Historically

The “Reid, Rad” or R-Rune According to Friedrich Fischbach (1900)

The Creation of the Fire by two pieces of Wood (a Wooden-Stick and a Wooden-Plate) was considered to be the most sacred, probably because it was also the oldest way. But more convenient was Wheel-Rotation [Raddrehen ] around an Axis in order to start the Fire by Rubbing. This Fire-Wheel [Radfeuer ] was important for all Dwelling-Places.

We find in some of the oldest settlements, many Villages with the Designation ‘Wheel’ [Rad ]. There, they also gathered together for Consulting as a People’s-Wheel [Volksrad ].

From that form of Religious Worship it is known how many Spokes the Wheel had to have, and how many Men turned it alternating. Probably the turning was done through Straps, as was done with the Fire-Drill [Feuerbohrer ], for a faster turnaround.

Strange is the similarity of this Rune with Thôrr’s Pickaxe. Since in Thôrr-Donnar the “R” is strongly emphasized as well as in his name “Roland” (the Rolling of the Wheels make a sound), so we may conclude that the three Runes: Th, O, R were dedicated to him. Thorr drives in the big Heavenly-Chariot [Himmels-Wagen ] around the North star.

That the Reid Rune did not designate the Chariot-Wheel [Wagenrad ], but at first only the Fire-Wheel [Feuerrad ], is clear, but the poetry of the Skalds gave these Runes a very wide scope.

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

 

The “Rit” Rune According to Guido von List (1907)

rit, reith, rath, ruoth = Rita [or Cosmic Law], Rath, Red, Wheel, to Clear, Ret (to soften by soaking in water, to prepare with water), Right, etc.

A Fifth I heard, when in cheerful Flight
a Projectile flies into the Flock;
No matter how swiftly it flies, I force it to stand-still
I Seize it with my Gaze.

The thrice sacred “Rita ” [or Cosmic Law], the “Solar Wheel [Sonnen-Rad ]”, the “Ur-Fire [Urfyr ]” (the Primordial-Fire [Urfeuer ], God [Gott ]) itself!

The exalted Inner-Feeling or Introspectiveness [Innerlichkeitsgefühl ] of Humanity is the Consciousness of one’s own Divinity [Bewusstsein der eigenen Göttlichkeit ], because “Introspection [Innerlichkeit ]” is just “Being-With-Oneself [Bei-Sich-Sein ]”, and being with oneself is being with God.

Genuine ‘People-of-Nature’ [Naturvolk ] are not people who are in the state of savagery, because those people live in the shackles of the most horrible Shamanism. On the contrary, the genuine ‘People of Nature’ already require a high Cultural-Level [Kulturstufe ], but free from all and every Excess-Culture [Ueberkultur ], since they still possess their whole original unclouded Introspection [Innerlichkeit ].

This is made obvious when one is unable to find one’s God in one’s own innermost Being [innersten Wesen ], and so one begins to look for this outside of one’s Self [Ichs ] and in the outside World – “up there in the Starry-Heavens”.

The less inward [innerlich ] the Human Being is, the more outward [äusserlicher ] their Life becomes; and the more a People lose their Introspection, the more pompous and ceremonialized their outward manifestations become (especially in the character of their Administration, Law, and Forms-of-Worship).

However, genuine ‘People of Nature’ should be one in Recognizing: “I know what I trust [glaube ], and that is why I am living it out.”

Innate Divine-Introspection [Gott-Innerlichkeit ] is, therefore, the basis for an impressive Defiance-of-Death [Todesverachtung ] and for an unlimited confidence in God and in Self. This expresses itself brilliantly in “Rita [or Cosmic Law]” and which has the fifth Rune as its symbol.

Therefore, this Rune says: “I am my Rod (my Right), this Rod is invulnerable [unverletzbar ], therefore I myself am invulnerable, because I am my Rod !”

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

 

The “Reit, Reith” Rune According to Ernst Tristan Kurtzahn (1924)

Exoterically: Advice/Counsel [Rat ], Strength [Stärke], Ruoth .
Esoterically: Rita , Ur-Law [Ur-gesetz ]
Generally: Advice/Counsel, Right [Recht], Roth , Wheel

This Rune is of particularly profound Meaning. Rita, rit makes up part of the word “Ritual”. Rita is the Ur-Right, that which is inseparably connected with the Unity of Science and Religion (in the sense of Re-Connecting with the divine Ur-Cause).

