Wuji in Teutonic Spirituality

[al.]

Funny you should mention the vowels. I have been working with those too.

 

I think the Five vowels are universal in pronunciation. In English we pronounce the english pronunciation of the the letters not the sounds (AY EE EYE OWE YOU) But IME experience with other languages the vowels are universally pronounced (AH AY EE OH OO). In my experiments with the vowels from a runic perspective, They are similar to the Five Elements

A (AH) Aethem/Wood,

E (Eh) Wind/Metal,

I (Ee) Fire,

O (Oh) Earth,

U (Oo) Water

 

A is like ethereal rising into the head, E feels like an expansion in the lungs, I Stimulates my triple burner, O is centered for me in the abdomen. U goes right out my heels into the Earth.

It has a different quality than the Taoist five healing breaths, But I am enjoying the process of investigation...

 

Of course there is a Rune for each letter which has it's own meaning. So, meditating on the sounds and exploring the runic symbolic meanings is alot of fun also...

 

HI! Thank you for sharing all this. Have you looked into a japanese tradition called 'Kototama'? It has similarities. The word 'kototama' roughly translates as 'word-spirit'. The tradition is based and builds upon the five mother sounds/syllables. I don't practice it or know enough about it to really tell you much, but the sounds are intoned in a similar way to how you describe. They also have a parallel with the five elements although the O (oh) relates to Water and the U (ooo) relates to Earth.

Thanks again for sharing

 

hi! yes! I agree with you 100%.

Having been in love with reading and language since pre school age and a student and teacher of literature since then, as well as someone who has been recruited shamanically, I know that words are experience according to the degree which we let them in. (They are let in unconsciously and lots of damage + numbing done by unskilful use, of course, but here we are not speaking of that, or the shrinking of language respect and versatility equaling to the shrinking of range of humanity. Not for nothing do so many people feel quite unable to understand poetry of an exalted kind, or to read books other than journalistically, feeding only a information-eating tic, or indulging need for distraction with what EM Forster called 'low atavistic plot'..)

 

So I think you have it., it's a fascinating unfolding. A friend was saying to me that she had a vision of the pyramids being sounded into being. Makes sense, doesnt it. I think that most human communicating doesnt need to be verbal or said out loud. Interesting if you say a lot less and make sounds, sparingly and with intent.

Actually I am just reiterating what you have said!

Part of the realisation of this came to me after hearing my name chanted from a car radio. It wasnt 'really' on the car radio.. and I had to tune into why this aural glimpse was being gifted to me, and it is the sound of this manifestation that here is called 'me', which was in a process of great presence at that time, and 'heard itself.'

I used to study the Bible as literature, hearing the patchwork of voices and intent, and for me the most resonant phrase of the entirety was "in the beginning was the word. And the word was God." The world was spoken into existence or more accurately sounded into existence.

Really exciting stuff with the runes, thankyou so much for bringing this up.

 

It's interesting that you mention the first passage of the Bible as being the most resonant. I suspect that many of the sacred texts and ways of using words place their greatest emphasis on the initial word or sentence...- perhaps creating a parallel situation of the first moment, the first sound to break the silence..

I was at a lecture on Vedic practices earlier this year and the teacher described a similar viewpoint, but in regards to the Vedas. The gist of his point was that in the first Veda, in the first chapter, the very first word was 'Agni'... Fire...

Coincidentally the Kototama tradition has roots that stem back to the Vedas..

More pieces to a puzzle!

a

[fiveelementtao]

Which is the best source on the Runes?

There are alot of good sources. Some not so good and some so-so. As I said before alot of books deal only with runes as divination tools and IMO many of their interpretations are very superficial.

I just read a book that was pretty good it's called "the complete illustrated guide to runes" by Nigel Pennick it has some good foundation and history...

But, IME, the best way to work with runes is to meditate on them, chant them and see where it takes you...

[fiveelementtao]

Has anyone heard of the Nordic martial art based on the runes - Stav? Apparently there's postures based on the runes with different breathing patterns. Interesting stuff.

