The Is, Isa Rune
The “Is” Rune According to Guido Von List
Is = Ice [Eis], Iron [Eisen].
A ninth I understand, when Need arises for me
to protect My Ship on the Ocean:
Then I will still the Storm on the rising Sea
and soothe the Surge of the Waves.
Through the “unquestionable/undoubting Consciousness of their own Spiritual-Power [Geistesmacht]”, the Waves are tamed/subdued [gebändigt] – “made frozen” – they freeze like Ice.
But not only the Waves (emblematic of the Will) alone, all of Life is obedient to the compelling Will. Countless examples of the Ægishjálmur or “Agis shield [Ag-is-schild]” of Wotan; or the Gorgon’s head of the Athenians, the Aegis or “Agis helm [Ag-is-helm]”; all the way down to the hunting belief & the hunter’s custom of “Making-Freeze” their prey; and even of modern Hypnosis; which are all based on the hypnotic Power of the Strong-Willed Spirit symbolized by the “Is” Rune (which is the ninth in the Runic alphabet).
Therefore: “Gain/Win [Gewinne] Power over Yourself and You will have Power over everything in the Spiritual and Physical worlds that is resisting You.”
-Paraphrase from The Mystery/Secret of the Runes [Das Geheimnis der Runen] (1908)
by Guido von List
The “Is, Eis, Eisen, Ich” Rune According to R.J. Gorsleben
Letter I and Number 9. Is-Rune is ice, icicle, iron, the Self [Ich]. Everything Rigid and Solidifying; Death; the Calm in the Center (of the constantly moving world of phenomena). Also the Wave; the Will; that which eternally rotates.
Its Ur-word is Lauf meaning “Course (of affairs)” as well as Run, Function, Flow, Circulation, Motion, Orbit.
“A ninth one I sing, when danger/distress at sea forces me
To protect my ship against/from the stormy waves;
I calm the storm down, no matter how wild/billowing the sea,
And I cradle the waves to sleep.”
This is the Rune of the Self, as well as of the Personality; of Self-Control [Selbstbeherrschung]; of Determination; of Masculinity, of magical Might; of the Vertical/Perpendicular, of the World-Axis, of the extension of the Divine center to above & below, it is Movement, it is Doing/Action.
The human being is the living Is-Rune (whether he is aware of this or not). He stands vertically, under the influence of the acting energy streams and waves that go throughout the universe. Man is an antenna of nature and the cosmic effects act upon him (the beneficial as well as the unbeneficial ones), and he does what he is capable and willing to do. The cosmic rays slide [gleiten] along our spine, on their path from the heights to the depths. In this way, the initiate draws down the energies of the cosmos daily, forces which make them spiritually and physically resistant to all the rottenness that surrounds them.
The sound of the Rune is “I”. The spoken sound vibrates throughout the whole body: from the head, along the spine, down through the legs, to the centers of the feet. Lift the “I” sound (in the same way as when asking a question) and the wave-streams will rise from the heels up through the body.
The Is-Rune shows the upright human being, which corresponds to the military “at attention” command. A miracle happens then: soldiers at arms become a field filled with Is-Runes, which originates (man by man, under one command) a stone circle; each an ordered, trained world within himself which all together signify: “Gain power over yourself and you will have power over others!”
The Is-Rune also shows the obelisk, the column, the soul-axis of the world, the Irmin-column [Irminsul], the stone tablets with the law, the Arman-soul, the mast holding the “Sail” that connects us with the “wind” (the Will) of heaven.
When seen from above, this Rune is a point or hub (something like the navel of the world) around which life circles. In this function, it is the symbol of leadership and of the leader, themselves, in the center of the crowd.
When Schopenhauer characterizes the “World as Will and Imagination”, we add: Man is Wave and Rotation [Welle und Umdrehung]. The Is-Rune represents this Will in Space as a Wave. But the Wave is only an outward appearance of the Will that gave it Initiative/Impetus [Anstoß]. It is the Wave of the Will that operates within the Self, the axis between the human and the divine.
Although its value is Nine, this Rune shows us the One: the single vertical line, the ace, and the Divine Self. The Is-Rune is the magic wand that the magician carries, a symbol of the life-giving and Od-radiating Phallus (out of which the symbol of the scepter evolved). The immense energies that are in this Rune can only be fertile and alive in the hand of the man who has overcome himself.
-Paraphrase from The Peak-Time of Humanity [Die Hoch-Zeit der Menschheit] (1930)
by Rudolf John Gorsleben
The I– or Is-Rune is the Rune of the Self [Ich ], that is: the Inner Spirit, as well as of the Personality. The Is-rune is a positive masculine rune and the Universal-Phallus [Welten-Phallus]. The Is-Rune expresses the generating, creating Force, the decisive Power, the active Will, the conscious Self [bewußte Ich].
It is the rune of wise Magic, and is said to be related with the magical Force of Self-Consciousness [magischen Kraft des Selbstbewußtseins ]. It is also the Wave-Rune, the rune of the Will; it said to strengthen self-awareness and Willpower.
Since it is the rune of the Self [Ich ], it is also the rune of Self-Control & Self-Mastery [Selbstbeherrschung ]. Those who embrace this rune inwardly receive the Power to control/master [beherrschen ] themselves and others. It is also said to make one physically and spiritually more resilient.
The Is-rune hides incalculable magical Forces [unermeßliche magische Kräfte ]. It was used in ancient times by the consecrated in high mystery practices. It leads to divine magic, as well as to conscious, blessed pure procreation.
With this rune the whole cosmos, the great universe, is connected in unity. It is the eternal divine love that pervades everything; it works in all beings and always strives to bring everything back to the great Unity. “One” corresponds to the center of all being, the center of all things, to the great Union, Unity. One is the most complete of all the numbers; it represents the divine, conscious human being.
In the Runic alphabet, the Is-rune is the ninth and thereby indicates the magical Nine of completion/perfection. It is also the rune of the upright, enterprising/energetic, conscious leader and magician.
Its symbol is the World Axis, the Irmin-column or “Irminsul ”, which is also the phallus in man.
It is also an old skipper’s rune which has the power to calm the stormy sea. The ancient Vikings cut this rune into their ships. Even today, the Is-rune is used by many Nordic fishermen as a talisman.
The reverse, inverse or ‘demonic’ of the Is-rune is the Tel -rune — the negative female Part rune (the horizontal line), the temporary ego — or the negatively lying, sleeping human.
It also represents the axis of the world and of the year, the south-north of the Tree of Life, and the winter solstice. Kummer says that this rune corresponds to the Zodiacal sign of Sagittarius – Numerical value 9.