Overview

Uncovers the ancient Egyptian origin and magical power of the runes • Reveals the lineage of the runes by tracing their historical journey from Egyptian hieroglyphs through the Semitic Phoenician language to northern Europe • Draws on stories of the Norse sagas to show the runes’ spiritual attributes by looking at the physical characteristics of the objects that represent them • Illustrates the initiatory nature of the runes and how they, like Egyptian hieroglyphs, reveal mysteries of passage through life, death, and the afterlife This book reveals the alphabet secrets in the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and traces their journey to the frozen north, where they came to be known as the runes—twenty-four magical symbols, each with their own unique story and power. Judith Dillon illustrates how the runes became not only an alphabet for communication but a spiritual portal to enlightenment. Drawing on Norse sagas and runic poems, Dillon reveals the spiritual and divinatory attributes of each rune by examining the physical characteristics of the objects chosen to represent them. The meaning of rune is “secret,” and she notes that, in addition to the gift of an alphabet, each symbol represents a secret taught to a few initiates through trade guilds that moved over Phoenician trading routes. Dillon also shows how the magical properties of runes are demonstrated through mythological tales. Just as we see in the Egyptian Book of the Dead, or Spells of Coming Forth by Day, these rune mysteries were taught to initiates to reveal ritualistic wisdom of passage through life, death, and the afterlife. More than an alphabet, the runes contain the promise of a return to the light.

Full Product Details

9798888502631

Table of Contents

Reviews

“Futhark Rune Mysteries is a fascinating exploration of the origins and evolution of written language and the emergence of the runes, blending history, myth, and mystery into an engaging read. It illuminates both the practical and mystical dimensions of runic history, making it valuable for anyone interested in linguistics, Norse heritage, or esoteric studies.” * Nicolette Miele, author of Runes for the Green Witch and The Runes and Roots Oracle * “With this work, Judith Dillon brings us on a fascinating journey through the history of the Norse runes. The mystery and sacredness of this ancient written language are combined with linguistic and ethnographic science to render a fascinating account of the symbols’ origins, evolution, and uses. Treating runic marks as paradigmatic examples of what Descartes called ‘signs,’ Dillon establishes the runes as the bones of a primal alphabet and symbolic system, locating the signs and their meanings securely within the Cartesian context of ‘magically’ productive, generative language—symbol systems that generate other varieties of thoughts, such as music and mathematics, art, and mystical divination.” * Yvonne Owens, Ph.D., past research fellow at the University College of London, professor emerita of *

Author Information

Judith Dillon has a degree in Near Eastern languages and anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley. For more than 40 years her research has focused on the history of alphabets, runes, oghams, Hebrew, and ancient Phoenician as well as its relation to number magic. She is the author of Alphabets and the Mystery Traditions.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available