Historically

The “Yr” Rune According to Friedrich Fischbach (1900)

After the M-Rune, Fischbach says “Out of the younger Runes [jüngeren Runen ], the following are probably the most important” and he gives 11 more Runes which he associates with letters (but does not give any additional descriptions). Included among them is ‘Yr ’, which he describes with the Tyr-Rune as follows:

The Yr-Rune shows the Bow [Bogen ] made of Yew-Wood [Eibenholz ]. The Yew-Tree [Eibe ], which is called “the greenest and longest-lived of the Trees”, is also called Jv and Eon (Eo = i).

-Paraphrase from Origin of Gutenberg’s Letters [Ursprung der Buchstaben Gutenbergs] (1900)
by Friedrich Fischbach

 

The “Yr, Eur, Irr” Rune According to Guido von List (1907)

yr, eur = Iris [Iris ], Bow [Bogen ], Rainbow [Regenbogen ], Yew-Wood Bow [Eigenholzbogen ], Wrong/Mistaken [Irren ], Anger/Wrath [Zorn ], etc.

A Sixteenth I speak to a coy Maiden
To gain my Favor and Happiness:
That changes [wandelt ] * and turns my Wish and Perception [Wunsch und Sinn ]
Of the swan-armed Beauty.

The “Yr-Rune” is the upside-down “Man-Rune”, and since it denotes the Bow/Arc, it also represents the waxing and waning Moon (in contrast to the Full-Moon of the “Man-Rune”).

Firstly, this refers to the Changeability [Wandelbarkeit ] of the Moon. Secondly, as the “Irr-Rune” or “Error-Rune”, it refers to the Moon-Like [mondähnliche ] Changeability of the feminine Nature [weiblichen Wesens ], which is described in later Verses of the “Havamäl ” as follows:

Do not rely-on the Maiden’s intimate Words,
Do not rely-on the Woman’s intimate Words,
Her Heart was shaped on an oscillating Wheel [schwingendem Rad ],
Inconstancy’s Dwelling is the female Bosom.

The Yr- , Irr- or Error-Rune causes Confusion [die Verwirrung schafft ], whether through the Excitement of the Passions [Leidenschaften ] in Love, in Play, in Drink (Intoxication), or through False-Reasons [Scheingründen ] in Speech (Sophistry), or through whatever other Cause [Ursache ]; indeed it defeats the Resistance through Confusion [Verwirrung ].

But the Success of such a Victory is as misleading as the Triumph itself, because it brings Anger/Wrath, wild Rage, and Lunacy or Madness [Wahns ] in the end.

The “Yr-” or “Irr-Rune” is therefore also in Contrast with the “Os-Rune”, because it wants to use False-Grounds [Scheingründen ] to Establish the Defeat of an Adversary, instead of using Solid-Grounds [Gründen ].

Therefore it teaches: “Consider the End/Outcome [Ende ]!”

-Paraphrase from The Mystery/Secret of the Runes
[Das Geheimnis der Runen] (1907) by Guido Von List

 
* Translation Note: ‘Change’ can be translated a number of ways from German. Wandelt or Wandel is when something is transformed into something else (the same thing transforms to be different), such as the weather.

 

The “Yr, Eur” Rune According to Ernst Tristan Kurtzahn (1924)

Exoterically: Woman [Weib ], Deception [Täuschung ], Untruth [Unwahrheit ]
Esoterically: Matter/Material, Chaos
Generally: Woman and Matter/Substance, Lie, Falsehood [Falschheit ], Sensual-Pleasure [Sinnenlust ], Hatred, Anger/Wrath [Zorn ], Wickedness, Error/Mistake, Inconstancy, Lunacy.

We now come to the second of three Runes which give symbolic Expression to Humans themselves [Menschen selber ] and their most intimate Relationship to one another through the Sexes [durch die Geschlechter ], namely the Runes of    Man,    Woman, and    Marriage [Ehe ].

If the three points of the    Man-Rune were directed upwards towards the eternal Light, towards the Spirit, then here with the    Yr- or Woman-Rune they are directed downwards.

