Before I met Ivar Hafskjold I was vaguely aware of what runes were. I had at least one book on my shelves which I had picked up at some point which was about the Elder Futhork, I think I had read one of Eldred Thorson's books too. I guess I found the idea of runes interesting but couldn't see any reason to get too exited about them. I was interested in learning from Ivar, not because of the runic aspect of his background but because I was interested in Martial arts and Ivar seemed to be someone who could teach me something I didn't already know. I don't mean I was that good at martial arts, even with the amount of experience I had.

I never really tried hard enough to get really good, which was my responsibility, but on the other hand none of the instructors I had were actually taking me where I wanted to go. That isn't to say that they were not fine people, teachers and martial artists from whom I learned a great deal, just not all that I was looking for.

When I started working with Ivar I knew very early on that Stav was what I wanted to learn and that I was willing to let it take me where it would. Ivar always emphasised that Stav was a totally practical system and there was absolutely no requirement to believe in any aspect of his tradition unless I was convinced of its effectiveness and usefulness. This included any esoteric knowledge of the runes too. Obviously I needed to know their names and how to do the stances as this was the basis of what we would be working with but I didn't need to concern myself with any of the 'pagan' or 'magical' aspects if I was uncomfortable with them or couldn't see the point of them. Ivar was being particularly sensitive to the fact that I am a Christian and at the time was an active Methodist Local Preacher. In fact I was never too worried about this but I have always been grateful for Ivar's consideration in the matter, but that is the kind of person he is. At some point I will write more about Stav and religion but not today.

I am some one who needs to know how something works, at least as far as my intellect can grasp it, so that I can use it well and understand what I am doing. As I practised Stav it became clear that since Stav literally means “Knowledge of the Rune Staves” it doesn't really make any sense to practice one aspect of it while keeping one's mind closed to how it actually works. Which meant I had to get into the meanings and associations and the mythology which underpins it. I obtained versions of the Norse Mythology and started doing a lot of reading and asked Ivar a lot of questions which he very patiently answered. I built up a notebook of information about the runes and tried to do my own version of Stanza 141 of the Havamal go on, look it up for yourself and I haven't succeeded yet but it is a process.

This week I am going to write about what I have learned about the runes in the past 20 years, well, just an outline. I will only be scratching the surface but hopefully I can whet your appetite for more. And don't forget the opportunity in July to come and learn directly from Ivar himself. I had the opportunity and want others to as well so I organise the camp for him to teach each summer, don't miss it.

Visit http://www.stavcamp.org/

Regards,

Graham