Runes: Theory & Practice

2 The Runes as Spirit Allies

Working with runes takes immeasurable skill and endurance. Odin, after all, had to die for them, hanging as He did on the World-Tree for nine nights of agony. Runes are not easily won, nor are they easily wielded. They can be ruthless and brutal teachers. For all those Northern Traditionists who decry folks such as Ralph Blum dabbling in runic mysteries, the runes themselves are quite capable of keeping the unworthy and untested from making any useful headway. Working with them is almost like engaging in a cosmic tug-of-war with the will and the power they wield. Or sometimes it can be like playing with razor blades. The majority of them tend to be rather pitiless, at least until they have tested the rune-worker (and, ...