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Lot Essay
Montague Rhodes James was Provost of Eton College when Leonora Carrington was one year old, in 1918. Although he was a scholar of medieval lore, he became famous for tales of terror and the supernatural that he wrote as a hobby, and which Carrington grew up reading. Casting the Runes is one of these stories, the title of which Carrington later used to name her painting. In the narrative, Mr. Karswell, of Lufford Abbey, Warwickshire, practices Alchemy, summoning primitive powers, to control others. When his paper The Truth of Alchemy is rejected by the Academy, he becomes determined to find the responsible reader who advised against accepting it, and cast a spell on him with the runes of the god Odin's magical alphabet. The word rune derives from the Indo-European root word ru meaning 'secret.' Runes could garner affection but also get people out of the way. In the story, Mr. Edward Dunning, the prospective victim, discovers Karswell's plan and finds a way to redirect the spell back towards its initiator, but not before suffering a series of disquieting incidents.
Carrington's Casting the Runes, rather than following the narrative, is an instinctual response to the Odinic Mysteries, celebrated in nine caves to represent the nine ascending worlds of the spirit. Carrington paints a dark composition with a golden animal standing for the moon, lighting the scene. The priests, portrayed by Carrington in the lower right of the painting, are responsible for conducting initiation rites and casting the runes. As followers of Odin, they wear hooded masks because Odin, referred to as Grim in the Old English term, which means 'hooded' or 'masked.' The hooded gods of the Celts, the Genii Cucullati or Hooded Ones, used runes for magical purposes. In life, Odin had been a chieftain of an Asiatic tribe that settled in Scandinavia. As shaman, he had access to the spirit world and communicated with its inhabitants. His ability to read coded messages from the Earth Mother aided those who needed Her help.
In Casting the Runes, the rune 'IS' repeats itself as it falls on the table. 'IS' translates literally as 'ice' but it refers to the conflict between life over death. It is a reminder that after difficult times, life renews itself.
We are grateful to Salomon Grimberg for his assistance in cataloguing and writing the essay for the above lot.
Carrington's Casting the Runes, rather than following the narrative, is an instinctual response to the Odinic Mysteries, celebrated in nine caves to represent the nine ascending worlds of the spirit. Carrington paints a dark composition with a golden animal standing for the moon, lighting the scene. The priests, portrayed by Carrington in the lower right of the painting, are responsible for conducting initiation rites and casting the runes. As followers of Odin, they wear hooded masks because Odin, referred to as Grim in the Old English term, which means 'hooded' or 'masked.' The hooded gods of the Celts, the Genii Cucullati or Hooded Ones, used runes for magical purposes. In life, Odin had been a chieftain of an Asiatic tribe that settled in Scandinavia. As shaman, he had access to the spirit world and communicated with its inhabitants. His ability to read coded messages from the Earth Mother aided those who needed Her help.
In Casting the Runes, the rune 'IS' repeats itself as it falls on the table. 'IS' translates literally as 'ice' but it refers to the conflict between life over death. It is a reminder that after difficult times, life renews itself.
We are grateful to Salomon Grimberg for his assistance in cataloguing and writing the essay for the above lot.