The Truth About Runes is one of the Llewellyn Vanguard Series of introductory texts. It explains in a direct, simple way what the runes are and where they originated. The complete German and Old English rune alphabets are given, along with the magical meanings of each rune that are used in rune divination. The value of bind runes (the combination of two or more runes into a single symbol) is explained, and a complete ritual for making a bind rune talisman is presented.

One interesting subject is the evil reputation runes have suffered under for centuries. The book looks at how this reputation was acquired and whether or not it is justified. Runes were feared by Christian monks during the Dark Ages because they recognized the power of runes, both as instruments of practical magic and as the central arcanum of the ancient pagan religions the Church was then attempting to destroy.

In large measure, the revival of rune magic is also the revival of awareness of the gods, goddesses and cultic practices of the Teutonic peoples of northern Europe -- principally the Germans, Dutch, Scandinavians, and English. Runes enable people with this ancestry to get into closer touch with their personal racial history. However, the point is made that anyone can use the runes for practical magic, regardless of their ancestry, just as anyone can study the Jewish Kabbalah or Celtic forms of Wicca. Odin, the mythical discoverer of runes, is the God of all humanity, and runes are the gift of Odin to his mortal children.

ISBN: 0-87542-829-0. Price: $1.99 US. Llewellyn, 1989.