This is supposed to indicate that the female Gender is rooted in Matter/Material [weibliche Geschlecht in der Materie wurzelt ], and that all her Perceptions [Sinnen ] & Aspirations are mostly directed to what is Concrete. But, of course, not all female Beings are like this. What is spoken of is the ‘Yin’ of Eastern Philosophy, which has its various correspondences.

Some even go so far as to say that “the Woman [Weib ] must recognize, in her present Embodiment in the material Being, that her Role is Service”. However, what must be understood is that Matter/Material serves Appearances/Phenomenon [Erscheinungen ], that is: ‘Yin’ serves ‘Yang’.

The Woman [Frau ] has her own natural Rights just as the Man has his, and both of their Spheres-of-Action [Wirkungskreis ] are conditioned thereby. From Rights arise Duties [Pflichten ] for her as well as him, and that is unconditional! One can also rule through Serving, and the Rosicrucian heraldic motto of the Princes-of-Wales: “I serve!” should be good enough to explain this.

In the Edda, a Verse from the Hävamal , reads:

Do not rely-on the Maiden’s intimate Words,
Do not rely-on the Woman’s intimate Words,
Her Heart was shaped on an oscillating Wheel [schwingendem Rad ],
Inconstancy’s Dwelling is the female Bosom.

Again, here what should be understood is the danger of relying on the ‘Yin’ improperly, since it is very much attached to ‘the great Deception of Matter/Material’, and can thus easily be taken for the Truth. What this Verse of the Rune-Song aims to explain is: Infatuation [Betörung ], by means of which one’s Desire & Perception [Wunsch und Sinn ] are easily transformed and manipulated…

Therefore the Yr-Rune is also particularly characterized by Infatuation [Betörung ] and the Lie & Confusion connected with it, which in the End also adheres to everything Material.

However, always keep in View that the Opposite-Pole of all these bad Qualities are good ones and that the latter alone should come to light.

To always remain true to oneself, this is the greatest and happiness-bringing Main-Point in Life.

This Rune Rightly belongs to the mutable Moon ().

-Paraphrase from The Runes as Salvation-Signs and for Unbinding-Fate
[Die Runen als Heilszeichen und Schicksalslose] (1924) by E. Tristan Kurtzahn

 

The “Yr, Irr, Eur, Eibe, Eybe” Rune According to R.J. Gorsleben (1930)

Letter Y and the number 16.

The    Yr, Irr, Eur, Eibe, Eybe, W-ybe Rune. YR refers to the letter Y as well as the letter R, and represents the inversion of the    Man-Rune.

The Rune means error, confusion, reversal, negation, destruction, fall, but also woman (as an opposite to man) as well as matter, evil, etc.

At the same time, the    Yr Rune represents the Earthen-Human side (that which is inclined towards the earth), the active joy of the senses and the sensuality of human nature.

But, as a warning symbol of our times, it shows us (as the reverse of the    Man -Rune, of manas , of the divine Reason [göttlichen Vernunft ]) the turning away from God and Spirit [Gott und Geist ] and, in this way, it also becomes the symbol of revolution, of godlessness, of greed for gold (or ‘gold rush’, that is ‘gold abused and muddied’), of materialism and of erring.

Dr. Friedrich Teltscher’s Ur-word is Vollendung meaning “Completion” as well as finishing, bringing to an end, perfection, accomplishment, and fulfillment.

“A Sixteenth I speak, when the Maiden resisted
to awaken her Lust and Desire [Lust und Verlangen ]
I banish the Heart of the joyful Woman [wonnigen Weib ]
[so that] her Wish [Wünsche ] turns towards me”

As its shape shows, the    Yr Rune is the tipped over    Man Rune, it is the symbol of the erring human being, and of the world that is upside down. Since all of the true man’s striving is upward-aiming, in the same way, everything for this Rune is aiming downward and pertains to the under-human, the low-aiming human. It is this Rune which creates confusion and error.

Since the    Man Rune refers to the Full Moon, in the same way the    Yr Rune refers to the Moon Phases (its waxing & waning). It also points towards the changeability and adjustability of the Feminine and therefore it is also the Rune of the woman.

