Where do the Runes come from?
According to the Oral tradition of the Norse peoples, the Runes were first discovered by Odhinn. Many people know the story of how the God hung upon the world-tree Yggdrassil. This is the episode of Norse mythology where the Runes were discovered.
137.
I trow I hung on that windy Tree
nine whole days and nights,
stabbed with a spear, offered to Odin,
myself to mine own self given,
high on that Tree of which none hath heard
from what roots it rises to heaven.
138.
None refreshed me ever with food or drink,
I peered right down in the deep;
crying aloud I lifted the Runes
then back I fell from thence.
...
141.
Hidden Runes shalt thou seek and interpreted signs,
many symbols of might and power,
by the great Singer painted, by the high Powers fashioned,
graved by the Utterer of gods.
...
144.
Better ask for too little than offer too much,
like the gift should be the boon;
better not to send than to overspend.
Thus Odin graved ere the world began;
Then he rose from the deep, and came again.
extracts from the Hávamál
The most important element of this story is that of sacrifice. As in many traditions, the notion of 'what you put in, you get out', is enshrined in the Runes. If you are not prepared to sacrifice something, be it time, money or anything else, physical or spiritual, then you are locking something out of you're future path. I guess its a matter of closing the door behind you before you head off down the next corridor.
"Like all things worth knowing, the mysteries are stubbon secrets. Often they will wrap themselves in a riddle, but they will always tell more by their riddle than if they had spoken with a clear tongue"
E. Thorsson, Runelore
The sacrificial journey of Odhinn is similar to that of Shamen in Scandinavian culture. Entering a strange realm of imagination and energy, and seeing what there is to be seen, before returning, bringing forth new concepts and tools. As far as Runic initiation goes, this is probably more extreme than might be necessary or expected, but then, Odhinn is a God.
Who Used the Runes?
The earliest written account of Rune use in divination is that of Tacitus in his text Germania, in the first Century CE. This describes the use of signs carved into twigs, and cast. However, it is likely that the practice was already old, perhaps by centuries, since this account merely marks the first time that a literary culture observed it taking place.
However, for writing, the use of the runes is dated as far back as the 800's BCE, from early carved stones in Sweden.
The link, therefore, between the Runes as Mysteries, and as a form of Writing, is very strong.
In the same way as the I Ching are represented by poems, the Runes were passed as oral knowledge, through various Rune-Poems.
One aspect of Odhinn, sometimes a separate deity, is Bragi, the god of Poets and Poetry, and this shows the deep reverence that the germanic peoples had for their language as a spiritual tool, and a tool for art and wisdom.