Quotes:Runes

H. P. Blavatsky

Runes. The Runic language and characters are the mystery or sacerdotal tongue and alphabet of the ancient Scandinavians. Runes are derived from the word rûna (secret). Therefore both language and character could neither be understood nor interpreted without having the key to it. Hence while the written runes consisting of sixteen letters are known, the ancient ones composed of marks and signs are indecipherable. They are called the magic characters. “It is clear”, says E. W. Anson, an authority on the folk‐lore of the Norsemen, “that the runes were from various causes regarded even in Germany proper as full of mystery and endowed with supernatural power”. They are said to have been invented by Odin.

Source: H. P. Blavatsky, The Theosophical Glossary, art. Runes