A Word on 'Kennaz'

The rune Kennaz represents the flaming torch within the royal hill, the time of the creative fire - the forge where natural materials are transmuted by the actions of the human will into a mystical third, an artefact that could not otherwise come into being.

One basic meaning of "Kennaz" is torch or knowledge. This meaning is the one presented in the Old English Rune Poem. Another name for this rune, "Kaunaz," means a sore or boil. This is the meaning of the rune in the Old Norwegian Rune Rhyme and the Old Icelandic Rune Poem.

The magickal and divinatory meanings of this rune include a torch (source of light), knowledge (of the outer, intellectual kind, as opposed to the inner knowledge embodied in Ansuz), guidance, a beacon, a lighthouse, learning, skills and talents, education, revelation, exploration, and discovery.

Torches are still familiar today, although not the items of everyday use they once were. Torchlight processions were once common. Since torches provide light, and represent fire under human control, they are a good symbol of knowledge and enlightenment.

Unlike the sun's fire, "domesticated" fire must be tended to prevent it from dying out. With skills and knowledge, as with many other things, the rule is "use it or lose it". Light is also a symbol of hope. We speak of hope "flickering," and of "the light at the end of the (dark) tunnel."

Kennaz ties in with the bonfires of Beltane (May Day) and Midsummer's Day. These were maintained over most of Europe even after the imposition of Christianity. Hope also bears within it the promise of fulfilment. The lantern held by the Hermit of the Tarot deck ties in with Kennaz.