Rachel Newcombe is a writer, editor and researcher who contributes to a range of print and online publications. She is co-author of The Complete Crystal Sourcebook and general editor of The Self-Care Bible. She is fascinated by the history and meaning of runes and ancient standing stones.

• Introduction The exact development of the early runic alphabet remains unclear but the script ultimately stems from the Phoenician alphabet. Early runes may have developed from the Raetic, Venetic, Etruscan, or Old Latin as candidates. At the time, all of these scripts had the same angular letter shapes suited for epigraphy, which would become characteristic of the runes and related scripts in the region.1: How to Use Runes Runes are an ancient form of oracle used by those seeking advice. The runes can be used to help guide someone through problems or issues and indicate what is likely to happen. They’re not a form of fortune-telling and don’t offer exact answers or give you advice - rather they offer different variables and suggest how you could behave if the event does occur. Runes are known for hinting towards answers, but leaving you to work out the details using your intuition. Casting the Runes: When you cast the runes, it’s not fortune-telling. The idea behind the way that runes work is that, as you ask a question or think about an issue, your conscious and unconscious minds are focused. When the runes are cast in front of you, they’re not totally random, but are choices that have been made by your subconscious. The Three Rune Layout: With this cast, you should randomly select three runes from your rune bag and place them on the table in front of you. The Five Rune Layout: With the five rune cast, or five rune layout, the aim is to select five runes, one at a time, and lay them down on the cloth in specific places. *The Nine Rune Cast: *In Norse mythology, nine is a magical number. This cast is best used if you’re trying to determine where you are in your spiritual path and what the next stages or opportunities could be and it’s a cast where you can really put your intuition to good use.2: The Runic Alphabet There are various different types of runic alphabets used on runes, with one of the oldest ones being the old Germanic runic alphabet known as ‘Elder Futhark’. The Elder Futhark contains 24 runes, the first six of which spell out the word ‘futhark’. The Elder Futhark (named after the initial phoneme of the first six rune names: F, U, Þ, A, R and K) has 24 runes, often arranged in three groups of eight runes. Over time this was adapted and in order to use it to write in Anglo-Saxon or Old English, a number of other runes were added to the alphabet, bringing it up to 33. This is known as the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. Another adaptation is the Younger, or Scandinavian, Futhark, which is believed to have been used in Scandinavia until the 17th century. All of these variations highlight changes that were made as people moved and emigrated to different countries.3: Ancient Runestones There are about 3,000 runestones among the about 6,000 runic inscriptions. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones date from the late Viking Age. Most runestones are located in Scandinavia, but there are also scattered runestones in locations that were visited by Norsemen during the Viking Age. Runestones were often memorials to great men. Includes the Lingsberg Runestone, Möjbro Runestone, Kylver Stone, Stenkvista runestone

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