Tales from the Ironwood

This essay began also as a progress report of my continued studies of the Armanen Futhorkh. It was written on 13 and 14 March 2021. My further exploration of the Armanen Runes confirms my theory that the Eddas provide a vast array of secret knowledge and a deep esoteric message for those willing to plumb their depths. ********* As I continue my study of the Armanen Runes, I come to the thirteenth rune of the Futhorkh , BAR. While meditating on the meaning of the rune BAR, I focus my thoughts on Hávamál verse 158: “A thirteenth I name: When I wetten the son, The beloved, with holy water; When he is facing the foe, he cannot fall, And no blade can strike him into the dust.”[1] There is an important relationship between this verse and the one that precedes it. That verse is associated with the rune TYR in Armanen runology. As noted in my article on TYR,[2]  the esoteric meaning of that rune is self-sacrifice. Not only does it recall Odin, the “Hanged Man shaking in the wind on the...