Galdr-sound: Keh-Keh-Keh
Letter: K, hard C
"Torch is to every living person / known by its fire / it is clear and bright / it usually burns / when the athlings / rest inside the hall"
(Anglo-Saxon Rune Poetry)"Sore is the curse of children / grif makes a man pale"
(Old Norwegian Rune Rhyme)"Sore is the bale of children / and a scourge / and the house of rotten flesh"
(Old Icelandic Rune Poem)"I know a sixth. If some thane attacks me / will the wood of a young root / he who says he hates me will get hurt / but will be unharmed"
(Havamal 151)
The source of the meaning behind kenaz is one of the most deeply shrouded in
the runic system. The rune´s two names, torch and sore, boil or swelling,
seem utterly unrelated to each other. The answer to this seeming dichotomy may
be found in the changing burial practices of the early Germanic peoples. At
first, a corpse was kept in an unsealed mound and left to rot until the flesh
had disintegrated to the point where it could easily be separated from the bones
and possibly used in the burial rites. This is the house of rotting flesh referred
to in the Old Icelandic Rune Poem. The Anglo-Saxon poem, on the other hand,
tells of the later time when fire had largely replaced decay as a means of freeing
the bones from the flesh. Both meanings of kenaz speak of the readying of the
corpse for mound-burial.
On the esoteric level, this readying delas with the initiation inside the mound,
an initiation written forth in the image of a smith flaying the candidate to
pieces and reforging his bones. The alfish smith as initiation-mater is a well-known
Germanic figure. Echoes of this dismemberment/initiation ritual can be seen
faintly in the lay of Volundr (Wayland) in which, however, the ritual usage
is only mistily remembered among the details of the smith´s revenge. The
initiation by fire is an initiation on different levels for both king and shaman,
as may be seen in outline in the Volundr tale andmore clearly in the Eddic poem
Grimnismal, in which Odin, tortured by fire for nine nights, chants the ritual
knowledge which empowers himself and raises his bearer, the young prince Agnarr,
to the kingship.
Kenaz governs the primal craft of the smith and all works of knowledge crafted
into action. Its work is that of cleansing followed by transformation, as the
verse of the Havamal writes forth, telling how the energy of a woe-working spell
can be reshaped to work woe to one´s foeman and weal to oneself.
Although the smith/king initiation seems to be a work of males, the workings
of the mound belong to the necklace-adorned earth goddess, who was originally
called Nerthus and later became Freya, or Lady. This goddess ruled the twin
workings of death and fruitfulness, as will be spoken of later under Berkano.
The rune kenaz shows the power of Freya´s sexuality (fehu) given shape
by the wit and craft of the smith. This relationship is better shown forth in
the tale of Freya´s buying of the necklace/girdle Brisingamen (Firenecklace),
center of much of her might. Freya saw four dwarves forging the necklace of
gold and bought it from them at the price of four nights of her love, which
is to say that she gave them the fiery insight in the form of sexual power with
which they were able to bring forth the necklace to its final being.
Kenaz is the power of fehu controlled and used for shaping. It is the rune of unmaking for the sake of remaking. It is used for all acts of artistic shaping, in which the vision, or fire, must break down the raw gold of the earthly material and reshape it into the vision-image set forth in earthly being. Used by the experienced magician, kenaz is the rune which releases the spirit into the realms of power, as written forth in the lay of Volundr and Grimnismal. Kenaz is used for mastery over the sexual energies, often in conjunction with the other fire-runes. It may also be called upon for guiding emotional power to achieve a goal and to shape the feelings of others.
Being closely tied to the inherited right of kingship and the mound in which the dead ancestors dwell, kenaz is one of the runes useful in testing and bringing forth those powers which have passed down to you either from the ancestors of your body or from earlier life-times. This use is written in the story of Ottar, in which Freya makes the cave-dwelling witch Hyndla tell all the names of Ottar´s line so that her lover may gain his rightful might. Kenaz is the source of the bright charisma burning like a torch within the true leader, the rune of the king.
As the rune of fire within the mound, kenaz is also associated with the dragon
or wyrm, the coiling wight of Wyrd´s hidden workings.
The woe-working side of kenaz´s being is disintegration without reintegration,
or unguided shaping, shown forth as rotting sickness or as tumors and cancer.
