This page is an introduction to runes, their history, and their use. I'm including a useful but far from exhaustive bibliography as well. 24 more installments will follow, one for each rune of the Elder Futhark. What the Hell's that, you ask? Good point! Let us begin:

Runes are the original alphabetical writing system of the Germanic peoples. The runic alphabet is called a futhark. "Alphabet" comes from the names of A and B in the Greek language. "Futhark" is derived from the first six letters of the runic alphabet in its traditional order. (Th is one letter.) The futhark's order is not typical of that of most alphabets. "Our" modified Latin/Roman alphabet, the one used to write most European and many other languages as well, is in the typical order (A, B, C, D....), going all the way back to the original Phoenician prototype, which in turn was derived from borrowed Egyptian hieroglyphs. The futhark's order was rearranged for magickal purposes, and has remained constant, even though other futharks were later developed by adding or deleting runes. The Anglo-Saxon Futhork (the phonetic value of the fourth rune changed from "a" to "o") added from four to nine runes, depending on time and place, to the end of the futhark. The Vikings used a number of versions of the Younger Futhark, which was reduced to 16 runes. The Elder Futhark is divided into three aettir (the singular is aett), of eight runes each. These aettir (families) are retained in the Younger Futhark, although each aett is shorter. There is a "fourth aett" of varying length at the end of the Anglo-Saxon Futhork. Most agree that the Elder Futhark is the best for the purposes of magick and divination. While some other alphabets have magickal uses (the Hebrew one in particular comes to mind), the runes are unique in that they are a magickal and divinatory system first and a writing system second.

The runes in their mundane aspect were invented sometime before the beginning of the Common Era. 2,100 - 2,200 years BP (before the present) is a good ballpark figure. The prototype was one or more North Italian alphabets, ultimately of Greek derivation. In their religious, magickal and metaphysical aspects, runes were discovered by the chief Norse God, Odin, by hanging himself as a sacrifice to himself for nine days and nights on Yggdrasil, the World Tree, and wounding himself with a spear. Odin then shared the knowledge he won with the other Gods and with Humankind.

Divination with runes is relatively easy. Get twenty-four roughly identical small objects. Small stones are nice; so are little pieces of wood. You can get them at craft stores. If you're broke, use beer-bottle caps or even pieces of cardboard or paper. Pretty, nice rune sets are fine, but it's the rune itself that counts. That, and your knowledge of the runes and wisdom and experience in interpreting them. On each one, put a rune of the Elder Futhark until you have the whole futhark. Put them in a bag (paper will do but cloth is both more attractive and more durable) big enough to easily put your hand in and manipulate the runes. You now have a rune set! Think of an important question or situation you need guidance on. Call on Odin for wisdom and guidance. Pick three runes; or if reading for someone else, have the other person pick out the runes unless you're doing it over the phone. You'll easily get the hang of it. Handle the runes until you come to one that feels "right" or "different." The rune first is the past or cause. The second is the present, or action to be taken. The third is the best possible or currently most likely outcome. However, just because the runes say something, that doesn't necessarily mean it is destined to happen. Norse Heathenism is not a fatalistic or passive religion! We make our own Wyrd (more or less fate, karma or destiny) to a considerable extent. If any of the three seems unclear, pick two more, without putting the first three back in the bag. These two are adjective runes, and their purpose should be clear to the grammatically literate. For an ongoing situation, you may want to do another reading on it in a week or two. Thanks to Odin afterwards is most appropriate.

Magickal use of the runes is more complicated. Study the runes thoroughly, and be very sure you understand what your own ethical system is, and that your cause is just, before attempting anything more involved than, say, a basic candle-burning spell for money with a green candle, three Fehu (the first rune in the futhark) runes, and patchouli oil. Please note: the runes are not entirely "safe." Remember the sorcerer's apprentice in Fantasia, played by that arch-enemy of the Southern Baptists, Mickey Mouse! I'm not trying to discourage folks from learning and using runic magick, nor am I trying to instill superstitious fear in my readers, but I also owe it to you to make my own position clear. Here goes: The idea that something can't harm you unless you believe it can is simply false. An unpleasant truth is of more use than a sugar-coated falsehood. What you'll be getting in this column is a basic introduction to Norse Heathen runework, which is considerably different from the New Age and Ceremonial Magick influenced types of runework. The runes aren't all sweetness and light. One does not order Gods around. Some authors would lead you to believe otherwise.

The only person I know who was trained in runic magick from an oral, mostly hereditary tradition is my friend Thorr Sheil. More on him and his books later. Some folks don't believe such traditions could have survived. I personally don't care much one way or another. His material is very down-to-earth and works extremely well. When I have something important to do magick-wise, I call him and run up my phone bill instead of contact the "Big Three" popular rune-book-writers via e-mail for virtually nothing. All three of them are online, but Thorr Sheil isn't. The fact I call him for advice says all I need to say about my respect for him as a rune wizard.

