Using the Runes

Runes can be bought from most esoteric shops, but in order to establish a close identity with them it is better for users to make their own. They should be made of a natural substance, such as stone or wood. Small flat pebbles of roughly the same size are ideal. The runes can be painted on, and the pebbles varnished. Or cut slices from a thin piece of wood, preferably a discarded tree branch, about an inch (or 2.5cm) in diameter, and either carve or burn the runes into the wood.

It is very common to find a blank rune in modern shop-bought sets; this is not a spare, but is recent addition to the twenty-four runes of the Elder Futhark. It is called the Wyrd, and is supposed to represent Karma (the idea that fate or destiny holds each of us in its web) through the web of the Wyrd allows far more freedom of movement than its eastern counterpart. Those who use it say it rules all the other runes either by dominating any spread in which it appears or (with some spreads) by indicating that a particular questions should not be pursued. But apart from doubts about the legitimacy of adding a new (non-)symbol to a two-thousand-year-old system, the concept of destiny is already quite adequately covered by the Peorth rune.

As with Tarot, the rituals followed with runes should be what feels right for each individual. The runes can be kept in a cloth bag (of natural material), and many people, with new eunes, keep the bag next to their skin for a week or two, and sleep with it under the pillow. It helps to handle the runes as much as possible, especially when learning their meanings.

The runes can be cast on any flat surface, but again it is customary to spread a white cloth on the table or floor. The presence of Odin or another Norse god or goddess can be invoked before starting. The user's attitude, as with all divinatory systems, should be respectful; runes are ancient symbols that can "speak" on many levels.

A basic principle of Norse philosophy is that if you receive a gift you must give something in return. If you ask the runes for advice, at the very least they should be given serious attention - and you should be careful to thank whatever power you believe lies behind them when the advice is obtained.