The Rune of Triumph

 Voice of Germania  December 11, 2023 6 min read 

By SS Man Walter Bock

Editors Note: This article comes from the journal “Walhall” (Valhalla), which was published for a number of years in Germany in the 1930s.  To my knowledge, this is the first English translation from the set of journals.  Below are the two runes that Walter Bock will discuss with a few of their basic interpretations.  His own insight on the topic is quite profound and provides a number of beautiful concepts.

Is: The rune of self awareness, self control, and self mastery.

Sig: The rune of victory and triumph (Sieg in German).  The heavenly power of the sun expressed through the force of lightning.  The rune of the warrior.

In ancient times, the Sig rune was the symbol of victory for our Ario-Germanic Ancestors.  The symbol has appeared once again for the fighters of the new Ario-German Reich.

Runes are generally known to us simply as old German characters.  However, we find that particular concepts are bound to each rune as in the case of the Sig rune which we will present as an example.  These days the runes have become something quite mysterious.  We know of the unique meanings of the runes in the Germanic ­spiritual life through the old poetry together with certain research that has been performed.  Consequently, although today we are not able to immediately understand the full meaning of the runes, we may not assume that the existing information should be dismissed as random and inconsequential.  On the contrary, the veil that covers the spirit, the knowledge and beliefs of our Germanic ancestors will be revealed to the proper extent so that we will once again be able to penetrate into the secret of the runes.

Information regarding the origin and meaning of the runes, as far as we are able to interpret, is given in the Edda.  “The Song of the High One”­ includes the following passage:

“I know how I hung on that cold windy tree,

Nine icy nights, wounded by a spear dedicated to Wuotan,

Myself consecrated to myself.

On the mighty tree that hides from man the origin of its roots.

They offered me neither bread nor wine,

I bent down searching and recognized the runes,

I took them up screaming and fell down from the tree.

Then I began to become wise, to grow and to thrive.

Words followed word after word

And works followed work after work.

Now I know the speech that no visionary woman and none of the children of men possess.

And say to you, child of man

Of that which was for a long time unlearnable:

Grasp it, experience it,

Use it , hear it,

Hail to you who retain it!”

The myth of the origin of the runes is as mysterious as the runes themselves.  A literal interpretation of this song reveals very little to us.  Only our blood can help us find the meaning of these words written by our ancestors who, uncorrupted by an alien spirit, penned with wise intent.  The key to interpreting the legends, songs, and runes ultimately lies in the principle that such an understanding can only take place through the same spirit and the same blood.  “Only from the same ­will the same be understood.”

This particular song may very well depict an historical epoch in which a man recognized the “runes” and the immense significance that this event had for his further development.

We can now interpret the runes as the first symbols of the creative Aryan people, through which the internal imagination is expressed and formed.  These runic symbols could have been conceived at a time when our ancestors still did not possess a means of expressing what existed in their imagination as words, language, ­and writing further developed.  Even today we can see this phenomenon.  Every new thought that appears in our imagination is then put together into a linear train of thoughts.  Only after this train of thoughts is established do we manage to express the idea in words or form.  A child, who can in his or her own development be viewed as a reflection of human development in general, may draw playful symbols and shapes which often do not make sense to us, but through which the expression of what is contained in the imagination is realized.  No other possibilities for such an expression­ exist for the child at that point of development.

Let us consider the Is rune and the Sig rune.  The Is rune expresses the idea of one who is standing up straight, one who is asserting himself or herself.  In addition, this rune also alludes to concepts of limitation and rigidity such as that which has been created and is now existing.  For the  Is rune is a single vertical line that does not continue.  Furthermore, we find the concept of self-preservation as well as other personal and egoistical desires which are to be found in both nature and man.

In contrast, the Sig rune describes the law of progress and victory.  Victory or triumph is not merely preservation, but refers to further development and overcoming that which exists – ­the demolition of boundaries, requiring the progress of the entire community as well as a radical change in each egotistical individual.  What a thousand words could describe, our ancestors expressed in a single symbol.  The law of victory contained in the Sig rune includes the requirement of a certain self-sacrifice for the greater benefit of the community.  Wherever the symbol appears before the eyes, the observer is reminded to be victorious in this manner.

Every time we undertake a new endeavor, we initially have a great degree of enthusiasm.  After this initial primitive force is consumed, fatigue or a certain resignation often follows, the so-called “dead point”.  We overcome this “dead point” through the force of our will, continue to move forward, and awaken new powers that are to be found within us.  We make another step forward, and the previous limitation that we accepted is likewise moved forward to a new and higher goal.

All of this is expressed in the single symbol Sig: Victory is only possible if the primitive ego applies the will in order to overcome the “dead point” of fatigue and resignation.  Thus the Sig rune can be viewed as a “broken” or a “continued” Is rune with the center interruption referring to this “dead point”.  These symbols were constructed by our ancestors in a language that only they could understand since such ideas emerged directly from their spirit.  For all others the inner meaning was foreign and incomprehensible so that these symbols were regarded as mere formulae.  Others approached such symbolism applying the filter of their own imagination which often included superstitious ideas of malevolent spirits and sorcery.  To the extent that this alien spirit took hold of the German people, the understanding of the runes dwindled and they were ultimately degraded to function as simple letters.

Today the power of this foreign spirit among German people has been broken.  The runes have been taken up to be “experienced” once again, the rune of triumph shines on us.  In the swastika, in the signs of our combat squadrons, most emblematically ­in the SS, the victory stands before our eyes.  This first triumph over the foreign spirit was necessary for the re-development of our own Aryan spirit.  Thus, the Sig rune serves as a certain prerequisite for the understanding of other runic symbols expressed by the great Aryan spirit in earlier times.

Found at http://www.renegadetribune.com/the-rune-of-triumph/