An alphabet developed by Germanic and Nordic peoples during ancient times, 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 is 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.