einhverfr
Elhaz analysis
I decided to post this early. So I might end up adding more tomorrow if I decide that I have left out anything.
*Elhaz -> OE Eolh -> Mod Eng. Elk (actually what those of us in North America call a "Moose").
Thorrson has also included the Gothic Algis (meaning Swan) here and this word probably comes from *Algiz.
Starting with the Rune Poem, we have:
Elk's Sedge dwells often in the fen
It waxes in water, and grimly wounds
And with bood burns the bairn
who by any means tries to grasp it.
I have checked the Old English and the word clearly is related to the Mod. Eng. "Bairn" (i.e. child).
The Old English is:
Eolh-secg eard hæfþ oftust on fenne
wexeð on wature, wundaþ grimme,
blode breneð beorna gehwylcne
ðe him ænigne onfeng gedeþ.
Thorsson argues that Elk's Sedge is a kenning for sword. This would seem to include among other things a warning that just as a sword can be dangerous for a child, so too can the things that this rune represents.
The sword and the elk have an important connection in the Norse stories of Skirnismal and Ragnarok. In Skirnismal, Freyr gives up his sword as dowry to wed the giantess Gerdh ("Resplendant"). At the end of the world, he fights Surt who has a sword that shines like the sun, but since Freyr has given up his sword as dowry, he fights surt with an elk antler as his weapon and is killed.
As I may have mentioned before the sword represented sovereingty to the Norse, as we see clearly in the Volsung Saga (which may have been a source story for Arthur pulling the sword from the stone). So more than just a weapon of war, the sword represented sight, judgement, and all those things that qualified a soverein to rule well (this was a holdover from the iron age swordmaking techniques described under Eihwaz above). The Elhaz stave then also represents the mysteries of the sword.
The next area I want to talk about is the *Algiz connection. If this is to be accepted (and it seems likely) then this is an important area to look at. The swan was seen as a very soverein/war-like bird in the Norse tradition (quite different than, say, the way the Chinese have seen this bird). This bird is an incredibly important bird which shows up in several of the heroic tales in association with the Valkyrie.
The best descriptions we have of the concept of the Valkyrie appear in the following works:
The Lay of Volund
Sigdrifumal
The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane and
The Lay of Helgi Hjorvarthson.
In the Lay of Volund, the Valkyries' power was tied to swan skins that they left on the bank while bathing.
In the Lay of Helgi Hjorvarthson, Helgi meets a Valkyrie who turns out to be the princess Svava. After they exchange vows to marry eachother, Helgi is slain by his brother in a duel. It is said that Helgi and Svava were reborn as Helgi and Sigrun in the Lays of Helgi Hundingsbane.
THe Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane contains the best description of the Valkyrie I have found in the traditional material. Sigrun is the daughter of a king who learns to walk on the waves and through the air, She becomes a valkyrie by mastering the magical aspects of this path. This appears to be something like astral projection but with a very specific set of abilities to affect things in the physical world. She protects Helgi's ship at sea by sheltering it in her swan wings, for example. The Valkyries also choose who lives and dies in battle (see Sigdrifumal). Indeed the Valkyrie seems to combine the elements of a guardian angel, an angel of death, an idealized lover, and an earthly princess into one figure, and this represents the feminine path* in the Odhinnian mysteries. Unfortunately, the reconstruction of this path as a whole is still fairly undeveloped in the modern Runic revival, but there are great strides being made at the moment.
* The Norse frowned much more on men taking womens' roles than vice versa. So while any "masculine" path (such as the warrior/magician) might be acceptable for exceptional women, any "feminine" path would not be open to men. Indeed, in the Volsung saga, Brynhid was given her name because she was taught how to fight in battle, so these paths might overlap for women to some extent. I also suspect that the Volsung saga separates the spiritual Valkyrie (Sigdrifa) from its earthly version (Brynhild).
As for the Fylgia, Thorsson seems to think it is synonymous with a spirit guide. And the one place where this is evident (Lay of Helgi Hjorvarthson), where the Fylgia of Helgi appears to Hethin appears as a troll woman riding a wolf with snakes as reins, she warns Hethin that the vow he has made to wed Svava will be one he will rue. Shortly thereafter, Hethinn kills Helgi (his brother) in a duel over who Svava.
Hollander explains this event as the idea that the Fylgia is a tutelary spirit when it is attached to its human, but when it is seen by others, then this means that the person whom it was previously attached to is doomed to die. So too Malachite-- beware if someone else sees your Fylgia.
I think that most of us who have done serious work with the runes have some sort of attachment to this runestave. In many ways, it could be argued to encompas the path, regardless of what path it is. You have the path of Freyr, giving up his sword/better senses in order to wed Gerdh and truly become the god of fertility. You have the path of the Valkyrie. And you have the path of the warrior, all contained within this stave. Other authors (including Thorrson) have associated this rune with Bifrost (an association I see no need to make) owing to the shape of the stave. And I think the reason why people find it hard to discuss is that this is often one of the first runestaves where the appearences fall away and the mysteries become apparent.
