79: On three more Norse runes, and more on VV marks and connected topics

 

Written and published by Linden Alexander Pentecost, article published only on this website www.bookofdunbarra.co.uk, and this article was published in the UK like all my publications. This article was published on the 19th of October 2025. The website www.bookofdunbarra.co.uk is not my only website. This article is unrelated and separate from any of my other publications. No AI is used in this nor in any of my publications. This article contains 2700 words and 1 photo also taken by Linden Alexander Pentecost. This is for example unrelated to my other publications including those recent which talk about other runes, other aspects to runes and VV signs and other aspects of other topics in this article (e.g. witches). There are also other articles on this website that talk about other aspects of runes and VV marks, and other topics here in this article. Note that the small text above the image contains info not in the main text. At the end of this article the article URL is given for reference purposes, followed by a small personal note. This article contains no sub-sections. The photo is located nearly at the end and shows VV marks in a church (see relevant sections for details). See my other article on this website, titled: 59: Medieval VV witch marks connected to Neolithic VV symbols, for further details, and other examples and background to my theories on this, other, separate aspects of which are published in the article in front of you. This article in front of you is titled: 79: On three more Norse runes, and more on VV marks and connected topics.

Runes have a magic, ever since I was around 18 - I have written about many aspects of this before, their magic, interpretation, and my own communication with them. Telepathy, well, that verges on this topic but will be a topic for another article, but as I have implied, runes speak through a language that bypasses the auditory and visual linguistic parts of the brain and communicate through a form of geometric pre-human language - at least, this is my interpretation. I specifically described in a similar way to a friend, when talking about the rune “Othala”, written 𐰋. I will quote what I said below:

"Othala", 𐰋, is derived from a Germanic root, related to the Germanic root *aþal meaning "nobility" and represented in Finnish as aateli "nobility". 

It's difficult to explain what the deeper symbolism of this is - other than that this rune is the last of the elder futhark, and corresponds to the "omega" of the Greek alphabet. It represents the completion of cyclical time & the re-establishment of ancestral and spiritual foundation. The "nobility" part refers to nobility in actions, the continuation of divine principle and truth as set out by the oldest ancestors, and of the return to that "spiritual homeland", both physically, psychologically and mentally.

Of course this doesn't explain precisely how to interpret the rune. But that's not how runes work. They speak in a language that bypasses the brain's grasp on time and space, and which bypasses the speech areas of the brain and transcends into a language of geometric fractalisation of the universe. To truly understand them one has to open their third eye, to language and experience beyond the physical senses and at a purely geometric and electro-vibrational level. This is why Odin had to "lose an eye" in order to understand them. Odin losing one of his eyes is representative of needing to "lose something" of our everyday sight and connection to reality in order to see what’s beyond it (it's not about actually physically losing an eye). This area of Italics which was originally published on Facebook has now been removed from there.

Othala is a very interesting and beautiful rune I think, not only because of the interpretations I have outlined above, and its connections with rebirth, completion and actualisation - but also its appearance is itself beautiful in my opinion. I “did” dream of the rune. The previous night I had asked for a sign from the universe and ancestors, and, despite most of my dreams that night being bizarre, just before I woke up, I had a clear third-eye image of Othala appearing as a grey colour and emerging from a subtly colourful, but mainly-white, mist. I can give no further interpretations on this rune at the time being, but thought that the information shared here is important and relevant to the study and understanding of runes in general.

