Guido von List was an important figure among occultists and Pan-Germanic nationalists who borrowed from the Theosophy of Madame H. P. Blavatsky as well as ancient Aryan (Teutonic and Indian) legend to create a unique system of rune magic. In this book, Guido von List explains the role of the runes in uncovering early Germanic belief and shows the importance of the runes and the unique meaning of each of the runic elements. Subsequently he shows how the runes were incorporated into such systems as heraldry, freemasonry, folk tradition and belief, and even into baked goods and pastries, as well as holidays. List notes that early Germanic (Aryan) society consisted of individuals who served as farmers with three principal classes (castes), that of the peasantry, the military, and the nobility/intellegentsia (Armanen). List defines an occult doctrine in which he outlines what Flowers translates as the 'biune-bifidic-dyad', the 'triune-trifidic-triad', and the 'multifidic multiune-multiplicity'. Von List shows how each of these relates to God and the need for man to conform his will (his ego) to that of God. List also presents a system of reincarnation in which Aryan individuals fallen in battle are taken up into Walhalla. This remains one of the few available items for those interested in studying this individual, Volkish prophet and Ariosophist in the late Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries.

The Secret of the Runes (first published in 1908) offers the reader a chance to explore many of von List's basic themes in a very easy to read format. The translator and editor, Dr. Stephen Flowers, treats his subject matter objectively and fairly. Not once is there a hint of heavy handiness of politically correct whitewashing. The work is allowed to stand on its own. A seminal work in the history of Runes and their Lore.