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Futhark - O Oraculo Sagrado Das Runas
Mais do que um oráculo, Edred Thorsson oferece um curso completo à arte de jogar runas, utilizá-las para previsões e conhecer mais sobre seu lado místico e ritualístico. Ele conduz os leitores a uma profunda exploração do Futhark Antigo, seu alfabeto de 24 caracteres - usado para comunicação e magia – e os poderes secretos por trás de cada runa que, quando corretamente explorados, tornam-se símbolos poderosos para transformar nossa vida. Por meio de definições detalhadas, investigação de sua tradição, valores fonéticos, derivação e qualidades mágicas, Thorsson também oferece aos leitores exercícios, cânticos e rituais que lhes possibilitarão se conectar com as forças ocultas atrás de cada runa.
Hardcover
First published June 1, 1983
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About the author
Edred Thorsson
42 books90 followers
Stephen Edred Flowers
(born 1953) also known by the pen-name Edred Thorsson, is an American Runologist and proponent of occultism and Germanic mysticism. He has over two dozen published books and hundreds of published papers on a disparate range of subjects. Flowers advocates "Esoteric Runology" or "Odianism", an occultist version of Germanic Neopaganism.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
April 6, 2025
Edred Thorsson is of course just a pen-name for Stephen Flowers.
Something to be aware of about him when reading any of his translations or books is that the man has been active in Left-Hand Path organizations since his youth. He’s been involved with groups dedicated to Marquis De Sade, the Libertine who authored The 120 Days of Sodom who’s main interests revolved around Sadism (from which the word derives), eroticism and pornography.
He’s also involved with the Order of the Trapezoid (Triskelenorden), joined the Church of Satan, and holds a degree of Magister Templi (IV°) within the Temple of Set.
All around, he’s a quack of a character. The fact he wrote a book on Runes is both unsurprising and a shame.
Regardless of all of this said, I read the book because I was curious if he would have any sort of insight into Germanic symbolism and Runes that I could walk away with. I’ve rated this 2 stars instead of 1 to be fair, because during his section of the symbols themselves he did put forward some interesting observations that I’ve noted. I do find it unfortunate how short the analyses were.
The rest of the book is simply his neo-pagan ideas on Asatru practices and rituals for the reader to set forth on, which for the most part while definitely fleshed out and inspired by Armanen authors - it’s simply just his ideas and they’re not very “traditional” to put it mildly.
I’ll just say I wouldn’t call Flowers 'divinely inspired' or authoritative.
All in all I appreciate the scanty insights I did find.
Something to be aware of about him when reading any of his translations or books is that the man has been active in Left-Hand Path organizations since his youth. He’s been involved with groups dedicated to Marquis De Sade, the Libertine who authored The 120 Days of Sodom who’s main interests revolved around Sadism (from which the word derives), eroticism and pornography.
He’s also involved with the Order of the Trapezoid (Triskelenorden), joined the Church of Satan, and holds a degree of Magister Templi (IV°) within the Temple of Set.
All around, he’s a quack of a character. The fact he wrote a book on Runes is both unsurprising and a shame.
Regardless of all of this said, I read the book because I was curious if he would have any sort of insight into Germanic symbolism and Runes that I could walk away with. I’ve rated this 2 stars instead of 1 to be fair, because during his section of the symbols themselves he did put forward some interesting observations that I’ve noted. I do find it unfortunate how short the analyses were.
The rest of the book is simply his neo-pagan ideas on Asatru practices and rituals for the reader to set forth on, which for the most part while definitely fleshed out and inspired by Armanen authors - it’s simply just his ideas and they’re not very “traditional” to put it mildly.
I’ll just say I wouldn’t call Flowers 'divinely inspired' or authoritative.
All in all I appreciate the scanty insights I did find.
April 23, 2020
DNF
So at the literal first mention of Nazis just casually in the first chapter of this book I had to do some research on the author because I was already sus. Now I've learned he apparently has been involved with some Nazi occult stuff? Maybe that should be made more clear so that people can, idk, avoid reading books by Nazi sympathizers? And yeah, maybe Reddit isn't the most reliable source, but I'm also not taking any chances. Literally kind of feeling sick about the fact that this comes so highly recommended for learning about runes. Blacklisting this author and putting this book in the actual trash.
