A Modern Art Form, Rooted in Ancient Wisdom 

Runic Art: An exploration of modern runic art through the lens of ancient symbolism and practice.

364 pages of creative madness. That’s the goal for this book. 

For those of you who followed my three-year journey in creating the Hávamál – this is something wholly different. Hávamál was a 60,000 word behemoth, filled with a written analysis of the entire poem. That was a book book.

This is an art book. There’s still gonna be a lot of writing and analysis, but I’m approaching this one as a passionate artist with the goal of creatively exploring an art form to the absolute peak of my ability.

It's a book for those who:

• Feel inspired by Norse mythology, Runes, Staves & Art
• Appreciate craft — in words, in art, and in the making of beautiful things
• Value reflection and personal growth through ancient wisdom
• Like exploring spirituality and meaning without dogma or labels
• Want to explore the runes in an artistic form

What it's about, and what will be inside:

I aim to achieve three goals with this book:

1. To give you an overview on the runes

Primarily the Elder Futhark, maybe the Younger Futhark too). This overview will include an exploration and meanings of each rune, and I’m aiming to present any historical information I can find. The rune poems being a primary example, but possible some historical uses as well

2.  A creative and visual exploration of the Galdrstafir (Icelandic Staves)

A common trend for modern runic artists is the practice of combining the runes into various bindrunes, staves and everything in-between. This combination of Galdr stave motifs and runic motifs is (in my opinion) the defining essence of modern day runic art. It’s a practice I personally love, and something I’ll be exploring in this second section of the book.

I spent a few weeks working with 7 different manuscripts – extracting up to and probably well over 200 historical staves that I found visually pleasing and inspiring. Some of those staves you’ll be familiar with already (Vegvísir, Ægishjálmur etc.), and while this section is primarily for creative inspiration, I will be personally analysing some of the more notable and popular staves.

I’ll also be exploring the various stave elements. I aim to categorise and present the various visual motifs that can be used in modern runic art, while personally interpreting them in a strictly creative, non-historical sense.

3. The Art. And there will be a LOT of art. 

I’ve been creating bindrunes and runic designs for almost 5 years now. Mostly through my commissions, but recently I’ve been drawing like a madman in preparation for this book. I’m slowly gathering every unused concept from my previous commissions to present in this book, and I’m drawing more and more by hand each week.

500 personal-use artworks. Minimum. That’s my goal.

Given how I approached Hávamál towards the end – by just adding more and more value day by day – I wouldn’t be surprised if I pushed that number to 1,000. We’ll just have to wait and see.

An extensive breakdown of my personal approach & design process for Bindrunes/Runic Art, presented through an analysis of my past works

Through a series of project breakdowns, I'll guide you through the exact approach I take when I create bindrunes or runic artworks, alongside how I specifically work with the runes as visual motivators for action / symbolic reminders for things. I'll delve a lot more into that as I slowly progress through the book. 

Crafted to Be Held, Kept, and Revisited 

This edition of Runic Art by Einarr's Journey was designed to feel as good in your hands as it looks on your shelf.

The book is bound in a canvas-style navy blue hardcover, finished with silver-foiled artwork that catches the light just right. The page edges are silver-gilt, giving the whole book a clean, sharp finish that feels rooted in tradition.

Inside, every page is printed in full colour, with a deep maroon ribbon to mark your place and red thread binding to keep the book strong and flexible for years of reading and creative use. It’s an artistic behemoth for those interested in runes, bindrunes and everything in-between.

Who It’s For?

This book is for those who find themselves drawn to the power of the runes & magical staves. 

Runic Art is being made for those who feel connected to the power and wisdom of ancient symbolism, and want to channel that through creative means. It’s a book that covers two vital bases.

1. For those who have an appreciation for my art, it presents you with more of my art than you’ll ever know what to do with

2. For those interested in delving into this art form, it’s an open-wide golden arched gate that welcomes you with open arms and beckons you to explore the realm of runic art.

The Hardcover Book 

EXCLUSIVE PREORDER BONUS

As an exclusive thank you for Preordering Runic Art – you'll get some Runic Art. The art within the book will be comprised of a mix of techniques I use in my work. Some are made digitally, whereas I do a lot of drawing by hand too. Each copy of the book that is Preordered before the release date will come with a one-of-a-kind, hand drawn, signed piece of runic art. 

A lot of the sketches and hand-drawn bindrunes you'll see were all done on these really nice pieces of handmade paper. So I like the idea of giving those pages to all of the people who preordered. By doing so, you've allowed me to buy that time I spend drawing and sketching. It will either be A6 or A5, and aside from me leaving out the artworks I'm not too proud of, you won't know what you're getting until it arrives ;) 

First Edition — Now Available to Pre-Order – And I’m aiming for an end of 2027 Release. 

This is the limited first edition of Runic Art: printed in full colour, bound in deep navy canvas, and finished with silver foil and gilt edges.

Every copy has been designed with the same care and respect that went into the words and artworks within

• Canvas-style navy blue hardcover with silver-foiled artwork
• Silver-gilt page edges
• Deep maroon bookmark ribbon to contrast the blue
• Red thread binding for strength and elegance

Specifications

• Title: Runic Art by Einarr's Journey
• Authors: Connor Benson 
• Publisher: Einarr’s Journey
• Pages: 364
• Format: Hardback, full colour
• Language: English
• ISBN (eBook): 978-1-0685085-8-5
• ISBN (Hardcover): 978-1-0685085-9-2
• Printer: Imago Group, Turkey (To be Confirmed)

By Pre-Ordering this book, you’re directly involved in it’s creation. There’s no Kickstarter or GoFundMe – I’m doing this off of my own back.

And I’m doing so because my ADHD seems to manifest itself as a delusional, slightly arrogant and desperate need to push my work ethic, creativity and dedication to the absolute peak of what a small business can do.

This is an absurdly ridiculous undertaking for one person. But I’m gonna absolutely fuckin smash it out of the park 🫡