Book review: ᚱᚢᚾᛖᛋ? Runes.

A unique view of multiple runic systems

I aim to review at least one book a month on magical, pagan, and polytheist subjects, both fiction and non-fiction. You can find all my book reviews here.

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This unique book about the runes, by author Liagis Margfirar, is both a helpful reference and a functional workbook, encouraging the reader to actually interact with the runes instead of just reading about them.

This interesting book combines the Elder Futhark, Younger Futhark, and Futhorc runes, analyzing them in tandem. This process creates an interweaving that shows the similarities and differences among the individual runes and full sets, a sort of snapshot view of the changes over time that the runes experienced. This is a unique way of looking at the runes. I've worked with runes for a long time and read a lot of rune books over the years, and this one stands out both for its synthesis of the three sets of runes as well as for its insight into their meaning, separately and in relationship with each other.

The content focuses mainly on divination, but the author also includes a history and how-to for bind runes, plus information about the practice of galdr. Each rune has its own set of dedicated pages for the reader’s notes, encouraging deeper exploration into the subject. There are also rune reading workbook pages at the end of the book, a handy way to keep track of personal divination.

The author delves into the etymologies of the runes, explaining the similarities and differences among the three rune sets (Elder Futhark, Younger Futhark, Futhorc). As a linguist, I found this information especially interesting, but it’s written in a very understandable way for non-linguists and highlights the differences in meaning and scope among the rune sets.

I especially enjoyed the poetic aspects of this book. The author includes a haiku for each rune (“each” meaning the group of two or three where the set of runes overlap, and individual runes where they don't). As a spare form of poetry that packs a lot of meaning in few words, haiku feels very similar to the Old Norse, Old English, and Icelandic kennings - a very appropriate fusion, I think.

In addition to English translations of the historical rune poems, the author shares their own rune poem. Their poetry has the feel of the centuries-old ones, the rocking cadence and the pithy, condensed meaning that conveys so much more than just the dictionary definitions of the words. Good stuff.

While I have my own set of interpretations for the runes that the deities I work with have led me to (so that I may more clearly hear what they have to say to me), I also study the standard meanings because they have historical importance and can offer great insight. This book is going into my collection, and I’m sure I’ll page through it again and again for reference.

If you’re interested in any of the included rune sets, this book is a good place to start. If you’re already familiar with the runes, this book will take you on a beautiful deep dive. Highly recommended.

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About Laura Perry

I'm the founder and Temple Mom of Ariadne's Tribe, a worldwide inclusive Minoan spiritual tradition. I'm also an author, artist, and creator who works magic with words, paint, ink, music, textiles, and herbs. My spiritual practice includes spirit work and herbalism through the lens of lifelong animism. I write Pagan / polytheist / magical non-fiction and fiction across several different subjects and genres. My Minoan entry in the Moon Books Pantheons series is now available for pre-order and will be released on 26 August 2025. My book of modern Minoan myths is now available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook. I’m also an avid herb and vegetable gardener and living history demonstrator.