Transition from Elder fuþark to Younger fuþark, as well as a Younger fuþark row from Denmark which has been modified to accommodate a Latin alphabet.
This is a chart I’ve drawn up which shows the transition from Elder fuþark to Younger fuþark, as well as a modified row from Denmark that has new characters added to accommodate new language conventions and manuscript writing. The row labelled “Rökrunes” are from the Rök Runestone (Ög 136 in RUNDATA), pictured below.
The Rök Runestone (Ög 136 in RUNDATA), which features the longest known runic inscription and dates from around the 9th century CE. The length of the inscription also grants it the status of being the first piece of written literature in Sweden. Located in Östergötland, Sweden, it contains Younger fuþark, Elder fuþark, and coded characters. Photograph taken by Wiglaf , 2005.
I wanted to provide this chart to help illustrate the changes to the fuþark that I will be discussing in Part III; specific rows will be discussed in further detail there.
Valsgärde Helm, dating from the Vendel Age (550 CE – 792 CE) from the Valsgärde Cemetery located in Uppsala, Sweden. This was one of many items found in rich burial sites within the cemetery, which was in use for 300 years and was most likely the resting place for period royalty and nobility.
This blog series will be examining the development of the Younger fuþark from the Elder fuþark and providing an overview of the historical climate in which this transition took place. Please note that this series will not contain information on modern uses of the Younger fuþark in magic and divination in modern Paganism and Heathenry, and will only be mentioning magical applications as relevant to the discussion of historical uses and archaeological finds. Other links in this series: Elder Fuþark Series Complete; Bibliography (Younger Futhark series); Part I.
The Viking Age is generally counted as having begun with the famous raid on Lindisfarne (792/3) and having ended with the death of King Haraldr harðráði(“Hard Ruler”) at the Battle of Stamford Bridge on the 25th September, 1066. King Haraldr met his defeat at the hands of King Harold (Godwinson) II, who would himself be defeated and killed in battle by Duke William II of Normandy at the Battle of Hastings that same year (14th October 1066). King Haraldr was leading an invasion force of Norwegians to take the English Crown as a result of succession struggles following the death of Edward the Confessor in January of 1066. The Norwegians and the Danes tended to raid and eventually settle on the Continent, in the British Isles, and westward into the North Atlantic. The Swedes largely focused on points eastward, moving into Finland, the Baltic, and Slavic territories. In addition to trade, the Scandinavians built extensive trade contacts ranging from the Arctic, into North Africa, and the Middle East. Some Scandinavians would become members of the Varangian Guard, an elite unit of the Byzantine army from the 10th – 14th centuries CE. First formed in 988 under Emperor Basil II, the Varangian Guard initially consisted of 6,000 men sent to Basil II as part of a military assistance agreement following the conversion of the Kievan Rus to Orthodox Christianity. For the first 100 years of its’ existence, it was largely composed of Scandinavians, but by the 11th century began to see an influx of Anglo-Saxons. By the end of the 11th century the Anglo-Saxons would dominate the Varangian Guard in terms of recruits.
The chief exports of the Scandinavians included various types of furs, falcons, walrus ivory, amber, and other goods. Walrus ivory trade would thrive until the Crusades resulted in an influx of elephant ivory, which would negatively impact the economies of both Iceland and Greenland in particular. Amber was a major trade item particularly in the Baltic going back to the Bronze Age, and the name “Amber Road” is given to the routes employed in the amber trade. Increased trade resulted in an increase in cash flow, allowing for a stronger economy, which allowed for an increase in ship building and thus more raids and opportunities for expansion. (For those folks interested in learning more about Viking Age ships and ship-building, and how it was fueled by trade, I have written a series on the subject which can be found here.) While the Viking Age is named for the raiders, it was also a period of Scandinavian expansion. Often, the raids were hit and run ventures, but over time, they came to be used as an opportunity to scout for better agricultural and settlement prospects. The term víkingr (pl. víkingar) refers to men who formed bands and raided from boats. This was a part-time profession, largely happening over the summer months when there was less of a threat from sea-ice. Most of the men who were raiding were farmers in some capacity; on average Scandinavia’s growing season was very short and the soil was poor, so there was also interest in better agricultural prospects in other countries. In 850 CE bands of Danes began to overwinter in England, eventually conquering territories in northern and eastern England to form what would become the Danelaw. Norse territories would be established in Scotland and the Isles, Orkney, Shetland, parts of Ireland, as well as the Faeroes, Iceland, and Greenland. Iceland would see the first phase of settlement begin in 870 CE (during the period known as the Landnám (870-930)); in 982 CE Greenland would be discovered by Eiríkr hinn rauði (Erik the Red) following his outlawry from Iceland. In 1000 CE – 1005 CE attempts would be made at long-term settlements in Vinland, but ultimately they did not prove successful.