I decided to post this early. So I might end up adding more tomorrow if I decide that I have left out anything.
*Elhaz -> OE Eolh -> Mod Eng. Elk (actually what those of us in North America call a "Moose").
Thorrson has also included the Gothic Algis (meaning Swan) here and this word probably comes from *Algiz.
Starting with the Rune Poem, we have:
Elk's Sedge dwells often in the fen
It waxes in water, and grimly wounds
And with bood burns the bairn
who by any means tries to grasp it.
I have checked the Old English and the word clearly is related to the Mod. Eng. "Bairn" (i.e. child).
The Old English is:
Eolh-secg eard hæfþ oftust on fenne
wexeð on wature, wundaþ grimme,
blode breneð beorna gehwylcne
ðe him ænigne onfeng gedeþ.
Thorsson argues that Elk's Sedge is a kenning for sword. This would seem to include among other things a warning that just as a sword can be dangerous for a child, so too can the things that this rune represents.
The sword and the elk have an important connection in the Norse stories of Skirnismal and Ragnarok. In Skirnismal, Freyr gives up his sword as dowry to wed the giantess Gerdh ("Resplendant"). At the end of the world, he fights Surt who has a sword that shines like the sun, but since Freyr has given up his sword as dowry, he fights surt with an elk antler as his weapon and is killed.
As I may have mentioned before the sword represented sovereingty to the Norse, as we see clearly in the Volsung Saga (which may have been a source story for Arthur pulling the sword from the stone). So more than just a weapon of war, the sword represented sight, judgement, and all those things that qualified a soverein to rule well (this was a holdover from the iron age swordmaking techniques described under Eihwaz above). The Elhaz stave then also represents the mysteries of the sword.
The next area I want to talk about is the *Algiz connection. If this is to be accepted (and it seems likely) then this is an important area to look at. The swan was seen as a very soverein/war-like bird in the Norse tradition (quite different than, say, the way the Chinese have seen this bird). This bird is an incredibly important bird which shows up in several of the heroic tales in association with the Valkyrie.
The best descriptions we have of the concept of the Valkyrie appear in the following works:
The Lay of Volund
Sigdrifumal
The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane and
The Lay of Helgi Hjorvarthson.
In the Lay of Volund, the Valkyries' power was tied to swan skins that they left on the bank while bathing.
In the Lay of Helgi Hjorvarthson, Helgi meets a Valkyrie who turns out to be the princess Svava. After they exchange vows to marry eachother, Helgi is slain by his brother in a duel. It is said that Helgi and Svava were reborn as Helgi and Sigrun in the Lays of Helgi Hundingsbane.
THe Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane contains the best description of the Valkyrie I have found in the traditional material. Sigrun is the daughter of a king who learns to walk on the waves and through the air, She becomes a valkyrie by mastering the magical aspects of this path. This appears to be something like astral projection but with a very specific set of abilities to affect things in the physical world. She protects Helgi's ship at sea by sheltering it in her swan wings, for example. The Valkyries also choose who lives and dies in battle (see Sigdrifumal). Indeed the Valkyrie seems to combine the elements of a guardian angel, an angel of death, an idealized lover, and an earthly princess into one figure, and this represents the feminine path* in the Odhinnian mysteries. Unfortunately, the reconstruction of this path as a whole is still fairly undeveloped in the modern Runic revival, but there are great strides being made at the moment.
* The Norse frowned much more on men taking womens' roles than vice versa. So while any "masculine" path (such as the warrior/magician) might be acceptable for exceptional women, any "feminine" path would not be open to men. Indeed, in the Volsung saga, Brynhid was given her name because she was taught how to fight in battle, so these paths might overlap for women to some extent. I also suspect that the Volsung saga separates the spiritual Valkyrie (Sigdrifa) from its earthly version (Brynhild).
As for the Fylgia, Thorsson seems to think it is synonymous with a spirit guide. And the one place where this is evident (Lay of Helgi Hjorvarthson), where the Fylgia of Helgi appears to Hethin appears as a troll woman riding a wolf with snakes as reins, she warns Hethin that the vow he has made to wed Svava will be one he will rue. Shortly thereafter, Hethinn kills Helgi (his brother) in a duel over who Svava.
Hollander explains this event as the idea that the Fylgia is a tutelary spirit when it is attached to its human, but when it is seen by others, then this means that the person whom it was previously attached to is doomed to die. So too Malachite-- beware if someone else sees your Fylgia.
I think that most of us who have done serious work with the runes have some sort of attachment to this runestave. In many ways, it could be argued to encompas the path, regardless of what path it is. You have the path of Freyr, giving up his sword/better senses in order to wed Gerdh and truly become the god of fertility. You have the path of the Valkyrie. And you have the path of the warrior, all contained within this stave. Other authors (including Thorrson) have associated this rune with Bifrost (an association I see no need to make) owing to the shape of the stave. And I think the reason why people find it hard to discuss is that this is often one of the first runestaves where the appearences fall away and the mysteries become apparent.
It could come back to bite me, too.