Origin 1902-1908: List reports the row in a vision during his blindness after an eye operation in 1902, and publishes it as Das Geheimnis der Runen in 1908
The eighteen Armanen runes are a rune row devised by the Austrian occultist Guido von List, who published it in 1908 after reporting a vision during a period of blindness. It is not a historical futhark: List built the row from the eighteen charms of the Old Norse Havamal and reinterpreted the letters through his own Germanic mysticism. It became influential in early twentieth-century Germanic occultism, including in circles connected to Nazi ideology, and it is recorded here as a documented modern system rather than an inherited one.
Facts
Origins
Origin Period1902-1908: List reports the row in a vision during his blindness after an eye operation in 1902, and publishes it as Das Geheimnis der Runen in 1908 1 Place of OriginVienna and the German-speaking völkisch milieu of the early twentieth century. 1 Creator / OriginatorGuido von List (1848-1919), Austrian occultist and founder of Armanism 1 Origin of the NameFrom List's "Armanen", a supposed ancient Germanic priest-caste for which there is no historical evidence. 1 Overview
Size of the Traditional Set Contested Use
Contested or Appropriated Modern UseList's Armanism, and the Ariosophy it fed, were explicitly völkisch and racial-nationalist; the row was taken up by figures around the Nazi movement and is still used in neo-völkisch and far-right circles. It is not a historical futhark. 1 Status
Standing as a Comparative CategoryLargely abandoned as a comparative category 2 Structure
StructureEighteen runes, one for each of the eighteen charms Odin lists in the Old Norse Havamal. The forms are adapted from the historical futharks but the row of eighteen is List's own; no inscription attests it. 2 Comparison
Cultural Origin Era of Origin Learn More
The eighteen Armanen runes
The eighteen Armanen runes are a rune row devised by the Austrian occultist Guido von List, who published it in 1908 after reporting a vision during a period of blindness following an eye operation. It is not a historical futhark: List built the row of eighteen from the eighteen charms of the Old Norse Havamal, the "Song of the High One", in which Odin lists eighteen spells he knows.
Each Armanen rune is given a name, a meaning and an esoteric significance, and the row became foundational for the Armanist and Ariosophist currents of early-twentieth-century German-speaking occultism, and for later runic esotericism.
A modern occult row
The atlas treats the Armanen runes as a modern esoteric invention, distinct from the historical futharks: List derived the eighteen from a literary source and a personal vision, not from the runic inscriptions, and the system carries the marks of its time and milieu, including associations that later fed into problematic ideologies, which the atlas notes soberly.
The atlas gives each Armanen rune its name, form and meaning. The historical runes it should not be confused with are treated in the rune category, and the Armanen row belongs among the Modern Revivals.
All Armanen Runes
Filter Results18 entries
Sources
1. The Occult Roots of Nazism: Secret Aryan Cults and Their Influence on Nazi Ideology
Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, Aquarian Press, 1985on Guido von ListView the Source 2. Runenkunde
Klaus Duwel, J. B. Metzler, 2008on modern runic mysticism
3. Wikipedia: Armanen runes
WikipediaArmanen runes, Guido von List creation sentenceQuote, Armanen runes, Guido von List creation sentence
The Armanen runes (or Armanen Futharkh) are 18 pseudo-runes, invented by Austrian mysticist and Germanic revivalist Guido von List in 1902.
Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
Choose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.