For this lesson, we'll be talking about Runes, Symbols, and Laws of Magick.
Symbols are a kind of visual shorthand. In our more mundane existence, we are surrounded by symbols. A red octogon with a white border conveys the message "Stop! Go no further!" You don't need to read or even understand English to know it. Magickal symbo ls are the same. Even better, magickal symbols seem to have some power in their own right. Using symbols allows you to encapsulate a whole lot of information into a small space.
You may have seen people on this list use the ASCII symbol: )O( This stands for the triple Goddess: The Maiden, Mother, and Crone. It contains the waxing, full and waning moons. This is a lot of information for one little symbol. How much more practical and powerful to carve a )O( into a candle to invoke the protecti on of the Goddess than to try to carve "I invoke the protection of the Goddess." There are many other symbols and you are encouraged to research them. (Alas, I wish this wasn't just plain text.)
Symbols also don't have to be ancient. You can create or find your own symbols. If it means something to you then it has power. For instance, during a guided meditation, I received a symbol of protection from the Goddess. It's a simple thing: nothing mor e than a circle with an arrow drawn through it diagonally. But for me, it is a powerful symbol of protection. I use it in most of my magickal work.
You can also use symbols as shorthand. If you're taking notes for a class on Wicca, for instance, you can expect to right the words Goddess and God quite often. Why not just use their symbols? You'll know exactly what they mean and it will take less writ ing. Symbols are useful to incorporate into talismans, amulets, writings, carving on candles, drawing in the dirt (an outdoor ritual, perhaps), and a myriad of other things. You might embroider the symbols for each of the elements for an altar cloth for your quarter stations. You might adopt a symbol to identify yourself. (The Living Wicca Foundation has the ankhtacle.) There are lots of uses for symbols.
As far as "magickal" alphabets, most folks are familiar with the "Norse" runes. The FUTHARK has gone through several iterations. Interestingly enough, scholars believe that the runes were created as a set of magical symbols and only came to be used for written language much later.
The Ogham alphabet, ascribed to the D ruids, has a similar history. There are other magickal alphabets as well, including Theban, Malachim, Angelic and so on. The Theban, in particular, was used by alchemists to record their work. Not just to hide it from people who would mistake it for witc hcraft (remember the Inquisition?), but also to keep people from hurting themselves. They were working with some pretty heavy stuff. There were no eye washes or chemical showers in the middle ages. (An interesting note on the FUTHARK, the name given to the alphabet of runes. It gets its name the same way our alphabet does. In ours, or actually, the Greek, the first two letters are alpha and beta. Alpha-bet. In the same way, the first five letters o f the Futhark--Fehu, Uruz, Thorn, Ansuz, Raido and Kenaz--spell F-U-Th-A-R-K.)
Why would you need to know another alphabet or three? Several reasons:
1. Secrecy - Some traditions maintain a high level of secrecy. The knowledge that they share is not for outside consumption. You might want to use runes or some other magickal alphabet for your Book of Shadows for the same reasons as those old alchemists : to keep people from getting hurt. Invoking the elements seems fairly simple to those who have been practicing a while, but for someone who has no training it can be dangerous.
2. Power - You may find that writing your Book of Shadows, magickal working or ritual in a magickal alphabet helps you tap into the power of the script. Or, perhaps, in the same way people take magickal names and wear ritual robes, you may find that work ing with a magickal alphabet gets you into the right frame of mind.
3. As symbols - Many of the letters of the different alphabets, especially the runes, have meanings of their own. You can use them much as you would use other symbols. For instance, the rune Raido is associated with chariots and travel. If I were to make a talisman for driving (a useful thing in New Jersey) I would incorporate Raido into the design.
A note: Many pagans spell Magick with a 'k' as I do here. Some even spell it without the 'c' (magik). They do this in order to distinguish it from stage magic. Any of the three spellings is accepted amongst Wiccans.
Another note: Today's magick is tomorrow's science, as yesterday's magick is today's science. Physics and chemistry have their roots in alchemy, where, among other things considered "silly" today, people were trying to find out how to turn lead into gold . Astronomy came about as astrologers required more and more detail on the movements of heavenly bodies. I believe it was Arthur C Clarke who said "Sufficiently advanced, technology is indistiguishable from magic." What may seem fanciful or impossible to day may be hard science in five, twenty or fifty years.
So what is magick? Well, there are energies all around us. Some are easy to detect. Electricity manifests itself in the light bulbs near you and to run the computer you're reading this on. Fire casts light and heat. Other energies are subtler and harder- -but not impossible--to detect. There is your own personal energy. Energy is given off and moves through everything in the universe. Everything is connected one way or another. Magick is using these energies to bring about change. There is nothing supernatural about magick. It is completely natural. There is nothing that takes place outside of nature. There are laws of magick which are not part of the laws of science, but it's all still part of nature.
It is recommended that you read "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner" by Scott Cunningham pages 175-187, and "Buckland's Complete Guide to Witchcraft" by Raymond Buckland pages 175-184 and 169.
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