In ritual workings, kenaz may be seen as the torch or candle which is a sign
of the controlled fire of the vitki´s will through all the realms in which
s/he is working. Used with other runes, kenaz aids the vitki in shaping their
power and selecting the sides of their being on which she/he wants to call.
The stones associated with kenaz are flint, the primal source of human craftmanship
and mastery over fire, fire agate and fire opal, which aid the control and use
of seuxal power and raise creativity, and smoky quartz, also used with eihwaz.
The cave that you saw yourself in the following Journey was as dark as moonless
night. You sigh deeply. You sigh. This stage of the Journey is dedicated to
the rune Kenaz, the Torch of the Path, and instead you had found only darkness.
No matter what, you know you should not give up, that sooner or later the Everlasting
Spirit would send you a Test and a Sign so that you could attempt to grasp within
the powers of kenaz.
The scent of rotting flesh was the difference as you reached the first chamber
of the cave. Looking down you see a lion already dead, and you ask yourself
"who and where is the hunter then?" As if in reply to your mental
question, a trail of blood and the whispers of agony and pain shows you the
injured and very unlucky hunter.
With a mix of horror, anxiety and pity you lean over the body which is all scars,
blood and sores. A man, you know he is, but in a very bad shape. Will you be
able to bring comfort to him or will he die on you soon?
You refuse to contemplate the worse of fates the disformed hunter may have to
face without lending a hand first. Even if the hunter is to die, you can always
prepare for him a clean burial space, because the cave is both a mound and a
place where treasures can be found, shaped by the smith or the Earth Mother
Nerthus-Freya we all worship with our hearts, minds, bodies and souls. But first
it is necessary to clean the hunter´s wounds and to do so you need water.
A further examination of the fourth and smaller chamber of the cave shows a
spring of crystaline water. You smile inwardly and remember a favorite alchemical
quote: "Wisdom built herself a house on a rock, and from this rock flow
the Waters of Life". You tear up the sleeves of your tunic and soak them
unto the water. Then, you get back to the side of the hunter and fighting any
feeling of discomfort or inadequacy, with immense care, you start cleaning the
right arm, which seems to be the most bruised.
As you do your healing job, you think of the powers of kenaz, the facet of
it you are experiencing. A sob chokes in your throat. The experience of death
and the mound is a first, especially for the ever cheerful you. All of a sudden
you gain years of experience, you are fighting a battle for life for someone
you don´t know and may be far beyond any concern or care.
Your tears flow hot down your cheek and you think of the time you have not spent
investing in your own creativity. For kenaz rules also the fire of inspiration
and creativity, as well as sexual energy, and somehow you contemplate your sexual
life or lack thereof. How much have you neglected the needs of your body that
also reflect the desires of your soul for deep committment and connection?
And all of a sudden roles are reversed. It is your body that lays on the cave,
your arms and legs and chest that explode in sores. For a moment, terror seems
to paralise you, but then you remember the meaning of kenaz, the power to reshape
oneself, the Light of the Path along the Mysteries, and your mind starts chanting
the name of the rune Kenaz.
You think then of your unfulfilled desires, of the mound of broken dreams and
deeds, of rage, and, since time immemorial, you recall the bond that binds you
to your physical and soul ancestors because you are in a cave that is also a
mound. And you ask the Justified Men and Women of your blood and soul-line to
come in your aid. For their sake and your own you want to reshape yourself,
to re-integrate and cleanse what needs to be cleansed within and without you.
A crippled dwarf hobbles in your direction and it is his touch that you feel
over the bruises and sores of your body. You brace yourself not to scream of
pain and agony, but you keep firm in your resolve to withstand your ground.
"What do you have to say to me?", asks the dwarf, and you know your
answer will release you or bind you forever.
"Through fire to light, even through the deepest darkness, always heading
towards the Source of of all That Is, again and again. Always, if I can, aiming
at a higher level of experience, this is my desire, how my life has always shaped
the power of kenaz."
You receive no answer, but a sudden surge of energy, swift and effective, makes you examine your whole body in wonder and awe. You are healed! Better still, a Torch is now shining bright, making the cave look like a place of treasures and inner magicks. You blow a kiss to the skies wherever Freya and Nerthus are and know that the power of kenaz is shining brith within and without your very heart.
The Flame of the Everlasting Spirit shines bright and true within and without
your heart, mind, body and soul
You bring neverending Inspiration and Energy to everything you do
You cherish and protect your body, and the sensual energy that connects you
to everything there is
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