Here by the term ‘Right’ is primarily meant “what is born with us and which, in Life, is, unfortunately, almost never the Spoken of”, thus the “eternal Right, which hangs above so-called inalienable rights”.

This divine Right, this divine Strength, has always been based on Introspection [Innerlichkeit ]. Introspection gives Science and Religion the Strength, which allows us to survive decades of Adversity remaining victorious Despite everything.

If the Practitioner has reached the real Consciousness of their own Divinity in themselves, then they are indeed able to bring a “Spear-Projectile” to a standstill with the Gaze as is mentioned in the Rune-Song-Text.

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

 

The “Rit, Reith, Rad, Rod” Rune According to R.J. Gorsleben (1930)

Letter R and Number 5.

The    Rit, Rad, or rechit Rune, the resting head of the horse Gautatyr. The creative word of God, which makes the world of space into the image of the Divine rhythm.

Dr. Friedrich Teltscher’s Ur-word is Verfließendes meaning “that which is Passing” as well as ‘Elapsing’ and ‘Passing By’.

“This I know as a fifth, if in hostile flight
An arrow shoots into the crowd
No matter how brightly it rattles, I block its power
By grasping it tightly with my eye.”

   RIT; council; right; red; wheel; ruoth-kreuz, radkreuz or wheel-cross (symbol of the God’s court); Cosmic law; Rota-Tora (reversal) = original law.

This Rune expresses the rrrolling [rrrollende ] movement of the Wheel [Rades ], of the Sun and tells us: “I am my red [roth ], my Advice/Counsel [Rat ], my Right [Recht ]! This Right, my own Council, is inviolable [unverletzlich ], therefore I myself am inviolable.”

It is Rota, Rita, the Re-ligio(n) = connecting back to the Divine, in contrast to the relics (that which are from this Earth, that which has been left behind).

In the ancient Initiations, their religion was science and law in one. This Rune is the right, the law, the Roud , the advice to oneself, of which Goethe says, “As for the Law/Right [Recht ] that is born with us – alas, none careth to Discern/Investigate [Frage ]”.

All true art is rooted in an unwritten right, and eventually all laws have been made for the purpose of doing away with this Ur-right. This occurs in cases when people want to turn injustice into law as a result of a conscious or unconscious deviation from this original right (the Ur-right). But the Divine law (ruod, Rad ), which originates in one’s own inner council, can be without any external form or codification.

Rita, Rit is the Ur-word for Ritual, and the word Thora or Torah is Hebrew for “law”. Thus, the ‘law of Thor’ is simply the inversion of the word Rota (Rita) and in this case also of the concept Rota, ruot = law, right.

It is the same word “Tarot” which has been handed down to us from the Egyptians. The Runes are, however, older than the tarot cards; and all readings, casting of cards, divination, etc., originated in our sacred Rune Alphabet. Therefore Rod (the Wheel or the color Red) is part of all powers of justice, including the executioner, who puts the criminal on the wheel (Rad ) and destroys him with the same law (Recht ) that he violated.

Knowing that all Language, all Culture, and all God-Man-ness [Gottmenschentum ] flows out of our ancient inner Source/Spring [Quelle ], we become Conscious of our own divine-spiritual Plentitude-of-Power [Machtvollkommenheit ] and then we are, Indeed, able to banish the “Spear of Materialism” by grasping it with the ‘Gaze of the Spirit’ (as the Stanza tells us).

The R expresses movement, which is rot-ating, the rhythm – the up and down (like the rattle), riding horseback, the rule. The symbol of the R-Rune is the wheel (Rad ), with a turn around its axis, the Sun-wheel , the eternal course of the Sun and (in the figurative sense) the course of natural law, of the Rota (Rota-tion). This includes everything that circumscribes something, that circles around something, and which expresses itself with the Rrrrr movement.

The    RIT Rune has the numeric value of 5, thus there is a relationship of the Rita-Rota-Rune with the five pointed star and the right hand (with its five fingers) which was symbol of the law and of justice.

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

 

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

(R) The R-Rune, Rit ; Advice/Counsel [Rat ], Right, Wheel, Rod , red [roth ], ruoth, ret, Rita, Rota, the holy inviolable, innate Right. The Rune of Rights, Justice and Righteousness. – Numerical value 5.

The R-Rune expresses Movement, Rhythm: racing, running, riding, roll, rubbing, rushing, talking, murmuring, etc. Wheel, the rolling Sun-Wheel, the cosmic Rhythm, whisper, rustle, and so on.

