The mythological story of the origin of the Runes tells of Odin, who in a search for wisdom & power, performed a self-imposed ordeal by mutilating his eye with his own sword & hanging upside down on Yggdrasil, the "World Ash Tree." At the end of 9 days, when this rather minor deity was near death, the Wyrd Sisters gave Odin the Runes of power, making him, in effect, the king of the gods. To this day, the Hanged Man card in the Tarot deck supposedly represents Odin on his quest for power.
The Runes were first used throughout Scandanavia, Northern Europe & ancient Britain. Before the Runes metamorphosed into the letters of the Germanic languages, preliterate people incorporated them into decorative motifs on tombstones, wands & clothing, and they were used in combination to create love spells, curses, blessings, and protective spells for people, dwellings, boats & war campaigns.
Three versions of a "Rune Poem" exist (Icelandic, Norwegian & Anglo Saxon) which reference the meanings of each of the Runes, and that is the only hint modern man has of their original interpretation. To be honest, we know little of what the Runes meant to the people who first used them.
Today Runes are occasionally used in jewelery motifs as interesting-looking ornaments or as lucky charms. They are still used during ceremonial occasions of revived religious practices. Runes can be used in the same way as card-reading, astrology, or the I Ching: as "fortune telling"--for true believers!--or as a window into the unconscious mind. A single Rune may be drawn from a bag in the morning, or a number of Runes may be drawn & laid out in patterns, forming a Rune Oracle. The Oracle may then be interpreted and the results meditated upon throughout the day.
Runes also occur with regularity in computer adventure games where they perform their traditional functions by conferring strength, health, protection or knowledge on the player.