The Magic of the Runes: And Spiritual Secrets of Virgil's Aeneid

Quite possibly one of my favourite books by Samael Aun Weor. Amazingly comprehensive, it gives a complete practical explanation of the Gnostic path. One of the key features of the book is that it teaches a series of “Runic” practices – exercises which combine posture, meditation, prayer, visualization, and mantra for specific spiritual results. There are runic practices to harness energy, to get in touch with the Divine Mother, to develop willpower, to transmute the sexual force, to negotiate karma, develop the conscience, contact the elementals of nature, and more. Gnostic practice is very dynamic, so I like it how we can select specific runes depending on our current needs… One week we might need to work with one particular rune, the next week we might want to work with a different rune.There are also some really good chapters on meditation and the inner psychological work. The “Ten Rules for Meditation” chapter is one of my favourites – it gives some very solid guidance on how to set up an effective and strong meditation practice.And in addition to all this, threaded through the book is the author’s reflections on the spiritual significance of Virgil’s Aeneid – a epic classical poem which describes the journeys, tribulations, and adventures of Aeneas, who flees his homeland and sets out on a quest to found Rome. Samael Aun Weor suggests that the Aeneid is really an allegory, describing the symbolic journey of any person who walks the spiritual path. In this sense, the adventures of Aeneas can illuminate our own experiences and struggles.All of these themes are threaded together in a flowing book that is highly practical and amazingly comprehensive. Quite possibly one of my favourite books by this author.

Any book by Samael Aun Weor is profound.

In this concise book of profound wisdom, Samael Aun Weor synthesizes the mysteries of the Universe in a way through which a person can come to a true UNDERSTANDING of these mysteries. He does not attempt to write down in volume after volume their precise mechanics, but speaks directly to a reader's consciousness, giving them the tip of the icebergs, that through meditation and comprehension one will understand, not merely intellectually, but as living information in relation one's life. In this book he uses the Nordic runes and the Greek myths as a foundation, that a person may understand their Divine Mother, their Innermost God, meditation, the Kundalini, the Word, and that something-very-undesirable which enacts in our common presences those factors which crucify Christ, destroy the earth, ect, known as slander, bragging, shame, servility, swagger, hate, lying, ect.I cannot recommend this book and others by this author enough, as they give the keys to comprehending all the ancient religions of the world through direct experience.

The author knows literally nothing about runes. He gives his own made-up names to them, drops his own devised 'runic postures,' and that is it. There is no attempt to link the runes to the Aeneid and in fact there is barely any mention of the Aeneid, which it appears he knows as well as he knows the runes. Don't waste your money like I did, is my advice.

Interesting book