The sacred innate Right, my Advice/Counsel, my Right is inviolable: it is in me, Rita , Religion. Ararita the procreation Right, the Law. The Rune Rit, Rita, is the Symbol of the great Ritual, the All-Right or Universal-Right; the Internal, unwritten Right experienced within.

The Five-Fingered-Hand, the right Hand, the Symbol of Rights. The Quintet Right of the Vehmanen Judges (which were a “proto-vigilante” tribunal system in Germany active during the later Middle Ages, based on a fraternal organization of lay judges called “Free Judges” [Freischöffen ] ), the Peoples-Right, the Vehm-star , the Five-Pointed-Star, the upright Pentagram (white Magic), the Knight/Horseman [Ritter ], the Hero [Recke ], the Savior, the Right.

Red, the Color of the Judge, Executioner. The Symbol of the Rit -Rune is the five-petalled Rose, the secret fragrant Right, the Parable of the Secrecy of the divine Right that is kept in the Heart, which acts, but does not speak.

The Demonic of the Rit -Rune is: Unjust, Unholy, Predatory, Revengefulness, disharmonious Rhythm, black Magic.

Motto: “I am my own Right and Knight/Warrior [Recht und Recke ]!”

 

Kummer’s Full Body Rune Exercise(s):

Starting from the Ich-Rune-Position, the Practitioner places the left Hand on the left Hip, creating an angled left Arm; the left leg is also extended to the same side to make the shape of the Rit-Rune-Position.

Its Sound-Formula is: “ra-re-ri-ro-ru.”

For the “R”, Rit-Rune-Position, above all, the Practitioner must have Control of the physical Forces and Activation in the cosmic World-Rhythm.

Whosoever takes Possession of this Rune internally will always be able to preserve eternal Youth.

 

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

The Rune Practitioner should take up the Ich-Rune-Position (Military “At-Attention”); this is followed by a deep Breathing-Exercise three times, with thoughts directed toward physical and spiritual purification; which must also be observed with all the other Rune-Grips.

Now raise the left Arm vertically upwards, the left Hand takes the Position of Figure 5, representing the Rit-Rune Grip.

One purrs “r-r-r” siren-like (with good deep breathing), rising and lowering the sound.

One’s inner Thoughts are directed to higher Advice/Counsel [Rat ], to one’s innate Right and to the cosmic Rhythm.

Each Rune-Grip must be repeated three times (for 3 Minutes each, followed by a short Pause in the Ich-Rune-Position between sets), since otherwise no satisfactory Collection of Subtle-Force [Feinkräfte ] can be reached in the Hand-Centers.

This Rune-Grip produces a rhythmic Warming of the Hand and enables Activation into the cosmic World-Rhythm, whereby the higher Centers are strongly stimulated and magical Abilities unfold within the Rune Practitioner.

Here, too, a conscious-willed [willensbewußte ] Circulation through the whole Body should not be forgotten.

As astral Color-Vibrations, Kummer was able to observe various Colors, such as: whitish-yellow, pink, fire-red, orange.

Further Sound-Formulas of the Rit -Rune are: “ra-re-ri-ro-ru”.

-Paraphrase from Holy Runic-Power [Heilige Runenmacht] (1932)
by Siegfried Adolf Kummer

 

Rosicrucian and Gnostic

The “Rita” Rune According to Huiracocha

Beloved Disciple:

With the    DORN, TORN or Thorn Runes, we have wounded and dominated the animal impulses, that is to say, we have imposed ourselves upon ourselves, we have made ourselves into our own owners and lords, in order to be able to manage the willpower, because the Movement Rune or Olin Rune (    Os &    Othil ) has given us that great magical impulse.

If we have accomplished all that the previous Runes have demanded of us, then indeed our magical energy has been permeated with all the impulse of that Olin (Movement) through the door of the Mysteries of the supra-physical world.

We should not, therefore, remain at the door of that Sanctuary. But, what is it that we are missing in order to go forward?

We are missing the Law. The Occultist knows that God is the Law…

The Rune of the Law is called    RITA. RITA has left its philological value in the words Reason, Wheel, Religion, Red, Recht [German meaning ‘Right’ or ‘Law’]; a Right which tells us what the Nordics meant when they spoke of Rita, Rite, Ritual…

Today, the Law is a conjunction of articles. The Dictionary, as the first concept, gives a good definition as follows:

“Rule and norm which is constant and invariable for things and phenomena born of the First Cause or of their own qualities and conditions.”

