The most prominent motif on North-Germanic runestones - predominantly Scandinavian ones - is the legend of the hero Sigurd, and his battle against the dragon Fafnir. Sigurd’s legacy is widespread, and his heroic actions continued to influence Scandinavian art well into the Christian era. The picture below is from Hylestad stave church, and shows Sigurd sucking dragon blood off his thumb after having slain Fafnir. .

In part of one of this text we looked at the runes with academic glasses. We discussed their origin, different manifestations and practical applications. Now, the time has come to shift our focus from an academic to a more spiritual approach. The topic of the runes as spiritual tools raises many questions, and there are many who would be happy to provide the answers. We are, as we shall see, not the only ones who have looked to history and wondered about how we can partake in the runic...

The word “rune” itself is well known to most people in our cultural sphere, along with the set of symbols it refers to.. Before embarking...