Currently Creating: The Rune Series

The Runes —- in their conceptual form —- have been around for thousands of years, much like the Tarot. They appear to be a kind of alphabet, but are much more like Egyptian hieroglyphs in their archetypal symbology. I have studied and worked with the Runes throughout all of my adult life.

About four years ago, I began seeing Runes directly in nature during my long walks with my dog through the Wisconsin woods and wetlands near my house. I began photographing them, but before long, I needed to paint them. The first one came like a bolt of lightning energy —- Eihwaz —Yggdrasill—-very suitably the first of this intuitive series of paintings. The Rune Eihwaz symbolizes the sacred energy of primordial life, often depicted by the Axis Mundi —-or Yggdrasill, the World Tree.

In the words of Edred Thorsson, author of many scholarly and magical books on the Runes: “Runes are a sort of traditional code, originally the gift of the god Odhinn (Woden) through which messages can be sent from one level of reality to another, from one world to another.”

The Runes are signposts of the spiritual mysteries —- magical keys or glyphs embodying primal forces from the collective unconscious. The Elder Futhark contains 3 sets of 8 runes (aettir) for a total Runic alphabet of 24 runes. I am finding it richly rewarding to work my way through these concepts in a deep and personally meaningful way by painting them. I hope some of the intuitive energy surrounding these Runes will be passed on to the viewer!

Runes