The New Book of Runes

Ralph Blum’s widely read work presents runes as a practical divination system and a contemplative tool for modern readers. Its significance lies in helping popularize rune casting in the late 20th century, and it typically includes rune meanings, methods of throwing, and reflections on using the runes for insight and guidance.

Ralph H. Blum (1932–2016) was an American author best known for popularizing the I Ching in the English-speaking world, especially through his influential 1970 book The Book of Changes. His work helped make divination and East Asian philosophical ideas accessible to a broad modern readership, and he also wrote on spirituality, tarot, and related symbolic traditions.