In any case, since few have a wizard/ess at hand, most of us must use books for our primary source of information. The following are some excellent sources of information. I will also be telling you about some not-so-good sources. I'm not saying not to read them, I'm merely suggesting that you read the good ones first and that when reading the rest, you should keep an eye open for what's not worth incorporating into your own work. First, before you get into the magickal and divinatory aspects of runes, learn about their history. Don't put the cart before the horse! Runes: an Introduction by Ralph W. V. Elliott is essential reading. Either the 1959 or 1989 editions will do. I also highly recommend Runes and their Origins: Denmark and Elsewhere by Erik Moltke and Anglo-Saxon Runes by John M. Kemble (the latter first published way back in 1840, but still in print!). If your local library doesn't have these, it can get them via interlibrary loan for a nominal fee.

Most of my own runework is based on that of Thorr Sheil. If you want one of his catalogues, please send a SASE to T. Sheil, PO Box 080437, Staten Island NY 10308-0005. I especially recommend Volume III (Runes and Holy Signs) of The Road to Bifrost. Shipping included, it'll run you $21.99, and I truly believe it'll be the wisest investment in a magickal book you'll ever make. He and his wife Audrey also have other, more advanced rune monographs to read later. All of them are worth owning.

Now on to the "Big Three" writers on runes. I call them that because they seem to be the ones held in highest esteem by most of the Germanic Heathen ( = Germanic Pagan) community. Thorr and Audrey Sheil are very committed to Heathenism as a household religion and aren't involved in, or even interested in, organized Heathenry, and this, along with the fact that they publish their own books (can't blame them myself, publishers, not writers, get most of the profits) has had the result of making their books less known and less used than they deserve to be. By way of clarification, most of us Germanic Heathens are Norse/Viking Age oriented, mainly because this is the best known and preserved form of our religion. Others are Anglo-Saxon or German oriented. You need not be Heathen or even Pagan to work with runes, although Heathens may expect somewhat better results. Here are the "Big Three": Edred Thorsson's runic trilogy: At the Well of Wyrd, Futhark, and Runelore are excellent. They are published by Weiser. His other works are published by Llewellyn (1-800-THE-MOON for a free catalogue). Kveldulf Gundarsson's work is in a similar vein, and is also published by Llewellyn. Teutonic Magic covers the runes very well. His Teutonic Religion is the best readily available introduction to contemporary Heathenism. Freya Aswynn's Leaves of Yggdrasil should probably be saved until after you've read some of the works of the other two authors. It's a brilliantly written book but by no means an easy read! It is also published by Llewellyn.

Here are some books that definitely should not be used as your main sources of information and whose reading (if you read them) should be postponed until you have a thorough grasp of basic runology: Norse Magic by DJ Conway (Llewellyn). Bluntly, it isn't. Donald Tyson is worth reading, but: he has a ritual in which the magician orders Thor, in the name of the "Nameless One," whom I presume is Yahweh/Jehovah, to come serve him in his circle! I don't know whether to laugh or cry! Ralph Blum's rune books are not worth much at all, as far as I'm concerned, for several reasons. First of all: toss the blank rune. Useless and redundant. Perthro/Perdra is the rune of Wyrd/Fate. Ansuz is Odin's rune, more or less. Second, it doesn't matter whether the rune is upside down, sideways or whatever. This is an obvious borrowing from Tarot. Third, Blum has put into his books so much "New Agey" sweetness and light that when something bad is coming, the runes try and try to warn you but they can't get through the sweetness and light. I know this from personal experience. What's good in his books is out of the Elliott book I previously mentioned and others have had the same thing happen to them, too. Finally, Blum arbitrarily rearranged the futhark although its order is magickally precise and has remained stable for over two millennia (only the last two runes sometimes switch position). Garbage in, garbage out. Nevertheless, on the plus side, I must say that Blum's books and rune sets have had the marvelous effect of introducing many thousands to runes, most of whom, hopefully, have gone on to read better books about runes! Nigel Pennick is a popular writer. His Practical Magic in the Northern Tradition is great. Go ahead and read it if you like. His Runic Magic book is interesting, but runic astrology, a concept he discusses at some length, is a modern concoction. Much of the Northlands were too far North and too damn cloudy for astrology to evolve! On top of that, in some places in Summer it doesn't get dark for months! Please note that if I've panned your favorite author, so what? I stand by my conclusions, but I don't claim infallibility.

Many other popular books on runic magick and divination have been written. Thorsson, Gundarsson, and Aswynn's books all have bibliographies. This should provide you many more references for further study. By the way, do not expect to find any of these popular "how-to" books on Heathenism, runes and other Norse magick on the shelves of your local library. Occult books disappear pronto, although I don't know whether that is due to curious teenagers, self-appointed fundamentalist Christian censors, or a combination of all three! Book-stealing is low. Photocopy if you must, but don't steal. You may be able to find the scholarly books on runes, although a university library is more likely to have them than a public library. While interlibrary loan can get you the scholarly works, I wouldn't count on them being able to get you the "how-to" books. Start saving your pennies!

If you have more than a casual interest in the runes, don't wait for the two and one-half years it's going to take for this column to run its course (with this introduction plus an article on each of the 24 runes of the Elder Futhark, and this magazine being published 10 times per year, that's how long it's going to take). Who knows, it might last even longer. After I go through the Elder Futhark I might comment further on runic magick and divination, or publish reviews of my favorite books! Get started with your studies, and use my column as a review or something to compare your own studies and work with! Write in and describe your own work and the conclusions you've reached! I hope this series will prove informative and enjoyable, but most of all it will inspire you to read about and work with runes on your own!