Nordic runes are simultaneously letters, symbols, and living forces . Engraved in wood, stone, or metal, they were used for writing, but also for protection, blessing, cursing, or divination .
Originating in Germanic societies and used particularly in Scandinavia , runes formed the Futhark , named after its first six letters (Fehu, Uruz, Thurisaz, Ansuz, Raido, Kaunan). This alphabet was a key to power , a magical language that linked humans to the gods.
Each symbol possessed a sonic value , but also a symbolic essence . The design was never neutral: it invoked a force. In this respect, the runes remind us that writing, before being an art of administration, was first and foremost a sacred art.
Odin's sacrifice and the revelation of the runes
The most famous source on the origin of the runes is the Hávamál : a poem from the Poetic Edda . It tells how Odin , the Father of the Gods, hung for nine nights and nine days from the world tree, Yggdrasil . Hanging from the tree, without food or drink, he faced suffering and solitude.
It was in this state of utter destitution that he glimpsed the runes and plucked them from the cosmic fabric . They were not given freely: they were the fruit of a divine sacrifice . Odin offered himself up to symbolic death in order to be reborn bearing forbidden knowledge.
Thus, runes are a sacred gift , born from pain and the inner quest for a god. They embody the idea that all true knowledge requires an ordeal, a descent into darkness, before reaching the light.
The Futhark: alphabet and cosmology
The oldest runic alphabet, the Elder Futhark , has 24 runes . Each is a condensed symbol:
- Fehu ( ᚠ ) : wealth, cattle, abundance.
- Uruz ( ᚢ ) : vital force, the aurochs, health.
- Thurisaz ( ᚦ ) : the giant, the destructive and protective power.
- Ansuz ( ᚨ ) : the sacred word, the inspiration of the gods.
- Raido ( ᚱ ) : the journey, the quest, the movement.
- Kaunan ( ᚲ ) : the torch, knowledge, the creative fire.
And so on, up to Othala ( ᛟ ) , the rune of heritage and anchoring.
Each rune is a symbolic gateway to a cosmic reality. They were chanted, engraved on weapons, jewelry, standing stones ( rune stones ), or even in the air with ritual gestures.
Runes as magical instruments
For the ancient peoples of the North, runes were alive and powerful . They were also used in magical rituals .
- Runes were engraved on swords or spears to enhance their power.
- They were inscribed on jewelry to attract love or prosperity.
- Funerary runestones were erected to protect the dead and perpetuate their memory.
- They were traced in potions, on the skin, or in the void, to summon invisible forces.
Some runes were considered dangerous if misused. They required initiatory learning , direct experimentation. One could not simply “read” them: one had to experience them.
Runes and divination: reading destiny
Unlike tarot cards , runes do not describe a fixed future. When drawn , they reveal instead an energy in motion , a direction of destiny.
Each rune carries a raw essence : wind, fire, ice, chaos, fertility… Their role is to indicate trends, to illuminate choices, to show the forces surrounding a situation.
Thus, consulting the runes is to engage in a dialogue with the cosmos, to agree to listen to what the elemental forces whisper. They are a symbolic mirror that reveals what is already there, in the soul and in the world.
Runes and Norse Mythology
It is said that the gods themselves carved runes to ensure their victory or protect their kingdom.
In some sagas, runes heal the sick, calm storms, or break curses. Skalds, inspired poets, used them to give power to their songs.
This poetic dimension shows that the runes were a divine language , a code that connected men to invisible powers.
Archaeology: traces of runes
Thousands of runic inscriptions have been found on stones, amulets, weapons, and bones. Some date back to the 2nd century AD. The most famous are the Jelling runestones in Denmark, erected by King Harald Bluetooth, and the Rök stone in Sweden, an immense poetic inscription. These examples prove that runes were also tools for historical record-keeping and memory .
They recounted genealogies, victories, and deaths, thus linking magic and history in a single writing style.
Parallels with other sacred scriptures
Runes are reminiscent of other writing systems which, in the ancient world, had a magical dimension:
- Egyptian hieroglyphs , considered to be the “words of the gods”.
- The Ogham alphabet of the Celts, also carved in wood and stone, was associated with divination.
- Chinese ideograms , which condense symbolic forces.
These comparisons show that, everywhere, the first writings were certainly practical tools, but also sacred languages , capable of linking the visible and the invisible.
Runes as universal archetypes
Even today, Viking runes fascinate. In neo-paganism and contemporary spirituality, they are used as timeless archetypes . Courage, chaos, transformation, protection: each rune resonates with an inner strength we carry within us.
For the psychologist Carl Gustav Jung , symbols are the gateways to the unconscious. Runes can be seen as universal archetypes that speak directly to our innermost selves. They open a space for introspection, an inner dialogue, a symbolic compass in a world that has lost its sense of the sacred.
The alphabet of the gods
The runes are a gift from Odin , torn from the cosmic fabric by a sacrificed god. They were engraved on weapons and stones, chanted in the forests, inscribed in the hearts of the living and the dead.
They are at once writing, magic and divination . They describe the world, influence it, tell a story and inscribe a force.
In a modern world hungry for certainty, runes remind us of an essential truth: existence is a cycle of transformations. Reading runes means learning to listen to symbols. It means rediscovering within ourselves the sacred language that the ancients called the alphabet of the Norse gods .