The second emotion is that of fear. We all know that fear can be a paralyzing emotion. To the people of the north they had to live with fear at all times be it walking into the woods or leaving on a sea expedition. No one knew for sure if they would return back home safe and sound. Sure times change but that fear has gone from a more primal survival imputes to a social disease. These days people are afraid to leave their homes due to unsafe streets, drugs and violence. Sure in ancient times the world was no safer then now due to raids and war but now crimes are over drugs and material wealth. One thing that our ancestors did right was to face the fear head on and not hide from it like so many do today. In order to heal ourselves we need to face fear not run from it as with every emotion it has a place and will always teach us a valuable lesson if we chose to listen. Lagu is that lesson.

Finally we come to the third emotion, anger. Like the poem states, when the sea-horse heeds not it reins. This is a perfect and vivid description of this nessesary and often frightening emotion. Anger can be unbridled and blow up at any instance just like a hail storm in the summer it can devastate everything in its path. It isn’t very hard to see that we live in an angry world. Just watch the local news at any given hour of the day I am sure that you will hear about killing, rape, etc. We as a society have broken down morally and spiritually and there is no more an emphisis on worth or reputation. As you can see Lagu is a powerful rune indeed.

Ing waes aerest mid Eastdenum gesewen secgun,

Oth he siththan eft ofer waeg gewat,

Waen aefter ran,

Thus Heardingas thone haele nemdun.

Ing was said to have first been seen among the East Danes,

Since then he departed over the waves,

His wagon after the currents,

Thus the Heardings named the hero.

The above rune poem is a remembrance of traditional lore that the Anglo-Saxons so cherished. When they migrated to England they took their folk beliefs with them. This is much like when people immigrate from one country to another. Especially in America where people of one ethnic group settle in one certain neighborhoods and continue the folk customs of their home country. There is always a need to identify with ones own hereditary and genetic source of being. Ing also contains the mysteries of the fertility cults of the northlands.

Ing seems to be remembering the cult of the Vanir which flourished before and alongside of the Aesir. The main functions of the clan of the Vanir were that of peace and plenty. The hallmark of the cult was that of the deity in the wagon. We first get mention of this cult by Tacitus in his Germania. He mentions a certain Goddess by the name of Nerthus and it was said that in the spring and summer mouths she travels around the countryside in a wagon tended to by her priests. Whenever her cart traveled there were no wars and all weapons had to be surrendered until she left. It is interesting to note that during the male orientated Viking era that they found no problem in changing the sex of the old goddess and renaming her Niord. In the myths Niord is said to have had two children by the names of Frey and Freya. These three gods made up the clan of the Vanir and continued the tradition of the deity in the wagon for as late as the Viking age there were various myths surrounding the fertility gods in their carts. There is a story in the Flateyjarbok which tells us about a man named Gunnar Helming and his escapades with a priestess of Freyr. It states that when he found the priestess she was getting Freyr ready in his cart to travel around the Swedish countryside. I find it interesting that the worship of the wagon deity had still continued in the northlands almost 1000 years after Tacitus first described it. So we can deduce that the Anglo-Saxons had preserved this lore in the Ing rune poem.

We know that Frey was one of the great Gods worshipped in the heathen temple at Uppsala towards the end of the Viking period, but what of his worship in England? Was there ever a cult which followed him? I believe that there was but the evidence seems to be more shrouded in England then in Iceland and other northern countries. First we have to look at the symbols and names which were attached to Frey or Ing. There were several dynasties which used various forms of Freys name. Take for instance the Ynglings which were a royal Swedish family. The name Ynglings seems to mean “people descendant of Yng”. If we look at the royal family of Bernicia in England that there were names like Ingui and Ingibrand found in their genealogies. One of Freys names in the northlands was Yngvi-Frey. In the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf there is a word Ingwine, which is taken to mean friend or companion of Ing/Lord. It is interesting to note that the Saxons and the Swedish peoples used very similar names to reference the importance of this God. The only reference to the God Ing in Anglo-Saxon times is in the rune poem above. It seems that he was not worshipped under that name or perhaps Ing is just a title as we have just seen. Freys name seems to mean Lord, and if we look at that meaning it seems that he was worshipped by the Old English. There is a word in Anglo-Saxon Frea and its meaning is lord, ruler and even taken so far as to mean God or Christ. In several Old English poems the word Frea was used to denote Lord. It seems that Frea was the Lord of the springtime and his sister Freya called Freo in old English were the Lord and Lady of the fertile months. They seem to have been the only two to have survived as fertility gods. Taking on the many aspects and functions of the other gods and goddesses that have been lost in time.