And it still goes on to say in the second sense:

“Precept dictated by the authority in which a thing is commanded or prohibited in accordance with Justice, etc.”

Do we, the Humans, know what Justice is?… No, not at all. There is only one, exclusively one, unique in itself, who is the one who knows what Justice is and that is God.

It is God, because he is Law & Justice itself and the absolute, supreme source, from which everything has sprouted.

Just as the Truth only understands the Truth, so too does Justice only understand itself…

God, therefore, within ourselves, is the only one who must dictate what we must do or stop doing. Thus, we must obey and we must listen to his directives alone, to his silent voice, to his imperative and tacit command.

He will tell us, in each case, the last word when doubt corrodes us to our core. He will indicate to us, with his invisible finger, where the path is.

If we deviate from it, then this means we want to march away from God, by following the tortuous path of social prejudice. But then, we work for Society, for the conventional lie, for injustice and it is necessary to labor for Him who is the pure and undefiled Truth, which is Supreme Justice.

Formerly Justice, and its application, as Law, was united with Religion and the Priestesses in the Nordic forests cast the Runes in order to know the plans of God, of the Great All.

Today we have defiled and lowered that Divine Right by putting Justice into the hands of materialistic intellectuals, called Judges and Lawyers, and they are in charge of intertwining and entangling those human concepts that created Political legislators.

It is evident that the Rose Cross Fraternity obeys the authority and the laws of the country wherein each one is found because it is a duty to do so, but we do not descend into baseness such as what is recommended by Krisnamurti in his book “At the Feet of the Master” on page 43, of the edition translated by Carmen Laynadé, when he says: “If you see that someone is breaking the Laws of the country, you must inform the Authorities.”

That which is accepted by the plan of the Theosophists as coming from Alcyon, we reject because we consider it immoral and worthy only of someone evil. No. Resolutely not. It is not for us to judge a man by what others think of him who applies these human laws with dubious success.

We appeal to the Divine Laws and we condemn the Informer who goes before an authority to accuse a fellow human being. This is for us, a mean and a miserable person.

The Nordic peoples celebrated certain periodic meetings called ‘Thing’. In the forest, the members of the ‘Thing’ gathered and each seat was adorned with roses and when justice was applied the Rose was always the symbol of rectitude.

The roman law had the scale as its symbol and the sword was the symbol of the imposed penalty, thus the nordic Rose-cross could not proceed in their courts except under the symbol of the Rose with its five petals, because it was wild.

In the Vehm or Vehma, that secret court of the Westfalians only gave the ruling by putting a rose as a seal in the protocols.

In the Edda one realizes that a rose garden always represents Justice.

With a certain magical ritual, the   Rita Rune was united with the Rose, and made true justice proceed, arousing the internal conscience of the judges in order to proceed with strict justice in their decisions.

Our DIVINE BEING, God in us, is JUDGING all our actions, and his mysterious voice, projected with profound truth from the depths of our cavern, is the one that listens with subtle ears for those who are prepared for it.

The nordics knew certain practices that the Romans called ‘jugum’ and the Hindus of the East gave it the name of ‘Yoga’ and from it they formed the purna-tyaya-laya-mantram-tantra-karma-dhyana- and bhakti yoga that we have experienced for years since theosophy arrived in the West. Summarizing all these practices, what we find are nothing more than degenerations of something primitive, that can produce illnesses, degenerations, insanity and premature death to the european who applies them incorrectly.

For us it is the western ‘jugum’ that we will teach and that we are teaching, this is what corresponds to us and with this we will awaken the divine powers within ourselves and leave the deceiving Hatha Yoga behind with which nothing has been achieved, nor will anything be achieved…

The Rose Cross disciples, who for years have had this preparation by reading the good Theosophical Works and have subsequently verified the practices of the various Hermetic courses, have their organism free from complex barriers and obstacles and can (with more clarity than others) hear that divine voice within ourselves.

Similarly, the practices of this    RITA Rune will serve them in order to achieve a certain personal independence, through which they must feel above Human Laws, intimately connected to their God, who is no longer an entity that dwells transposing the dense veil of the clouds, but the Law itself, the Power, the Light that blazes within them, being their only Judge, their only Lord, their only Guide and Master.

The numerical value of this Rune is 5 and, consequently, it symbolizes the Five-pointed Star and the syllables Ra… Re… Ri… Ro… Ru… must be pronounced rhythmically.

In the F (or the    Fa) Rune we had to raise our arms.

