The Swan-Ship

When we put the Peorth-Rune on its back we get a glyph of the Swan-Ship, and this is the Swan-Ship of At-al-land which sails upon the Waters of Chaos at the end of a world-age, or to start a new Cycle of Ages. 

This is a typical representation of the Swan-Ship or Sun-Ship in which is the Sun-Hero (here a manifestation of the Aryan Thunder-God with red beard and red hair, wielding the Twin-Hammers in his hands). This is from the Mayan Culture and depicts one of the 'White Gods' of the continent of the Americas. 

The legend of Sheaf-Ing seems to be the basis for the legend of Lohengrin who is connected to the Swan-Ship. Lohengrin is the Swan-Knight and the typical Aryan Sun-Hero whose appearance is always from the Sacred Centre. Should his origins be known he can only return to where he came from. The symbolism of Sheaf-Ing is that of a boat with a Sun-Disc on the mast, which is the same symbolism as the Swan-Ship. This is associated with the coming of agriculture (Sheaf of Corn) and the Fire from the Gods (lighted taper), as well as hunting (weapons). We can assume that this takes us back to the end of the fabled Golden Age, after which it was necessary to grow food, hunt and gain warmth through fire.

In some Bronze Age rock-carvings there appears this Swan-Ship with either a Sun-Wheel or Sun-Disc inside the boat; the swan's necks are clear on the carvings. The Swan is a solar-symbol and its neck is shaped like an 'S' - this is the White Sun. The swan, of course, is symbolic of both air, water, and the earth beneath the water, partaking of three elements. It is also associated with Cygus the Swan, and thus of the Long Man of Wilmington which is shaped like this constellation. 

Cygnus is the Northern Cross, but is shaped like the Ear-Rune/Cweorth-Rune rather than the cross we usually think of. This constellation is a marker for the Galactic Centre, being at the 'womb' of the Milky Way Galaxy. This is the 'dark rift' which marks the joining of the three arms of the Milky Way - Wan-Wil-Weoh. 

The wings of the swan can probably be found on the Saxon Irminsul, since the earliest of these shows a similarity to swan's wings. This is appropriate since the swan is symbolic of the Highest Initiation. This may be due to its association with Thule and Hyperborea, since the swans pulled the Sun-Chariot of Apollo (Pol). Swans are also associated with the Walkyries and the Well of Wyrd. 

The Peorth-Rune symbolism is that of the 'birth-channel' which is the Beorc-Rune opened out, and thus the Swan-Ship is symbolic of resurrection and of rebirth. In the famous story of Noah's Ark we find the 'seeds of life' held within the 'Ark - all this, of course, is symbolic since it has the same meaning as that of the Swan-Ship which holds the 'seeds' of new life and rebirth through the period of chaos and destruction between world-ages. 

At the end of the Lord of the Rings film both Frodo and Gandalf depart Middle-Earth in a Swan-Ship that takes them to the Land of the Elves. Tolkien thus understood that the Swan-Ship was highly symbolic, and that the meaning was that it was the means to journey between the worlds. It does not symbolise a journey across the waters in a physical sense, so much as a journey between the worlds of being.