Explores how runes relate to the cycles of time. Detailing the significance of natural time cycles in the Northern Tradition, Nigel Pennick explores how the stars, planets, seasons, months, and the precessional year relate to the runes. The author explains how the runes are more than just an ancient European alphabet-they encapsulate particular spiritual and symbolic meanings to individually and collectively express deep eternal truths.

Discussing the pagan wheel of the year, whose eightfold path later served the Church as the basis for the eight holy celebrations of its religious calendar, he looks at the meanings and temporal qualities of the 24 runes of the Elder Futhark and their rapport with ancient timekeeping and star-reading methods. He offers charts and calculations to discern which rune is the primary influence on a particular day, week, month, season, or year. He also examines runic elemental and color associations and their esoteric spatial roles, where they represent the four directions, the eight airts, and other cycles critical to understanding the sacred nature of the material world. Exploring runic astrology, Pennick looks at the runes as they relate to the planets and their cycles. He then presents ways to use this knowledge for calculating runic birth charts and runic horoscopes.

Revealing the importance of the patterns and cycles of time operating in our world, the author provides a means for reconnecting with these primal principles-which underlie our existence as beings in time-through the ancient wisdom of runes.