" Rune Divination Authenticity
" Die realen Geheimnisse
der runen
(The real secrets of the runes)
on Thursday 30th March 2006
We meet on the Last Thursday of each
Month at the Kynnersley Arms
in Leighton, ( The B4380 >
Ironbridge to Shrewsbury
Road ) 7.30 for 8pm
The
Kynnersley Arms is a pub - but one with a difference! Channel 4's
Time Team recently visited and helped unearth even more of its 1,000
year history. The pub used to house a mill which ground corn. The
millstones took their power from a giant water wheel, fed by a nearby
pond, which in turn was fed by several springs originating on the
Wrekin. The mill was still grinding corn up until 1936, and a glass
floor panel in the pub enables regulars to catch a view!
ALL ARE WELCOME
£2 towards the Speaker fund incl. Raffle prize
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Lammas Barns Workshops,19th-20th
August 2006
A two day Rune Workshop
event led by Rig Svenson
An opportunity to take part in a two day workshop on this powerful and
fascinating ancient system of communication and divination. By the end
of the weekend you will have acquired a good knowledge of the runes
and their origins, your own set of personally carved and consecrated
rune sticks and be versed in how to use them for divination purposes.
Brief resume of the workshops:
Saturday 19th August 2006
0900 - 12.30hrs: Introduction to traditional
fuþark
Runes, a presentation on their history and origins.
Creation of a Heathen Sacred Space, you will create your own Northern
Tradition Sacred Space including fire raising.
12.30 - 13.15hrs Lunch break
13.15 - 1600hrs: Staining of the runes, a practical demonstration
using blood to stain Runes (based on fragment of surviving sagas such
as Runnattal thattr Othins).
Rune Galdror, Rig will introduce the phenomenon of singing the runes
correctly, you will practice singing one rune galdror.
Rune Poems, Rig goes through some rune poems and their
interpretations.
Basic Divination Exercise.
Sunday 20th August 2006
0900 - 12.15hrs: Rune carving exercise, materials are provided for you
to carve your own rune sticks. Rune Blooding, you will be guided
through staining your own rune sticks (this isn’t AT ALL obligatory
but does add potency to your runes) for which you need to bring a
diabetic lancer.
12.30 – 13.15hrs: lunch break
13.15 – 16.30hrs: Demonstration: Rig gives us a practical
demonstration on casting the rune sticks and how to interpret them.
Exercise: you will then perform your own rune casting exercise and
interpretations.
Finally followed by a basic Seidr Exercise, for which you will need to
bring a cushion.
Things you need to bring
are:
Day one: a notebook and
pen if you wish to make notes, although some leaflets will be handed
out regarding the workshop subjects.
Day two: a diabetic
lancer for rune staining (a gadget that pricks the skin to draw a
small sample of blood)
You can use your own
method/tools for obtaining blood but we do NOT recommend this and
would be ENTIRELY at your own risk.
A comfy cushion for the
Seidr exercise.
To
ensure you get the most out of the workshop, numbers are being limited
and as such places are issued on a first come, first served basis. We
ask for a minimum donation of £50 per person which includes all
materials a simple lunch & drinks but we can’t cater for special
dietary requirements at these prices, sorry! If you need to stay
overnight there are local B&B’s or camping in the property’s grounds,
please contact Kate at the Barns for details on 01952 770191 or 07816
683903 or email
clanartia.events@virgin.net
N.B. ALL faiths and paths are welcome, although these workshops are
organised in an informal capacity they’re run with a no
alcohol/smoking, non-political/religion-specific policy…. just in
case! Minimum donations are requested to cover fees, expenses and
materials, and where possible to provide equipment and improve
facilities for future workshops.
Please complete the attached form to reserve your place. There has
been a remarkable interest in this workshop so don’t leave it too
long!
The
Secret Chiefs (formally Talking Stick) meet fortnightly in Central
London on Wednesday evenings in the upstairs room of the Princess
Louise Public House at High Holborn (50 yds from Holborn Tube). The
room opens at 7p.m. and the talks start at 8.30p.m. Admission is £2.
