[expand]
Protective Inscriptions
Certain runic combinations were believed to offer protection—carved on weapons for battle success, on ships for safe voyage, on doorways for household security, on jewelry for personal safety. Whether these worked through supernatural mechanism or through psychological boost to bearer’s confidence was debatable, but practice was widespread.
The Lindholm amulet, dating to 2nd-3rd century, bears inscription that appears to be protective formula—repeated letter sequences, possible names, unclear words that might be spell or gibberish. The ambiguity is characteristic—magical runic inscriptions often resist clear interpretation, suggesting either cipher, sacred language, or intentional obscurity to enhance mystique.
Cursing and Binding
Runes could allegedly harm as well as help—inscriptions cursing enemies, binding oaths, compelling obedience. The Björketorp runestone in Sweden bears inscription that apparently curses anyone who disturbs the stone, threatening death and destruction. Whether this actually harmed anyone is unknown, but it demonstrated that runes were understood as capable of encoding harmful intent.
The legal codes eventually prohibited certain runic practices—specifically using runes to harm others, suggesting that runic cursing was taken seriously enough to warrant prohibition. This might reflect genuine fear of runic magic or concern about social disruption caused by belief in such magic.
Divination
Some sources suggest runes were used for divination—casting marked sticks or stones and interpreting their positions and combinations. The historical evidence for this practice is ambiguous—late sources describe it, but earlier sources don’t clearly document it. Modern “rune casting” is largely 20th century invention, drawing more from tarot and I Ching than from documented historical practice.
[/expand]