In their simplest form the runes are a written method of communication and were phonetic in their pronunciation. Each symbol had a meaning and some symbols had a Rune poem attached to them to help remember the meaning and its deeper understanding.

 

The runes may have originated in Frisia around the 2nd century AD, as the Elder Futhark and around the 5th Century in England as the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. I use the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc and The Elder Futhark interchangeably. I found sticking to the initial 24 runes of the Elder Futhark and Futhorc more in tune with the cycles of nature, I also found it more helpful and insightful to have the choice of connecting more to Anglo-Saxon the Norse.

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 Academica, spirituality and magic have taken limited references and produced vast work on what the runes are, how to use them and so on. In reality, for us to have a breadth of experience with the runes i believe it is best to have our own personal gnosis and constructively discuss these experiences together.

 

Odin didn’t study the runes to achieve his understanding. As the myth goes he gave himself to himself, I believe what this meant was finding himself, his own sacredness then sacrificing all he knew about himself and the world to something greater than himself, Yggdrasil. It was only then when with out arrogance or armour, through an understanding of sacredness and ritual the Norns gave Odin the understanding of the Runes. For me this was the moment Odin left his warring Grimnir in the past and started his path of the all father. He found sacredness within is own self, the external fight had ended and the commitment to the internal self had begun.

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When asking the question what are the runes i see it as a journey of discovery routed in authenticity rather than tradition. Essentially there is no right and wrong with the runes, they are the fundamental forces describing our reality, yes they can appear mixed up , confusing, I hear people saying the runes don’t work, yet all we have to do to unravel their secrets is not deny any of our experience. Being guided by the runic principles, not see our experiences as right or wrong,  but attribute parts of that experience to the right Rune or Runes, we know we have done this when we open up more deeply to ourselves and the world around us.

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The runes aren't a substitute for anything in life, nor a substitute for life itself. Instead the runes encourage us to engage with ourselves, the land and stay present with the energies of life. They provide a cycle, a way and guided support to this end.

 

These runes are pragmatic, magical and spiritual tools.