Rachel Newcombe

Mini Encyclopedias: Runes: How to Read Them Rachel Newcombe

An alphabet used by Germanic and Nordic peoples during ancient times, the exact development of the early runic alphabet remains unclear but the script ultimately stems from the Phoenician alphabet. Early runes may have developed from the Raetic, Venetic, Etruscan, or Old Latin as candidates. At the time, all of these scripts had the same angular letter shapes suited for epigraphy, which would become characteristic of the runes and related scripts in the region. Runes were used to represent both simple things and more complex concepts, providing a written form of communication before the latin alphabet was adopted. Today, reading runes are a popular tool for understanding the present and divining the future. Divided into two broad chapters, showing how to use runes, and outlining the full runic alphabet as well as a section on standing runestones, Runes provides a compact, accessible guide to this ancient reading system. Discover the basic three rune layout, and how it can help bring clarity when seeking guidance; learn how to arrange the runes in a five rune cast, which offers a more complex reading; discover Uruz, U, which means a wild ox in Elder Futhark, the oldest runic alphabet; and see how runic inscriptions were combined on standing stones to mark burial sites and the deeds of great warriors. A compact guide with 130 illustrations and photographs of runes, rune readings and runestones, this book will fascinate anyone interested in this ancient writing form and its uses today. Format 16,7 x 12,5 cm.