Runes are an alternative to I Ching, Tarot and even tea-leaves and, in many respects, offer significant advantages over their oriental, middle eastern and home-brewed counterparts.

Runes are basically a practical method of fortune-telling and reflect, to some degree, their northern European origins. They are easier to interpret than I Ching and compared with Tarot cards require less intuitive application by the reader. 2

Runic wisdom is more easily available in the world today in the form of books, articles, lectures and study groups than it has been for the previous nine centuries. Read, study, practise [sic] runic divination and magic, and the next... piece of information, the next step along the Path will be revealed to you at the right time and in the right way. The most important lesson you will ever learn is that the Universal Forces are to be trusted. 3

By going underground, the runic system survived as an unpublished and unpublicized magico-mystical tradition in all the Anglo-Saxon, Germanic and Scandinavian countries—and this includes the United States which took in immigrants in large numbers from all those areas. At the end of the nineteenth century, the teaching first began to be written down in a formulated and coherent fashion. The bulk of this work was done by German and Austrian occultists, sometimes using material that had been transmitted orally, but more usually working via the method of analeptic recall. 7

Although the Church actively tried to stamp out runic divination, it continued to be practised in secret and became inevitably linked with witches, warlocks and their arts.

Runes, both esoteric and practical, continued to be studied throughout history until this century and nowhere else were they held in such high esteem as Germany. Runes became a vital component of the Third Reich’s belief in Aryan superiority. 9

It was not until the late nineteenth century that runes once more appeared in public consciousness and this was the result of research by German occultists who were trying to revive Teutonic and Norse paganism.

Many of these occultists identified themselves with various extreme forms of German nationalism. One of these was Dr. Bernard Koerner,... a disciple of the famous German occultist Guido Von List whose book The Secrets of Runes was a best-seller in European occult circles. Another associate of Koerner was Baron von Sebbottendorf who edited a magazine called Runen or The Rune devoted to Aryan paganism, rune lore and anti-Jewish propaganda.... It is certain that Hitler and his cronies were fascinated by the runes and their secret occult powers. He even adopted the rune as the symbol of the feared SS elite troops who effectively ruled occupied Europe.

Today, the worship of the old Norse gods still continues. There are Odinist movements in Germany, Britain, Canada, the United States and Australia. Some advocate extreme right wing politics which suggest a link with the German nationalists and many still practise the ancient art of rune magic. 11

The appropriation of the Runes by the higher echelons of the Nazi party did the advancement of runic lore no good at all in the years following the Second World War.... [A]fter the collapse of the Nazi war machine the Allies very naturally wanted nothing at all to do with Runes: neither did the German nation itself, busily repudiating the Nazis and all their works and anxious to avoid guilt by association in any form. The Runes were consequently consigned to the occult wilderness. Only one article on Runes was published in the United Kingdom between the middle forties and the early seventies. 12

During this period, the Runes and runic philosophy were being impressed upon the consciousness of the post-war world, particularly among the English-speaking peoples, through the surprising agency of J.R.R. Tolkien. In The Lord of the Rings, the Dwarves are said to use the Runes for communications, and this runic alphabet is explained in that part of the Appendix to The Lord of the Rings which deals with writing in Middle Earth. Tolkien was a professor of Anglo-Saxon, and the whole work [The Hobbit and the three books of The Lord of the Rings] is shot through with glimpses of Teutonic Mythology. 13

In occult circles, however, it was not until the early eighties, when interest in the Runes had reached a high pitch, that the guardians of the runic tradition gave the order for a further release of information—this time of a deeper and more esoteric nature. This is where we stand today, on the brink of a new dawn of runic instruction.... For those who prefer group workings, there are Odinic Lodges, as the runic Mystery Schools are called, operating all over Northern Europe, North America, and even Australia. 14

The wizards who used the runes for magical purposes regarded themselves as blood kin to Odin, the Nordic god who was popularly accredited with inventing the runic alphabet. As we have seen, they were basically followers of the shamanistic tradition which is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, religious belief systems known to humanity.... Shamanistic spirit drums had occult symbols or demon faces painted on their surfaces and runic characters etched around the rim.… 18

With the purchase of this book, you are on your way to becoming a runic shaman. Resolve to be worthy of this ancient and noble calling. ... Runes are the sacred symbols of the Teutonic races, and in the far past, a complete system of philosophy and magic was erected upon them. This system was handed down from shaman to pupil with word of mouth using the Runes themselves as mnemonies.... The Germanic/Norse tradition is essentially shamanistic.... The clearest description we have of a runic practitioner is of a female shaman. It comes from the Saga of Erik the Red, and was written in the thirteenth century. 20