I was fascinated by the runes from the moment I first came across them in Tolkien’s The Hobbit and I deciphered the whole elder futhark from the endpapers of The Hobbit, aged 12, and proceeded to write in the runes on a regular basis.
[Marquette University]
It was not until I met a fellow reenactor who was also a rune-master called Richard when I was 19 that I found out that they were an ancient system of writing with esoteric meanings (you have to remember that this was the late 1980s, pre-Internet). So the first rune book that I read was Richard’s book that he gave me. Then I read Ralph Blum. Then Brian Bates’ wonderful book The Way of Wyrd”. And then I think I read Freya Aswynn’s book The Leaves of Yggdrasil, and of course Nigel Pennick’s The Secret Lore of Runes and Other Ancient Alphabets.
I have always liked the runes because to me they are doors to other worlds and realms (whereas the Tarot is lovely but it’s a painted curtain placed in front of the door).
Check out this video I made a couple of years ago with my thoughts on the runes.
And here’s the playlist of the series on runes that I am currently doing on YouTube.
Dowsing for Divinity 
One response to “My runic journey”
I love that you were a precocious Tolkien reader, as was I. “The Hobbit” was a bed-time story for me, then in second grade I launched into the trilogy, while the educational establishment attempted to confine me to “Dick and Jane” (a facile American phenomenon of the era). But your fascination with the runes transcends mere linguistic precociousness. There’s a far-reaching resonance for you. It’s so important to honor these intuitions, and I enjoy reading about your runic journey. 💚
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