So at the literal first mention of Nazis just casually in the first chapter of this book I had to do some research on the author because I was already sus. Now I've learned he apparently has been involved with some Nazi occult stuff? Maybe that should be made more clear so that people can, idk, avoid reading books by Nazi sympathizers? And yeah, maybe Reddit isn't the most reliable source, but I'm also not taking any chances. Literally kind of feeling sick about the fact that this comes so highly recommended for learning about runes. Blacklisting this author and putting this book in the actual trash.
June 25, 2019
I was so put off by the author’s tone I did a tiny bit of research on him. The was apparently a scandal where he was accused of being a Satanist. I have developed a great deal of respect for Satanists, so I don’t see that really as a scandal. I don’t think the author is a Satanist but he has admitted that he does follow a “left-handed path.” That does explain his clear obsession with sex.
While I found the constant reference to sex magic off putting the annoying tone that aggravated me was his need to articulate that he was the rune master and there was no possible way for him to communicate his superior knowledge to the reader. The ultimate message I took from the author was, “You will never be as good as me.” I wondered why he even bothered to write the book.
I disagreed with many of his interpretations. Where was the wild black horse of Raidho that is the embodiment of the great journey?
I also found the organization of the work rather poorly planned. It made for laborious reading.
I think the most interesting was the physical stadhagalder. I wish he had spent more time on this element. But as for the rest of the book, I did not find anything unique or useful.
While I found the constant reference to sex magic off putting the annoying tone that aggravated me was his need to articulate that he was the rune master and there was no possible way for him to communicate his superior knowledge to the reader. The ultimate message I took from the author was, “You will never be as good as me.” I wondered why he even bothered to write the book.
I disagreed with many of his interpretations. Where was the wild black horse of Raidho that is the embodiment of the great journey?
I also found the organization of the work rather poorly planned. It made for laborious reading.
I think the most interesting was the physical stadhagalder. I wish he had spent more time on this element. But as for the rest of the book, I did not find anything unique or useful.
April 10, 2014
Perhaps I'm the wrong person to review this book since I'm not much of a believer in things esoteric, spiritual or magical, but since I love the runes I read it anyway. This is a book that uses the runes for various magical operations such as the making of talismans, wands and other objects. The author even gives instructions on how to use runes in ceremonial magic. Somehow I doubt that runes were used in this way by ancient Scandinavians. Of course the author does inform the reader that much of the book stems from the work of 20th century occultists such as Guido List. I prefer hard history than fanciful speculations by enthusiasts.
Runes were used for talismanic magic sometimes, but not to the degree that this book suggests.
The funniest feature were the little drawings of yoga postures that mimicked the rune shapes. This is to incorporate the runic power into the body (!) Really?
I could just imagine a bunch of marauding Vikings taking a break so they can breath deeply and contemplate the runes while standing on one foot!
Runes were used for talismanic magic sometimes, but not to the degree that this book suggests.
The funniest feature were the little drawings of yoga postures that mimicked the rune shapes. This is to incorporate the runic power into the body (!) Really?
I could just imagine a bunch of marauding Vikings taking a break so they can breath deeply and contemplate the runes while standing on one foot!
September 11, 2021
Some years back, when I read Thorsson’s Runelore: The Magic, History, and Hidden Codes of the Runes, I thought it was a shame I hadn’t read Futhark first, since it appeared to be the more practical, less theoretical introduction. I was wrong; if I had read this first, I might never have picked up another Thorsson book. It suffers from a number of flaws, most of which can be boiled down to the fact that it was an early attempt at explaining an esoteric subject to a mass audience, something he got much better at with experience. It was written at an even younger age than its 1984 pub date suggests, having been written in the 70s and then languished looking for a publisher until demand for “occult”/New Age topics reached a higher pitch.
Among the problems I see here are mistaken ideas about how much the average reader can take from a book without more explicit instructions on practice, assumptions that all sincere investigators will reach the same subjective conclusions on a mystical subject, and a strange obsession with numerology that I don’t remember ever encountering in his work before. There’s some interesting information nonetheless, but for beginners you’d do better with Nine Doors of Midgard (a much more programmatic manual to practice) or the aforementioned Runelore.
Among the problems I see here are mistaken ideas about how much the average reader can take from a book without more explicit instructions on practice, assumptions that all sincere investigators will reach the same subjective conclusions on a mystical subject, and a strange obsession with numerology that I don’t remember ever encountering in his work before. There’s some interesting information nonetheless, but for beginners you’d do better with Nine Doors of Midgard (a much more programmatic manual to practice) or the aforementioned Runelore.
January 1, 2023
So to start this off, I got this book in order to learn how to use my set of rune stones, and that isn’t discussed at all until the last few pages and for not very long. So for that purpose, I really can’t recommend this book.
In general, the book was informative, but just so hard to follow. I kept getting lost, and then just confused, and the many mentions of Nazis with little to no condemning of the actions was rather off putting. The few things that were helpful were the descriptions/definitions of the runes and then the historical background of the runic language. Apart from that, I don’t recommend it, and I’m sure you could find it in other reading. I wish I had read the reviews for this before purchasing.
In general, the book was informative, but just so hard to follow. I kept getting lost, and then just confused, and the many mentions of Nazis with little to no condemning of the actions was rather off putting. The few things that were helpful were the descriptions/definitions of the runes and then the historical background of the runic language. Apart from that, I don’t recommend it, and I’m sure you could find it in other reading. I wish I had read the reviews for this before purchasing.
May 15, 2018
Futhark is a very comprehensive book on runes: their history, their meaning, and their potential usage. Not the most beginner friendly tome, but it will most certainly fill your head with more than what you need to begin working with these tools. Do note that Thorsson takes a very traditional, cultural approach as well.
July 10, 2018
As a novice to runes, this book is almost unreadable. Although the author is obviously knowledgeable, teaching the reader seems not a goal in the least...kinda reminds me of my calculus teacher in college...HE knew what he was talking about. I had no idea...
January 24, 2022
This is a fantastic resource for magical practitioners interested in using the Elder Futhark runes in magic workings. Thorsson covers general rune theory as well as each rune in detail, including their numerical representation, elemental correspondences, greater meaning, as well as examples of suitable magical workings. Virtually everything you could want to use the runes for (with the exception of divination) is covered here, including meditation, bindrunes, talismans, and even a runic yoga practice!
Also included are suggestions for attire while carrying out rune magic, essential tools for the practice, and some relatively elaborate rituals.
As mentioned, divination is not covered in this book (Instead, see "Runecaster's Handbook" by the same author). Also, those with a more casual interest in the Elder Futhark might find some of the practices off-putting or somewhat inaccessible, but there is still a great deal of information to and apply in a way that is intuitive for your practice.
Also included are suggestions for attire while carrying out rune magic, essential tools for the practice, and some relatively elaborate rituals.
As mentioned, divination is not covered in this book (Instead, see "Runecaster's Handbook" by the same author). Also, those with a more casual interest in the Elder Futhark might find some of the practices off-putting or somewhat inaccessible, but there is still a great deal of information to and apply in a way that is intuitive for your practice.
July 27, 2021
Premetto che questo è il primo volume di magia runica che leggo. Detto questo, ho trovato il contenuto abbastanza interessante, ben organizzato ed esaustivo: partendo da una premessa generale si vanno ad analizzare i significati di ciascuna runa - non dal punto di vista divinatorio, è d'obbligo precisarlo - legati alla cosmogonia e alla mitologia, poi si passa all'utilizzo delle rune in vari rituali, agli strumenti per inciderle, ai colori con cui dipingerle, ai materiali su cui inciderle, nonché all'importante correlazione che esiste tra numerologia e rune; infine si approfondisce la costruzione di talismani runici e la compilazione delle "bind runes". Nonostante alcuni passaggi mi siano rimasti oscuri, sicuramente a causa della mia poca dimestichezza con l'argomento, l'ho trovata una lettura utile e affascinante.
