New Book Uncovers the Ancient Egyptian Origin and
Magical Power of the Runes
Magical Power of the Runes
This book reveals the “alphabet secrets” encoded in the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and traces their
journey to the frozen north, where they came to be known as the runes—twenty-four magical symbols, each
with their own unique story and power.
Judith Dillon illustrates how the runes became not only an alphabet for communication but a spiritual portal
to enlightenment. Drawing on Norse sagas and runic poems, the author reveals the spiritual and divinatory
attributes of each rune by looking at the physical characteristics of the objects chosen to represent them.
According to the author, “In addition to the gift of an alphabet, each symbol represents a secret taught to a
few initiates through trade guilds” that moved over Phoenician trading routes. The meaning of “rune” is
secret. Dillon also shows how the magical properties of runes are demonstrated through mythological tales.
Just as we see in the Egyptian Book of the Dead, or Spells of Coming Forth by Day, these rune mysteries
were taught to initiates to reveal ritualistic wisdom of passage through life, death, and the afterlife. More
than an alphabet, the runes contain the promise of a return to the light.
As a work of magical scholarship and history, this book provides a multifaceted perspective on the
linguistic, magical, and historical nature of the runes and their etymological roots.
Author Bio: Judith Dillon has a degree in Near Eastern languages and anthropology
from the University of California, Berkeley. For more than 40 years her research has
focused on the history of alphabets, runes, oghams, Hebrew, and ancient Phoenician
as well as its relation to number magic. She is the author of Alphabets and the Mystery
Traditions. https://berkeley.academia.edu/JudithDillon
journey to the frozen north, where they came to be known as the runes—twenty-four magical symbols, each
with their own unique story and power.
Judith Dillon illustrates how the runes became not only an alphabet for communication but a spiritual portal
to enlightenment. Drawing on Norse sagas and runic poems, the author reveals the spiritual and divinatory
attributes of each rune by looking at the physical characteristics of the objects chosen to represent them.
According to the author, “In addition to the gift of an alphabet, each symbol represents a secret taught to a
few initiates through trade guilds” that moved over Phoenician trading routes. The meaning of “rune” is
secret. Dillon also shows how the magical properties of runes are demonstrated through mythological tales.
Just as we see in the Egyptian Book of the Dead, or Spells of Coming Forth by Day, these rune mysteries
were taught to initiates to reveal ritualistic wisdom of passage through life, death, and the afterlife. More
than an alphabet, the runes contain the promise of a return to the light.
As a work of magical scholarship and history, this book provides a multifaceted perspective on the
linguistic, magical, and historical nature of the runes and their etymological roots.
Author Bio: Judith Dillon has a degree in Near Eastern languages and anthropology
from the University of California, Berkeley. For more than 40 years her research has
focused on the history of alphabets, runes, oghams, Hebrew, and ancient Phoenician
as well as its relation to number magic. She is the author of Alphabets and the Mystery
Traditions. https://berkeley.academia.edu/JudithDillon
