Rune Resonance- Runes and Tarot

A set of correspondence

So far all attempts at a correspondence between Runes and Tarot have failed on the grounds of Dogma. The runes are perceived according to (il)logic schemes, and forced into bizarre, ill fitting patterns.

I am reading the Runes according to their own symbolism, and corresponding the motifs to the Tarot. Not solely by letter or zodiac sign, but by poem.

Some are simple, others will be explained more in depth.

ᚠ

Fehu- Cattle, the Wealth

Tarot- The Hierophant

Fehu, rune of Cattle and Wealth corresponds to the Hierophant, ruler of the domesticated Taurean energies of the Earth (Disks or Pentacles).

ᚢ

Uruz- Beast, the Wild

Tarot- Lust

Uruz, rune of Wild Beasts corresponds to Lust, the card of unrestrained Libido which depicts the Beast of Revelations.

ᚦ

Thurisaz- Thorn, the Suffering

Tarot- The Devil

Thurisaz, rune of the Giants corresponds to the Devil. The Icelandic Rune Poem for Thurisaz displays the meaningful parallels between these symbols:

Thurs ("Giant") is torture of women
and cliff-dweller
and husband of a giantess
Saturn's thegn.

Traditional depictions of the Devil contain the Devil with chained women and men. The Devilish Goat is of course a cliff dweller, and to go even farther out, Capricorn is ruled by Saturn.

ᚨ

Ansuz- God, the High

Tarot- The Emperor

Ansuz, rune of the Gods on high corresponds to the Emperor, the image of Divine elevation and authority.

ᚱ

Raido- Ride, the Journey

Tarot- The Chariot

Raido, rune of riding corresponds to the Chariot, both depict perfectly ‘the Journey’.

ᚲ

Kaunan- Ulcer, the Sickness

Tarot- Death

Kaunan, rune of the sickness unto death corresponds to Death. Like Thurisaz, the Rune poem for Kaunan illustrates the symbolic sympathy.

Ulcer is fatal to children;
death makes a corpse pale.

-Old Norwegian Rune Poem

ᚷ

Gebo- Gift, the Giving

Tarot- None

ᚹ

Wunjo- Joy, the Painless

Tarot- None

ᚺ

Hagalaz- Hail, the Seed

Tarot- The Priestess

Hagalaz, rune of Hail corresponds to the Priestess. This one may seem odd, but the Rune Poem and an excerpt from the Book of Thoth will reveal the sympathy.

Hail is the whitest of grain;
it is whirled from the vault of heaven
and is tossed about by gusts of wind
and then it melts into water.

-Anglo Saxon Rune Poem

The Book of Thoth describes: She is the idea behind all form; as soon as the influence of the triad descends below the Abyss, there is the completion of concrete idea.

and the Book of Lies: In the Wind of the mind arises the turbulence called I. It breaks; down shower the barren thoughts.

These reveal in the Priestess the drawing down of the formless, the seeding of material reality identical to the downward materialization present in Hagalaz.

ᚾ

Naudiz- Need, the Constraint

Tarot- The Hanged Man

Naudiz, rune of Necessity corresponds to the Hanged Man.

When I began my study of runes a year ago, it was this one that caught my eye.

Much of Odin’s (who is himself a Hanged God like Christ) arc is focused on an unavoidable prophecy, that of the Götterdämmerung, of Ragnarok. The Death of the Old Gods.

This rune is a prophecy in itself, of the necessity of Aeonic change, of the Future. The coming repression from the Cross.

ᛁ

Isaz- Ice, the Difficult Path

Tarot- The Star

Isaz, rune of the frozen path corresponds to the Star. The alien distance of Aquarius.

ᛃ

Jera- Year, the Cycle

Tarot- The Aeon

Jera, Rune of Years, of good harvests, corresponds to the Aeon, card of great cyclic change. The Jera rune itself depicts the cycle of the Sun.

ᛇ

Eiwaz- Yew, the Rooted

Tarot- The Universe

Eiwaz, rune of the rooted tree corresponds to the Universe, the Axis Mundi. The World Tree Yggdrasil was the Axis Mundi to the Norse, and while the center of the world shown in tarot is not a tree, it signifies the same thing.

ᛈ

Pertho- Luck, the Game

Tarot- Fortune

Pertho, rune of Chance corresponds to the tarot card Fortune.

ᛉ

Algiz- Elk, the Defensive

ᛋ

Sowelo- Sun, the Great

Tarot- The Sun

Sowelo, rune of the Sun corresponds to the card the Sun.

ᛏ

Tiwaz- Tyr, the God of War

Tarot- The Tower

Tiwaz, rune of Tyr, the God of War, corresponds to the Tower, card of Mars, the God of War.

ᛒ

Berkana- Sprout, the Growing

Tarot- The Empress

Berkana, rune of growth corresponds to the Empress, a card related to verdant growth. Both are deeply feminine symbols, Berkana depicting breasts directly, for it is the Feminine that develops and grows the seeds.

ᛖ

Ehwaz- Horse, the Together

Tarot- Art

Ehwaz, rune of the Horse and Rider corresponds to Art, the card of Sagittarius, which is itself a glyph of the unity of the Rider and Horse. Sagittarius, like the Bow, draws things together.

ᛗ

Mannaz- Man, the Friendship

Tarot- The Lovers

Mannaz, rune of Mankind corresponds to the Lovers, read Ideogrammatically, Mannaz depicts two people coming together, identical to the Lovers.

ᛚ

Laguz- Water, the Flowing

Tarot- The Moon

Laguz, rune of Water corresponds to the Moon, card of the Unconscious. The unconscious has always been Symbolized with watery, lunar symbols.

ᛝ

Ingwaz- Ing, the Hero

Tarot- The Magician

Ingwaz, rune of the God Freyr and Masculine fertility corresponds to the Magician, card of Masculine creativity and Manipulation. The rune itself is a simple glyph depicting a union of directions, above and below, left and right, just as the Magician juggled the elements.

ᛟ

Odal- Mine, the Possession

Tarot- The Hermit

Odal, rune of Heritage and possession corresponds to the Hermit, card of materialized masculine creativity. Odal depicts ideogrammitcally the hooded or helmeted Odin, as the Hermit depicts the hooded Mercury.

The correspondence between Odin and Mercury is well established, but most clear through the language around the Days. Wednesday is ‘Woden’s Day”, but in Latin is Dies Mercurii, or in modern Spanish, Miércoles.

ᛞ

Dagaz- Day, the Good

Tarot- Adjustment

Dagaz, rune of the Day corresponds to Adjustment, card of balance. The “scales of time”. While we know there were no hourglasses in this period, the similarity is quite interesting! The rune may depict the perfect balance of light and dark within each day.

Conclusion

Hopefully this does not seem too tossed together! It is an attempt to reduce intimate symbolism to very simple formulas for readers. Let me know what you think of these correspondence vs others!