February 1, 2018
Quintessential book on runes, if you are seeking the mysteries contained within.
There is never another book I suggest over this to begin your quest, and I assure that it shall stay on your shelf to reference time and again, for a long, long time.
Very worthwhile, I can't say enough good things about Futhark.
I won't get into the content itself, it's easily accessible, there is absolutely no reason not to own a copy of this book if you are at all interested in learning the runes, or history of them.
There is never another book I suggest over this to begin your quest, and I assure that it shall stay on your shelf to reference time and again, for a long, long time.
Very worthwhile, I can't say enough good things about Futhark.
I won't get into the content itself, it's easily accessible, there is absolutely no reason not to own a copy of this book if you are at all interested in learning the runes, or history of them.
November 22, 2022
There aren’t many books on the runes and so I was hoping this would be useful as someone who is new to learning the runes.
1. The author has an…interesting… background. Some people have issue with the associations he has such as Satanism and the left handed path. Personally, that isn’t too much of an issue for me. Satanism still has a bad reputation in society and since I haven’t researched it fully, I try not to judge based off that (or the left handed path in general). However, he seems to support the AFA. I don’t know if this has changed since publication or not. That is more so my hesitation with the author, though I don’t think it’s the main reason I’d avoid this book. It’s just something to be aware of when picking up his books.
2. The writing is extremely academic. It reads like a long research paper. If that’s your thing, you’ll be fine. I was bored. I absolutely hate academic writing styles.
3. Some of the rune interpretations I don’t agree with and know that other authors have better books on the runes. It was interesting to have the yoga like moves (stadha) associated with the runes but I don’t know how historical that actually is, same with the galdr.
Overall, this book was so boring and some of the details I didn’t agree with such as Odin being a triple god with the brothers who created humans. That seems like a far more modern approach along with the hammer rite later in the book. I wouldn’t have bought this one but my husband already had a copy. It might be interesting to other people though.
1. The author has an…interesting… background. Some people have issue with the associations he has such as Satanism and the left handed path. Personally, that isn’t too much of an issue for me. Satanism still has a bad reputation in society and since I haven’t researched it fully, I try not to judge based off that (or the left handed path in general). However, he seems to support the AFA. I don’t know if this has changed since publication or not. That is more so my hesitation with the author, though I don’t think it’s the main reason I’d avoid this book. It’s just something to be aware of when picking up his books.
2. The writing is extremely academic. It reads like a long research paper. If that’s your thing, you’ll be fine. I was bored. I absolutely hate academic writing styles.
3. Some of the rune interpretations I don’t agree with and know that other authors have better books on the runes. It was interesting to have the yoga like moves (stadha) associated with the runes but I don’t know how historical that actually is, same with the galdr.
Overall, this book was so boring and some of the details I didn’t agree with such as Odin being a triple god with the brothers who created humans. That seems like a far more modern approach along with the hammer rite later in the book. I wouldn’t have bought this one but my husband already had a copy. It might be interesting to other people though.
January 31, 2022
One of the most in depth books on Runelore I have read to date (albeit a limited list). Not the easiest work to read. I keep waffling over 3 or 4 stars. The numerology aspect is quite confusing and I personslly find the cross references to astrology and tarot in this book absurd.
I can definitely see the left hand path influence other reviewers have mentioned in the second part of the book - not that it bothers me too much. To each thier own. In fact the second part of the book on rune ritual, while giving an interesting perspective, really didn't mean much for me, except for a very few examples. As the author himself admits, no one is really quite sure HOW rune magic was used in antiquity, but the authors offers his interpretation. I found the ale ritual fascinating and the section on creating bindrunes somewhat helpful.
The first part of the book is much more direct and comprehensive, providing an excellent primer on the meanings and insights of each rune. That part alone was worth the read and the buy.
