Power and Principles of the Runes

by Freya Aswynn

The Spiritual Path of Rune Magic is unlocked in this book. For centuries the Northern Tradition has illuminated the way for many seekers. Based on her initiations into the powers behind the Runes, Freya Aswynn opens the path for those seeking to start their spiritual journey. "Principles and Powers of Runes" comprehensively covers the history and development of the Runes. The runes are much more than a simple device for making predictions, but are also a powerful tool for magic and self-development. Aswyn reveals how to understand each Rune sign and comprehend its spiritual and mythic background. She shows how to use the runes to find your life destiny, unlock your latent psychic powers and to heal. "Principles and Power of Runes" provides what a beginner needs to know to tread this path, while at the same time giving much needed and previously unavailable information for experienced practitioners.

170 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2007

Reviews

[Phinehas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was better than most of the new age garbage out there concerning runelore, but that may be damning with faint praise. I wonder how Freya feels about her old buddy David Tibet's conversion to Christianity.

[Philomena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate Ms Aswynn's insights, even if our gnoses don't always match. She is much more of a devout deist than myself, which isn't a bad thing, but it did tint a lot her interpretations. The reason I rated it this low is because the editing is poor, to the point where occasionally one had to rely on context clues to figure out to which rune/god the author was referring.
The second star was because of how highly the author held her own interpretations above others. Obviously one has to to some degree, in order to write a book on the subject, and this wasn't even the authors first. However, if you can get past the About the Author section, Ms Aswynn is insistent in her classical tried and true methods (which is not the off-putting part, but the reason I read her book), to the point of being dismissive of modern interpretations. For such a lauded rune worker, she didn't even mention the North-Umbrian runes.
Furthermore, there's no bibliography, but, a recommended reading list of works by the same publisher, with her earlier work on the top. It may seem like I hate this book, but I intend to consult it in the future! I just don't believe it's great for beginners seeking to build their own personalized relationship with the runes. If you're an experienced, non-deist rune worker, I would recommend several other books instead. About halfway through this book, I purchased Ms Aswynn's Northern Mysteries and Magic, but, after finishing this one, I think I'll put a few books between the two.