Copyright © 1998 Gray Seal

In addition to being a writing system, runes historically served purposes of magick. This is the case from earliest epigraphic evidence of the Roman to Germanic Iron Age, with non-linguistic inscriptions and the alu word. An erilaz appears to have been a person versed in runes, including their magic applications.

In medieval sources, notably the Poetic Edda, the Sigrdrífumál mentions "victory runes" to be carved on a sword, "some on the grasp and some on the inlay, and name Tyr twice."

In early modern and modern times, related folklore and superstition is recorded in the form of the Icelandic magickal staves. In the early 20th century, Germanic mysticism coins new forms of "runic magick", some of which were continued or developed further by contemporary adherents of Germanic Neopaganism.