The Etruscan Oracle Zich Nethśrac Rasnal

The Etruscans were famous throughout the Ancient World as magicians and diviners. In the Roman Republic, Etruscan diviners were called upon as experts to interpret omens. They read entrails, the stars, the flight of birds and the flash of lightning and crash of thunder. Even after the conquest of the Etruscan by the Romans, Roman diviners were sent to Etruscan cities to learn from the Etruscans whom they recognised as experts in all things divination.

The Etruscan Runes developed out of the Western variety of the Ancient Greek alphabet. It was usually written from right to left. The Etruscan alphabet was adopted and further adapted by both the Romans and the early Germanic peoples. Thus the Etruscan letters (or runes) were the forerunners of the well-known Nordic runes used by the Vikings. Alphabets have long been perceived as mystical and meaningful symbols on their own. They have been popularly used as a form of divination since man first learnt to write.

A favourite medium of Etruscan artists was terracotta. The Etruscan runes featured in this oracle are created from clay.

The Archaic Runes date from the heyday of the Etruscan empire form the seventh to fifth century BC. Their trading ships sailed far and wide over the Mediterranean and they were the centre of culture in Italy.

The Later (Neo-Etruscan) Runes date from the fifth to first century BC, when their culture and influence started to decline and they were eventually conquered and assimilated by the Romans.

The earlier form of the Etruscan alphabet is more angular and is well adapted to being used on hard stone, pottery and wood, whereas the later form is more rounded and a few letters appear closer to the Roman letters that were the basis for the development of the alphabet we use today. Many of the runes had local variants used thorughout Etruria.