The Elder Futhark is the oldest widely recognized runic alphabet. It contains 24 characters and was used by Germanic-speaking peoples across parts of northern and central Europe from approximately the second century through the eighth or ninth century CE. The name Futhark comes from the sounds represented by its first six runes: F, U, Þ, A, R and K. The full alphabet was traditionally divided into three groups of eight, known as ættir. But how did an alphabet become a tool for spiritual guidance and divination? Runes were originally letters, used to write names, memorials, ownership marks, messages and short inscriptions. During the Viking and medieval periods, they also appeared in prayers, charms, healing formulas, protective inscriptions and curses. Old Norse literature connected runes with hidden knowledge, sacred power and magic, helping them develop a reputation as more than an ordinary writing system. Even so, there is no surviving ancient handbook that explains rune reading in the way it is commonly practiced today. No known Viking-era source provides instructions for one-rune draws, three-rune spreads, reversed meanings or fixed interpretations for love, work and personal guidance. The transformation of runes into a formal mystical system developed gradually. Around the beginning of the 17th century, Swedish scholar and mystic Johannes Bureus combined the study of runes with Christian Kabbalah, Hermetic philosophy and his own spiritual teachings. Rather than viewing runes only as letters, he believed they concealed ancient wisdom and divine mysteries. Another major reinterpretation appeared in 1908, when Austrian occultist Guido von List published The Secret of the Runes. He created an 18-rune esoteric system known as the Armanen runes and assigned mystical teachings to each symbol. His work influenced later Germanic occult traditions, but it was not a preserved Viking divination system. It was a modern spiritual construction and was also connected to racial-nationalist ideology, which should not be confused with the academic study of historical runes. The form of rune reading most people recognize today became widely popular during the late 20th century. Individual rune stones were placed in a bag, a question was asked, and one or more runes were drawn and interpreted through a set of established meanings. Ralph Blum’s 1982 book The Book of Runes was especially influential in popularizing this practice. Blum presented runes as a personal oracle, included instructions for casting them and introduced the controversial blank rune. The blank rune was not part of the historical Elder Futhark. His method was influenced partly by the structure of the Chinese I Ching, rather than being copied from a surviving Norse divination manual. Modern rune meanings are not entirely disconnected from history. Many interpretations are drawn from reconstructed rune names, surviving rune poems, mythology, natural symbolism and archaeological context. Fehu, associated with cattle and movable wealth, came to represent prosperity and resources. Isa, meaning ice, became connected with stillness, restriction and delay. Sowilo, associated with the sun, became a symbol of vitality, clarity and success. However, the highly organized system used today—upright meanings, reversed meanings, love readings, career readings and shadow interpretations—is largely contemporary. No surviving ancient source tells us that a three-rune spread must represent the past, present and future, or that each rune carried one fixed fortune-telling definition. The ancient runes provided the symbols, sounds, names, stories and mystery. Later generations built systems of spiritual interpretation around them. This does not mean that modern rune reading is spiritually meaningless or invalid. It means that it is best understood as a living modern tradition inspired by ancient material, rather than an unchanged Viking practice that has been passed down exactly as it is used today.