Runes

The runic system was in use by the Nordic and Germanic tribes of Northern Europe for both secular and religious purposes. There is some debate amongst scholars, but the first examples of the runes to phonetically represent language appear to date from around the second century BC, though there have been carvings of runic symbols found that date back as far as 1300 BC. The development of the runic alphabet was a fairly recent occurrence, brought about by the increased trading activity with Mediterranean neighbors who already possessed a fully developed alphabet.

Before this time, the runes were primarily a magickal system of pictographs representing the forces and objects in Nature. It was believed that by calling upon the appropriate rune one could thereby make contact with the force in Nature the symbol represented.

The craft of runemal touched on every aspect of life, from the most sacred to the most practical. There were runes to influence the weather, to aid the crops, to inspire love in a mate, to increase fertility,  and to heal the sick.  Runes were carved on many items including weapons, drinking horns, spears, amulets, the prows of ships, and the timbers of houses; each with its own combination of runes, usually for luck and protection. Runes were even used to curse one's enemies and to remove the curses placed by one's enemies. The runes were an important part of the lives of the people, and they drew special comfort from seeing their powerful symbols on even the homliest of objects.

The rune casters of the Teutons and Vikings wore startling clothing that made them easily recognizable. Honored, welcomed, feared, and respected, these men and women were familiar figures in tribal circles and they understood the wisdom in helping the common man to share in the magick they worked.

Runes were made of a variety of materials: carved into pieces of hardwood, incised on metal, cut and stained with pigment into leather, and, of course, carved into or painted onto stones. Often the Rune castors would employ those that were too old or too infirm to contribute to the tribe in other ways for making runes, making bags or boxes to hold the runes, or other quasi-magickal work, thus bringing back a sense of pride to these people.

In fact, what we call the Tudor or half-timbered building style has evolved from the Germanic Fachwerk architecture. The placing of the timbers at angles in the plaster was originally done in such a way as to form a runic shape which was believed to impart its power and magickal significance to the building itself with the building passing it on to the people living inside. Although the architects of today do not concern themselves with the magickal qualities of their structures, it is still possible to discern some runes in the timbers of modern homes.

There were several different runic alphabets in use throughout Northern Europe over the centuries, but the most common is the Germanic or Elder FUTHARK. This alphabet received its name from its first six letters -- F, U, TH, A, R, and K. It was the system most widely in use between 200 BC and the late eighth century. This alphabet contains 24 letters and is divided up into three groups of eight called Freya's Eight, Hagall's Eight, and Tir's Eight.