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If I am interested in Divination why should I waste time learning about rune magic?

A rune reader who does not recognise the magical nature of the runes is like someone who tries to learning swimming without ever accepting that water is wet. Both ignore a fundamental aspect of their media. Rune magic is not simply another use of the runes. The reality is that they are magic and anyone seeking to truly understand them must believe this

It is this simple fact which makes the runes entirely different from any other divinatory method. If asked where the Tarot is from, a knowledgeable Tarot reader can assign them to Europe and a particular historical period. However the rune reader can give, thanks to the Eddas, a much more direct answer if asked where the runes come from. They originate first from a place between life and death and secondly from a god who found them. They are thus in essence extra-ordinary.

Most other divinatory methods exist for this single purpose. The runes are different. From the earliest times they have been recognised as magical and used for magical ends. For example weapons have been found in archaeological excavations with runes carved upon them to increase their effectiveness in battle. Equally there is evidence both archaeological and literary of the runes having being used for healing. Throughout then, the runes are infused with power.

Moreover there is no artificial divide between the magical nature of the runes and their divinatory meanings and usage. They cannot be learned separately because they are irrevocably linked. A rune is a rune is a rune. Intrinsic to the mystical nature of the runes is that they will forever be associated with the Norse deities. Odin is finder and master of the runes. Other runes such as Ing and Thorn (Thurisaz) are linked to specific deities. The runes as a whole are divided into three groups (Aetts) belonging to Frey, Hagal and Tyr.

The purpose of any practitioner of divination is to thoroughly learn and understand her/his chosen method of divination. With some divinatory techniques this entails no more than a simple learning of meanings but the runes are different. In fact they are unique. Their origins were magical and they still throb with power. Anyone intending to pick them up should be willing to acknowledge their multifaceted nature and seek to understand the magic and the mythology which is integral to them.