Runes: Cosmology, Spirituality, Deity

In the twenty-first century runic character sets are probably most commonly used for divination, i.e. for the examination of issues raised by individuals seeking advice from a rune reader. Runes can be used in this way because each rune is not only a letter associated with a specific voiced sound, but also has a range of meanings linked to it, based on understandings going all the way back to pre-Christian times, as evidenced by the Anglo-Saxon, Icelandic, and Norwegian rune poems.

Books on runic divination are not uncommon. This book does not seek to give advice about how to use runes for divination, though it is hoped that the three explorations of the runic alphabet (or ‘futhark’) included here will be useful to anyone wishing to learn more about the runes for divination purposes.

Each individual rune has specific meanings associated with it, but that is far from the end of the story. The order in which the runes are set out is also significant, for when linked together they may be used to tell a story, or several stories, illustrating how our ancestors (and we today) might more fully comprehend the operation of vital aspects of our diverse and ever changing multiverse, and our own position in it.

Three such storytelling explorations are set out here, reviewing understandings of issues of cosmology, spirituality, and deity. Each of these three sections in the book uses the whole of the twenty-four rune “Elder Germanic” rune set to explore a largely pre-Christian vision of the key aspects of their subject, including considerations which might still be of relevance today. The Anglo-Saxon rune poem verse for each rune is used as a starting point for analysis, as the Icelandic and Norwegian rune poems covered only their own, smaller, sixteen character rune sets.

It is hoped that readers will be encouraged to use runes in this way themselves – and feel free to interpret runic stories independently and perhaps also differently, whenever so inspired.