Runes are simple angular symbols that in some ways resemble the letters of the Latin alphabet that is used in writing English, French and other languages. Each rune is a letter with its own sound and name. Runes can be combined into words for purposes of written communication, and were extensively used in this way by the Germans, English and Scandinavians in the early centuries of the Christian era. However, runes are also magic symbols, each possessing its own esoteric power that may be evoked and directed to accomplish ritual purposes. The occult power of each rune can express itself as a basic force, as an intelligent spirit, or as an astral environment. Runes can be used for active magic and for divination, as well as for a magic alphabet.

This book was written in response to the lack of accurate information concerning the origins, nature and occult uses of the runes, both in practical ritual magic and in divination. At the time of its composition the only reliable texts about the runes were scholarly, expensive and difficult to obtain. Because they were written by archaeologists and university professors, they had almost nothing to say concerning the magical side of the runes, even though there is a universal belief that runes were extensively employed for purposes of magic and divination from their creation around 500 BC down to their official banning in Iceland in 1639.

In the course of my own studies I soon realized that scholars had little to say about the magical uses of the runes simply because they knew nothing at all about practical magic. I set about gathering the lore of the runes from surviving rune inscriptions, ancient Norse sagas, Old English folk poems, comments and descriptions left by Roman and medieval historians, and the rune poems -- a set of brief poems that name and describe the individual runes. This material was then analyzed in light of the speculations of rune scholars concerning the root meanings of the runes, and the conclusions drawn were applied to my own extensive knowledge of the techniques and principles of ancient magic.

The result was a resurrection of the original magic meanings of the runes, and a recreation of the lost techniques of rune magic and rune divination. I was able to use this knowledge to create two new systems of rune divination, rune cards and rune dice. The book also describes how to make rune talismans, and how to use the runes for astral journeys into the higher dimensions of the runes themselves.

Readers will find the background history on the origins of the runes, the gods of northern Europe, and the ancient magical uses of the runes particularly useful in putting the runes into the perspective of modern ritual magic. All of the known and conjectured meanings for all of the surviving runes are given in detail, along with the major forms of the rune symbols.

One part of the book that has drawn a great deal of favorable interest, particularly from graphic artists, is the set of original rune poems which were scried psychically on consecutive nights during an extended working of rune magic. Each poem was recorded word for word as it was dictated to me by the god of the rune to which it pertains. The poems provide a rich sensory insight into the nature of the runes, their ruling spirits, and their astral environments. Several professional artists have asked to integrate these poems with their creations.

ISBN: 0-87542-826-6. Price: $12.95 US. Llewellyn, 1988.