A Pocket Guide to Runes

Runes. . . the very name seems to conjure up mystery. Runes appear everywhere from rock album covers to Viking and fantasy movies. But what are they, and how are they used? What do they mean? How and why are they used in magic and in divination? This booklet presents a brief working knowledge of the ancient writing system of the Germanic-speaking peoples. After learning about the runes’ origins and their uses, both for writing mundane texts and for magic and divination, you can look up individual rune letters and explore the surprisingly complex symbolism behind them. Fresh translations of the old rune poems round out this short introduction.