One of the main symbols of Frey was his boar named Gullinbursti, which seems to mean Golden Bristles. Consequently his sister Freya also rode a boar by the name of Hildisvin, meaning Battle swine. The image of the boar is a very powerful symbol of both fertility and courage. This boar symbol is described in detail in the Beowulf epic. It would seem that in Anglo-Saxon England that the god was worshipped in great fervor under the image of the boar. Besides literary evidence there have also been several boar helmets unearthed in England hence collaborating legend with fact. Also interesting to mention is that Tacitus in Chapter 45 of his Germania makes mentions of a tribe whose emblem was the boar and that they were said to worship the Mother of the Gods. It is my belief that the Angles carried these old symbols with them when they migrated to Briton.

As we have seen Ing is a rune which carries within it the essence of the cult of the Vanir. This cult practiced fertility rites and seems to have been closely linked to the earth and matriarchy. While the later cult of the Aesir were more focused on war and expansion in a more male oriented society. Frea and Freo were not only fertility gods but also seem to have been involved in afterlife deals as well. It seems that the burial mound comes from this cult. The Eddas also confirm this as Freya is said to live in Folksvang, which means Battlefield and it is said that Odin and Freya each took half of the slain warriors. There is no doubt that these two cults were rivals, as the story of the first war relates. It seems that after a while the two opposing sides eventually exchanged ideas and gods. Ing is a very special rune and has many layers and secrets yet to revile to the seeker and has something to teach us all about respecting our planet and eachother.

Ethel byth oferleof  aeghwylcum men,

Gif he mot thaer rihtes and gerysena on

Brucan on bolde bleadum oftast.

Home is to every man very dear,

If he is right and proper in counsel,

And most often enjoys the dwelling-place.

To our ancestors the idea of one’s homeland or ancestral inheritance was one of great importance. In fact when one reads the Sagas of the Northlands many of them start out tracing their families genetic line. Many of the royal families traced their lineage all the way back to a certain god or goddess. Take for example in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles most of the founding nobles could trace themselves directly to Wodan. Even when they were Christianized they still held on to this important tradition. We can see this happening today with the renewed interest in researching ones ancestral line to create a Family Tree to serve as a reminder of our past and remembering those who came before us. Ethel is a reminder of the direct link that we share with our forefathers which makes us who we are today in our physical characteristics. Even when the Angles came to Briton the continued to pass on their traditional lore to the new generation in hopes of preserving their past. Like all Northern peoples they cherished their ancestors and even worshipped them. Some scholars seem to think that even some of the Gods were actual people, which were later deified. There also is a possibility that would seem to point to families having their own gods. This could be that certain groups or clans deified a certain member whose deeds or actions benefited the family greatly and whose reputation lived on so that later generations saw this person as a deity. We may never know for certain if this is a true possibility or not.

The rune Ethel symbolizes the sacred sanctuary of the gods, known as the Ve in Old Norse and Weoh in Old English. The word Weoh or its alternative Wih both meaning idol or image. This definition points us in the direction of sacredness. While the word Weohsteall means sanctuary and alter place. These words lead us to believe that the Anglo-Saxons may have worshipped in sacred buildings. It is generally thought that they worshipped outdoors in sacred groves or fields. While this is true there is no reason why they shouldn’t have built temples to worship in. In the late Viking era in Uppsala we know that there was a great heathen temple built with the images of gods. It is said that people came there to worship and to partake in certain feasts. I am sure that the Saxons did the same thing as their Norse counterparts, but there is little archaeological evidence to back up this claim. Another word that was used to denote a divine place is Hof. This word means roughly the same as Weohsteall. Hof could have been used to describe a sacred place, much as people today use the words church and temple. Once again this is all based on speculation and it is up to the reader to form their own opinion.

Finally, Ethel speaks to us of our own special place, the home. We can deduce from the Eddas and Anglo-Saxon poems that the home was a very dear and special place. It is where the family or clan preside, a place for teaching morals and fostering relationships. In the Havamal wise Wodan tells us to be proud of our home even if it is a small one and reminds us that it is better then to be homeless. Also in Germanic tradition ones home was always open to those who were less fortunate. It seems that when a beggar would come to someone’s house there was always a warm welcome, food and a place by the fire. This is a very holistic view of how strong the sense of community was to these people who were often described as barbarians. Of course, one could not be this trusting in today’s world and it proves how much we have lost as a society.

Ethel is a powerful rune not only symbolizing the sacred space of the Gods but also teaching us the powerful lesson of how important home life is. It tells us to be right, just and honorable in our own homes no matter how rich or poor one might be. Also it reminds us of our sense of community and how important it is make it a better place to live by sharing and respect.