In the U (or the    Ur Rune) we opened our legs.

In the D (or the    Dorn, Thorn or Torn Rune) we put an arm on the waist.

In the O (or the    Os,    Othil, or Olin Runes) the legs were opened and the arms were on the waist and in the present Runic exercise, we have to open one leg and one arm and, in this position, one must vocalize, pronouncing the previous syllables.

With these positions one will see that the disciples are the Runes themselves just as they are written.

The disciples who have done the Great Course have already felt all the forces of these Runes in their vocalization practices.

R.C.

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

 

The “Rita” Rune According to Samael Aun Weor

In a previous existence, during the Middle Ages, the one whom we now call Samael Aun Weor was living in Austria and was a member of an aristocratic family. His family was very conceited about matters of royal blood related with ancestry and he, too, was engulfed within the bottle of those social prejudices.

One day, his sister fell in love with a very poor man, and this became a scandal. The ladies of the class of nobles scoffed at his sister, saying that she had disgraced the honor of the family, and that she could have married better, etc. Soon his poor sister became a widow, but the outcome of her love was a child. It was not possible for her to return to the bosom of her family (because of the social prejudices of that epoch), and so she preferred an independent life.

Feeling pity for his sister, he tried to help his nephew by putting him into a boarding school, but without taking into account the feelings of the boy’s mother… He even committed the error of prohibiting the mother from visiting her son, thinking that, in this way, his nephew could become a great gentleman… The path which leads to the abyss is paved with good intentions.

How many times, when one is trying to do good, does one accomplish evil? His intentions were good, but his actions were mistaken. Nonetheless, he firmly believed that he was doing the right thing. His sister was suffering greatly because of the absence of her son… Clearly, there was love for his nephew and cruelty for his sister. However, he thought that if he was helping the son, then he would also be helping the boy’s mother.

Fortunately, the police of Karma, the KAOM, emerge inside each one of us, within those intimate regions where Love is missing. These agents of Karma, the KAOM, exist within us and direct us towards the Tribunals of the Law.

Many centuries have passed since then, however, the Law of Recurrence is terrible, because everything is repeated as it once happened, along with its good or bad consequences. In the 20th century, all the actors of that past event, have returned again. Everything has been repeated in a certain way, but with consequences.

This time Samael Aun Weor was the one who was rejected by his family, such is the Law… The nephew was reborn again, but with a feminine body (a baby girl). While still young, the girl (his ancient nephew) fell ill with an intestinal infection. Many children of her age died of the same cause and all the remedies were useless. In her face, the unmistakable profile of death was already starting to show.

So, there was no other choice but to visit the Dragon of the Law, the genie of Karma, ANUBIS. Thankfully, Samael Aun Weor had Cosmic Capital with which to pay his old debt and, therefore, the girl was miraculously healed.

With the possible death of his daughter, he had to feel the same pain of detachment, the same bitterness, which in the past his sister was feeling for the loss of her son. Thus, by means of the Great Law, the damage would be compensated, with the repetition of similar scenes…

When will all of the mysteries of the    RITA Rune be comprehended? Certainly, this is the Rune of the Law, it is the Rose that represents Divine Justice.

Inside the Palace of Anubis, scales & swords are seen everywhere. This Great Judge is assisted by 42 Judges of the Law. Illustrious Lawyers of the Great Law (who defend us when we have enough Cosmic Capital in order to pay our old debts) are never absent before the Tribunal of Karma.

To get credit from the Lords of the Law or ‘Archivists of Destiny’ is also possible, but must be paid with good deeds, through working for humanity, or based on supreme pain. Not only is Karma owed for the evil that is done, but also for the good that is not done.

PRACTICE: The fundamental mantrams of the    Rita Rune are: RA, RE, RI, RO, RU. We must open one leg and one arm.

The present Runic practice has the power of liberating the Internal Judgment. We need to convert ourselves into Judges of Consciousness, it is urgent to Awaken the Buddhata (the Seed of Soul).

This Rune has the power of Awakening the Consciousness of the Judges. Let us remember what is called ‘Remorse’, which certainly is the accusing Voice of the Consciousness.

Those who never feel remorse are truly very far from their Interior Judge. People like this must work very intensely with the    RITA Rune, thus, this is how they will liberate their Interior Judgment. We urgently need to learn how to be guided by the Voice of Silence, that is to say, by the Intimate Judge.

-Paraphrase from The Magic of the Runes [Magia de las Runas] (1969)
by Samael Aun Weor

 

 

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