Sowilu is literally "The Sun" in basic meaning. So the key to this rune is understanding what the sun represented to the Norse people.
The sun is traditionally female to the Norse/Germanic. Female, in that it gives energy and light, and is the source of life for all. As with the Sun Chackra, the center of energy and chi in the person.
But also, it is power. The sun is invincible, unconquerable, the highest ideal of the self and the highest aspiration of the soul. The power of the sun is above all, and strikes down from heaven. Sowilu also represents the lightning bolt, also associated with solar energies as power descending from above. The Armenian version Sig is more specificly tied to victory, and was worn by the SS troopers as a double Sig rune to show their might.
Two sowilu runes together crossed form the swastica, originally known as the sun wheel before taint by the Nazis. This represents the emenation of power from a central source, the storm of creation as all things rush outward from the one.
Tipharet, the quabalistic sun, shows the sacrifice side of this archetype. As the source of love and beauty, it passes through a death and rebirth cycle. As the sun waxes and wanes with the seasons, and rises and falls with the days, death and rebirth as represented by the Jera rune is inherent to sun worship. Baldur, Jesus, Osiris, Mithras.
In cultures where the seasons do not change and the sun is strong year round, the sun is worshiped with great pyramids and blood sacrifices. Too much of the sun burns, too much energy shows the darker side of Sowilu, that power corrupts and destroys those not strong enough to wield it. The sun does not care. It broadcasts its energy to all to use or be burned by. The sun does not choose, it only gives. |
