Introduction

The origins of the Runes lays buried in distant past, predating the oldest religions. During that time those who practice this ancient system of magic and divination have been persecuted almost to the point of extinction.

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To add to this there are those whose perverse use of runic symbolism has tainted many peoples view. Adolf Hitler added a corrupted form of Runic occultism to his ideal of creating a master race. Several runic symbols were adopted as insignias by the Nazis, probably the most instantly recognisable is the use of Sowelu (the S-rune) by the infamous SS.

Sowelu

Yet despite the corruption and persecution, today our fascination with their power and symbolism is alive and well. It is often the symbolism that people are initially drawn to. Runic symbols adorn jewellery and clothing, often with the wearer being oblivious to their mystical meanings and significance. But more and more people are rediscovering the magical potential of this ancient system.

The runes are a form of alphabet developed in Northern Europe, essentially they represent the Old Norse language used by the Scandinavian peoples up to about 700AD. The precise origins of the runes is unclear and the subject of scholarly debate but it is thought that the evolution of the German rune alphabet was complete by 200AD. The word itself is thought to translate as 'secret whisper', another possible translation is from the German 'raunen' meaning 'to carve'.

The runes are strongly connected with the Viking gods and mythology, for example Fehu, the first rune in the futhark, is connected with Frey, the god of fertility. The gods themselves were thought to be able to use the runes to call up the elemental forces of nature. Indeed it was believed that Odin could resurrect the dead by using the runes.

With the decline of the Roman Empire, Germanic tribes began spreading through central and southern Europe invading Spain and parts of Britain. Some people chose to work with the runes learning how to unlock the power and magic they possessed, others would have viewed the runic symbols as bringers of good fortune. Rune symbols could be found on weaponry and jewellery, amongst other items.

The wide geographic spread meant that localised variations began to inevitably creep in to the rune system. In some cases additional runes were added, in others runes were combined; in Scandinavia the number of runes was reduced to just sixteen, while in certain parts of England the number was increased to as many as thirty-three. However many people feel that this 'tampering' with the original alphabet only serve to weaken their magical potential.

As the magic system the German futhark of the eighth century is generally held to be the ultimate refinement. The word futhark is simply derived from the phonetic characters of the first six German runes (using the English variants this becomes futhorc):

F	U	TH	A	R	K

The runes very much became part of everyday life, their spiritual and magical properties meant they became part of the many different aspects of existence at that time, from healing and divination to ceremonial and religious. However this acceptance brought it in to direct conflict with the growing Christian church.

The spread of Christianity saw a concerted effort to stamp out the use of the runes. By the mid 1600's runes had been erased from the minds of most of the world and when a law was passed in Iceland making possession of runes punishable by burning, it seemed that the runic tradition would be lost forever.

However, the great Viking sagas, along with old English text, provided a tantilising glimpse that allowed the tradition to be pieced back together. One of the most important works to survive was the Rune Poem, this Anglo-Saxon work contains 24 verses (one for each of the original runes - the blank rune was added much later). The poem was translated from old English to Latin by monks, and while certain pagan aspects may have been altered during the translation, it is believed that the spirit of the poem was preserved. If you go to the Rune Chart and view the information on each individual rune, along with various other details, you will also find the respective verse from the poem.