Which Runic alphabet should you choose for casting

The Germanic citizens of Northern Europe, Britain, and Scandinavia were the first to use the runic alphabet. The runic alphabet, often known as the runes, was their primary form of writing. There are many different types of rune alphabets, and all of them are composed of a collection of angular symbols primarily built of straight vertical lines. This is probably because these alphabets were carved into stone or wood.

The origin of the runic letters needs to be well documented. Its appearance fairly late in the evolution of languages and its primary period of use, roughly between the first and seventeenth centuries C.E., are both known. Its application has been documented in many locations, from Iceland to the Balkans.

Features of different types of runes

• Early Runic inscriptions display a variety of writing orientations. Later, they began to move in a left-to-right direction.
• Though a dot or more has frequently been used for this purpose, word subdivisions were not typically recognized in runic writing.

Different kinds of rune inscription

• Runic inscriptions of the "Hrolf was here" variety has been found on cliff walls, big rocks, and structures.
• Inscriptions on gravestones frequently include information on who inscribed the runes, who was interred, and who tried to ensure the stone was erected. (In later periods, Christian scriptures were occasionally etched in runes on tomb slabs or stone coffins.)
• Inscriptions from religion or magic, such as curses and prayers, formulas on charms, etc.
• Political and commercial inscriptions Trade communication comes in numerous forms, such as stock orders and details, justifications for late payments, trade name stickers on produce bags or cases, etc. On wooden rune sticks, the trade symbols are frequently carved. Political inscriptions deal with legal issues, historical individuals mention concealing from the enemy, and hidden messages refer to fighting wars, among other things.
• Love letters, friendly greetings, proposals, etc., are personal letters.
• Nasty remarks that resemble contemporary graffiti.
• Signatures in the arts and crafts The work of goldsmiths, blacksmiths, woodcarvers, cathedral builders, etc., frequently bears their names. Occasionally, names would be carved onto objects, either the item's label or the owner's identity.

What is the runic alphabet?

The runic alphabet served as both a writing system and may have played a significant part in different kinds of magic, according to some evidence. In the past, Germanic peoples engaged in divination (foretelling) and omen reading, frequently using runes to charm individuals and objects to ensure specific future events. For instance, swords might have been etched with "victory runes" to boost the probability of a successful fight significantly.

Types of runes alphabets

There are multiple different Rune alphabets, including:

Elder Futhark

These runes date from 150 and 800 AD. They are the ancient type of runes that we know. Northern Germanic tribes in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland were the first to use these runes. The first two letters of this runes alphabets are F U, TH A R, and K, hence the name Elder Futhark.

Elder Futhark is the rune that we frequently encounter in rune sets. A great deal has been written on Elder Futhark runes for divination. I cast with these runes primarily because it is how I was originally introduced to them.

The younger Futhark

Over a long time, Younger Futhark or "Normal Runes" evolved Elder Futhark, stabilizing by approximately 800 A.D., the start of the Viking Age. It served as the primary alphabet in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark all through the Viking Age. However, by the time most of Scandinavia had converted to Christianity around 1200, the Latin alphabet had almost replaced it.

The alphabet has been created in three different ways: in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The runes in the first row are Danish, those in the second row are Norwegian, and those in the third row are Swedish, commonly recognized as Short-twig or Rök Runes.

Anglo Saxon runes

Since they are the earliest letters of that runic alphabet, the Anglo-Saxon runes, also known as Anglo-Frisian runes, are collectively referred to as the Futhorc. The Elder Futhark had three additional runes, but the earliest version of the Futhorc resembled it almost perfectly. The Latin alphabet had mostly superseded the Anglo-Saxon runes by the seventh century, though they were occasionally still used until the twelfth.

Medieval runes

The Runic alphabet was Latinized once Christianity arrived in Scandinavia and used sporadically, primarily for adornment, until 1850. Despite the fact that Scandinavia had become Christianized, people continued to use runes and combined them with the Latin alphabet.

Marcomannic runes

These runes types first occurred in a document called De Inventione Litterarum, which gives them their name and links them to Marcomanni. It combines Futhorc and Elder Futhark runes. The text was created from the Carolingian Empire's southernmost region in and around Bavaria. It is said that these runes were in use during the eighth and ninth centuries.

Dalecarlian rune

From the 16th through the 20th centuries, residents in some remote parts of Sweden, particularly Dalarna, used runes to write Elfdalian. It is still being determined whether these rune types in Dalrunorthe 19th and 20th centuries were in widespread usage or if they were learned from books and incorporated in scholarly publications. They are also known as Dal Runes.    

Modern-day rune

The use of runes has mostly endured since the 17th century due to their connection to magic and the occult. The runic alphabet is frequently depicted in literature and popular culture. Runes appear in fantasy-related media, including movies, video games, and books. J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings novels may be the most well-known example. An angry sorcerer attempts to get vengeance on an academic who mistreated him by punishing him using magic runes scribbled on a piece of paper in M.R. James' classic ghost story Casting the Runes. Night of the Demon, a great cult movie from 1957, was made from its adaptation.

What happened to the runic alphabet

With the advent of Christianity and the Latin alphabet throughout Europe, the usage of runes gradually declined. Scandinavia saw the spread of Christianity, but rune usage remained there for a far longer period of time than elsewhere. The church forbade runes to suppress cases of superstitions, paganism, and magic until sometime late as the 17th century when Scandinavian peoples began combining them with Christian symbolism and images. But the use of runes has remained.