Yes, I looked into that. Without criticizing it, it is not wholly European. The founder apparently learned some traditional teachings on the younger futhark Runes and then he went to Japan for a long time and learned kendo and aikido. His martial art is japanese. He initially tried to pass it off as traditional nordic sword work, but it became very clear that it was not a european martial art. He has since backpedaled and acknowledges that the sword work and the aikido looking stuff is from Japan. He teaches Rune stances which IME are pretty cool. There is some controversy over whether the stances are a modern invention or not. The jury is still out on that one. But alot of people really get alot out of the practice..

[fiveelementtao]

HI! Thank you for sharing all this. Have you looked into a japanese tradition called 'Kototama'? It has similarities. The word 'kototama' roughly translates as 'word-spirit'. The tradition is based and builds upon the five mother sounds/syllables. I don't practice it or know enough about it to really tell you much, but the sounds are intoned in a similar way to how you describe. They also have a parallel with the five elements although the O (oh) relates to Water and the U (ooo) relates to Earth.

Thanks again for sharing

Interesting, I just googled it. Interesting stuff.

Edited December 23, 2010 by fiveelementtao

[三江源]

[quote name='al.' date='23 December 2010 - 06:22 PM' timestamp='1293128561' post='231552

 

It's interesting that you mention the first passage of the Bible as being the most resonant. I suspect that many of the sacred texts and ways of using words place their greatest emphasis on the initial word or sentence...- perhaps creating a parallel situation of the first moment, the first sound to break the silence..

I was at a lecture on Vedic practices earlier this year and the teacher described a similar viewpoint, but in regards to the Vedas. The gist of his point was that in the first Veda, in the first chapter, the very first word was 'Agni'... Fire...

Coincidentally the Kototama tradition has roots that stem back to the Vedas..

More pieces to a puzzle!

a

 

Interesting point al, I like it.

 

( funny this is the second time in as many days I've heard the mention of kototama, and I never heard of it before at all..)

[sirius]

heya!

 

a fantastic book on the runes - full of information, history and practical exercises - is "helrunar" by the german free-style shaman jan fries. the author is working with the runes for about thirty years. "helrunar" is a manual of rune magic. it deals with: the history of the runes, the different rune systems, runes & nature, runes & the kabbala, rune exercises, standing exercises with runes, the use of runes as mantras, runes & health, divination with runes, the magical use of sygills, seidr-trance, magical use of energy and so on.

 

this book was my companion for some years while i was experimenting with the runes. it was a fantastic read, full of information, good recommendations of practical exercises and not to forget - with a lot of humor!

and, by the way, i don`t get any money for promoting this book. i do it, because this book deserves it. i learned a lot from it! "helrunar" is available in an english translation. if you want to find out more about the author look for his website on the internet.

 

by experimenting with the runes i learned that you can use them for many purposes: for divination, for energy work (standing exercises combined with rune chanting) and for meditation, too. later, when i started practising zanh zhuang chi kung i was able to realize the similarties and connections between the different systems of energy work.

 

blessed be!

 

sirius

[RiverSnake]

I've found this conversation quite interesting, thanks everyone such insightful contributions. Its always inspiring for me to see how esoteric principles can reach across cultures. Just ordered a book on runes that i thought looked insightful and got good reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Rune-Magic-History-Practice-Traditions/dp/1855381052/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_3

 

-Also Sirius thanks for the book recommendation. I've often found the best books are those off hiding in the corner.

 

-Thanks for the video 5elementao. I enjoyed it. The only thing i could think of criticizing was that wacky green shirt!

 

-Peace

[rex]

Yes, I looked into that. Without criticizing it, it is not wholly European. The founder apparently learned some traditional teachings on the younger futhark Runes and then he went to Japan for a long time and learned kendo and aikido. His martial art is japanese. He initially tried to pass it off as traditional nordic sword work, but it became very clear that it was not a european martial art. He has since backpedaled and acknowledges that the sword work and the aikido looking stuff is from Japan. He teaches Rune stances which IME are pretty cool. There is some controversy over whether the stances are a modern invention or not. The jury is still out on that one. But alot of people really get alot out of the practice..

 

Thanks!