I was
kindly invited by Michael Binghas who now runs the venue. The travel
time to London from the Midlands via Virgin Trains took around 2
hours, as you have to allow for the stampede, avoiding at all cost not
to get trampled over whilst disembarking your train on arrival in
London. It was dark when I arrived in London on my own around 7p.m.
To add to the commotion, it was raining and the London taxis seemed
reluctant to take me there because of the roads being blocked off at
that time of the year?
Great I
thought having not allowed for the rain and armed with a briefcase
plus large flip chart, I attempted to convince another taxi driver to
get me as close as possible. This he did good chap and much to
alleviate my concerns about getting there dry. I had prepared several
bottles of fresh herbs a week prior to the talk, taking them with me
in small glass bottles each with their own cork. I also brought a
flip chart on which I had written down all the relevant bullet points
I had hoped to stage. I arranged it like a story line. One rune
scram knife and a set of stick runes I also brought with me.
One of
the women present there bought me a drink and started to talk to me on
my arrival. This followed by more doing the same and the atmosphere
was very easy going and friendly. Caroline Robertson was also there
to greet me and was an eloquent host to me. The pagan guys and gals
in London are in my opinion a great bunch.
The
first few seconds of any talk usually makes or breaks you. I remember
being very hot and bothered. Being a teacher, this can be embarrassing
but the golden rule is to prepare well and know your subject matter.
Once you begin, you must follow through your subject till question
time. You will always get someone who asks of you a question you have
no immediate answer to. I made a remark early in the talk that the
most ancient runic symbol was found in China. Imagine the feedback
you get from this.
In any
case, they all enjoyed the first part of my talk after which was an
interlude for liquid refreshments. The second part was even better.
Question: Could the high mortality rate in Viking women and Children
be due to the high infancy mortality? One of the audiences was
suggesting this to be the case as I had suggested that WÖlwas
life span in Viking times averaged around the mid 30s. Hence they had
to learn their craft inside 20 years starting as a child.
My
Answer:
Life Expectancy in
Viking Age Jorvik (York)
Infant
and childhood life-span
It has been
estimated that about 17% of the population died in infancy, before
reaching five years of age. About 16% did not survive to around 20
years of age. In all, more than 33% of the population did not reach
adulthood.
Adult
life-span
Having reached
adulthood, the survival prospects for men and women were very
different.
As this chart shows, 50% of adult men died between 21
and 30 years of age and this may be because of warfare and the
generally turbulent times. For women, the risks were in pregnancy and
childbirth and 35% of them did not survive beyond 30 years. The 31 to
40 year olds were the 'middle-aged' people of the Viking Age and 50
years of age would be thought of as 'old'. Women seem to have had an
especially high death rate in the age group 41 to 50 when compared
with the men, but this is because about eight out of ten of the adult
men had already died at an earlier age.
It was exceptional for anyone to reach what we would
today call 'old age'.
Make it
interesting, there are off course many ways you can put it over
better. Visual aids such as flip charts, objects make it more of a
night for all. I spoke briefly about poisonous herbs and that got them
very interested. Then you have spells of invisibility or love charms
potions. Enough said. Sex is a powerful interest area. Remember also
that the best of plans often come unstuck. Improvise and don’t be too
rigid. I tried to demonstrate galdror (rune sound/phonetics) timing
using a carrot and a small scraping knife. Someone in the audience
burst out laughing. It is professionalism that sees you through every
time. I focused on my presentation and carried on. My flip chart
shouldn’t have been a problem but I somehow mistimed the pages.
Perhaps this was due to nerves or being hot and bothered at the time.
What always gets me through is preparation, preparation and
preparation. It is hard to speak in front of your peers, let alone to
an audience of strangers.
All in
all, it was a good evening much helped by support from both Michael
Binghas and Caroline Robertson not forgetting the fantastic
London folks of Secret Chiefs. Secret Chiefs is a very pagan
friendly venue to present lectures and I was told by the folks there
that they loved my work :-).
