Recommended Reading List For Study Runes

Beginner Level:
Stephen Pollington. Rudiments of Runelore. Anglo-Saxon

rooted in Germanic folklore and describes Runic magic in
terms of original Germanic and Nordic folk practice.

Books, 3rd edition, 2008.
Single best book to start with if you're not familiar

Freya Aswynn. Northern Mysteries and Magick: Runes, Gods,

with the Runes and an excellent reference overall.
Pollington provides a summary of all the evidence about the

and Feminine Powers. Revised Edition of the Classic Leaves
of Yggdrasil. Llewellyn Publications, Inc., St. Paul, 1998.

runes and allows the reader to draw their own conclusions.
The book contains all of the rune poems, plus other

The other primary classic on Runes, in addition to
Gundarsson's and Thorsson's works. Aswynn's perspective is

rune-related verse. The book is particularly noteworthy for
the attention Pollington gives to the phonology of the

feminist, shamanic, and derived from intense personal
experience. While some of Aswynn's ideas may have no clear

runes.

precedent in Runic lore, many of them have rung true for
modern readers and become accepted into contemporary Runic

Leon D. Wild. The Runes Workbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to
Learning the Wisdom of the Staves. Thunder Bay Press, San

tradition.

Diego. 2004.
The other 'single' best book to start with if you're not

Swain Wodening. Hammer of the Gods: Anglo-Saxon Paganism in
Modern Times. Angleseaxisce Ealdriht, Little Elm, 2003.

familiar with the Runes and still a good resource if you're
already studying the Runes. Covers the history and meanings

Although devoted to the more general topic of Anglo-Saxon
Heathenry (or Paganism), Swain Wodening's book contains a

of the Runes succinctly yet thoroughly and offers a clear
method for studying the Runes on your own.

worthwhile section (Chapter XVII) on the Anglo-Saxon Runes,
understood specifically within the context of Anglo-Saxon

Nigel Pennick. The Complete Illustrated Guide to Runes.

culture. For those interested in the Anglo-Saxon Runes but
less interested in Anglo-Saxon Heathenry, Swain Wodening's

Barnes & Noble Books, New York. 1999.
Although I refer to this as my "Runic coffee table book",

ideas are also presented online, via the Miercinga ?eod's
web page on Anglo-Saxon Galdors, Runes, Sei?r, Sp?:

it is an excellent overview of all espects of the Runes over
time. Pennick covers the entire breadth of topics relevant

http://www.ealdriht.org/runes.html. A related online source
for information about the Anglo-Saxon Runes is Eric

to the Runes, from ancient history to the different kinds of
Runes to contemporary magical and divinatory practice.

Wodening's Rune Pages.

Sweyn Plowright. The Rune Primer: A Down-to-Earth Guilde to

the Runes. 2nd Edition. Rune-Net 2006. [Available online for
as little as $4:

Stephen E. Flowers. The Rune-Poems, Volume I: Introduction,
Texts, Translations and Glossary. Runa-Raven Press,

http://www.mackaos.com.au/Rune-Net/Primer/]
The other single best book to start with once you're

Smithville, 2002.
Best book in print on the three Rune Poems (Old English,

Norwegian, and Icelandic) plus a few related topics.
Includes an (almost) complete glossary of all the words in

novice and readily accessible, The Rune Primer takes a
middle-of-the-road revisionist approach to both esoteric

each poem, to enable to reader to understand the poems more
fully in the context of alternate meanings and

authors (like Wild, Thorsson, etc.) and academic authors
(like Elliot, Page, etc.). Sweyn says it best early in the

interpretations. (Note: 'Edred Thorsson' is Stephen Flowers'
nom-de-plume when writing less academic works.)

Primer: "Somewhere between the extremes is a position where
we can find reasonably solid ground on which to build. This

Stephen E. Flowers. The Galdrabok: An Icelandic Book of

position can be found by looking at the sources, and casting
a critical eye over the way these have been interpreted by

Magic. 2nd, Revised Edition. Runa-Raven Press, Smithville.
2005.

the more relevant writers. In this way we can see what
remains of the ancient tradition, and help to build upon

A translation of the 16th/17th century Icelandic
grimoire, The Galdrabok, a tome of magic blending native

modern convention in order to harmonise our use of the Runes
with both the old Germanic culture and modern Asatru."

Runic traditions with Western/Mediterranean magical
practices. Includes a presentation of the history and

background of the text.

Diana L. Paxson. Taking Up the Runes: A Complete Guide to

R.W.V. Elliot. Runes: An Introduction. 2nd edition. St.
Martins Press. 1989.

Using the Runes in Spells, Rituals, Divination, and Magic.
Weiser Books, Boston. 2005.

Scholarly text on the Runes, introductory level.

My other favorite book on the Runes alongside Wild's.
Paxson thoroughly covers the original cultural context as

R.I. Page. An Introduction to English Runes. Boydell Press,
Woodbridge. 2nd edition, 1999.

contemporary understandings of the Runes, summarizing prior
authors' writings (including Thorsson, Gundarsson, and

Aswynn) about the Runes in the process. For each Rune she
suggests ways of working with it magically, in addition to

Jantina Helena Looijenga. Runes around the North Sea and on

its interpretation in divination. The second half of the
book is devoted to an in-depth series of rituals working

the Continent ad 150-700. phD. dissertation. Groningen.
1997. http://irs.ub.rug.nl/ppn/163895791

with the Runes a pair at a time.

Scholarly text on Elder Futhark inscriptions on the
Continent (i.e., not including Sweden and Norway); includes

Edred Thorsson. Runelore. Weiser Books, Boston. 1987.
One of the classic works on Runes for use in divination

an extensive catalogue of Runic inscriptions.

and magic. Thorsson can be regarded as the originator of the
contemporary revival of interest in the Runes as understood

Elmer H. Antonsen. Runes and Germanic Linguistics. (Trends
in linguistics studies and monographs 140.) Mouton de

in their original Germanic cultural context and adapted for
contemporary magico-religious use. Thorsson's perspective on

Gruyter, Berlin. 2002.
Scholarly text on the Runes, focusing on the Elder period

the Runes comes from: earning a doctoral in Germanic
Languages and Medieval Studies; studying extensively the

and addressing inscriptions and topics in runology from a
linguistic perspective.

Icelandic, German, and Swedish works on the Runes from the
Medieval Period up to the present day; and being a

Richard L. Morris. Runic and Mediterranean Epigraphy.

practioner of occult arts in the Western magical tradition.

(Nowele ; Suppl. Vol 4.) Coronet Books, Inc., 1988.
Scholarly text studying the origin of the Runes and

Kveldulf Gundarsson. Teutonic Magic. Llewellyn Publications,
Inc., St. Paul, 1994. [note: This edition is out of print.

seeking the Mediterranean source alphabet for the Runes.
Morris proposes a pre-500 BC date for the origin of the

An eBook version can purchased for $12 at Freya Aswynn's
website]

Runes based on his investigations comparing Elder Runic
inscriptions with both pre-Classical and Classical

Another classic work on the Runes. Gundarsson, drawing on
Thorsson's work, provides an understanding of the Runes

Mediterranean alphabets.