The    Man Rune stretches the arms upward, and the    Woman Rune points the arms downward. As man is rooted in spirit, so the woman (as his equally valid opposite) is rooted in matter, in the “increaser” of nature, in Maria or Mary. The material world (represented by the feminine) is changing, passing, mortal; it is Maya, the “great illusion” (as the Hindus called it); the seduction, the temptation, the bewitching, the confusion, that is part of everything terrestrial-feminine and material (or Yin), in contrast to the masculine-spiritual, divine, eternal (or Yang).

This juxtaposition does not have the meaning or intent of “putting down” the woman, but rather an outpouring of the knowledge of the eternal balance between two forces, which can solve their common task only in union. Man and woman are different, but equally oriented unities, who are both perfect when united as one.

The world consists of opposites, of eternal polarities, of good & evil, yes & no! If man, manas (reason), the Mannus and his “horn” of salvation (his procreation of salvation) are bent or reversed, then revolution is the necessary consequence.

Everything that happens is based on eternal change, upon the lawful cooperation of the polar opposites. This way the    Man &    Woman Runes creatively complement each other. In their union they are a symbol of the last judgment, the ‘horn of change’ (which is similar to the    Hagal-Rune, but without the common point of intersection and therefore not yet perfect in its unity), and promises new ascension.

The    Woman Rune is the sixteenth Rune. The number 16 is composed of: six and ten (6 + 10). Six, we already know (from the    Man-Rune), is a hidden reference to sex, and this means sex on a personal level, on the level of the individual, of the king/queen, of the one who is capable (see the    Kaun or Kings-Rune). Ten, the second number, means: completion, perfection; in other words the clan, the bloodline, from which descends the individual, the one who can. Sixteen is therefore copulation.

The three beams of the    Yr Rune are the roots of the Yggdrasil  World Tree, from which the seeds extract their food. Here also sit the three Norns (Urda, Werdandi and Skuld), the women of fate, who spin the fate of all of humanity according to the laws of the World Tree.

-Paraphrase from The Peak-Time of Humanity [Die Hoch-Zeit der Menschheit] (1930)
by Rudolf John Gorsleben

 

The “Yr” Rune According to S.A. Kummer (1932-1933)

(Y) The Y-Rune, Yr, Error [Irr ], Mistaken [Irrtum ], Iris, Yew-Tree [Eibe ]. The Rune of erring Love [irrenden Liebe ], Ocean Derangement, of Sorrow and of Lust; of Pleasure and of Pain, Laughter and Weeping. – Numerical value 16.

This Rune means Irrationality, Disarray, Delusion, Inversion/Reversal, Denial/Negation, Destruction, Subversion/Overthrow. As well as distorted Head [Kopf verdrehen ], Anger/Wrath, Hatred, False-Appearance, Seduction in Suffering [Verführung in Leid ], Temptation, erroneous Sensuality [irrende Liebeslust ].

It is the upside-down erring Human, standing on their Head. The overturned Man-Rune, the downward striving in the inferior Human [niederrassigen Menschen ], which creates Confusion [Verwirrung ], Intrigue [Innung ], and Chaos.

The Yr-Rune, in its Demonium, is subject to the bad Influences of the Full-Moon and its Phases.

It is the Rune of the Night, of the Moon, of the changeable, changing/exchanging Woman [wechselnden Weibes ], whose Body is subject to the Ebb and Flow of the tide.

Yew-Tree [Eibe ], the Yew-Tree-Wood, Ghost-Tree, which Misleads [in die Irre führt ] in its Demonium, and tempts towards black Magic [zur schwarzen Magie verleitet ].

Yr is the Rune of erring Love [irrenden Liebe ], of unconscious, impure Procreation. Its Motto is: “Consider the End/Outcome [Ende ]!” But when the pure Woman    unites with the noble Man    in conscious Procreation [bewussten Zeugung ] then she gives birth to the    Hag-all , the Son-of-God, in the Microcosm.

 

Kummer’s Full Body Rune Exercise(s):

Kummer does not give any specific Rune-Posture for this Rune, but does mention “the Head-Stand [dem Kopfe stehenden ]” in his description of the Rune’s attributes.

