I think part of that is just the nature of this forum; we lean to the scholarly side of things.
In the case of runes I think it's pertinent. They have pretty set meanings, as I understand it; it's not like some methods of divination where what the symbols say to you personally is as important as what symbols come up. (I could be wrong here, not being anything resembling an expert, and I'm sure if I am several people will jump in to correct me.
) Those meanings don't out of nowhere... they come from a historical tradition. So I don't think it's a bad idea to make sure that someone who's wanting to get into them knows how to figure out what's good information and what's bad.
With the runes...well, there are rune poems indicating the meaning of the runes. I think it's better to read those poems than to accept what an author tells you the meaning is. Because frankly, I'd rather have my own interpretation, than to hope someone else isn't completely making it up.
And to understand the runes best, it helps to understand the historical background. It's simply the best way to build up a 'connection' in my view. Fehu means wealth, but it has associations beyond that: the tradition of gifting, strife between kinsmen, and so on. Im pretty sure I've also seen it associated with fertility etc because essentially: a big herd of healthy cows means You Are Wealthy.
In books on runes, magically, I've seen Peorth associated with secrets. I have no idea why - the association makes no sense if you read the rune poems. One associated with peorth:
'Gaming is always play and laughter,
To proud men...where warriors sit,
In the beerhall happily together'
I basically don't trust many pagan authors to know what they're talking about.
In the case of Tarot... I think it would help to be aware of the origins of symbology used in the various decks. In the Rider Waite, there's a strong connection with Golden Dawn/ Ceremonial Magic symbology. Therefore studying those topics may help you pick out the little details that add information.
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