What does it mean to "use the runes?"

When someone tells you that they use runes, you may be thinking, "just what do they mean by that?" or even "just what are runes?" Well hopefully this article will be able to clear that up for you. First let us touch on what runes are.

Runes are an ancient writing system that may have been used as early back as the 3rd century B.C. It is hard to say exactly when the runes came into existence as a writing system but we do know that around the 3rd century B.C. pre-existing "alphabets" began to come together with pre-runic symbols to start what would eventually become the elder futhark. The elder futhark, sometimes called the Germanic futhark, is a set of rune symbols, in which each symbol has phonetic sound(s). It is much like the modern day alphabets that we use just with different symbols and sometimes different sounds.

As time moved along so did the runes. They traveled from country to country by means of traders, explorers, warriors and even common people who would simply move to a new land. As the runes moved something happened. Different societies and cultures would take the symbols and sounds and adapt them to their needs resulting in different rune sets. I had spoke of the elder futhark, which is one of the earliest sets, but there are also sets known as that Anglo-Saxon, Gothic, and Younger Futhork runes. All of those, as well as other sets, hold similarities with each other, but also vary enough to consider them unique in their own right.

Are the runes just a bunch of symbols that have phonetic sounds too them? Of course not! If you've ever went to look for a book on the runes at a book store odds are that you have come across how they play a part in divination. This is not something modern either, for the runes have been used as a divination tool for as long as they have been used as a writing system. In fact there is much debate as to whether the runes were originally used for writing and later used to divine, or if they were used for magickal purposes first and later used for divination. In the past few years there has been what some call a “Runic Revival” in the sense that more and more is being learned about the runes, as well as their use among people has grown.

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