During the Viking Age, Þór rose to greater prominence in popular devotion among the Scandinavians, and his cult would become the largest and most difficult for Christian missionaries to eradicate, largely because his veneration was not confined to a single class but found across all class lines. There is considerable evidence that Þór’s veneration was never truly eliminated, and was merely absorbed into the new paradigm, with many traditions associated with his veneration continuing in folk custom and holiday observances.
Peaceful relations between Christians and pagans in Scandinavia began to deteriorate around the beginning of the 10th century, when serious large-scale conversion attempts were made in much the same top-down process as on the Continent, and once again motivated by politics. In 965 CE, the conversion of the Danes began in earnest following the conversion of King Haraldr blátonn Gormsson (Harald Blue-tooth). Between 995 CE – 1000 CE, King Ólafr Tryggvason (Olaf I) of Norway, backed by King Haraldr, began to force conversion on the Norwegian populace and on Norwegians living abroad in various colonies through the taking of hostages, threats of outlawry and/or execution, threats of taking land, and intimidation. In 1000 CE, in order to avoid looming civil war between pagan Icelanders and newly converted Christians – who were demanding their own Alþing which would allow them to be governed according to Christian principles as opposed to the original Alþing (established 930 CE) – , in response to the fact that family members of Icelanders who were still living in Norway and points closer to it had been taken hostage pending conversion of their Icelandic relatives, and to avoid mounting political pressure from Norway (which was threatening to cut off necessary trade), the decision was made to nominally convert to Christianity. Icelanders would be permitted to continue worshiping their traditional Gods in private, however, public sacrifices and observances were banned, and the population was encouraged to be baptised. From 1015 CE- 1030 CE, King Ólafr inn digri (“the fat”; Olaf II) engaged in a continued program of forced conversions, going so far as to use torture to achieve his ends. Ironically, following his death on 29th July 1030 at the Battle of Stiklestad (where he drowned attempting to retreat), he would be canonized and named Norway’s patron saint in recognition for his “work” converting the population to Christianity by the Catholic Church. By 1100, Sweden saw in increase in the number of people converting to Christianity; as one of the last holdouts, Sweden would be one of the last countries in Europe to be converted to Christianity, with the Baltic peoples not being converted until the 15th and 16th centuries, and the Sami (the native peoples of Arctic Scandinavia) not being successfully converted until the arrival of Danish missionaries in the 17th and 18th centuries.
It was in this environment of cultural and spiritual change, social expansion, and exploration that the Younger fuþark and its’ variants were developed in Scandinavia, and saw continued usage into the early Middle Ages.
These quick links to my previous series are being posted here in connection to references in Part II of my Younger Futhark blog series, for ease of location and reading:
The Rök Runestone (Ög 136 in RUNDATA), which features the longest known runic inscription and dates from around the 9th century CE. The length of the inscription also grants it the status of being the first piece of written literature in Sweden. Located in Östergötland, Sweden, it contains Younger fuþark, Elder fuþark, and coded characters. Photograph taken by Wiglaf , 2005.
This blog series will be examining the development of the Younger fuþark from the Elder fuþark and providing an overview of the historical climate in which this transition took place. It picks up from where my previous series on the development of the Elder fuþark ended; for those of you who are unfamiliar with the history of the Elder fuþark’s development, the differences between runology and runosophy, or who need a refresher prior to reading this series, links to the full blog series on the Elder fuþark may be found here: Elder Fuþark Series Complete. Please note that this series will not contain information on modern uses of the Younger fuþark in magic and divination in modern Paganism and Heathenry, and will only be mentioning magical applications as relevant to the discussion of historical uses and archaeological finds. The bibliography for this series can be found here.
