On the 9th day of October, we honor Meister Guido Von List of Austria, author of “The Secret of the Runes”, among other glorious works!
Guido Karl Anton List was born in 1848, in Vienna, Austria, to a fairly wealthy family that worked in the leather industry. He was raised Catholic, but mentioned that his faith in the Æsir started at a young age. He was especially drawn to Wotan.
During his young adult years, he made a living through leather work, just like his father before him. However, he spent much of his free time being an author and a painter, as well as climbing mountains, among other things.
On one particular Midsummer expedition, he he was inspired enough to reject the foreign faith of Catholicism, and affirm his belief in Odin and the Gods of our Folk! This marked the beginning of Meister Von List’s journey into legend.
When his father passed away in 1877, Von List made the decision to leave the leather business behind. Instead of following in his father’s footsteps, he chose to devote his time to work more fitting of a man of Wotan: writing, painting, and esoteric studies. For the next 25 years, his writing gained more and more attention, particularly in nationalist circles, as he slowly became a voice of the Volkisch movement in Germanic Europe. His popularity continued to rise, up until he made his great discovery of the Armanen runes in 1902.
After being blinded for nearly an entire year due to cataract surgery, Von List spent a great deal of time with nothing but his thoughts to entertain him. While blinded, he discovered the Armanen runes, which he believed to be the original language of our Folk. These runes became the basis for his spiritual writings from that point forward, and are now the biggest part of his legacy.
Von List passed away of old age not long after the Great War, in 1919. He left us with many great works: plays, manuscripts, novels, and of course, the Armanen runes. These writings reached many people even in his time, inspiring a group called the High Armanist Order, who dedicated themselves to the worship of Wotan.
Meister Guido Von List is truly worthy of many a raised horn, as his invaluable work has inspired and awakened so many of our Folk. From the High Armanist Order, to Alexander Rud Mills, and even to the Asatru Folk Assembly in modern times, his work has made an astounding difference where there otherwise would have been no divergence from the spiritual path given to us by the Abrahamic faiths.
Hail Guido Von List!
Trent EastFolkbuilder, Deep SouthAsatru Folk [email protected]