The runic symbols were more than just an alphabet.  Each sumbolised a whole concept, much like a Tarot card.  The first pre-runic symbols, which formed the basis for later runes, were very simple and date from the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.  The runic systems that remain today date from the second or third centuries BC, when the Germanic peoples came into contact with the alphabet of the Etruscans who traded across Europe as far as the Baltic.

Magical alphabets, such as the runes, derive their power partly from their secrecy (that which is not named in the common tongue).  Each rune also has a meaning hidden in itself, a power that has been lost in modern scripts.  For example, A is a sound or letter which has no symbolism in itself, whereas its runic equivalent Aesc means the ash tree, a symbol of strength, endurance and wisdom.

Therefore each time you write your name or a wish in runic letters, you are adding the potency of each letter meaning, not in a frightening way but as a focus for your own power.

Because modern scripts came relatively late to the runic world, there are disagreements over correspondences.  Indeed, every book offers a slightly different version.  This one is a middle-of-the-road system, based on the Anglo-Saxon runes, as this gives a greater variety of letters:

	Aesc  A is the ash tree, symbol of strength, endurance and wisdom, for the world tree Yggdrasil (which supported the nine worlds of Norse cosmology) was made of ash.
	Beorc  B is the birch, symbol of the Mother Goddess. Because of its association with the birch trees that covered Norway after the last Ice Age, it represents rebirth and new beginnings.
	Cen  C  and Ch  K is the torch, one of the fire runes, that was used to light the dark halls of the Vikings during the long winter nights.  So it has come to represent the inner voice and flame.
	Daeg  D is the dawn, the awakening and enlightenment, the light at the end of the tunnel, and is named after Daeg (son of Nott, Goddess of Night), whose radiance was so dazzling that the gods fashioned him a chariot drawn by a pure white horse.  Skin-Faxi ('Shining Mane'), who also emanated sparkling lights.
	Eh  E is the horse, symbol of harmony between rider and man.  So beloved were warriors' horses that they were given elaborate burials when they died.  Odin the Viking Father God (Woden to the Anglo-Saxons) had an eight-legged steed, Sleipnir, who had magickal runes engraved on his teeth.
	Feoh  F represented the cattle that the travelling peoples took with them on their conquests, and so this rune came to represent the wealth and the price that must be paid for any choice.
	Gyfu  G means the gift or giving.  It also represented relationships, especially sexual ones, and is therefore one of the fertility runes.
	Haegl  H is one of the protective runes.  This was the mother or core rune, representative of the cosmic seed or grain of life, and stood for facing hardships in order to move forward.
	Is  I is the rune of ice, and symbolises waiting for the ice to melt and the right moment to come.
	Jera  J is the harvest, one of the fertility runes, and stands for the natural progression of life which must be followed and the effort that must be made to reap rewards.
	Cen  K is the harvest, one of the fertility runes, and stands for the natural progression of life which must be followed and the effort that must be made to reap rewards.
	Lagu  L, the lake or waters, is the rune of emotions and intuition.
	Man  M is the rune of human life and mortality and speaks of realism and the need to fulfil one's own destiny.
	Nyd  N is another fire rune and comes from the old nyd fires that were kindled by rubbing wood together and used to light the festival fires.  It represents needs that must be met from within ourselves rather than be looking to others.
	Ing  makes the sound 'ng' on the end of a word.  Ing was the old fertility god who died each autumn to be reborn the next year.  Ing was also deity of household protection.
	Odal  O is the homestead, which was very precious to wandering peoples.  It used to represent all domestic issues and is a protective rune of the home.
	Peorth  P, the rune or lot cup, was used for gambling and divination for they were one and the same.  The fall of the runes from the lot cup could express the will of the gods and foretell the outcome of every venture.  This rune therefore represents fate, in the sense that we all have a unique destiny to fulfil, and so is the essential self.
	Rad  R us the wheel - the turning sun wheel, the wheel on the chariot of the old fertility god Ing, or the wheel on wagons travelling to distant lands.  it stands for change and action.
	Sigil  S and Z is the rune of the sun and represents energy, light and limitless possibilities.
	Tyr  T is the star, the spirit warrior, the god of war who sacrificed his sword arm to save the other gods.  His letter therefore represents atruism and sacrifice for a long-term goal.
	Thorn, which makes the sound 'th' or 'the', is a rune of strength and protection.  It is the mighty hammer of Thor, the God of Thunder, and so represents might in the defence of others.
	Ur  U was the aurochs, the mighty horned cattle that roamed the plains of Northern Europe until the early seventeenth century.  Vikings wore the horns on their helmets in order to transfer the power of the aurochs to themselves.  This rune letter therefore represents primal strength and survival.
	Wyn  V and W is the rune of pure joy and happiness, not through others but through the achievement of one's dreams and unique life path.
	Eohl  X is the eel grass that was harsh to the touch but provided shelter, bedding and food for animals and so was of use once the initial pain was over.  It has come to represent the need to grasp the nettle and show courage in a crisis, which will then lead to better things.
	Yr or Eoh  Y is the yew tree, the tree of endings, and therefore represents the need to move on to the next stage of life or a relationship.
	Sigil  Z  (as Sigil S)

Practice writing your name in runes to become used to their use - then you can use this alphabet to enhance and empower spells by carving or painting runes on your candles, rocks, tools, etc.  My name in Runic Writing is: