It is said that Odin received the mystery of the runes after hanging from Yggdrasil, the world tree, for nine days and nine nights. After sacrificing of himself, he was able to extract the wisdom of the runes. He then shared this gift with the rune vitki – sorcerers and magicians who used the power of the runes for divination and spellcasting.

There are countless stories within the Norse myths that describe the runes being used for various magical workings.

The most famous of these is the story in which Odin and Loki use runes to create a magical spear that will never miss its target.

It’s a common misconception that runes are just letters – an alphabet from another language. While it’s true that Futhark is an old Germanic alphabet, it’s so much more than that.

The meaning of rune is “secret” or “mysterium”; each symbol has a deeper meaning above and beyond the sound it makes in language. A meaning that was traditionally held as a secret holy concept, “a formless and timeless idea”.

Unlike modern alphabets, runes have meanings and are tied to universal forces that change and evolve with time, making them just as relevant today as they were thousands of years ago. Rune meanings are very subjective and are often interpreted in different ways, depending on the working and past experiences of the reader.

Each rune contains three aspects:

1. 1. the symbol itself, what the shape represents
   2. the name and what the word means, along with its letter value and sound
   3. the energy and spirit embodied by the rune.