An Illustrated Guide to Runes [Hardcover]

Jonathan Dee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 2001

A complete guide to the ancient Nordic stones of divination and their meanings, with four color throughout. Clear explanation of what each stone stands for, how to cast, read, and interpret them to provide information, insight, and guidance,

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

A complete guide to the ancient Nordic stones of divination and their meanings, with four color throughout. Clear explanation of what each stone stands for, how to cast, read, and interpret them to provide information, insight, and guidance,

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Gramercy (August 21, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517163969
• ISBN-13: 978-0517163962
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,620,848 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lovely introduction to the runes, December 31, 2001

By 

Lil S. (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Illustrated Guide to Runes (Hardcover)

This book has beautiful illustrations and photographs, and provides a good introduction to the runes. Although not as scholarly or comprehensive as many other books on the runes, it does provide an overview of the history and mythology of the runes, as well as the culture they emerged from, and a solid interpretation of each individual rune. Excellent for the beginner, and worth reading by the more advanced student of the runes.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I'd give it Zero stars, if I could., September 15, 2005

By 

Druid_Wicca "Druid_Wicca" (Denison, IA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Illustrated Guide to Runes (Hardcover)

There are a number of things that I dislike about Jonathan Dee's Illustrated Guide to Runes. First of all, his description of the key concepts of each rune often goes against what better-informed and more scholarly sources say are the correct meanings. Next, the pictures that illustrate the section on each rune ... These often do not have anything to do with that rune at all. They belong on a different page with a completely different rune. While the symbol for Sowulo (which Dee calls "Sowelo") looks like a lightening bolt, that rune is not associated with a lightening bolt. Yet there is a picture of a lightening storm on page 72, where part of the explanation of "Sowelo" is printed. While other sources stress the point that lightening has nothing to do with this rune, Dee emphasizes Thor's connection because it looks like a lightening bolt. And the author has chosen to drop the last 'R' on the name of the Norse god Freyr. He's called "Frey" instead. There are other examples where the author uses incorrect illustrations and seemingly pulls explanations out of thin air. A third unfortunate mistake in this book is takes place in the Introduction. On page 7 there is a chart called "Runic Symbols and Their Variations. That is meant to be the reader's very first introduction to all of the runes presented in the book. Unfortunately, the author and publisher decided to leave out the names of the Viking runes (Elder Futhark) which are the main focus of the book. While there is plenty of room for a sixth column on that page, we are left wondering what all the symbols are called. The next page, however, illustrates, names, and gives short meanings for the extra Northumbrian runes that were added to the Elder Futhark later. That would be great, but there's almost no mention of these later in the book. Next we come to an illustration on page 13. It looks like a first grader's version of an organizational flow chart. Not only is it poorly thought out, it has several of the Runes associated with the wrong Norse gods. And last of all, in the section called "The Art of Reading Runes," there is a piece on the Runic Wheel. I've seen a lot of material on divination with runes, but this author is the only one of a very few who advocates reading the wheel backwards (counter clockwise). Not only is this counter to what runemasters teach, but it will affect the user's runecasts in an unsatisfactory way. The runecaster faces a certain cardinal direction when working with the runes, and Jonathan Dee's Runic Wheel is illustrated and explained the exact opposite of the proper way for it to be aligned. For example, Dee's wheel calls for North and South to be reversed, as well as East and West. An Illustrated Guide to Runes by Johnathan Dee is a terrific example of what happens when a book is poorly researched, not carefully edited by an expert (I don't think one was consulted at any time during the creation of the book), and just badly written. Big illustrations and pictures take the place of helpful and reliable information that could have been included if the author and publisher had been willing to take the time to make a better, more useful book. And finally, the way the book is arranged in general is just about the least helpful and most confusing of any book on Runes I've encountered. One of the biggest questions is, why does the information provided by the author go against what so many others have published in this field? I think it's a lack of understanding of the topic on the author's part and a reluctance to delve into the material more deeply accomplish a well-written and properly informative book.