Taking Up The Runes: A Complete Guide To Using Runes In Spells, Rituals, Divination, And Magic Paperback – April 20, 2005

I was introduced to the runes by Lisa Chamberlain, but I've fallen in love with Diana Praxton. I've learned more about the runes from this book and now I know why a lot of my rune spells never worked before. I never fully understand the runes.

From Paxson’s introduction I was able to gather three things: (1) she is open to receiving insights from all valuable sources; (2) it does not matter who you are, the Runes can be a blessing to everyone; (3) while tradition is essential to gaining a solid foundation, in the end it is most important to embody the Runes and discover one’s own Path through them. All that works for me.I’ve come across a few lists that state, Taking up the Runes is the best beginner’s book on Runes. I do not agree with that. While Paxson’s book covers most everything a person needs to know to begin working with the Runes, the information is spread out throughout her book which makes it difficult to see the bigger picture when starting off. I suggest  Nordic Runes: Understanding, Casting, and Interpreting the Ancient Viking Oracle  by Mountfort to be the best beginner’s book, not only because he gives the bigger picture but also because he helps the reader understand the differences between the traditional and modern perspectives.As for beginner/intermediate books on Rune magic, I would definitely say this is one of the best. Every Rune has one or more rituals/meditations that the reader can work with in order to help them tap into the Runic energies and experience their power. The second half of her book is filled with rituals, which, while a little bit too ritualistic for my taste, were still beautiful and amazing.What both Mountfort and Paxson have in common is their integration of myths and stories of the gods as they relate to each Rune. In this regard I would say Paxson’s stories had more impact on me and were more relevant than Mountfort’s. Although, they did share different myths which makes both of them valuable in that regards.To give an example, Mountfort mentions Audumla as a relevant myth to relate with Fehu while Paxson give us the story of Sigfried and verses 78-79 from the Havamal. Because Fehu deals with cattle, and one could say, cows in general, Audumla fits, but Paxton gives us the story of Sigfried and how that is a lesson on money’s corrupting power and then backs it up with a quote from the Havamal. Paxson’s two quotes helped expound upon the three Runic poems in a way that brought the message home.While there are many things that stand out in Paxson’s book, it was her amazing suggestions on how the Runes work together and for what purpose they could be applied to that was really inspiring and practical to me. Practical in the sense that it not only helps us understand different facets of each Rune, but also gives us a means to invite the Runic energies into our lives. That alone makes the book worth reading.One thing to consider with Paxson’s book is that it is set up as a yearlong group study course. Paxson has many suggestions on how to go about each study group, what to include, rituals to undertake, discussions to have, and a host of other great ideas. All of which were beautiful and powerful. I will definitely utilize some of her suggestions when I host a study group of my own.All and all this is a book I suggest every Rune student should have. It’s definitely worth the price in my opinion.This is the sixth book on my suggested Rune Reading List. While not on my suggested read list, I also encouraged you to get  Rune Correspondences by Frodi Ingsson  so that you can add things that are meaningful to you as you learn more about the Runes.1. The Complete Illustrated Guide to Runes by Nigel Pennick2. Way of the Runes by Bernard King3. Runes: Reading the Past by R.I Page4. Runelore: A Handbook of Esoteric Runology by Edred Thorsson5. Nordic Runes by Paul Rhys Mountfort6. Taking up the Runes Diana L Paxson7. Runecaster’s Handbook Edred Thorsson8. Poetic Edda by either Hollander, Crawford, or Larrington9. Prose Edda by Jesse L. Byock10. Hávamál Meditations: Embodying Oðinn’s Teachings by Frodi Ingsson (forthcoming)11. Runes of Transformation by Kaedrich Olsen12. Helrunar by Jan Fries13. Runes and Magic by Stephen E. Flowers14.  Rune Yoga: Staða & Galdr 15. Rune Workings: Meditations and Rituals by Frodi Ingsson (forthcoming)

I like the way the author has set up the learning sections in a manner a group could work on learning the runes, meeting periodically. I do not have a group. However, I stop after each section to work on the lessons learned there. The book is easy to understand, and The author tells what other well-known Rune practitioners, say about each Rune and the methods of reading Runes, As a comparison to her interpretations and Rune layouts. I highly recommend this book for beginners and intermediate, rune students. Experts will likely find the book useful as a review and see some New information they can incorporate into their own practice.

