Thomas Karlsson - Nightside of the Runes: Uthark, Adulruna, and the Gothic Cabbala

This book is dedicated to my family.

I wish to thank Stephen Flowers, Ph.D., for all his work in the field of true magic and runic esotericism. Sincere thanks to Timo Ketola for the artwork, and to the National Library of Sweden, Stockholm; Carolina Rediviva library, Uppsala; and the University Library of Linkping for letting me work and study the original manuscripts of Johannes Bureus from the early seventeenth century.

Nightside of the
RUNES

Here Thomas Karlsson takes us on an inner journey to the secrets of the North. His insight brings new light to the topics of Johannes Bureus, the runic mage of the Renaissance North, and to the enigmatic Uthark, first explored by the Swedish runologist Sigurd Agrell. Karlssons access to obscure sources makes this work a true gem.

STEPHEN FLOWERS, PH.D., AUTHOR OF ICELANDIC MAGIC: PRACTICAL SECRETS OF THE NORTHERN GRIMOIRES AND LORDS OF THE LEFT-HAND PATH: FORBIDDEN PRACTICES AND SPIRITUAL HERESIES

Thomas Karlssons Nightside of the Runes is a curious and fascinating compendium, not just for the largely forgotten theories of the Swedish luminaries from earlier centuries that he resurrects and works with (the Uthark rune-row of the mystical scholar Sigurd Agrell and the Adulruna of the scholarly mystic Johannes Bureus) but also for what it shows of the authors own personal journey. The first part of the book reveals a youthful and at times naive magician drawing great power from forsaken research, while the second part shows Karlsson himself having blossomed into a fine researcher and seasoned scholar, yet one who is still very much a magician at heart. A careful reader will find numerous insights at both ends of this runic spectrum.

MICHAEL MOYNIHAN, COAUTHOR OF LORDS OF CHAOS AND COEDITOR OF THE JOURNAL TYR: MYTHCULTURETRADITION

The runes, symbolic letters deriving from the primal word referring to secret or whispering, are the primal mysteries and forces latent in nature, to which the actual rune-stavs are mere markers. The runes take many forms, as does mans understanding and conceptualization of them, and the rune-rows themselves have historically both expanded and contracted with time. Yet, they keep speaking to those that look for them. In Nightside of the Runes, Thomas Karlsson explores the work of two pioneering Swedish runologists, Johannes Bureus and Sigurd Agrell, and sheds light on this heretofore relatively obscure area of runic knowledge, which is of interest to students of runosophy and all Odinic seekers in their ever-unfolding quest for wisdom.

AKI CEDERBERG, AUTHOR OF JOURNEYS IN THE KALI YUGA: A PILGRIMAGE FROM ESOTERIC INDIA TO PAGAN EUROPE

On the mountains of truth you can never climb in vain: either you will reach a point higher up today, or you will be training your powers so that you will be able to climb higher tomorrow.

FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE

FOREWORD

THE NORTHERN LIGHT OF ORIGINAL GENIUS

By Stephen E. Flowers

S weden has a relatively small population, yet over the centuries it has produced more than its share of innovative thinkers with groundbreaking ideas, from Carl Linnaeus to Alfred Nobel. This innovative spirit is especially evident in the field of runology. Nightside of the Runes brings together two works of original genius concerning the runes. Both are written by Thomas Karlsson, an ingenious master of the mysterious ways of the North. Each of the two is in turn rooted in the ideas of two Swedish geniuses in the field of runology: Sigurd Agrell and Johannes Bureus.

Part 1, Uthark: Nightside of the Runes, follows the pioneering work of Sigurd Agrell (18851937) on runes, magic, and mysticism; it highlights the Utharks symbolic connections with Norse spirituality and provides an experiential guide allowing readers to apply these hidden aspects of rune wisdom in their lives. Part 2, The Adulruna and the Gothic Cabbala, investigates in detail the world of Johannes Bureus (15681652) and his profound insights regarding the spiritual dimensions of the fifteen noble runes, the adulrunes, and their connections to the Cabbala.

Sigurd Agrell came of age in a world in which the scientific study of the runes was in full swing. Scholars from Scandinavia, Germany, and Britain were all contributing to a lively debate on the origin of the runes and the use of these mysterious characters in the culture of the North. Agrells interest in runes was multidimensional. He took note of the subculture in which he saw this writing system being used as well as the crosscurrents with other cultures, such as the Greeks and even the Lapps. His controversial Uthark theory is the contribution for which he remains best known, and in Uthark: Nightside of the Runes Karlsson describes how this theory can be applied today.

Johannes Bureus is not only considered the father of modern, scientific runology but also an early leader of the international Rosicrucian movement of the sixteenth century. He was innovative on two fronts: first, he scientifically learned to read and record many of the runic inscriptions that he found in his native country, and second, he brought the spiritual insights of the Paracelsian revolution to the lore of the runes in an unexpected way. Bureus was both a scholar and mystic. In The Adulruna and the Gothic Cabbala, Karlsson offers the first book-length study of Bureus to be published in English. (It should be noted that Karlsson also wrote his doctoral dissertation on the subject of Bureus.)

To both of these innovators Karlsson brings his own pioneering spirit to provide readers with new intellectual and magical experiences as they follow his journey though the mysteries of the northern lights.

STEPHEN E. FLOWERS, Ph.D., studied Germanic and Celtic philology and religious history at the University of Texas at Austin and at the University of Gttingen, West Germany. He received his Ph.D. in 1984 in Germanic Languages and Medieval Studies with a dissertation titled Runes and Magic. He is the author of numerous books, including Original Magic, Icelandic Magic, The Fraternitas Saturni, and Rune Might (under his magical name, Edred Thorsson).