Merkstave (or murkstave) and Brightstave are terms invented by Ralph Blum in the eighties to sell his book on Runes. There is no historical evidence for or about them.
Information regarding them was included for a few reasons. One was popular demand, whether I use them or not has nothing to do with this forum. I have no agenda. It matters not to me personally if you use merkstaves.
However, in the interest of education, information was and is included.
I have no idea why Mr. Blum and others have devoted much time to explain merkstaves or reversals, except that Tarot uses reversals (so why not tie two unrelated oracles together), and modern western society tends toward the dualistic.
Our modern dualistic manner of surveying our world has little to do with the elder methods.
Modern western uninformed man, views Yin & Yang in a simplistic manner.
Never did I imply any correlation between Asian and Norse/Teutonic worldviews. Indeed, Mr. Blum has stated that he utilized the I Ching to verify his runic connotations.
Based on cultural disparities, the world of the Runae, I Ching, and Tarot hold no relationship, save that of modern imagination. To apply our modern imaginative concepts to the world of the runae does little to expand our understanding of the Runes themselves.
Runes are a right-brained oracular device. Meanings have expanded over the last two thousand years, and not contracted. To pigeonhole individual meanings and methods (‘Raidho means journey’ is an excellent example) is to ignore the true meanings, and contract them to an author’s agenda without regard to the culture of origin.
