Runes - What are they?

Runes - What are they?

'Rune-casts' as a form of divination can bring an interesting perspective when compared with Tarot or I Ching, since they hail from a different geographical and cultural background.

Legend has it that the god Odin (actually a real-life character called Sig was deified on death and renamed Odin) was creator/formulator of the runes. He was doomed to a dismal existence by his wisdom and ability to see into the future, predicting the downfall of the gods themselves.

His knowledge of the runes only came to him through self-sacrifice: he hanged himself from the Tree of Knowledge (the Yggdrasil) for nine days and nights without food or drink, and was wounded with a spear (as a sacrifice to himself in the same form as his own victims), passing beyond Death and then returning with knowledge of the Runes and with power over the realm of the Dead as well as the Living.

Runes are therefore said to contain the ability to unlock, balance, or control characteristics within us which can be harnessed or augmented to achieve specific (or general) objectives.