The Runes and what they actually do

Back to Mythic Philosophy - The Paths to Magic

The gloranthan runes are a very good collection of primal symbols, but the method in which they synergise as a framework can be radically altered to bring out a differeng mythic landscape still connected to runes.

• One Method of doing this is to consider everything in opposition amongst the Gloranthan runes [elemental and power runes] as part of a larger cycle or pattern.
• Another is to assume all the other runes do have natural polarities and form other sections of a framework.

For Example:

• Death and Fertility are linked, not only as opposites, but as part of a primal cycle that meets in both opposition and in synthesis. Related runes might be forms and spirit - corrupt synthesis might be undeath, whilst natural synthesis might result in the form runes. In opposition, they may meet as disorder or as a rune not made yet.
• The elemental circle has elements in oppostion, but also in balance, in progression from each other, an order or circle of dominance and submission and a cyclic progression.
• The form runes can be seen as an order of progression in shaping reality. Plant, Beast, Man [maybe sentients or uprights], Spirit, Dragon, others... all represent a scale of living things.
• Some of the more more widely defined or multipurpose runes, such as magic or infinity, would fall into polarities based on viewpoint (making this viewpoint more universal in a mythology/cosmology is one of the things I'd like to discuss].

One possible framework

Power and form runes in a rough hierarchy of spiritual awareness.

• Luck - spirit - Fate
• Harmony - Man - Disorder
• Truth - Dragon[magical beast] - Illusion
• Stasis - Beast - Movement
• Fertility - Plant - Death

The oppositions and synthesese of these runes are embodied in the spiritual form. Each step up the ladder of powers involves an increase in complexity of the form and spirit.

• Law - Moon - Chaos as a trinity?
• Element Runes: Darkness, water, earth, fire, light, air, heat, cold, ice, metal, shadow,.
  • looking at the runes presented, it would be very easy to put together a wheel or circle of elements based on either Greek/persian models or a range of others.

• • The Hellenistic model was of four qualities in opposition that created the four elements. Heat and cold, moist and dry created air [hot, moist] fire [hot, dry], water [cold, moist] and eart [cold, dry]

Something similar to this could be done with the current runes and a few add ins.

• Condition runes: Mastery, magic, Infinity, communication, Trade.
• Corrupt runes: Undead, theft, others ?