Tapio Kotkavuori - 12/22/2005
_Riimujen Viisaus_ (Finnish for _Wisdom of Runes_) is not the
first book to be published in Finnish about runes. Ensio
Kataja, a Finnish senior of an international Rune-Gild, has
nevertheless succeeded to write a book that is unique among
Finnish works on the subject.
Previous books in Finnish about runes have suffered from the
same shortcomings that have often marked books on runes
universally. Their authors have quite often superficially
studied their subject and they have often also used plenty of
imagination in describing runes and their use. Books of this
nature may be entertaining, easy to digest, and maybe also
harmless. But in relation to the authentic, historical
tradition of runes, such books are not _authentic_ in any way.
Ensio's book is not meant to be entertaining. I am sure that
many esoterica hobbyists will find his book interesting, but at
the same time disturbingly demanding. Readers are not
underestimated with this book. I guess that readers who just
want to get Ensio's book into their collections and to tell
their friends that they have read the book, might be left with
an odd feeling that "there is something so much more" in the
book. If that happens, they are right. Runes, in the way Ensio
Kataja describes them, are a metalanguage between one's inner
and outer world, and as such one needs to win them own with
one's conscious efforts. Odin himself can be seen to be a model
for such work, by sacrificing himself to Himself, in his search
for wisdom of runes.
Throughout the book, it is easy to sense that its author's aim
is to base his book on the best possible historic and other
relevant sources. Depth of Kataja's nearly decade of work with
runes is strongly present in the book. He describes general
frames for rune-work with clarity and he lets his personal
interpretations of topics to surface with care and skill. It is
evident that Kataja knows languages relevant to his work and
that he is familiar with relevant sources from _Edda's_ to the
most recent academic studies. It is also evident that the
author has not scraped the book together due to some rather
superficially chosen topic, but that he has written this book
based on a long personal rune-work, with understanding and
dedication.
If I try to find something to be critical about the book I am
thinking first of all some technical matters. Regarding the
real goals of the book, such critical notes touches only some
rather peripherical matters of real importance. Nevertheless, I
think that the layout could have been a bit better. The text
runs a bit too close to the back of the book now. Few pictures
are also not in the proper place in relation to the text.
Quality of printing is very good, though.
It is worth noting that words, verbal magic, _galdr_
particularly are among the special fields of Odin, an
archetypal runemaster. It is easy to believe that inspiration
of that nature has been present as this book has been written.
As the first book in Finnish on _authentic_ runetradition,
Kataja's work is a classic piece already at its birth. There is
no better introduction to runes and their magic in Finnish.
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