News / Runes

The study of the runes and their meaning is a study of personal development, spiritual growth and the spread of consciousness throughout human societies and into the universe.

The Elder Futhark Runes are a complete system of magic, and the oldest form of western wisdom. The runes are a set of keys that serves so well in unlocking this life’s secrets and miracles. In the 9th century CE the Younger Futhark evolved. This alphabet adds the letter "R" and drops nine of the letters in the Elder Futhark. Many of the letters were now used to represent multiple sounds.

The Younger Futhark is divided into two types short-twig (Swedish and Norwegian) and long-branch (Danish). Many scholars believe the short-branch runes were used in everyday life for messages on wood while the long-branch runes were used to inscribe on stone.

Both versions of the Younger Futhark use 16 letters. For a chart listing these runes meanings see the exhibit labeled Runes Guide - Younger Futhark (Swedish and Norwegian) and the chart labeled Runes Guide - Younger Futhark (Danish).The cause of this reduction of letters in Younger Futhark is tied to very complex phonological changes that occurred in the old nordic language.

As many old letters were removed from the alphabet, several of the remaining letters were overloaded to represent multiple sounds. The Younger Futhark was called the "alphabet of the Norsemen" in Europe. The Younger Futhark evolved further into the Marcomannic runes, the Medieval runes, and the Dalecarlian runes (around 1500 to 1800 AD).