Howdy,
I have a couple of questions for any and all of you. The first is can
anyone give me the old norse rune poem for ehwaz in the original old norse
as my self and some of my friends are interested in word translated as
"song", more specifically we want to know if it is just song or song magic.
Secondly, well I've given you the exact question asked by my friend at the
bottom of this message so if anyone can help, we'd all be greatly
appriciative.

Cheers
Bear


While I know the rune study group has moved on to perthro I�m still hunting
references to the jotun Farbauti. He is mentined by name in the Icelandic
rune poem for yew (ehwaz) where it describes the rune as �the farbauti of
the arrow�
Some translations list it as the giant of the arrow or jotun of the arrow
but some use the actual name.
I�ve found a number of translations of his name, Grimm in Tuetonic mythology
translates it as boatman? but included ? which may well indicate he wasn�t
sure of his translation (full marks to a scholar who admits when he isn�t
sure of his work!)
Many other translate his name as �cruel striker�

Most sources I�ve found list him as Loki�s father, which alone makes him
worth a serious look. Loki�s mothers name is often translated as needle and
one source postulated that cruel striker and needle referred to the idea of
a storm destroying pine trees (hence creating wildfire). Sadly I have found
little primary references to him but know they must be out there somewhere.
Have any of the rest of you found any in your travels or know someone who
might have?

I will be the first to admit that blatant speculation isn�t often productive
but I can�t help but ponder the light it may shed on loki�s nature if he is
the product of an abusive home environment. We know domestic violence can
have dramatic and detrimental effects on a person and no doubt such ideas
were also not unknown to the ancients. though their cultural acceptance and
use of violence was quite different to our modern culture. Additionally
given that his (Farbauti) name is used in reference to the rune ehwaz (yew)
a better understanding of who he was and what he represented to our
ancestors may well cast light on the rune itself.

Either way if anyone can help please let me know :-)

Max




Havamal 16.
A coward believes he will ever live
if he keep him safe from strife:
but old age leaves him not long in peace
though spears may spare his life.