Another rune which has been on my mind lately, and which has appeared in different ways, is that known in Proto-Germanic as hagalaz, written often as: ᚺ. Hagalaz, according to many western psychic and rune-reading sites, has negative connotations. But again, as I have explained before, runes do not work like tarot nor with simple constructs of black and white meanings. The rune represents a kind of energy, universal consciousness and principle of life, a word, energy, written in geometric form. The original word was probably not “hagalaz” of course, this was applied later by Germanic peoples. The original (non-geometric) language of runes was not, I think, Germanic, Germanic people only used and re-interpreted them at a later date.
Hagalaz, the “H” sound, is often associated with the breath of life across different languages. The Germanic name means “hail”. Of course, “hail” can be destructive, but I prefer to see it as the the “colder” side of the breath of life, the blowing of autumn winds that signals the transition of the land from one state to another. Destructive, or rather, uncomfortable, yet the hail will melt and give life to the land, and plus, the idea of being on a Scottish Island or in Iceland as hail blows off the sea, painting the sky with greys and whites, the ocean that deep glowing turquoise - is itself a very spiritual image, if a potentially hazardous one. 

Whilst “Hagalaz” is not negative it certainly represents change, uncomfortable change - at least, if one shies away or fears nature’s natural forces. For a townie, a light hail shower on a Scottish Island might seem hellish or apocalyptic, but for a romantic, a poet, for a person who works with land, listens to nature, rather than only enjoying it in the brightest and warmest of times - for us, Hagalaz is like the cold breath that ushers forward the inevitable processes that have been more subtly active for a long time. It represents the beginning, a creation, for those with the romance and intuition to listen. 

Hagalaz for me, also represents the overcoming of evil. For those who fear their own self, their own spirit, and who try to control others, Hagalaz is the force which begins the process of unfastening the structure of their power - but subtly. Remember, hail is not a dramatic flood or a natural disaster, it is the subtle cue that something has become set in place, that the heavens have opened to bring about change (see also my dreams and spiritual and linguistic topics published elsewhere, in some of which I talk about the blonde fairy lady in a certain dream who came to me when a waterfall opened in the heavens - this also feels somehow connected to “Hagalaz” in a way, even if the scene was much warmer, no hail).

And, for those who do not try and control others and who instead discipline only themselves and their own mind, those who aren’t afraid of the power of spirit, for these people, Hagalaz is not something to fear, but is instead a sign to instinctively recognise, for we don’t work against nature, and we can find a romance in the hail, and simply move out of the way of any possible danger, whilst also appreciating hail for its heavenly message, power, creativity and force.

Runes are not there to help us make decisions that, if we are conscious individuals - we should know how to make through our own instincts. Runes communicate much larger, more universal concepts, and rather than forcing them to answer our questions, we have to do that work ourselves, and they require us to do the work to understand them, they require us to make effort, search and know ourselves, they will not do that work for us nor answer questions that we can answer, in my opinion (I have explained this in different words elsewhere with other details in an online article on this website). This is what I have always subtly felt about the runes, that, they do work with me, but that they aren’t a shortcut and don’t let people use them as a shortcut. They fundamentally communicate something beyond one’s personal life, and only when we understand our personal life can we see, know, their personal messages within our lives. 

The last Norse rune I would like to discuss here is “Dagaz”, meaning “day”. This Germanic root word also shows a similarity to the Georgian word დღე, [d̥ʁe] - “day”. Whilst there are possible “Indo European” cognates to the word “Dagaz”, English “day” etc, the Georgian and other Kartvelian words for “day” are more similar to the Germanic than other “Indo European” forms are to the Germanic. In the Elder Futhark, this rune is generally written as: ᛞ . This was the third rune that came to my attention within the past week. Interestingly, this rune was on my mind, and then I did a small rune-reading, and immediately “Dagaz” appeared as the rune shown in the reading, when I was thinking about it.

I would like to talk a little more here about the VV symbols  (many other aspects of which are discussed in another article on this website), followed by discussions on other subjects in this article. VV symbols or “Marian Marks” are claimed by mainstream historians to be be signs carved into buildings to protect against witchcraft, with the two V symbols standing for “Virgin of Virgins”. As I have said, this may be a later interpretation, but the way the V’s are positioned seems to be a form of symbolism in and of itself, and far predates Christianity. I have since discovered more examples of these VV marks existing in prehistoric sites, and I will share some more examples here.

