#ralph blum

[kamala-laxman]

“There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.” Ralph H. Blum   

[secret--songs]

The Book of Runes by Ralph Blum

[thorsvinur]

hello William. My name is EC and i came across a post you made about good books to read for Rune study. I noticed that you mentioned that The Book of Runes by Ralh Blum is a bad source, and I was wondering why you say that. I have said book in my collection and while i havnt read it extensively, i've found it useful. I just want to know your reasoning so i can decided what to do with it from here. much love and admiration

Hey, so I have no idea how long this has been in my inbox because

Tumblr doesn't date these

I have been tending to access my account for about 1-2 months out of the year.

I just realized about a week ago where the asks are on here. 😅

However, I didn't want to seem like I've been purposely ignoring this. I consider the Book of Runes to be a bad source for learning runes in the context of their history, name meanings and uses in writing. Regarding divination, which many choose to use them for, I don't have nearly as much input, mostly because this use is most likely a modern invention, and the methods by which it's done definitely are.

My critique around the points I focus on centers on the fact that Blum writes about them in what seems to be every context except for their own. He relates them to the I Ching, which definitely doesn't mesh; he reorders them for reasons I don't understand; he calls the elder futhark "viking runes" even though they stopped being used around a century before the nominal Viking Era; a number of the name meanings are inaccurate and the inclusion of the "blank rune" is completely ahistorical.

That aside, he basically does these things while brushing right past the awesome history of the runes themselves: how they initially developed, how they evolved over time along with the various Germanic languages they were used to write, actual methods for using them with magic based on sources from the period, etc. Essentially, if you want to learn about incorporating runes into a modern divination system then I have no real honest input, but when it comes to learning about the history of them in their own environment then there are many much better sources out there, and even on a budget Stephen Pollington's Rudiments of Runelore is a quality book that can be purchased for about $10-$15 (though its availability seems to go in waves and the price can have an inverse relationship to it).

The unfortunate thing about me taking so long to see this (maybe; I still don't know when it was sent 😅), aside from seeming rude, is that it's been so long since I actually read the book that I've kinda forgotten some of the things that I didn't like about it. 😆

[gifts-of-heimdall-runes]

Rune Art:

Maja Larson

The beautiful images were named ‘Rune Initiation Cards’ were crafted by artist Maya Larson and allegedly inspired by the work of Ralph Blum.

Source

[the-lady-witchitery]

*Curtsy* I want to start using Runes and wondered if you can recommend a book or a url? Thank, Witchy :)

Hello, and thank you, *nod of a bow back to you* Yes, there is a very good site I can recommend for anything Norse and it has a 5 part article on Runes that’s very good and not too long. It should get you started:

https://norse-mythology.org/runes/

As well as recommending something, may I also point out something to avoid?

You’ll hear of a ‘blank rune’ in some places. This was brought in by Ralph Blum in the 1980s. He had found some very ancient runes and a blank tile was near them. Most would say it was a spare, but he concluded that the Elder Futhark should have a ’blank rune’.

But the RUNE is the symbol itself, and NOT the tile that it’s carved on (/painted/wrtten etc.). Therefore a “blank rune” is no rune at all but just a blank tile. There’s no evidence that such blank tiles were ever used.

Some do use it (possibly enjoyed by Wiccans), which is why lots of sets include it automatically now. Just tuck it away as a spare in case you lose one. Opinions differ, but I personally wouldn’t use it.  I wouldn’t go to any of Blum’s books, either.

[secret--songs]

The Book of Runes by Ralph Blum

[gifts-of-heimdall-runes]

Rune Art:

The Blum / Salerno Runecards 2001

Part 1

Runecards: Sacred Play for Self Discovery was a set of rune cards designed by Jancis Salerno and written by Ralph Blum. The deck and book were published by Connections Book Publishing in 2001. The images are shown for rune art content though the rune order used by Blum has been retained. 

The attractive and interesting images combine various images to facilitate stages of self-counselling. The version shown was published in Germany.

The following synposis was provided from Amazon though it appeared out of print from them:

“The RuneCards is an ideal introduction to the Runes which can be used as a tool for self-counselling. The 25 cards which accompany the book represent the Runes themselves and can be used to guide you on a journey beyond the material to the creative and spiritual - a journey to wholeness. This new edition also features techniques including methods for using the Runes in dreaming, healing and in sacred games. The RuneCards can also be used as a companion to the bestselling The Book of Runes.”

Image Source:

https://get.google.com/albumarchive/104554353255343676700/album/AF1QipNkunyU-6uq-ozw3RqUnEErxvocaTsB3RG864Q7

[gifts-of-heimdall-runes]

Rune Art:

The Blum / Salerno Runecards 2001

Part 3