The Runes

Þa Runa

The Runic Alphabet was in use throughout England through most of the Old English period, up until the Norman Conquests. Even so, it was not as heavily utilized as the Latin script outside of special occasions, insofar as we know, once it began to surge in popularity after 600 AD. Those texts that survive show heavy favor towards Latin letters, though a handful of runic letters were added to the Latin alphabet to expand it. They do appear to have remained popular in artistic endeavors longer than they did as a common tool of writing, or so the artifacts and texts recovered seem to allude.

Although it isn't 1:1, anyone with an interest in such things will realize the similarity between these and the runes used by the other Germanic people, the Vikings in particular being most prevalent in popular culture.

Runes could embody concepts on their own or make a sound as per the letters we're more familiar with today. I liken the case of their conceptual association as being vaguely similar to how Far Eastern languages function, albeit in capacity which is therein far more limited. Beyond their use for writing, runes were also considered to be a way to channel magic in its various forms. This particular outlet is probably how they are most well known today, with "rune casting" being something of an analogue to Tarot for divining the future. Flipping a rune upside down, or to the side in cases of vertically-symmetrical runes, would invert the effect, for those interested in such things.

For stylistic endeavors, magical purposes, or an expanded mundane meaning, runes could be compounded into a "bind rune". As aforesaid, you see that a lot in the magical community to form runes of protection and similar. These conjunctions are far more common in Futhark/Norse artifacts than in their Futhorc/Anglo-Saxon counterparts. If you have trouble envisioning how such a bind rune would look, consider the Bluetooth symbol. It is a bind rune, combining 'Gear/ᛡ' with 'Beorc/ᛒ'.

References for such things exist all over the net, but I mirror them here so as to provide such knowledge wholly within Gemini. As far as magical meaning, note that they are relatively open to interpretation, again akin to Tarot.

The arrangement is like this from top to bottom: The rune, its name, mundane meaning, magical meaning, and finally what letter(s) it transliterates to:

______________________________________________________________
ᚠ               ᚢ               ᚦ               ᚩ
Feoh            Ur              Thorn           Os
Cattle          Auroch          Thorn           Mouth
Wealth          Strength        Power           Communication
F               U               Th              O		
______________________________________________________________
ᚱ               ᚳ               ᚷ               ᚹ
Rad             Cen             Gyfu            Wynn
Riding          Torch           Gift            Joy
Progress        Knowledge       Exchange        Harmony
R               C               G               W
______________________________________________________________
ᚻ              ᚾ                ᛁ               ᛡ 
Hægl            Neod            Is              Gear
Hail            Need            Ice             Year
Difficulty      Necessity       Stagnation      Starts/Ends
H               N               I               J
______________________________________________________________
ᛇ               ᛈ               ᛉ               ᛋ
Iy              Peorð           Eolhx           Sygel		
Yew             Unknown         Elk             Sun		
Connection      Fate            Courage         Clarity	
Eo              P               Ks/x            S
______________________________________________________________
ᛏ               ᛒ               ᛖ              ᛗ
Tir             Beorc           Eh              Mann		
Tyr             Birch           Horse           Man		
Victory         Growth          Trust           Community	
T               B               E               M
______________________________________________________________
ᛚ               ᛝ               ᛟ               ᛞ
Lagu            Ing             Eðel            Dæg		
Lake            Ing             Homeland        Day		
Intuition       Fertility       Legacy          Balance		
L               Ng              Oe              D
______________________________________________________________
ᚪ               ᚫ               ᛠ               ᚣ
Ac              Æsc             Ear             Yr		
Oak             Ash             Grave Soil      Bow		
Potential       Wisdom          Cycles          Skill		
A               Æ               Ea              Y
______________________________________________________________

⇨ Other Pages

Old English