Runes are a fascinating example of the ingenuity of language, communication, and symbolic meaning. They show us human nature's attempt to use them as tools of expression, a divinatory means to understand the forces that exist all around us that shape our lives, and our attempts to influence these forces by signifying our intentions to the divine and the universe. For the last 120 years, runes have been misused, misrepresented, and misinterpreted to fit into systems of propaganda for extreme and objectionable political agendas. This form of cultural appropriation has done great damage in obscuring and twisting the original and true meanings of the runes. This edition includes an extra chapter that explains this history and sets the record straight for the reader to make informed choices. It is the aim of this book to provide the bigger picture about where these symbols have come from, how they have developed, how they have been used, and how their use has evolved over two thousand years. They are an expression of the human spirit. They are part of us.