The history of Runes has both a symbolic, mythical root as well as a literal source.
Its mystical ancestry is found in the legend of the chief god Odin, which tells the story of how, in Odin’s quest for wisdom, he discovered the Runes, thus the befitting name, Odin’s Runes.

The exact origins of the runic alphabet on the other hand are still debatable, but it is generally agreed that it is derived from the North. Bronze Age rock carvings found in Northern Europe, such as the Hellerisninger, whose symbols and imagery are identifiable in some of the Runes, are also a likely source of influence.

In the wake of the unification of the Northern European tribes, the early Runic alphabet was used a means of systemizing aspects of their life, both mystical and secular, giving the letters meanings which were usually used for protection, inscribed into practically everything. One of the oldest and most complete examples of Runic inscriptions, which lists the alphabet in order, is the Kylver stone, dating from the 5th century and is found in Gotland, Sweden. Other artifacts also show a significant solidity in the order of the symbolic script. Greatly used and respected in nearly all aspects of life by the Northern Europeans until about the 8th Century, Runes were faced with near obliteration with the coming of the Christian crusaders. Like most of the magic and pagan arts at this time, the Runic way of life was banned, with many Rune masters executed and artifacts destroyed. Recorded written evidence of the actual names and meanings of the Runes, were not found until the wake of Christianity, and many of these were in the form of Rune Poetry.

A revival in the Rune lore began in the mid-19th century, with Scandinavian and German scholars sparking an enthusiastic interest in the symbolic script, weighting their cultural significance in scientific terms. Also revived by German scholars in the years leading up to World War II, the Runes came to be associated with Nazi ideology and consequently lost much its popularity until the 1980’s, when the trend for “New Age” spirituality emerged.