What is a Rune? and Other Essays

In these nine remarkable essays, Collin Cleary expands upon the ideas of his path-breaking book Summoning the Gods and ventures into entirely new territory: “What is a Rune?” explores the nature of mytho-poetic thought and the problem of recovering the mysteries of runa. “The Fourfold” uses Martin Heidegger’s phenomenology of “dwelling” as a means of approaching our ancestors’ way of being in the world. “The Ninefold” offers a philosophical interpretation of the nine worlds of Germanic myth. “The Gifts of Odin and his Brothers” unveils the inner meaning of the account of human origins found in the Eddas. “The Stones Cry Out” advances the revolutionary thesis that “openness to Being” explains the sudden appearance of art in Europe 40,000 years ago. Cleary’s controversial essay “Ásatrú and the Political” argues that Ásatrú is inseparable from White Nationalism. “Are We Free?” skewers the false conception of freedom to which Westerners are in thrall. “Heidegger: An Introduction for Anti-Modernists” offers readers the best English-language introduction to the most important philosopher of the last century. “The Prisoner and Ibsen’s Brand” is a sequel to Cleary’s popular essay on The Prisoner from Summoning the Gods, exploring this enigmatic television series in the light of Henrik Ibsen’s classic play about implacable moralism.