 

Kummer’s Hand Rune Exercise (‘Mudras’ or “Rune-Grips”):

Kummer does not give a Rune-Grip for the Yr-Rune. However, since it is the opposite of the Man-Rune, then it can be assumed that one can do the Man-Rune-Grip with the left hand, but aiming it down towards the earth, and with the Palm facing outwards.

-Paraphrase from Holy Runic-Power [Heilige Runenmacht] (1932)
& Rune Magic [Runen-Magie] (1933) by Siegfried Adolf Kummer.

 

Rosicrucian and Gnostic

The “Yr” Rune and the “Man” Rune According to Huiracocha

Huiracocha says that the    Yr Rune’s value is: “Accident, catastrophe, ending” and that its astrological correspondence is with Mars.

In his letter on the    Man Rune , he also gives information about the    Yr Rune:

In many Shields, the    MAN Rune represents the Tree of Life and we also observe that in ancient documents, there is the Tree of Paradise with only three branches (similar to the    Man Rune) and a serpent coiled around it. That is to say: the Serpent (symbol of Life) coiled around the Tree of the Cross; however, this is not a    Cross as we know it in Christianity (in which the horizontal beam is like an obstacle interrupting the current), but within the    MAN Rune it has raised arms leaving that expedient current so that it can ascend.

If we start with the    HAGAL Rune (which represents the whole Cosmos), then we can extract two Runes. One with arms raised upwards (being the    MAN Rune) and the other with the arms down (being the    YR or IR Rune). The    Man Rune represents the God-Man, the Spiritual-Man who looks up. The    Yr Rune is the physical-Man, the human-Man, the terrestrial man who feels the call of the Earth.

Unite both concepts (that is, God with Man) and we will have the meaning of these Runes.

They are also a symbol of Man and Woman when they form that All (or Whole) which always forms Nature. That is, the hermaphrodite being, Man-Woman, harmoniously united, which is the supreme key of Sexual Magic, MA, MAN, (“Mama”) Mother and MAN, MANO or HAND, Father; two archaic words, original symbols of the birth of all things.

We must also UNITE, and balance (as indicated by this Rune), the KNOWING of the brain with the FEELING of the heart. These are the two poles that, together, will make the spark of that mysterious Light (that is in us) go out and of which we are truly producers.

The value of the    Man Rune is 15. If we add both numerals together, it gives us 6 (six), that is, Sex. From this word is composed the Six which, kabalistically, is    Kaun (the sixth Rune).    Kaun is the Rune of the Sexual Organs or of Sex (which we already know) and this Rune has a single raised arm representing sex in the material sense.

In the    Man Rune, the two arms rise in order to determine that LOVE, Divine Sex, is our own transmuted substance. The disciple should not expect to be told everything, but one should look for words that begin with “MAN-”, “MANO-”, and see how in the beginning of human language that Rune had its importance.

For the operations of Runic Magic, of which we shall speak later, all these forces that we have explained must have been felt in oneself. No operation of White Magic can be done without raising the arms (even if it is mentally) to the Great All, thinking that everything has a trunk, a base, and in doing so we indicate that everything is a TREE, the tree of Humanity, the tree of Life.

R.C.

-Paraphrase from Runic Course [Curso Rúnico] (1931-1935)
by Arnoldo Krumm-Heller (Huiracocha)
available in Gnostic-Rosicrucian Runology

 

The “Yr” and “Man” Runes According to the FRA

Additional Information: In 1987, a book entitled Las Enseñanzas de la Antigua Fraternidad Rosacruz [The Teachings of the Ancient Rose-Cross Fraternity] was published by the former leader of the FRA in Spain. He gives a practice for the    Yr Rune, saying that it is the

same as the lower half of the    HAGAL Rune. Already in this position, recite:

“I am health, I am a hand of the Great All through which it executes its will and I, as a living antenna, must gather the divine forces of the Cosmos without twisting its course nor adulterating its Law”.

This short recitation is the same as the one given (in the same book) for the Man Rune practice, except the arms are up for the    Man Rune instead of down for the    Yr Rune.

