Intro to Runes and Collective Representation

Hey y’all! Thanks for dropping by! I’m going to avoid reverting back to full on grad student mode because honestly? I’m way too laid back for that and frankly I want this to be fun and casual.

So! Here we go! Collective Representation and why Sociology matters to the modern Heathen study of Runes!

We’ll start briefly with what the hell sociology is: basically, it’s the study of society, its functions, relationships and structures. According to Wikipedia, it has a diverse subject matter. No shit. We study everything from sex to culture. Which brings us specifically to the portion of sociology I want to hone in on: Culture.

Culture has its own arena in sociology. People dedicate their whole careers to the study of culture from the perspective of sociology. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the grandfather of sociology, Emile Durkheim, spent the last part of his career studying culture. In fact, it was Emile Durkheim himself who coined the phrase, Collective Representation. Which is where we’re going to spend most of our time in cross disciplinary studies.

So basically, collective representation is a catalogue of symbols, and objects that hold a shared value or meaning. By referencing these symbols, one is participating in culture. For the good or the bad. (Your textbook example by the way, is religion, and is the institution where Durkheim formulated his theory.)

So, for example, when one wears an NFL jersey, the team they are wearing right down to the number and player all convey layers of meaning. Not only to individuals who may have that team in common but also to those who may see them as ‘rivals’.

My partner is from Chicago and is a Bears fan. He always ruffles with irritation when we pass by someone with a Green Bay Packers logo or Jersey. I’m always miffed, after all it is just a game, and supposedly harmless at that. But then, I’m also always cautious and reserved around people who display ‘blue lives matter’ symbols as well. (I view it as low key racist.)

So why should the rune student care anyways? Basically, symbols have meaning, and those symbols and objects have a shared understanding and context. It is the fountain where culture springs from, and culture is the ‘glue’ that holds society together. When we have that understanding, then we can begin to approach our modern study of Runes.

To study the Runes is to study not only an ancient society and culture, but also to study society and culture in modernity. As Ms. Paxson so famously put it in her classic work ‘Taking Up the Runes’: ‘The runes have both an ancient and modern meaning.’ You’ll need both to understand them and sociology will give us the lens to do so. Because as individual as humans are, we also have a collective identity, or shared identity.

And since the runes are so damn ancient, we really don’t have much to go on; evaluating them with a sociology lens is as valid as any other. Because what this alphabet really is, is a collection of symbols and meanings that were imperative to this society. So much so they preserved them not only in writing but in the names of their letters. Bear in mind, the origins of the futhark is shrouded so deep in mystery the only way it could be preserved in their (ancient Norse) cultural consciousness was to attribute it as a gift from the divine, a gift from Odin (or aliens if you’re into that sort of thing). I’d also like to point out that writing was no easy task in the day and literacy was not a common skill.

So, when we pull a rune from a bag, our task as readers and students, is to consider a) what did this symbol mean in the context of the society whence it came and b) how does it apply to society today? More importantly, how does the meaning of this particular symbol apply to the position of the reading and the context (question) of the spread?

This is the value of understanding collective representation. It pulls together all we know about the Ancient Norse, historically, anthropologically, linguistically, and mythologically together with a neat little bow while still allowing us to make room for modern interpretations.

Because at the end of the day, Rune reading is a personal practice in a way that astrology and tarot is not. It is left up to you as the student to seek for yourself the meanings, in the same way Odin once reached for those same characters.

Some links for your pleasure:

Who the hell was Emile Durkheim anyways?

Wikipedia’s article on Collective Representation

The Wikipedia Portal for Sociology

My favorite translation of the Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem, from the Anglo Saxon Narrative Poetry Project

A quality online source for the Rune Poems as recommended to me by the lovely members of Heathen Women United

Link to Ms. Paxson’s esteemed work Taking Up the Runes (also check your local library, mine has Hoopla and you can get this work directly from there)

Another title that I thoroughly recommend, Hanging from the Tree: Living with the Runes, Scott Allen Mohnkern