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The Ancient Stones
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The Runes as Oracle
The Runes are stones inscribed with the letters of an ancient alphabet which developed in
Scandinavia. They belong to the family of Germanic languages, but are also related to Latin
and Greek. Examples have been found in all the regions once inhabited by Goths, from the
Black Sea to the Baltic.
The runes have been found inscribed on grave stones and other monuments. The inscriptions
themselves indicated that the runes were thought to offer magical protection. An example: "In
exile shall he die by means of magic art who destroys this monument."
In 1984 Ralph Blum wrote the Book of Runes and sold ceramic tokens with the runes inscribed
on them. The user "casts" a reading according to the type of reading desired, and then reads
the selections relating to those runes. It is important to note that the runes must be related to
each other and not taken separately, much as in the I-Ching the lines compose a hexagram
and are not merely separate lines.
The use of runes to cast spells is not the same. In that case spells written in the runic alphabet
are delivered to the object of the spell, there to do their work. Casting the runes as an oracle
involves no such spell.
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