RUNES
Over the years, I have become very fond of Runes. If you have trouble working your way around a tarot deck, runes offer you a way of divination that is as easy as reading the book. But remember books only give you a meaning to the rune. You must then look inside yourself, and learn from there. But they are not only for divination. They are often used in magick and in making talismans and amulets. They are used to empower objects, such as walking sticks, and athames. This helps put your own personal energy into the instrument.
It is recommended that you make your own set and fortunately it's very easy to make them. You can either carve the signs onto your source material, or you could paint them on if you art not that talented with a carving knife. You can use just about any material, from wood to stone. Have fun with this, and make them anyway that suits you. You definitely do not have to follow any set guidelines. Right now I use a set that was given to me by my loving husband as a gift on our first Christmas together. I personalized them by holding each one, and concentrating on them a number of times. I also use a handkerchief of my departed father (it was new, and not a used one) as my rune cloth. It is wrapped around them in their pouch at all times. Whenever I need to sort out the problems or questions in my life, I turn to my runes. So far they have never let me down.
When doing a Rune reading, there are several different layouts that you can use:
1. 2. 3. In this reading, the #1 rune is the problem at hand. The #2 rune is what course you should take, or what you should do. The #3 rune is the outcome if you follow the advice of the #2 rune.
4.
1. 2. 3.
5.
There are several other types of layouts for runes, but these are my personal favorites. There are many different names for each rune, depending on which source you look at, but below are the names from the Elder Futhark system. I've heard them called different names, and pronounced in many ways. Some of the names tend to be tongue twisters so do your best.
*Remember when doing your reading, do NOT turn the runes right side up. Read them in whatever position they lie. If they are upside down, use the "reverse" reading.
FEHU: the rune of material gain, fulfillment, that with hard work you can over come adversity. Reversed: loss or disappointment if you don't change course.
URUZ: good health, changes of the unexpected kind. Reversed: failure, weak will, minor illnesses.
THURISAZ: protection and luck. Reversed: your luck will be running out, feeling threatened.
ANSUZ: exams or tests, careful thought, and advice. Reversed: lies, trickery deceit.
RAIDHO: travel or a journey.(mental or physical) Reversed: problems in transit, upset in plans.
KENAZ: strengths, energy and power.
Reversed: endings, delays or loss
GIFU: gifts, partnerships, relationships, emotions. It has no negative aspects.
WUNJO: joy and happiness, success. Reversed: difficulty, misery, unhappiness.
HAGALL: limitations, delays, forces outside your control, interruptions, problems. It is usually a negative rune.
NIED: patience, passing through hard times, thinking twice. Reversed: think twice, make no hasty judgements.
ISA: stooping of activities. Cooling in a relationship. Usually a negative rune.
JERA: justice and legalities again think twice before speaking about something.
EIHWAZ: protection, positive turn arounds, solving old problems.
PERDHRO: hidden things, secrets, unexpected gains and surprises. Reversed: unpleasant surprises and secrets, disappointments.
EOLH: friendship, protection, new influences in your life. Reversed: vulnerability, sacrifice, and deception.
SIGEL: great power, victory, great health and vitality.
TIR: success in any competition, great motivation, increase in money or power, quick recovery from illness. Reversed: waning enthusiasm, failure and lack of fidelity in love and friendships
BEORC: birth, family, new beginnings. Reversed: family problems, frictions between those close to you.
EHWAZ: gradual development and steady progress. Reversed: hold fast and do not change things right now.
MANNAZ: interdependence, aid regarding the problem at hand, good advice. Reversed: no help from outside, obstructions of your plans.
LAGAZ: intuitive knowledge, being protected by higher forces. Good memory, and success in learning. Reversed: you will or have been mislead by intuition, take action immediately to get out of any bad situations.
ING: almost always positive! Successful conclusion, relief, milestones in your life.
DAEG: increase and growth, could mark a major change in life.
OTHEL: possessions, idea or visions, inherited traits. Reversed: delay and frustration. Standing on your own two feet.
These are a mix of my interpretations, and those from Lisa Prechel's book. I highly recommend that you read it. Her definitions are a little more in-depth than mine are.
An excellent source of information on Runes is available in a book called "A Practical Guide to The Runes" written by Lisa Peschel. Llewellyn Publications publish it. This book also gives a suggested reading list that is pretty comprehensive. I highly recommend it.
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