-Paraphrase from Las Enseñanzas de la Antigua Fraternidad Rosacruz
[The Teachings of the Ancient Rose-Cross Fraternity] (1987)
available in the Appendix of Gnostic-Rosicrucian Runology

 

The “Yr” Rune According to a Student of Samael Aun Weor

Samael Aun Weor does not mention the    Yr Rune in any of his books, but one of his students explains it in a lecture on the Runes called “The Runes Laf, Yr and Man” on the Glorian (formerly Gnostic Teachings) website:

As you can see, the    Yr Rune is an upside down    Man Rune, and as its name indicates: the    Man Rune represents man, while the    Yr Rune symbolizes the woman (who are opposites).

Since humanity ignores the mystery of the Grail & the Spear (the mysteries of sexual esotericism), when they perform the sexual act: they fornicate, thus, they become the fool.

The fool is represented by the upside down man who does not respect the Grail. This is why the    Yr Rune is also represented by an upside down man: the man who falls into Fornication.

Nevertheless, we cannot state that the    Yr Rune is 100% negative; better to state that it is dual. Its duality is based on how we utilize sex.

Remember that it is necessary to descend into the Ninth Sphere in order to enter into Initiation. The    Yr Rune indicates the descent into such duality…

There is a prayer that we have here, in relation with the    Yr Rune. Remember that the    Yr Rune relates to the descent of Peter, into the Stone, into the woman, into the Earth —the Holy Spirit into Mary— in order to lift the energy of the waters up and to fortify the brain.

The graphic of this Rune displays a person with their hands towards the left and right at the level of the sexual organs: this is how you perform the    Yr Rune.

Then you say to the Holy Spirit, which is in the pineal gland (the atom of the Holy Spirit) that controls the waters of sexuality:

“Terrifying King of the Sea, Thou who hast the keys of the floodgates of heaven and who dost confine the subterranean waters within the caverns of the earth; King of the deluge and the showers of springtime; Thou who dost unseal the sources of rivers and fountains; Thou Who dost ordain moisture—which is like the blood of the earth—to become the sap of plants:

We adore Thee, We invoke Thee! Come unto us, we are thy miserable and unstable creatures; Speak unto us from Thine inconstant and great commotions of the sea, so that we shall tremble before Thee; speak unto us also from the murmur of limpid waters, so that we shall yearn for Thy love!

Oh Immensity into which flow all the rivers of life, to be continually reborn within Thee! Oh ocean of infinite perfections! Height which deepness reflects Thine Image, deepness which thou exhale from the height; lead us unto true life through intelligence and love! Lead us to immortality through sacrifice, so that one day we may be found worthy to offer Thee water, blood, and tears, for the remission of our sins! Amen.”

“Unto true life through intelligence and love” means, “Unto the Tree of Life through Binah and Gedulah” because Binah [3] and Gedulah (or Chesed) [4] relate to the Holy Spirit (the Lord of the Waters), who can control your waters of sexuality from the pineal gland.

You can perform the    Yr Rune in that position, before the sexual act or, if you can memorize the whole prayer, then you can recite it during the sexual act. The prayer of the    Yr Rune relates to the exorcism of the water. Remember that the waters of sexuality are related to your sexual glands. There you find the water with which we need to be baptized. This is the mystery of Baptism.

Remember that the Savior emerges from the waters, and the ‘Lord of the Waters’ is the Holy Spirit (the white dove). From above, the pineal gland (that dove) says, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased,” when he sees his chaste son rising from the waters of the Jordan. Because of his Chastity, he is rising from the living waters (from the    Laf Rune), thanks to the    Yr Rune. That is the mystery of Binah (the Holy Spirit) and Chesed (the Ruach Elohim), the Spirit of God that was hovering above the face of the waters.

Do you see the beauty of these Runes? How each one relates to each other? If the woman (    Yr ) has to work, then the man (    Man ) has to work too, and    Laf   (Life) is between them.

-Paraphrase from Runes: The Runes Laf, Yr and Man on the Glorian (formerly Gnostic Teachings) website

 

 

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