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The Book of Runes: Read the Secrets in the Language of the Stones
Readers learn to decipher and harness the magic of the ancient Nordic runes "Feogh" symbolizes financial gain and status . . . "Thorn" stands for protection, defense, and caution. These and each of the runic alphabet's many other magic symbols have special meanings all their own. Author Francis Melville presents directions for making amulets and talismans to invoke the power of Norse gods. He describes the method of conducting readings with rune stones to predict future events and bring good fortune. This heavily illustrated volume also presents the history of rune stones, the meaning of the runic alphabet, and the secret symbols attached to each meaning. Rune stones and rune sticks can be purchased from many outlets, but readers who follow the author's instructions can make runes of their own, using any of several different natural materials, including pebbles, wood, and clay. This fascinating collection of ancient magic lore, with instructions for making and reading runes, is complemented with more than 150 vivid, full-color photos and illustrations.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 1, 2015
This book presented the historical facts of runes in an illustrative and informative manner. I am not sure how accurate of it is. It seems to infer that we are not entirely sure about the meaning of all of the runes, and since it isn't quite specific on which runic meanings provided are debated or agreed upon by scholars, it is hard to know if the author just invented meanings for any of them. There's also a bit on how to use the magical powers of the runes at the end, by the way. Something which I inferred to be a majority of modern ideas made up by people who are into astrology, palm reading, fortune-telling, and the like. This doesn't make the book completely useless for information about the history if that is your intention (as was mine), however. It just wouldn't be great to use in a paper if for some reason you had to write one on the subject, due to the dubious nature of one or two facts (e.g. That Vikings wore horns on their helmets. I have read otherwise; that horns on a helmet are worse in battle since it gives something for an opponent to grab, and could possibly deflect arrows down towards the helmet. Unless I remember incorrectly, I watched a documentary that said the only horned helmets worn were by priests during rituals. It is hard to tell whether the author knows this or not, by the way it is presented, which could reflect on the reliability of the information of the book).
Did the job though, I was able to learn some about Germanic history and myth, which is difficult since my library is completely devoid of any other books on the subject (besides an early 1900's book on the matter or two), while having quite an abundance on Greek and Roman myth (which I know well too much of already to be bothered to read another book about it for now).
Did the job though, I was able to learn some about Germanic history and myth, which is difficult since my library is completely devoid of any other books on the subject (besides an early 1900's book on the matter or two), while having quite an abundance on Greek and Roman myth (which I know well too much of already to be bothered to read another book about it for now).
January 12, 2009
Interesting background on Norse mythology that I never new before. Very easy to read. Intriguing.
February 22, 2008
Extremely clear and practical. Full color pages.
March 14, 2018
Melville's Book of Runes is a good, basic overview of this practice. With lots of pictures and a decent amount of background, you get a beginner's sense of what these letters mean and how to use rune stones as a divination practice. Could definitely use a bit of a careful edit though...
August 20, 2017
the writing was a bit weird at times, but overall very informative
July 17, 2022
While this isn't a long book, it is full of fascinating history and information. I really enjoyed it.
March 17, 2016
Bookworm Speaks!
The Book of Runes
by Francis Melville
Acquired: Borders Books and Music
Series: N/A
Hardcover: 128 Pages
Publisher: Barron’s Educational Series
Language: English
Subject: Non-Fiction
*****
The Subject: Discover the history of the runes, the meaning of the runic alphabet, and the power of the secret symbols they contain.
Learn how to make your own runestones and how to use them for divination.
Harness the magic of the runes—make protective talismans, petition the help of the Norse gods and perform runic blessings.
The Review:
This book has been in Bookworm’s collection since before the Bookworm was the Bookworm. When he first bought it, he was interested in Nordic Mythology, but he had yet to become aware of New Age philosophies, beyond a genre of music on iTunes. Further rereads of this book have revealed that this is in fact a guide to a modern interpretation of Nordic Divination by use of rune stones.
Historians and cultural enthusiasts would most likely gravitate away from such a book and it is not hard to see why. Even way back when Bookworm purchased this book, he shied away from the latter parts of the text as the divination bits were uninteresting compared the history of the runic symbols.
The books formatting is excellent. A combination of photographs, artwork from all eras, and color coded pages which ascribes to each of the particular runes elemental motif. That was also part of this book’s initial appeal. Bookworm was (and still is) a huge fan of anything ‘four elements’ related.
While Bookworm is not a patron of astrological philosophies, they are interesting to study merely for the mythological aspects that are integrated into them. This book is meant to fall into such a category and thusly, while interesting, is probably not something that should be put of Nordic Culture term papers. Then again…perhaps it could work.
