Steles Post #2 By Colleen Griffin, Katie Endress, Jen Duffy and Susie Ellicks (Group 4)

In the Mortal Instruments, steles are used to apply runes to people. Each rune corresponds to a certain type of power and when applied with a stele, the person receiving the rune, acquires the designated power. A technology today that works exactly like the stele is not likely to exist, but it is believed that some tattoos and ancient runes can actually give a person specific "powers."

Runes used in the Moral Instruments

 

Tattoos are most often believed to be able to help heal, or to motivate a person. Tattoos usually hold an emotional value, which can make them mentally powerful. If a person has an ugly scar or one that is associated with a traumatic event, it has been found that getting a tattoo over the scar has helped to increase that person's self esteem or heal them emotionally. They work like a placebo. Even though tattoos don't have any actual magic to physically heal a person, if a person believes it will help them to cope, more often than not the person will feel better after getting the tattoo. In some cultures, tattoos are actually believed to protect someone. In Southeast Asia, Yantra Tattooing is widely practiced. It originated in Cambodia and was mainly used by soldiers, but it has become popular with Chinese Buddhist monks as well. The tattoos are believed to be magic that protects the wearer from all types of evils. It is rumored that one of the rulers of the Khmer Empire tested if the tattoos actually could protect people. He had arrows shot at him and supposedly, every arrow bounced off, without injuring him.

Example of a Yantra Tattoo

 

Legend has it that the Norse God, Ordin gave runes as a gift to mortals. Runes then were used as a written form of ancient Germanic languages. But runes can also be destructive if it is a negative rune or isn't used correctly. Ordin's followers wear the Valnott (death knot) rune, and those who wear this symbol tend to die violent deaths.

Valnott Rune

Works Cited

Knight, Michele. "Psychic tools: what are runes?" The UK's Favourite Psychic. Michele Knight, 1 Apr.

   2013. Web. 9 Oct. 2013. <http://www.micheleknight.co.uk/articles/psychic-readings/

   psychic-tools-what-are-runes/>.

Moore, Jennifer. "Healing Tattoos Interview." Tattoo Medicine. johndturner.com, 7 May 1999. Web. 5

   Oct. 2013. <http://spirittattooing.com/articles-interviews/healing/>.

"Mortal Instruments: City of Bones." Blog spot. Blog spot, n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2013.

   <http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DauQgLARkfg/UlYBGdAF9EI/AAAAAAAAAAg/vGVLp6HiCXw/s320/TMI+Rune.jpg>.

"Runic Tattoos." Runes. Alphabet of Mystery. Sunny way, 4 Sept. 2008. Web. 6 Oct. 2013.

   <http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/tattoos.html>.

"Yantra Tattooing." Wikipedia. Wikimedia, 4 May 2011. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/

   wiki/Yantra_tattooing>.