As described on the page about The
History of the Runes, they evolved
in part as an alphabet, more accurately as a series of
alphabets that changed over time. Because the alphabetic systems
that we now refer to as runes
were changed
over a long period of time there is no one set of runes (consisting
of specific runes, names of runes, meanings of runes, and an
order in which to list them).
This creates a dilemma when writing about the runes - especially
when writing online with the intention of creating a simple structure
from which any one rune can be accessed quickly and easily.
Modern textbooks about runes do not all use exactly the same set
(although there is considerable overlap). They don't even use the
same system of names of the runes - the most obvious choice being
using English words, or the more unfamiliar-looking Old German
versions.
Which Runes to include
The most obvious approach is to consider which of the Runic alphabets
are most popular with modern authors and manufacturers of sets
of Runes. We believe that this is the Elder Futhark but with the
addition of a blank 25th Rune. This additional rune is often referred
to as simply "the blank rune" and is used to represent the concept
of the "unknowable".
It is "Wyrd" (pronouced
"weird")
in the Old German system of names of the runes.
Some runes enthusiasts don't like the inclusion of the blank rune
because it is somewhat artificial. If you make or buy your own
runes then you can choose for yourself whether to include this
rune or leave it out. We have included information about it for
completeness.
As alternatives to use of the Elder Futhark
(plus "Wyrd"), we could have used the Younger Futhark which consists
of 16 runes, the Armanen Futhork which consists of just 14 runes,
or the Anglo-Frisian Futhorc which consists of 33 runes. There
are probably many other possibilities as well but those are for
the more advanced runes scholar ! Names of the Runes
We have used the English names of the Elder Futhark
(plus "Wyrd") for the list of links to pages about individual
runes that is on the main index on the left-hand-side of all of
these pages. The descriptions on the pages about individual runes
also mention the other
names
for
each rune,
with the
English and German names in the title of each page and a section
at the bottom of the page with more information about the
name of the rune and the modern alphabetic character or sound
associated with it.
The order of the list of Runes
Choosing an order in which to list the runes is even more difficult.
Readers familiar with the Tarot might
expect the runes to follow a story such that each rune appears
in the set in a particular order
(as in the Tarot Deck). We like this arrangement, which makes it
more interesting to read about each rune in turn. There is some
justification in taking this approach because there is a group
of 12 runes that form a "Cycle of Self-Transformation", hence a
form of sequence - but not one that includes all 25 runes.
Many of the books reviewed in the preparation of this section list
the runes in the order of the Elder Futhark followed by Wyrd.
The sequence used in this section is the one we liked best but that
is just our preference. The runes do not have a strict formal order
in the same way as the 22 Card of The Major Arcana of the Tarot. |