(Note also that VV “witch marks” are a form of ancient protection symbol - they are not to be confused with “witch marks” in the sense of physical marks also sometimes known as “witch marks”, which were physical signs on people suspected as being witches, such as warts, which were said to result from a pact or deal that the witch made with the devil. I discussed this, with some artwork, in relation to the Icelandic Tilberi in a Silly Linguistics article a few months ago (also I have discussed other aspects to this in other publications including my September 2023 Setantii article on this website and others). In the Silly Linguistics article in question, titled On non-Norse language in Iceland, and Icelandic magical staves - a mysterious symbolic language, Issue #86 July 2025, I discuss Icelandic magical staves and language, which is, connected to VV witch marks in a sense, but in the aforementioned article I also discuss “witch marks” in the sense of the warts left by the Tilberi on Icelandic witches’ thighs (depicted in artwork in the aforementioned Silly Linguistics article). I have also discussed etymologies regarding “warts” in other publications this year, including two possible Quechua and Finnish cognate sets meaning “wart”. On a side note - it is interesting that my Hopi friend told me that “warts” in his culture are associated with the act of lying or falsification, so they don’t appear on someone unless they are a liar in some way. Personally I find that they can have a certain beauty and mysticalness as long as they are not dangerous nor cause harm or complications (of course they should also be removed), and the Aghori in India for example might instead view them as an aspect of creation and chaotic beauty in themselves. Their association with witches, is, as I’ve discussed different aspects of elsewhere, possibly something that harks back to “genital warts” and to the idea that witches were having orgies with each other and with horned fertility gods, who only much later became associated with the Christian idea of the Devil. Of course, it’s easy to understand why genital warts might manifest as a natural part of having orgies, or having a more polyamorous lifestyle, which is by its nature in European tradition, something time and time again associated with witchcraft. 

 

In terms of newly discovered examples of VV symbols in a possibly ancient context, I have noticed what appears to be a set of VV marks on a standing stone in Cornwall at a site known as Boscawen Ûn, the VV-type mark is located to the left of an ancient carving of two feet on one of the stones. Another example is that recently a Nick Parish on “The Northern Antiquarian” facebook group, posted pictures of an unnamed petroglyph site in Britain, where VV marks were found beside cup marks. This again, like the example Boscawen Ûn, is another example of VV marks being used alongside other ancient symbols at ancient sites. It is quite possible that some of the VV marks at these sites (and others I have discussed) are ancient. The examples at the unnamed site in the photos by Nick Parish look somewhat more recent, but still old, and this I think demonstrates how aboriginal animistic traditions around sacred sites certainly did not die out, but would have had a continuity into possibly even recent times. If say, the examples of VV marks were added only 500 years ago say, this would be amazing, as it would demonstrate the continuity of ancient tribal traditions and the reverence of sacred places into recent history. The “Witch Trials” as I have mentioned elsewhere, seem to have had a lot to do with people being evil by trying to extinguish these ancient cultures. Amazing to think that parts of England may have had cultures with indigenous traditions like the Sámi not that long ago, which I have given many, many other examples of.

Probably not quite as ancient - but, this autumn I took a trip to Lonsdale, around the borders of Cumbria, Lancashire and Yorkshire. I have discussed this area and the dialect and ancient language in detail before. Whilst there, I decided to explore a bit, including visiting a few ancient churches, including the one in Melling, which is sadly in a bad state of disrepair, and where some of the columns appear to be learning, perhaps due to subsidence. Upon one of these columns I saw several VV witch marks, which are visible in the photo below. Note that the area around the column in the photo is dangerous and unstable, and the roof above has a hole in it, and material appears to have recently come down. The area is cornered off by chairs, but I did briefly climb over to take a photo, because who knows if these marks might be damaged in the future by a possible deterioration of the church’s stability. Nevertheless, do not do this,  it will be even more unstable and dangerous in the future.