I’ve received a number of emails asking about the Courses in runes offered by Ragnar at the Denali Institute, and by Edred Thorsson. The question usually asks about the rune courses, and the titles gained through their completion. It is an important question, because it differentiates two divergent beliefs in how the runes should be used.
So, basically, Ragnar and the Denali Institute are the same thing. You can also look at Edred Thorsson’s stuff, he has a course of books, and then I believe you take a test. Thorsson’s work seems very ‘occult’, though he also goes by his real name, Stephen Flowers, publishing his academic research under that name. He has a wide interest in eastern religions, hermetic philosophy and so on… so reconstructing the pagan traditions under his ways is somewhat futile.
Ragnar’s stuff is perhaps unnecessarily New Age-y, depending on your tastes. And it definitely seemed Americanized to me, but I owe a lot to it because it is very thorough and well laid out. I’ve surveyed the entirety of both teachers, yet I prefer depending on my own interpretations and intuitions, and I borrow from others where I agree with them.
The term ‘Erulian’ — which the Denali Institute bestows as title upon those who completely master their several-year-long course (or just pay the money to fast-track) is simply a variant on the word ‘Heruli’ or ‘Erilaz’ (which means ‘Man’). Below I’ve included a quote from a page on the subject. You can find a lot of information here: http://nightsoul.com/erulian/herulian
No “Heruli” are mentioned in Anglo-Saxon, Frankish or Norse chronicles, so it is assumed they were known in the north and west by another name. Encyclopædia Britannica 1911 suggested that, since the name Heruli itself is identified by many with the Anglo-Saxon eorlas (”nobles”), Old Saxon erlos (”men”), the singular of which (erilaz) frequently occurs in the earliest Northern inscriptions, that “Heruli” may have been a title of honor. If this is true, then this is a term pre-Norse cast system. The original system would have placed the “Earls” as a name synonymous with “Shaman”, and thus the word changing into a common word for “Nobleman” by the time of the Norse.
It is my own — perhaps stubborn — belief that you do not need someone ELSE to bestow the title of Erulian upon you. The ancient idea of nobility is that you ACT like a noble. It is not blood, necessarily, that appoints you, nor is it a CASTE, such as we know from the medieval times, therefor it is not hierarchical. Ragnar and Denali, also Thorsson, may indeed believe they have the knowledge and authority to bestow some kind of status upon you, and others may believe in that authority as well. If they have actually found authentic value from that, more power to them.
I don’t. But I agree that the more sources, the better.
Personally, I would caution you against Titles. I would recommend you take a long moment to reflect what it means to depend on someone else to tell you how and when you’ve become a master of something so esoteric as the runes and the intricacies of your own personal inner-world.
I do not condone organized religion, and that is clear from my site’s content I think. There’s no ‘cult’ or ‘religion’ or ‘denomination’ of any sort in the Rune Secrets project. Everyone from beginner to expert is an equal, with equal curiosity for the infinite insight that the runes themselves ONLY assist with, but do not dictate. It is You, not the Runes, ultimately, that will have to be the master of Yourself.
You are not ‘Enlightened’ just because someone else says you are so. You cannot perform ‘magic’ using a scientific or methodological instruction, or else magic would be recognized by science quite easily. It isn’t. You are going to find that the magic you develop is personally tailored to you. Just as a dream dictionary cannot interpret your dreams: Carl Jung has written at length on that idea, for instance in ‘Man and His Symbols’, a great classic of psychology, and an essential read.
Interpreting your own life with the runes, and discovering aspects of yourself and the universe, is entirely your responsibility. That is what is so amazing about the Runes… they are not a religion. They are a tool for gaining insight and wisdom. Wisdom is spontaneous, not planned. There’s no wisdom-shaped cookie-cutter that can be applied to every situation. You no doubt have already seen that each rune can either mean radically different things when applied to different questions, or can point out the subtleties between ideas that distinguish them from being identical.
I endorse “Thinking for Yourself”. I endorse asking yourself hard questions and spending the time on them, letting them really sink in. The ideas found on the Rune Secrets website reflect the strength of my own “Thinking for Myself” method, but ultimately they are, and can only be, simply my own favored interpretations, even after all the discussion that goes on between Mahryan and I, and other members of our small community. No matter how many people agree, truth is not REALLY formed through agreement. You must reject what doesn’t make sense or resonate with you, and adopt only what your understanding agrees with… and find truth through your own efforts.
One of the things that doesn’t make sense to ME are Titles, bestowed by others, Erulian included. Titles are finite, hierarchical, binding. I believe in Names. Instead of seeking your Title, maybe you need to “Make a Name For Yourself”. A Title is a shortcut to a Name, and a title doesn’t guarantee a reputation, or recognition. The first is given, the second is made. The magic of naming far exceeds the bureaucracy of title-bearing.
Remember:
You can’t stray from the path, because there is no actual path to follow.
You become an ‘Erulian’ when you act like a Erulian. Yet perhaps it’s just better to become Yourself… whoever that is, you will have much more grace, integrity and authenticity than anything else you become. What do you think?
Sincerely,
Tyriel