In this work, renowned fiction author Diana Paxson tackles practical rune-uses in magic, divination, and ritual. The book is obviously intended to be a sort of popular guide rather than a more serious piece. While there are places where the book misses the mark, there are places where it is fairly good as well. It is a good introduction to more serious works but it is not, by itself, a complete guide.First the good:I appreciate the fact that the author provides a fair bit of structure in her approach to runestave meanings. This is an important step which is missing from many books on the subject. This is important because it helps individuals make up their own minds and arrive at personal synthesis in this area. Some of the discussions of how to run a study group are helpful as well.I also appreciated the fact that the rune poems were given in the original languages with inline translations. This helps to encourage individuals to think about the poems as being in their original languages and hence try to investigate their own translations. When I do a second edition of "The Serpent and the Eagle," I will probably follow that approach.Now the bad:As the author points out, the Runes are a cultural expression of a specific set of people at a specific point in time. Unfortunately she then compares spiritual systems to foreign food and suggests that we can mix and match as we find it helpful with very little structure. Much of the approach from that point on ends up much more reminiscent of Hermeticism and related traditions and there is a clear Wiccan influence. (Among other things she refers to menstrual blood as "moon blood" without noting that Germanic languages and traditions see the Moon as a male mythological figure.) This is unfortunate because it provides a shallower approach to the tradition as a whole.A second problem occurs with the treatment of the Old Icelandic Rune Poem. The original sources include two sets of material not covered in this book. The first is a set of glosses in Latin (Aurum for Fe, Umbre for Ur, Saturnus for Thurs, etc). Often times, the investigation of these glosses provides important material for understanding the Runes. In some cases, this can be very interesting. For example As is glossed as "Jupiter" and Naudh is glossed as "opera" (meaning "work").The second set of material omitted are the listings of leader titles alliterating with the stave name. Once again, these can be quite important to understanding the staves.Additionally I think there is some merit to the criticism of the bibliography, which is robust in some areas, lacking in some parts, and way off in left field in others (a substantial number of contemporary fiction works by the author and others appear there).My other complaints are mild and not really the author's fault. The pages are printed on off-white paper which is designed to make the book thicker than necessary. The font is made larger than necessary. There are white space issues with the first page. Really the book design looks like it was done either to make the book appear more substantial than it is, and the book design seems remarkably amateurish for a publisher like Weiser. The cover mentions the author's fictional works which are really unrelated to the current book. If you are a book design nerd, you won't be able to stand this book.Overall:I think this book is alright in its proper context. Certainly if someone wants to get into the Runes from a Wiccan background this book and "A Practical Guide to the Runes" by Lisa Peschal are good choices. However, it is not a serious textbook and is not meant to be. I would recommend it to some people but not others, hence a 3 star rating.

It has good information as well as group rituals that are helpful.

This is one of the classics on the use of runes in magic. It rewards serious and detailed study.

Probably the best book on runes I have read for a long time. It has a good balance between the scholarly aspects of rune study and the spiritual side of working with them. Thankfully this is also a book written from a universalist perspective. Paxson credits other authors which is helpful, and also acknowledges where her interpretations are due to her personal insight or journey. Although this is abook intended to support a rune working or study group, if you are studying alone or already have some experience and knowledge of runes, this is still an excellent resource. In my view, this should be a key resource for anyone studying runes and eliminates the need to trawl through the mass of dubious books available.

Another epic book from Diana

The book does just what the author says.

It reads like a Wiccan who decided to take up the study of runes. No history, no mythology, completely ignores the 9 worlds and any accurate details about Odin. Seems more interested in silly spell work. Disregards organizing the runes into their 3 ettas and instead puts 2 runes together per chapter stating because they ‘go together.’If I didn’t know better I would swear that this is another pen name for Thorsson since his name is dropped so much in the first 20 pages I would think the book is about him.

An entrancing and well-written guide to rune study. Diana's writing is engaging, like you're discussing the topic with a friend and mentor rather than reading a book. If you've liked any of her other work, you'll probably like this. It's worth noting that this isn't really a standalone book; it can be used as such, but it wasn't intended to be and I wouldn't advise you to do so. This is more a guide to teaching yourself or running a group. At the very least Thorsson's Runelore is recommended.Also, a minor note- I'm not usually fond of paperbacks, but this one is very well made.