The Complete Illustrated Guide to Runes

by Nigel Pennick

The runic alphabet is made up of symbols which correspond to a specific sound, they are also believed to be a source of ancient magic with healing and divinatory powers. This guide covers all aspects of the runes, including their use in meditation and personal development. Signs, symbols and alphabets; the runes in history; what the runes mean; the mysterious world of runes; weaving the web of wyrd; revealing the unseen.

Genres: Spirituality, Mythology, Divination, Magic, Occult, Witchcraft, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 6, 1999

About the author

Nigel Campbell Pennick, born 1946 in Guildford, Surrey, England in the United Kingdom, an author publishing on occultism, magic, natural magic, divination, subterranea, rural folk customs, traditional performance and Celtic art as well as runosophy.
He is a writer on marine species as well as an occultist and geomancer, artist and illustrator, stained-glass designer and maker, musician and mummer. He also writes on European arts and crafts, buildings, landscape, customs, games and spiritual traditions. He has written several booklets on the history of urban transport in Cambridge and London . He is best known for his research on geomancy, labyrinths, sacred geometry, the spiritual arts and crafts, esoteric alphabets and Germanic runic studies.
He has written many books in German and has over 50 published books and hundreds of published papers on a wide range of subjects.

Reviews

[Tintsic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ilus ja seletav raamat ruunidest

[Hengest · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you wanted to buy one comprehensive book about runes then this should be it. Actual rune practice is best experienced, not read (except perhaps some rudimentary info such as found in "Rune Lore" by Thorolf Wardle), but for a wealth of info about the history and use of runes this book is unbeatable

[Gaby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I use as a reference book.

[Nathan Ridings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nigel gives a broad history of the different runic systems, their historical background, and past/present methods for divination. I enjoyed the book because he covered more than just the Elder FUTHARK so I learned a little more about other runic systems that I wasn’t as familiar with. While I am not personally interested in doing rune readings or in depth runic divination, Nigel highlighted something that I apply to my spiritual practice. It’s my belief that Odin shared knowledge of the runes that the Mother Goddess uses to communicate with us/me. I find I’m presented with relevant runes when in nature that apply to my life happenings. Nigel discusses this type of rune magic in the book. Not that I felt the need for validation as I’ve been receiving these messages since almost day 1 after Odin spoke with me. However, to find that others have also received runes in this manner does give some confirmation that maybe I’m not just crazy. If you are interested in runic divination methods, there’s plenty of information about that subject in this book.

[Ani Seville · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather dated guide - but also my go-to book for interpreting the runes and finding a comprehensive history of the runes and how they are used! Amazing pictures and some meditation techniques included - would recommend for beginners to runic working!

[KStar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive guide to all things runic, including other runic alphabets. Very interesting and i learned a lot from this book. Great read.

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid, wide-perspective introduction, but somewhat lacking in details and follow-through.

[Alexandra Chauran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is amazing because it includes divinatory interpretations of rune rows that are not the usual rune rows. In addition to the Elder/Younger there are also interpretations for Angelo-Saxon, Gothic, Medieval, etcetera. This book lost a star because there were some parts that were very difficult to understand what the author was getting at. For example, when describing a complicated spatial design in which the runes were written like a tree of life, the long verbal description made absolutely no spatial sense. It's an illustrated guide. Illustrate it!

[Hengest · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you wanted to buy one comprehensive book about runes then this should be it. Actual rune practice is best experienced, not read (except perhaps some rudimentary info such as found in "Rune Lore" by Thorolf Wardle), but for a wealth of info about the history and use of runes this book is unbeatable

[Joseph F. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a lot crammed into it; but perhaps too much fluffy new age stuff for my taste.
I'm also skeptical if runes were ever used in numerology, astrology and yoga(!?)
But then again, I'm a bit of a purist.
The book does have many interesting facts though, as well as some great illustrations.