beliefs and Wotanism at least to some extent, but that his
relationship to Wotan was still quite ambiguous.
THE SECRET HISTORY
Wiligut’s meta-historical teachings are not made entirely
explicit in his own published writings. We know most about these from the works of Emil Rüdiger—as summa- rized by Mund (1982: 153–80). Many of the events in this secret history are drawn from Icelandic sagas and German history; however, the dates ascribed to these events are projected back in time to staggering proportions. This kind of esoteric chronology owes at least something to the Theosophical teachings of H. P. Blavatsky, especially as published in Vol. II of her Secret Doctrine. Dominant themes in the Wiligut-tradition of esoteric history include the development of branches of humanity from the “children of light” (Kymris)15 and the “children of stone”; the conflict between the Irmin-Kristians (of the Asa-Uana-clan) and the Wotanists; the importance of Goslar and the Harz mountain region to the meta-history; and the key role played by a culture hero named Teut, whom Mund compares to the Greek Hermes and the Egyptian Thoth. This meta-history, which still awaits a final synthesis and exposition, is most likely to be interpreted in a useful way as a mythic allegory for the development of conscious- ness in humanity over time.
WILIGUT’S RUNOLOGY
The clearest, most authentic and perhaps most meaningful
part of the Wiligut-tradition which has survived to us intact is his “Runic key.” This key, which is indeed a different model from the one used by Guido von List, is expounded in his contributions to Hagal and appears to be the part of his teaching which most deeply affected his students. When Mund interviewed Richard Anders decades after Wiligut’s death, Anders simply stated “This is everything I learned from Wiligut” and gave the following equation: The Myth and Reality 63
That may seem overly enigmatic, but once one under-
stands Wiligut’s essentially circulatory secret of the Runes, these signs take on their true meaning and Anders’s state- ment is clarified. With regard to this, the article written by Gabriele Dechend, “The Cosmos in the Conception of our Ancestors” (Appendix B in this book), should be read. This article is an elaboration and explanation of Wiligut’s teach- ing first published in Hagal in 1935. Wiligut’s own most elaborate and comprehensive treatment of his personal runology comes in the “Whispering of Gotos—Rune-Knowledge” (1934). Clearly Wiligut is not interested in runological data gleaned from Old Norse and Old English sources—these are, for him, decadent forms. His runology is based on an underlying central concept of the cosmic circulation of Spirit-Energy-Matter. In this Wiligut sees the cosmos as dynamic but unchanging. It continuously follows the same laws. Change is the appearance of the world to humans who are at different stages of their developments and who there- fore see the world as if it were in constant flux. So for Wiligut runology was primarily the study of this esoteric system of cosmic circulation, which Runic shapes encoded. Frau Schaefer-Gerdau said of this kind of runol- ogy:
Now through the work of Dr. Teltscher, Colonel
Wiligut and [Emil] Rüdiger, we no longer have to look at the Runes as merely letters, as a kind of primordial alphabet, but by means of dynamic and cosmic order we came to realize that the Runes are a “third” key in addition to number and sound (tone), and are actually conscious signs for Energy, especially for rarified Energy and flows of radia- tion, as we also have in our myths. (Mund 1982: 181–82)
Essential to the understanding of Wiligut’s runology is
the concept of two different types of circulation—a vertical one and a horizontal one—which intersect at a central point. The horizontal circulation is the Material one, which provides the impulse toward form and toward life. This is also called the tel-Rune and is seen as being feminine and belonging to the Earth Mother. The vertical circulation is a 64 The Secret King
Hag All All Hag (later Hagal)
The journal of the Edda Society founded by R. J. Gorsleben. Werner von Bülow took over as editor after Gorsleben’s death in 1930. Wiligut’s articles appeared later that decade under the name “Jarl Widar.” The journal’s motto reads: “Like is only understood by like.” The Myth and Reality 65
Spiritual one, and provides the creative principle.
Where these two kinds of circulation intersect there arises consciousness, form and life, and there is an incep- tion of a Material Being of the Spirit, or germination of unity, represented by the Rune Not N. This sign indicates a turning of Need. The so-called Irmin-cross used by Wiligut illustrates, in the form of a four-poled model, the process in another way:
SPIRIT
MATTER ENERGY
TURNING
The key lies in the ability of the downward circulation
along the vertical pole to be reversed (wended) so that it can be made to rise up again. With this underlying key, and with the information about it provided in Frau Winckler-Dechend’s article (Appendix B) the Runic material presented in “Whispering of Gotos—Rune-Knowledge” can be read with greater insight. Wiligut’s chief ideological contribution lies in his forceful and tradition-bound presentation of concepts surrounding a hidden history and his conception of the Runes as descriptions of circulations of various kinds of energy. His ideas seem all the more compelling to some because of the degree to which so many of his contempo- raries seem to have been influenced by what he said, or how he said it. The enigma which was Wiligut is probably so closely linked to his personal presence that we may never be able to understand his ideas fully through the written word alone. 66 The Secret King
Wiligut’s “Runic Key”
A document from the archival material of his students. The Myth and Reality 67
Wiligut’s Halgarita Charms, 1928–29
Runic variations from the papers of Wiligut’s students.