South, Full Moon M, Summer, June, July, August, Summer
Solstice (Midsummer), Lammas (Freyr Fest), Noon, Justice, Love, Growing, Red,
Soul, Health, Sun, Candle
Asgard
Baldr
Cat
Dragon
Father God
Father God
Freya
Loki
Loki
Mother Goddess
Muspelheim
Serpent
Sunna
Tyr
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the exothermic chemical process of
combustion, releasing heat, light and various reaction products. Fire has been an important part of all
cultures and religions from pre-history to modern day and was vital to the
development of civilization.
Fire is one of the four classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and
science. It was commonly associated with
the qualities of energy, assertiveness, and passion. In one Greek myth, Prometheus stole fire from the Gods to protect the
otherwise helpless humans, but was punished for this charity.
It is fire that our ancestors used to
warm our homes, used it to cook food, sit around it to ward of the darkness of
night and it fuels our passions. Fire,
unlike the other elements, does not exist in a natural state. Its physical form can only take place by
consuming some other element. It is the transformer, converting the energy of
other objects into other forms: heat, light, ash and smoke.
Fire is one of the elements that appear
in most Wiccan traditions. In rituals,
fire is represented in the forms of burning objects, love spells, baking and
lighting candles or fires. The
manifestations of the element are found in the sun, volcanoes, lava and all
forms of light. Cats of all types, especially the lion and tiger are also
thought to personify the element of fire, as are all predatory creatures, such
as the fox. Other mythic and legendary
creatures of fire include phoenix, dragon and occasionally the hawk.
Fire is sometimes associated with
deities of trickery and chaos - probably because while we may think we have domination over it,
ultimately it is the fire itself that is in control. Fire is often connected
with Loki, the Norse God of chaos, and the Greek Hephaestus (Roman Vulcan) the
God of metalworking, who demonstrates no small amount of deceit.
Fire in many ancient cultures and myths
has been known to purify the land with the flames of destruction, however, it
is also capable of the renewal of life through the warmth and comfort of those
very same flames. It represents the
creativity and passion that all intellectual and emotional beings have. Fire is
an active element force that has the passion to create, destroy and animate
things. This destructive aspect should
not be seen as negative, forest fires actually help, clearing away underbrush
and encouraging seeds lying dormant within the Earth to burst forth into new
life.
The home of all Fire in the Norse cosmos
is Muspellheim, the fire-world. Its keeper is Surt, the great Fire giant who
engineered the beginning of Midgard by deliberately steering his fiery realm
into the ice-world of Niflheim. Surtr is
foretold as being a major figure during the events of Ragnarok; carrying his
bright sword, he will go to battle against the God Freyr, and afterward the
flames that he brings forth will engulf the Earth. Surtr, fire, both creates and destroys.
People born under the astrological signs
of Aries, Leo and Sagittarius are thought to have dominant fire personalities.
Fire personalities are believed to have good leading qualities and also tend to
be enthusiastic, extroverted, rebellious, passionate, brave and valiant;
however, they can also be hot-tempered, snappy, uncontrollable and angry.
To feel the manifestations of this
power, go out on sunny day and feel the warmth and light of the Sun, hear the crackling of logs and smell of smoke from a burning fire. As you
gaze into the transformational flame of a candle, immerse yourself in the
energy of Fire.
Cen c is the
rune of the brightly burning torch that lights up the hall in the evening,
whose flames represent the safe, tempered Fire of the hearth. Cen depicts the
magical-sexual heat of the Goddess Freya, which slumbers within ourselves,
waiting to be kindled.
Kenaz k
rune is the flame of transformation and regeneration. It
is the flame of the forge, the volcano and deep Earth energies. It is the
controlled flame of the artist and craftsman. It holds the power to create or
destroy. It is the primal force of creation. In Norse and other mythologies, it
is the Fire and ice that produce the life force.
wishing to change something negative into something positive, for instance,
hatred to love, poverty to wealth, physical death to spiritual birth or sickness
to health.
Oh fire shower upon
me all that is beneficial, health and wealth.
Put an end to the
evil in the minds of my enemies, let the pure fire burn forever.
Greetings! You have a lovely blog :) I have recently started digging into the Northumbrian runes; according to Elliot, the word "cweorth" has no meaning (a perusal of an Anglo-Saxon dictionary, rather unsurprisingly, backed this up.) There is also no poem associated with it and the rune is found only in manuscripts where the letter "q" was needed. So my question is--when and how did it become associated with Fire and/or the fire-twirl (or hearth fire or funeral pyre, which seem to be the most common meanings given to this rune)?
ReplyDeleteHail and Thank You! You are correct with you research and there is no real answer 'why' but let me maybe expand from what I know.
DeleteThere are several systems of runes that can be used. The most common and oldest form is the Elder Futhark with 24 runes - from 2nd to 8th centuries. Most people who work with runes prefer to stick to the basic 24 Futhark set, largely because those are what they can find all around them. Then there is the Anglo Saxon and Frisian which adds on 5 more runes - starting about 5th centuries. The Anglo-Saxon is much more adaptable for writing ordinary messages in English, as they contain certain letters and sounds that Norse doesn't use. And finally there is the Northumbrian which is more uncommon and adds on 4 more runes. (There is also rune systems in Armanen, Younger Futhark, Gothic, Cipher, Orlanthi, Medieval and many other sets)
The Northumbrian runes are an extension of the Anglo-Saxon runes. It adds 4 more runes to the Anglo-Saxon set making the total 33 runes. Examples of them can be found in the Cottonian Collection, now at the British Library. The Domitian is one manuscript there with Anglo Saxon Chronicles and Futhorc Row - from about 11th century. But many manuscripts there are now in fragments with parts completely destroyed. So, like stan, calc and gar, there is no standard poem, lore or text.
Cweorð may be a modification of peorð. But of the four additional letters, only the cweorth rune fails to appear epigraphically. In the Domitian manuscript there are a total of 33 letters, one of the only few known examples of its use that I can think of. And like you pointed out, it was more for the letter q, instead of fire. Add into the mix that I have heard of may be a misinterpretation and the mystery deepens.
I read from Raven Kaldera at Northern Shamanism www.northernshamanism.org. The author Galina Krasskova book 'Runes Theory and Practice' or author Alaric Albertsson 'Wyrdworking'. The British Library would be another resource http://searcharchives.bl.uk. But cweorth is not a Norse word and an irregular rune so there is not much historical information. Blessed Be!