I can definitely see the left hand path influence other reviewers have mentioned in the second part of the book - not that it bothers me too much. To each thier own. In fact the second part of the book on rune ritual, while giving an interesting perspective, really didn't mean much for me, except for a very few examples. As the author himself admits, no one is really quite sure HOW rune magic was used in antiquity, but the authors offers his interpretation. I found the ale ritual fascinating and the section on creating bindrunes somewhat helpful.
The first part of the book is much more direct and comprehensive, providing an excellent primer on the meanings and insights of each rune. That part alone was worth the read and the buy.
June 30, 2024
(2.5 stars) What started out as an informative and interesting book soon ended in an overwhelming and demotivating book for me.
Chapter 1 provides historical information on the runes and how runes are still used/incorporated in our modern world despite runelore mostly being forgotten. Chapter 2 provides background information on all of the 24 Elder Futhark runes. What I loved about this specific chapter is that it just didn't share the important keywords and the meaning behind the runes, but it also talked about Galrdr (the vocal embodiment of the runes) and Stödhur (the physical embodiment of the runes, kinda like yoga poses).
The other chapters on working with the runes and rune magic were just too technical, too detailed and too specific if you ask me. It all felt very constricting. The workings that were shared through a ten step plan (with many side steps) was just too much and confusing. There were no references to other sources either, so that also made me question the validity of what was being shared.
I'm disappointed. I expected more from this book.
Chapter 1 provides historical information on the runes and how runes are still used/incorporated in our modern world despite runelore mostly being forgotten. Chapter 2 provides background information on all of the 24 Elder Futhark runes. What I loved about this specific chapter is that it just didn't share the important keywords and the meaning behind the runes, but it also talked about Galrdr (the vocal embodiment of the runes) and Stödhur (the physical embodiment of the runes, kinda like yoga poses).
The other chapters on working with the runes and rune magic were just too technical, too detailed and too specific if you ask me. It all felt very constricting. The workings that were shared through a ten step plan (with many side steps) was just too much and confusing. There were no references to other sources either, so that also made me question the validity of what was being shared.
I'm disappointed. I expected more from this book.
March 9, 2022
É um livro interessante que mostra, mesmo que de forma subtil, um pouco da história nórdica. Claro que isto no que diz respeito a esta "língua", por assim dizer, e não da História em si.
Dá a conhecer ao leitor um pouco da evolução da runas ao longos dos tempos, a sua perda e a sua descoberta no tempo moderno, no que é que consiste, mostrando vários métodos de leitura, de lançamento, a explicação do que cada runa significa.
Claro que o autor também faz a advertência que primeiro o vitki, a pessoa que irá ler as runas, tem de se familiar bem com as runas, os métodos, para que possa fazer a melhor leitura possível do que o universo está a querer dizer.
Achei um leitura curiosa, interessante, e fácil, apesar de em alguns momentos me ter sentido confusa, devido aos diversos métodos, significados e características das runas - e, lá está, o estudo tem de ser contínuo, se se quiser seguir este tema, por assim dizer.
Dá a conhecer ao leitor um pouco da evolução da runas ao longos dos tempos, a sua perda e a sua descoberta no tempo moderno, no que é que consiste, mostrando vários métodos de leitura, de lançamento, a explicação do que cada runa significa.
Claro que o autor também faz a advertência que primeiro o vitki, a pessoa que irá ler as runas, tem de se familiar bem com as runas, os métodos, para que possa fazer a melhor leitura possível do que o universo está a querer dizer.
Achei um leitura curiosa, interessante, e fácil, apesar de em alguns momentos me ter sentido confusa, devido aos diversos métodos, significados e características das runas - e, lá está, o estudo tem de ser contínuo, se se quiser seguir este tema, por assim dizer.
August 8, 2019
Rune magic reminds me a lot of computer programming and music theory. Edred's book was fun an interesting to read, as his language is both informative yet warm and friendly (meaning that many spiritual or magic books I've read in the past are either too woo woo and impractical sounding or intensely pretentious and dogmatic. His style is matter of fact, yet encouraging and makes the whole process seem joyous and fun to explore) Regardless, I will need to read this several times and put into motion his concept and techniques to make any sense of what I just read here. The magic isn't in these words: the magic is in the final application and intentionality.
February 25, 2022
It's just modern western occultism with a very thin veneer of Germanic paganism to give it a false historical legitimacy. There are a couple of historical claims in the book that, as far as I am aware, are completely false.
I would say this book is entirely useless for anyone interested in history, Germanic paganism, or pre-Christian European religions in general.
Rated two stars because there are some interesting ideas, but they're on such shaky ground that I couldn't recommend that anyone take them very seriously without further study.
I would say this book is entirely useless for anyone interested in history, Germanic paganism, or pre-Christian European religions in general.
Rated two stars because there are some interesting ideas, but they're on such shaky ground that I couldn't recommend that anyone take them very seriously without further study.
March 3, 2024
DNF 48%
Since the author taught about runes I thought there would be more explaining why they believe what they do - and why I should as well. What I got was a bunch of ideas the author wants me to believe, but with not much to back up why. It made my brain twitchy. I don't have to agree with their conclusions, but I do want to see how they arrived at them.
Still, they do sound like they know what they're talking about and the history was interesting. So it wasn't a waste of time or anything.
Since the author taught about runes I thought there would be more explaining why they believe what they do - and why I should as well. What I got was a bunch of ideas the author wants me to believe, but with not much to back up why. It made my brain twitchy. I don't have to agree with their conclusions, but I do want to see how they arrived at them.
Still, they do sound like they know what they're talking about and the history was interesting. So it wasn't a waste of time or anything.
January 8, 2019
Very insightful, but kind of a tough read... Thorsson wrote this like he intended to aim at an advanced occultist fanbase. Many of the concepts he uses to explain various aspects of the runes comes from other occult sciences, which can be hard to follow if you're not well versed in. Good read, but not to "break the ice" in the study of the runes. Advanced rune study.
August 16, 2019
In-depth look at the runes: their meaning, usage, ceremonies, etc. Pretty good reference for rune meaning, theory of magic, and some work he suggest doing with the runes. I feel like everyone's experience with the runes is fairly personal and there's bound to be some speculation with history, but this has good info to get you started on working your own gnosis with the runes.
November 5, 2019
I found the explanations of the runes and familiarising oneself with them helpful. I will be using the book as a reference. However I didn’t realise the book was written from a specific religious/spiritual position going in and some aspects are quite modern.
March 2, 2020
Quick read. I think this is a great book for beginners that want to explore a lot of options when working with Runes. I would say this is inspired by historical event but not entirely historically accurate.
October 4, 2020
The part where he breaks down the deep meanings of each rune is interesting, but once you get to the rituals you realize he's very much an Odinist. Only found out as I was finishing the book that Odinists, & Þórsson himself, have ties to white supremacists.
January 13, 2021
Search for the best books on runes and you’ll find Thorsson/Flowers’ three books Futhark, Runelore and Runecaster’s Handbook somewhere on the lists. I found Futhark an excellent beginning guide into runic knowledge. I found the book insightful, user-friendly, and will be reading Runelore soon.
March 5, 2021
Good reference book overall. Really liked the inclusion of movement and sound for each rune as supporting elements for magical practice.
Would benefit from an update to include more on modern, inclusive practice.
Would benefit from an update to include more on modern, inclusive practice.
July 2, 2021
I was disappointed to see that this book is less about the Futhark, history, runes and meaning and is more about the Germanic side of history. I felt the book was very drawn out and unfortunately I ended up glossing over most of it.
October 20, 2017
Somewhat esoteric and high-brow, but good to know how complex runology really is. Must study more.
May 28, 2018
Very Readable, a good grounding in the use and history of the Runes. Topical advice on using the Runes today, which is most helpful to students of our Northern Heritage, ie our Anglo-Saxon heritage.
June 26, 2019
Best basic introduction
September 2, 2020
Really fun book to gain knowledge of Rube history and knowledge.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews