Book Review:

The Elements of the Runes

By: Bernard King

ISBN#: 1-86204-037-0

Element Books Ltd.

Reviewed by: Steve Anthonijsz

Today there are a plethora of books about the Runen available on the market. Skimming online and mail order catalogues one will find that Bernard King’s The Elements of the Runes is one of the most popular. Knowing my interest in the topic a number of people have asked my impressions of this book and, because of this, I thought that it might provide a service, however small, by making my impressions available to the public. Since someone was kind enough to loan me a copy, this seemed to be the time.

Before proceeding it is only right that I offer a brief disclaimer. A number of schools of thought exist with regards to the origins of the runes, their uses in ancient times, their potentials today, advice regarding applications/practices and so forth. Anyone who comments on a text or school of thought will be prejudiced to some degree by the view to which he subscribes. In this review I will attempt to be as objective as possible, reminding the reader of a slight caveat: the author’s school of thought is not my own. That being said, however, all the different schools of thought do have something of value to offer the researcher, whether someone new to runic studies or someone with many years of exploration and experimentation under one’s belt.

The introduction and first two chapters (entitled The Origin of the Runes and Runes, Religion and Society, respectively) of The Elements of the Runes are excellent. The author manages to condense an impressive amount of historical lore into a brief, readable package that is both informative and easy to reference. If one wishes to nitpick, some slight historical errors may be found; but these neither detract from the main points the author makes, nor do they represent a great divergence from the surviving historical record.

Chapter 3, The Scope of Northern Magical Practice does take a few leaps, but most of these are not extreme. In this chapter the author’s thrust seems to come more from the generally-accepted thoughts of neo-pagans than from academic research which, while not necessarily a bad thing, does take the reader in a very different direction from what is offered in the preceding sections without any appropriate warnings. This seems to be a common occurrence in books about the runes written by both neo-pagan and new age authors, and King, it seems, is no exception. The history is sketchy at best, but does have some grounding. The techniques offered in this chapter, though, are actually quite good for those who are interested in utilizing Reconstructionist approaches to rune-working. The approach described herein is certainly not my approach, and rune-workers may argue indefinitely about which methodology is “better.” But the Reconstructionist method(s) certainly does have its validity in its own context.

Chapter 4, The Meanings of the Runes, is no more and no less woolly than the myriad other rune books on the market written by pop-occult writers. As a matter-of-fact, much of the common ‘wisdom’ of those writers is echoed in The Elements of the Runes. Certain fallacies are perpetuated that, again, are commonly found in books of this nature, and seem to have been inspired by other books of the same genre.

The Runen are not symbols that embody direct meanings like the symbols we see used in chemistry, electronics, astrology, or other disciplines. Quite the contrary. The “meanings” or the Runen are at best descriptors that may help one discovery the mystery manifested by a given stave. That is, the meaning symbolizes the Rune, not the other way around.
No stave in the Futharkh represents any particular deity, plant, animal, usw. Yes, symbols such as trees and so forth may be used as analogies to help us understand the staves. But the Runen, as the mysteries of Life itself, obviously cannot exist simply as a shorthand for any particular expression of life including a deity. To think otherwise belies the lesson taught in Hávamál 138-145 which expressly informs us that the Runen exist beyond mortal understanding and that even Wodan was not equipped to posses these mysteries without aid.

Chapters 5, 6 and 7 are suspect only because of runic school of thought. King seems to be combining the classic ideas of Odianism (the school of thought promulgated by Edred Thorsson) with some of the ‘fluffier’ notions put forth by neo-pagans and/or would-be sorcerers. Reconstructed (as opposed to attested) Heathen ideas, new age ventures, and Wiccan pop-occult methods are randomly pooled into a mishmash that may or may not work and I leave it to the curious practitioner to make up one’s own mind about the usefulness of King’s recommendations.

In the final two chapters, Using the Runes Today and The Future of the Runes the author returns to a somewhat balanced centre. King demonstrates that he does, if fact, have some valuable knowledge of the mysteries and he does his best to communicate the relevance these possess in spite of our modern, urbanized, anomic culture. While few would agree with everything he says his overall vision is a profound and challenging one.

Overall, Bernard King’s The Elements of the Runes is not a bad book. Neither is it a great book. It may be a useful addition to one’s library if read with a healthy scepticism, and actually does offer a respectable beginners’ guide despite its flaws. Study of the Runen, by its very nature, is an endeavour during which one will be forced to change opinions, interpretations, and so forth. This being the case, coming across some “wrong” or doubtful ideas is only a healthy and likely part of the effort. If some positive progression can be made in spite of this, than the endeavour is certainly worthwhile.

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