As stated previously, runology is the study of runic alphabets (fuþark), which name is derived from the first few characters of the rune row, and their related inscriptions, the history of their development, and their usage. It is a category in the larger field of Germanic linguistics which draws upon a variety of disciplines: linguistics, palaeography, archaeology, history, mythology, the sagas, folk tales, and folk customs. As such, it is different from runosophy (the occult and/or metaphysical study of the runes) in that it focuses on a scholastic examination as opposed to a metaphysical one. The runes were most likely developed as a system of writing during the 1st – 2nd centuries CE, with the earliest runic artefacts appearing in the 2nd century (in the form of the Vimose Comb from Funen, Denmark, ca. 160 CE). The Elder fuþark was originally designed for utilitarian, not magical, usage and was most likely derived from North-Italic alphabets which would have been familiar to Germanic auxiliaries who had served in the Roman army. The most likely reason for this development was that the Germanic peoples desired a writing system suited to their linguistic needs which neither North-Italics nor the later standardized Roman alphabet could fulfill.
Tineke Looijenga divides the history of the fuþark into two main periods: Period I/Archaic Period (2nd – 7th centuries CE) and Period II (7th – 12th centuries CE and onwards). My first series on the Elder fuþark covered Period I. Period II will see greater diversity in the use of the runes than Period I – there is a greater variation in fuþark rows and in individual runic characters; increased literacy resulting in more legible and varied inscriptions; the appearance of runic memorial stones commemorating individuals and great events at home and abroad; runic graffiti; coded runes; increased use of runes in amuletic and magical contexts. But perhaps the chiefest defining characteristic of Period II is the decline in and cessation in use of the Elder fuþark throughout Scandinavia and its’ colonies, with continued usage and expansion of the Elder fuþark seen among the Anglo-Saxons (who added five more characters to create a 29-rune row) and the Frisians (who expanded their rune rows to between 26-28 characters). These last bastions of the Elder fuþark would themselves eventually cease usage of the rows they developed as a result of the advent of Christianity and the promotion of the Latin alphabet as the standard for written manuscripts. As the Viking Age (792 – 1066 CE) began after the Elder fuþark fell into decline, the Elder fuþarkare not “viking runes”, nor are they particularly associated with víkingar. The formal transition from Elder fuþark to Younger fuþark is generally reckoned to have occurred between 650 – 700 CE, well in advance of the given start of the Viking Age. The fuþark rows in use by the Danes, Swedes, Jutes, Norse, Gotlanders, Icelanders, Faeroese, Greenland and Vinland Norse, and other Scandinavians abroad from the late 8th century onwards were variations on the Younger fuþark, which would continue to see usage and even eventual modifications for manuscript writing into the early part of the Middle Ages. To understand the causes for this shift, it is necessary to do an overview of the political and spiritual climate of the Vendel (550 – 792 CE) and Viking Ages.
The Germanic deities as we know them today (in terms of general names, attributes, associations, etc.) largely solidified during the Celtic and Roman Iron Ages (500 BCE – 350 CE), with much of the surviving mythology coming from Viking Age and early medieval period West Norse sources. The reasons which allowed for these sources to survive as opposed to Continental sources is due to the fact that during the 5th – 8th centuries CE, the process of converting the remaining non-Christian Germanic peoples on the Continent was underway, and would expand into the regions near the North Sea by the end of the 7th century. Early conversion efforts on the Continent were largely driven by Frankish influence. Irish and Anglo-Saxon missionaries were encouraged by 7th century Frankish rulers to come to the Continent and proselytize as a means of facilitating social and administrative unification under Frankish rule. By the end of the 8th century CE, Charlemagne began a genocidal campaign against the resisting Saxons. In 772 CE Charlemagne’s troops destroyed the representation of the Irminsul, the sacred pillar separating the sky from the earth sacred to Tiw/Saxneat/Saxnot (similar to the Scandinavian Týr) and forcing entire Saxon villages to engage in mass baptisms, usually in the local lake or pond. In 782 CE, Charlemagne carried this campaign to the ultimate extreme of massacring 4,500 forcibly baptized Saxon prisoners following his victory at Verden. Historian Robert Ferguson has put forward a theory that the raids which heralded the start of the Viking Age may have been both retaliatory as well as defensive as a result of the violent tactics of Charlemagne and others on the Continent. More information can be found on this subject here as well as in Ferguson’s book, The Hammer and the Cross: A New History of the Vikings. Conversion of the Anglo-Saxons began in the 7th century CE, however, they succeeded in preserving many of their pre-Christian folks practises, particularly in their medical and healing traditions, and there is evidence of syncretism among many early converts, including kings.
Conversion to Christianity was largely a political process which resulted in major cultural shifts. In the early days of conversion, syncretism was not uncommon; many pagan Germanic communities had had resident Christian converts for years and had co-existed peacefully. Christians were even allowed to build their churches near and within settlements as to the pagan Germanic peoples the Christian God was simply another god. The concept of “one true God”, “one true religion”, and the labeling of the deities of others not partaking in the worship of a particular god as “false” was foreign to their thinking and cosmology. The process of conversion used by missionaries was a top-down process; although some people had already converted of their own free will, in many cases missionaries were encouraged to focus on converting the rulers and those closest to them. Once done, the hoped-for pattern was that the newly Christianized rulers and their nobility would then implement Christian laws, religion, and observances while banning pre-Christian ones. To help sweeten the deal, quite often military aid as well as lucrative trade agreements were promised to kings who converted to Christianity and implemented the laws favoured (read: handed down) by the Church.
Christianity also had a different cosmological view from the one long-held by the pagan Germanic peoples. Church law was not based on human interactions and relationships (as Germanic laws had been), but on man’s relationship with God. Within this worldview, God was seen as both the “victim” of mankind’s “infidelity” (via the worship of deities other than him) as well as the ultimate judge and dispenser of punishment for mankind’s perceived “crimes”. Thus the concept of “original sin” was explained to the Germanic peoples as implying that no one – not even their ancestors – could avoid being indebted to God, and in connection with this the status of Germanic women was drastically reduced, disenfranchising them and stripping them of previously enjoyed privileges and freedoms. This was a radical change in worldview for the Germanic peoples, who enjoyed changeable relationships with their deities – one had the freedom to venerate a particular deity as necessary, and/or as a trusted friend. According to Christian worldview, God was a distant, petulant, jealous, and angry deity who had to be worshiped (or perhaps more accurately, appeased), whether he helped you, harmed you, or ignored you who would not permit the veneration of any other deities without threat of severe retribution. In addition, no detail of one’s life was believed to escape God’s eye, and to that end, the Church even regulated when a husband and wife were permitted to have sex – an intrusion into private life previously unheard of – which carried fines and a required penance if violated. The conversion to Christianity effectively upended Germanic society as a whole, and one of the casualties of this period was the Elder fuþark, whose decline in use was hastened by the acceptance of new Christian norms. But while the original homeland of the Elder fuþark was undergoing radical cultural and spiritual shifts as a result of conversion to Christianity’s effects on daily life, politics, and relations with the spiritual world, in Scandinavia the Vendel Age (550 CE – 792 CE) saw the rise of large-scale states and rulers. Cultic centers were often combined with administrative centers, connecting rulers with specific deities. With this came a desire to expand, not only in terms of trade and influence, but also in terms of land.
In a switch from my previous blog series format, I am posting the bibliography for my series covering the history and development of the Younger Fuþark prior to posting the written installments. Because I use Younger Fuþark more often than Elder Fuþark in my magical work I am posting the series covering the development of the system both here as well as on my ADF Dedicant blog (Boar Tracks In The Woods).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barnes, Michael. The Origin of the Younger Futhark – A Reappraisal. Runor ok runinskrifter Almqvist & Wicksell, Stockholm 1987. pp. 22-45.
Bennike, Pia. Ancient Trepanations and Differential Diagnoses. Trepanation: History, Discovery, Theory. Swets & Zeitlinger Publishers, Exton, PA 2005 pp. 94-105.
Brill, Jan. Ships and Seamanship. The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings. Oxford University Press, NY 1997 pp. 182-201.
Byock, Jesse. Viking Age Iceland. Penguin Books, NY 2001.
Grønvik, Ottar. Runene på Eggjasteinen: en hedensk gravinnskrift fra slutten av 600-tallet. Universitetsforlaget, Oslo, 1985.
