may then be the mind. This would further suggest the spiritual or mental aspects of travel between worlds and Heimdall’s role as the guardian of such pathways.

Continuing to study the runes sequentially, we find that we have moved in the second aett from HAGAL, representative of the world-tree Yggdrasil, to NOD where we find the Norns weaving man’s fate beside the ash, to IS. Considering the seventh through ninth runes, the Eddic narrative of the Futhorkh continues quite plainly:

“The third root of the ash (Yggdrasil) extends to heaven, and beneath that root is a well which is very holy, called Weird’s (one of the Norns) well. There the gods have their court. Every day the Aesir ride there over Bifröst. It is also called As-bridge.”[30]

Looking back to THORN, the third rune of the initial aett, we recall its association with unbridled runic energy. In THORN we understand the power and the dangers that wielding uncontrolled runic energy can result in. We must learn to control THORN and use it positively and creatively, a concept revealed with OS. Similarly with IS we must seek balance. There is great power in personal ego or will but it can also represent hazards when not controlled. List tells us to “win power over yourself and you will have power over everything in the spiritual and physical worlds that strives against you.” The key principle then is to have power over oneself. The Hávamál tells us to “hush the wind on the stormy wave.” Welz helps us to understand that such waves are “thoughts that bring into uncontrolled motion the sea of emotions.” IS then behaves like ice itself in “freezing” such emotions and waves. It can bring stillness to such “rough waters.” IS can help us to control our will and to “soothe all the sea.” IS ultimately is a rune of transition –from the material plane to the spiritual. As a bridge between the first and second set of nine runes, it connects those who have mastered runic energies to the gods themselves.

Notes:

1. Karl Hans Welz, Letter of Instructions # 9 : The Rune IS. https://runemagick.com/rune_magic09.html 

2. Guido von List, The Secret of the Runes, trans. Stephen Flowers (Rochester, VT: Destiny Books, 1988), 55. 

3. Ibid. 

4. Welz’s reference is to the tarot card of the Hermit. He explains that the Hermit image “has a staff that symbolizes his ego. He had to be a hermit so that he could look at his ego from a perspective that is beyond the limitations of society. The hermit, using IS, has renounced all distractions, so that he can find his true ego that he needs to be ONE with his inner Self.” 

5. Welz. 

6. Welz. 

7. Stephen Pollington, Rudiments of Runelore (Cambridgeshire, UK: Anglo-Saxon Books, 2011), 53. 

8. Pollington, 47. 

9. Snorri Sturluson, Edda, trans., Anthony Faulkes (North Clarendon, VT: Everyman, 1995),15. 

10. Sturluson, 34. 

11. The doctrines of Yoga first appear in the Vedic literature (ca. 3000-1200 B.C.E). It is not unreasonable to consider that the diverse peoples that sprang from an Indo-European origin practiced some form of Yogic principles. Pratyahara is the fifth element of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga and is mentioned in his work, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali from the Second Century BCE. The association of Yoga with the Runes has long been established by the Armanen Runemasters. For additional information on Pratyahara see Nancy Wasserman, Yoga for Magick (San Francisco: Weiser Books, 2007), 83-88. 

12. Siegfried Adolf Kummer, Holy Rune Might, trans. Aelfric Avery (Vavenby, CA: Woodharrow Bund Press, 2019), 40. 

13. Welz. 

14. Rudolf John Gorsleben, Hochzeit der Menschheit, trans., Karl Hans Welz. English language translation 2002 of the German language edition of 1930, 452. https://runemagick.com/gorsleben.pdf 

15. Gorsleben, 453. 

16. Edred Thorsson, ALU: An Advanced Guide to Operative Runology (San Francisco: Weiser Books, 2012), 76. 

17. Welz. 

18. One cannot assert that Snorri did not know of Bifröst, because he describes it throughout his Edda. The one notable omission is during Gylfi’s journey to Asgard. 

19. Paul Rhys Mountfort, Nordic Runes: Understanding, Casting, and Interpreting the Ancient Viking Oracle (Rochester, VT: Destiny Books, 2003), 126. 

20. Mountfort, 126. 

21. Sturluson, 18. 

22. The Lay of Sigrdrifa suggests that Sigrdrifa is surrounded by a wall of shields that appear like a fire. Richard Wagner used this idea to great dramatic effect in his operas Die Walküre and Siegfried when the valkyrie Brunnhilde is made to sleep behind a wall of magic fire only later to be awakened by the hero Siegfried. 

23. Sturluson, 25. 

24. Sturluson, 15. 

25. Henry Adams Bellows, trans., The Poetic Edda: The Mythological Poems (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2004),96. 

26. See my essay, “Meditations on LAF: Journeys Between the Nine Worlds.” https://talesfromtheironwood.blogspot.com/2021/03/meditations-on-laf-sea-journey-of-nine.html 

27. Rig is another name for Heimdall. 

28. Lee M. Hollander, trans., The Poetic Edda (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2012), 126. 

29. Sturluson, 76. 

30. Sturluson, 17.