It is clear that the author put a lot of time and effort into the research (and arrangement) of this book the historical aspects mentioned therein may be a bit flimsy. For example: In the second section of the book, the text attempts to convey the reasoning why Viking’s wore horns on their helmets. It is a known fact that horned viking helmets are a work of fiction. This book was written some years so it was possibly due to ignorance on the part of the author, but a more thorough research effort might have revealed the truth.
The focus of this book is mythology and not so much history but these small details can add up and may cheapen the whole experience for the reader.
Final Verdict: While some readers may not gravitate to the New Age philosophies propagated by the latter parts of this book, The Book of Runes is a fascinating read into the history and culture of Nordic peoples and an interesting examination of symbology and mythology. Not to mention, a little bit of crafting!
Bookworm never did get around to making his own set. Maybe Tomorrow! It seems like a fun project if nothing else.
Four Runes out of Five
thecultureworm.blogspot.com
The Book of Runes
by Francis Melville
Acquired: Borders Books and Music
Series: N/A
Hardcover: 128 Pages
Publisher: Barron’s Educational Series
Language: English
Subject: Non-Fiction
*****
The Subject: Discover the history of the runes, the meaning of the runic alphabet, and the power of the secret symbols they contain.
Learn how to make your own runestones and how to use them for divination.
Harness the magic of the runes—make protective talismans, petition the help of the Norse gods and perform runic blessings.
The Review:
This book has been in Bookworm’s collection since before the Bookworm was the Bookworm. When he first bought it, he was interested in Nordic Mythology, but he had yet to become aware of New Age philosophies, beyond a genre of music on iTunes. Further rereads of this book have revealed that this is in fact a guide to a modern interpretation of Nordic Divination by use of rune stones.
Historians and cultural enthusiasts would most likely gravitate away from such a book and it is not hard to see why. Even way back when Bookworm purchased this book, he shied away from the latter parts of the text as the divination bits were uninteresting compared the history of the runic symbols.
The books formatting is excellent. A combination of photographs, artwork from all eras, and color coded pages which ascribes to each of the particular runes elemental motif. That was also part of this book’s initial appeal. Bookworm was (and still is) a huge fan of anything ‘four elements’ related.
While Bookworm is not a patron of astrological philosophies, they are interesting to study merely for the mythological aspects that are integrated into them. This book is meant to fall into such a category and thusly, while interesting, is probably not something that should be put of Nordic Culture term papers. Then again…perhaps it could work.
It is clear that the author put a lot of time and effort into the research (and arrangement) of this book the historical aspects mentioned therein may be a bit flimsy. For example: In the second section of the book, the text attempts to convey the reasoning why Viking’s wore horns on their helmets. It is a known fact that horned viking helmets are a work of fiction. This book was written some years so it was possibly due to ignorance on the part of the author, but a more thorough research effort might have revealed the truth.
The focus of this book is mythology and not so much history but these small details can add up and may cheapen the whole experience for the reader.
Final Verdict: While some readers may not gravitate to the New Age philosophies propagated by the latter parts of this book, The Book of Runes is a fascinating read into the history and culture of Nordic peoples and an interesting examination of symbology and mythology. Not to mention, a little bit of crafting!
Bookworm never did get around to making his own set. Maybe Tomorrow! It seems like a fun project if nothing else.
Four Runes out of Five
thecultureworm.blogspot.com
May 8, 2015
This was a slick little book with beautiful, polished illustrations and photography. The book in itself would be a great complete guide for somebody who wants to make and use a rune set. However, there were some significant inconsistencies and seemingly arbitrary choices with the way that the information was presented. Perhaps the author had limited space, and so aspects and correspondences that were explained with one rune would be omitted for another.
November 25, 2007
i'm not going to go out and buy any runes to play with but what i did like about this book was learning how simple and yet expressive these symbols could be. writing in other cultures and time periods is something i enjoy investigating. a couple of pointy symbols here and there and they could say the same thing we use 84 characters for. this book was fun.
July 29, 2011
Not bad, and copiously illustrated, but it was a bit tedious to read. I have a better book that came with a set of rune stones; less information overall, but more fun since it could be read interactively with using the stones. This book is a little overly-academic in comparison.
March 23, 2012
This little book has been an invaluable resource in helping me begin to navigate runic magic. I used it as one of my source volumes when writing "Valhalla" and also "Iduna's Apples."
Oddly, my copy lists Francis Melville -- not Roni Jay -- as the author...?
Oddly, my copy lists Francis Melville -- not Roni Jay -- as the author...?
January 6, 2010
I have to admit, I wanted something more in depth. Oh well.
February 4, 2014
This book is great. I can't wait to make my own and try some rune casting of my own.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews