About

I am a man on a journey--a life-long spiritual journey. Along the way, I've sometimes taken a moment to record an adventure, episode, or insight. Two such accounts resulted in my books Tales from the Ironwood: The Spiritual Journey of a Modern Day Heathen, and Untimely Meditations: A New Look at the Runes of the Armanen. Currently, I serve as Editor of the journal of Knights of Runes, Futhorkh: A Journal of Rune Esotericism and Magick. This blog, also called “Tales from the Ironwood” is intended to provide a journal of my further writings and thoughts while I travel this very personal spiritual path.

Along the way, I became Grand Rune Master in Knights of Runes, Gothi of Skylands Ásatrú Fellowship, created experimental noise music, taught the history of the Reformation, and worked as an American businessman.  I graduated from Rutgers University where I studied English and philosophy and Seton Hall University where I received a Masters degree in Business Administration. Through the years I also became a husband, father, and grandfather. 

Originally from Passaic, New Jersey, my spiritual journey began when my parents baptized me as an infant—a matter in which I had no choice. While my transition from being a nominal Christian to a rebellious atheist teenager may have been fairly commonplace, I explored music deeply, specifically during those years punk rock and the experimental electronic noise scene where I performed under the name "Vandal X." The themes of many of the recordings were quite philosophical--often drawing upon the work of Nietzsche and Schopenhauer and interestingly Norse and Germanic mythology and even the work of Wilhelm Reich. While deeply exploring hard realities in idea and sound, I also found myself attracted to several occult practices. I recall, for example, frequent use of a progressive relaxation technique that I later learned was commonly utilized to attain a trance state. I also became profoundly interested in Astral travel after meeting a friend who described frequent journeys. It was around this time that I purchased my first book of practical magick, Aleister Crowley’s Magick in Theory and Practice. 

Following the birth of my children, I returned to Christianity and became a member of the Lutheran Church. Over the course of the next decade and a half, I undertook a deep dive into the world of Christianity, reading the Bible from cover-to-cover and becoming an instructor on the history and significance of Martin Luther and the Reformation. With the passing of my father and a life-threatening cancer diagnosis of my own, I began a very personal journey to discover more about who I was deep down inside. I sought to better understand something of the spirituality of my ancestors.

It was through this pursuit that I discovered Ásatrú—the worship of the old gods of northern Europe. It wasn’t long before my discovery of Ásatrú introduced me to the world of the Runes. While I attended classes on the mundane meaning and usage of the Runes, I quickly came to appreciate that they are the epitome of secret or esoteric knowledge. I attended my first Rune Yoga course around that time and immediately became fascinated with the practice. It wasn’t long before I began instructing Rune Yoga classes and immersing myself in the methods of the old masters Friedrich Marby and Siegfried Kummer. My practice revealed the powerful energy and life force of the Runes which I could literally feel pulsating and flowing through my body.

With Odin, in the form of Gangleri—the Wanderer, as my role model, I found myself more and more interested in magickal practices. I attended a class on the creation and use of magickal sigils. I also became fascinated with the magickal practice of what has come to be called the “Armanen” Runes. When a course on the Armanen Runes was advertised by Grandmaster Pieterse on a social media page, my attendance was a fait accompli. That choice led to a year of deep study and work with the Runes following the curriculum of Grandmaster Karl Hans Welz. On the Summer Solstice of 2021, I was initiated as a Rune Master in Knights of Runes. 

In the year that followed, I performed extensive writing and editing to transform my masterwork, “Treatise on Armanen Runes” into my book, Untimely Meditations. In 2023, I was initiated as Rune Grandmaster by Grandmaster Pieterse as witnessed by Grandmaster Wolfheart. Today I continue my practice and writings on the Armanen system, mentor several students, and explore various systems of magick and spirituality.

As readers of Tales from the Ironwood can attest, my spiritual journey has been quite circuitous. While I may have traveled far out of my way, it is evident now that the path leads home. I suppose that each step, even each misstep was necessary to return me to this forgotten place.

I wish my readers good luck on your journeys. May you all find what you are seeking.