24 or 16?
Published: Fri, 06/28/24
I led sessions in Tai Chi and Stav, did some story telling around the fire, and gave a talk on Baldersvaki, the story of Baldur, and shared some thoughts on what the story can teach us today about the risks of illusory invulnerability. I also took on responsibility for coordinating talks and other activities which people offered. Or, as it sometimes feels like at events such as these, cat herder in chief. The number of people attending was quite small. However, those who were present were keen to support the talks and workshops so there was a gratifying response for those who were willing to facilitate.
One talk, simply entitled ‘The Runes of the Elder Futhork’ was presented by a chap called Geoff who had brought a stall selling various items featuring the 24 rune Futhork. A lot of the items were rather beautifully made from copper. The talk was nicely delivered and the content was the same Asatru take on the runes and the Norse religion as I have been hearing and reading since before I even discovered Stav. Thinking about it now, I heard Peter Jennings (a popular heathen author and speaker) give a talk on the same subject in Oxford nearly 30 years ago and, as far as I recall, the content was pretty much interchangeable with what was presented this last weekend. Basically; the 24 runes are an ancient writing system which are also used for divination. No one really knows where or when they originated and they have associations with Norse Mythology. Yes, there is another Futhork with 16 runes and some people do odd things like
stances with them, but we don’t talk about that. There are quite a lot of Heathen or Asatru groups and camps around, you can easily find them on Facebook and other social media, and they are all based on the 24 Rune elder Futhark. This devotion to the so called ‘Elder Futhark’ is odd since, as far as I can tell, it became popular in the 1980s thanks to American writers such as Stephen Flowers who wrote under the pen name of ‘Eldred Thorson’. I read his book entitled ‘The Well of Wyrd’ some years before I discovered Stav and remember finding it quite interesting. I know that there are people who may read this who have more knowledge of how the Elder Futhark got reinvented than I have. Please feel free to comment.
However, to me there is really no excuse for promoting a runic system of dubious provenance when there is so much to support the authenticity of the Younger Futhork. The speaker on Saturday did admit that there are thousands of existing runic inscriptions (including the large rune stones in Scandinavia) and they are all written with the sixteen rune Futhork.) I have an academic volume entitled ‘An Introduction to Old Norse’ by EV Gordon. Mine is the second edition revised in 1956, the original publication seems to have been in 1927. On page 154 is ‘A Rune Song’ with each stanza prefaced with the relevant rune, and yes, it is the 16 runes we use in Stav. The poem is the Old Norse Rune Rhymes which tell us so much about the Futhork which has been in use from about 800 AD to the present day. So, long before Ivar Hafskjold began publicly teaching Stav in the early 1990s, any serious investigation of Scandinavian runes would have
turned up the Younger Futhork.
Anyway, this conversation has been shared many times before and there have been various arguments over the past 30 years as to which Futhork/Futhark is the correct one.
Perhaps more importantly my encounter with Geoff over the weekend reminded me that when an idea gets fixed, even amongst a relatively small group of people, that idea may well be clung to when it really does not seem to make much sense to an outsider. Another example came up on the Sunday afternoon when I had a conversation with Jonathan, the vicar of Beverley Minster, a very nice chap who I know quite well. The Minster has been running an Alpha course over the past few months which has apparently been quite successful. However, Jonathan, along with many other clergy, have their reservations about the content of the Alpha course as the DVD teaching material tends to be somewhat simplistic and dogmatic. I asked why the very talented team of clergy who run the minster didn’t just put together their own ‘introduction to Christianity course’? The answer was that Alpha is a brand which people will come to, regardless of its
shortcomings, and even a better programme would struggle to get attention. It is funny how the same principle keeps revealing itself. I would also argue that Tai Chi has become the most popular brand of martial arts, even though most people who practice this art will argue that it isn’t really a martial art at all, just a gentle exercise system for ladies of a certain age.
When having a rant such as this post one always needs to examine one’s own attitudes and blind spots. What do I lock onto without questioning the rational or purpose? From an early age I could not resist questioning and testing everything. These traits have got me into trouble over the years, on the other hand, if I say that something works then I will probably have tested it to the limit. I will only drive vehicles which I know how to fix (which means my van is 24 years old). My computer runs Linux and not Microsoft Windows (future generations are going to wonder why we made Bill Gates rich enough to buy a pandemic when we could have used open source operating systems). In my work I build and do repairs that I know are going to work and stand the test of time. When preaching I do my best to bring out spiritual truths, even when it isn’t what the congregation expects to hear. When teaching martial arts I am much more interested
in what is learned through practice than in just passing on a system. In short I have always been the difficult kid who can’t help asking the awkward question. As I have got older I have learned that challenging the orthodoxy has a price. So, sometimes I keep quiet, and sometimes I don’t. Last week I was actually quite diplomatic by my standards and I am grateful just to Geoff for the idea for this post. (and maybe my blind spot is my refusal to see that life can be much easier when one just goes with the herd.)
regards
Graham
PS Stavcamp next week where the 16 runes are definitely the preferred Futhork . Not to late to book if you want to come http://stavcamp.org/
PPS If you read my previous post in which I compared the Gaza tragedy to the tale of Baldur https://archive.aweber.com/newsletter/iceandfire/MjM4MDY4MDQ=/a-story-of-invulnerability-and-mistletoe.htm?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2X3zt6TkvDKEH0b_026udpQYCiH9PcQoaia-NLPTgp_FK-jtNwhqh1SAU_aem_R9aRYUwSr2hR90ZprZeeuQ you might remember that I could not identify the Loki role in the contemporary event, I think I have now, well worth reading https://www.unz.com/estriker/yahya-sinwars-impossible-resolve/
Graham Butcher
21 Beaver Road
Beverley East Yorkshire HU17 0QN
UNITED KINGDOM
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