———- Om Eggjainnskriften enda en gang. Arkiv för nordisk filologi 115 2000 pp. 5-22.
Indrebø, Gustav. Norsk målsoga. A. S. John Griegs Boktrykkeri, Bergen, 1951.
Lapidge, Michael. Anglo-Saxon England. Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Liestøl, Aslak. The Viking Runes: The Transition from the Older to the Younger Futhark. Saga-Book 20 1981 pp. 247-266.
Mees, Bernard. Alu and hale II: “May Thor bless”. Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association. PDF file.
Page, R.I. An Introduction to English Runes. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, NY 1999.
———- Runes and Runic Inscriptions. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, NY 1995.
Perkins, Richard. Thor the Windraiser and the Eyrarland Image. Viking Society for Northern Research Text Series Vol. XV. Faulkes, Anthony and Perkins, Richard (eds.). University College, London 2001.
Sæmundsson, Matthías Viðar. Galdrar á Íslandi: Íslensk Galdrabók. Almenna bokafelagið, 1992.
Sørensen, Preben Meulegracht. Religions Old and New. The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings. Oxford University Press, NY 1997 pp. 202-224.
Spurkland, Terje. Norwegian Runes and Runic Inscriptions. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, NY 2005.
Stoklund, Marie. The Ribe Cranium Inscription and the Scandinavian Transition to the Younger Reduced Futhark. Frisian Runes and Neighbouring Traditions. Rodopi, Amsterdam 1996 pp. 199-209.
Looijenga, Tineke. Texts and Contexts of the Oldest Runic Inscriptions. Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands 2003
North, Anthony. “Barbarians and Christians”. Swords and Hilt Weapons. Barnes & Noble Books, NY 1993 p.30-43
Page, R.I. Runes and Runic Inscriptions. Woodbridge, 1995
Pollington, Stephen. Leechcraft: Early English Charms, Plantlore, and Healing. Anglo-Saxon Books, Norfolk, England 2000
Polomé, Edgar C. Germanic and Other Indo-European Languages. Franz von Coetsam & Herbert Kufner (eds.), Toward A Grammar of Proto-Germanic. Tübingen, Niemeyer 1972 p.44-69
Rausing, G. Barbarian Mercenaries or Roman Citizens? Fornvännen 82, 1987 p.126-131
Rausing, G. On the Origin of the Runes. Fornvännen 87, 1992 p.200-205
Tacitus, Cornelius. Germania. Trans. M. Hutton. Tacitus Volume I. Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA 1970
Wells, Peter S. The Battle That Stopped Rome. W.W. Norton & Co. NY 2003
Wells, Peter S. Beyond Celts, Germans, and Scythians. Duckworth Debates in Archaeology, London 2001
Wulf, F. Runenmeisternamen. KNIRK, ed. 1994 p. 31-44
(This is the sixth installment of an ongoing blog series on the historical development of the futhark system. Bibliography here. Click on the following links for Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, and Part V.)
Just as society at the time the fuþark was being developed was undergoing shifts as a result of improvements in agriculture, increased warfare, and a shift from being a tribal to a more hierarchical society with centralized authourity, so too was the religion of the Germanic peoples changing. part of what prompted changes to agricultural methods was a shifting climate – in the Bronze Age (1800 – 500 BCE) Northern Europe’s climate was warmer and more temperate, but by the time of the Iron Age it was becoming colder and wetter. The change in growing season and the nature of the soil was a natural prompt to improve methods in order to get the maximum use of the soil. An increase in the forms of burial methods and quality of grave goods is also a good indicator of spiritual shifts; whereas in the Bronze Age tumulus (mound) burials were common, by the end of the Bronze Age cremation burials were more usual for many people while mound burials became more elaborate affairs. These mounds often bore the remains of higher-ranking members of society, and served important functions in both ancestor veneration and major public gatherings. Abstract images of the deities began to appear in the early Iron Age, and it is from this time period that many of the bog bodies which have been found originate.
Beginning in the 5th century CE, the process of converting the Germanic peoples to Christianity began on the Continent. Conversion at this time was not only a political process but becoming a part of some trade agreements and often included promises of aid against enemies. Conversion was a top-down process: since kings and local rulers often also served as the chief priests for their people, they were a natural target for the efforts of missionaries. Although many early converts were syncretists, over time syncretism would be banned in the form of laws prohibiting the making of offerings at crossroads, trees, springs, etc. (if no suitable Christian gloss could be put into place) accompanied by fines for violations. The Franks drove the early conversion efforts on the Continent, which would continue through the 8th century; conversion of the Anglo-Saxons began in the early 7th century. A century or two after this process began, the Old English Rune Poem – from which people today derive the meanings behind the Elder fuþark – was composed in the West Saxon dialect, to be recorded in the 10th century by Kentish scribes.
West Saxon was the language of Winchester, the original capitol of the early English kings; it is a dialect of Old English which was primarily spoken in western and southern England. The other three dialects were Northumbrian, Kentish, and Mercian. West Saxon was largely spoken from the 9th – 12th centuries CE, and today surviving elements remain in modern dialects and accents from the West Country. The Saxons themselves were Germanic tribes originally from the region of Holstein between the Elbe and Eider Rivers, as well as from the North German Plain, which is bounded by the North and Baltic Seas. Because of the religious shifts taking place at the time of the Old English Rune Poem‘s composition, it contains both pre-Christian and Christian references, not surprising given that many newly converted Anglo-Saxons were syncretists. The extent to which this poem represents the meanings and associations of the runes prior to the time in which it was composed cannot be fully determined, but it is reasonable to expect that older associations would have been preserved within the newer material in varying degrees.
The original manuscript in which the poem appeared was preserved in the Cotton Library (Cotton Otho B.x., folio 165a – 165b), which was the private collection of Sir Robert Bruce Cotton, 1st Baronet (1571 – 1631), a noted bibliophile, antiquarian, and MP. At the time, his collection was the richest collection of historical manuscripts to be gathered. Many of the manuscripts in his collection were taken from monasteries which had been closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536 – 1541), which Cotton tracked down and purchased. Cotton’s collection became the best collection of Old and Middle English manuscripts, including Beowulf. The 1621 catalog of the Cotton Library is the first to mention the manuscript containing the Old English Rune Poem. The first librarian for Cotton’s collection was none other than the English scholar and poet Richard James (1592 – 1638). Cotton’s son, Sir Thomas Cotton, 2nd Baronet (1594 – 1662) inherited and maintained the library following his father’s death. Tragedy struck on the 23rd of October, 1731 when a fire destroyed and damaged many manuscripts; although the bulk of them survived, the original text of the Old English Rune Poem was severely damaged and only fragments remained.
All was not lost however as the poem had been copied by the Old English scholar Humfrey Wanley (1672 – 1726) and published in 1705 by George Hickes (1642 – 1715), a pioneer in the field of linguistics with a specialty in Anglo-Saxon dialects. The work in which it appeared (Linguarum veterum septentrionalium thesaurus grammatico-criticus et archaeologicus) contains the version which most people know and use today. Where Wanley differed from the original manuscript is in the inclusion of the names of the runes as well as re-ordering the stanzas; the original manuscript did not give the names of the runes as it was written in a riddle format, with the names of the runes serving as the answers to each riddle. Sixteen of the names for the characters correspond with the names used for related characters in the Younger fuþark as preserved in the Old Icelandic Rune Poem and the Old Norwegian Rune Rhyme. This makes it likely that the names given for the eight which do not appear in the Younger fuþark but which are from other sources (such as MS Domitian A.ix 11v.) are likewise legitimate. The poem also preserves five runes which were developed by the Anglo-Saxons which do not have equivalents in the Younger or original Elder fuþarks, which were developed to expand the fuþark for manuscript writing, a short-lived innovation as the Latin alphabet was strongly endorsed for ecclesiastical texts.
The Old English Rune Poem (also known as the Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem) provides us with a basis for the meanings and associations for each of the Elder fuþark characters, making it a key and important part of runic study. It encapsulates a considerable amount of lore and information as well as information on which runes are associated more with particular deities. It is important to note however that one’s understanding and grasp of the runes is only as strong as one’s knowledge of the history, mythology, culture, and worldview which helped to shape them, as well as continual personal study and the ability to give them relevance for today’s world in regards to spiritual and magical work.
