What are RUNES?
Like all methods of Divinations, Runes are ancient and trace WAYYYYYYY back to at least before the last Ice Age. Runes are a collection of ancient Norse symbols. The word Rune means “mystery” or “secret”.
It is believed, per Scandinavian Myth, that in his search for enlightenment, Odin hung himself upside down on Yggdrasil, the World Tree, and impaled himself on his own spear for nine days. Gazing at the ground, rune stones hidden in Yggdrasil’s roots revealed themselves.
Fast Forward to the Roman Times where Runes had evolved into Futhark, a runic alphabet. Interpreting the meaning of the stones was a mystery granted only to a few. In Anglo-Saxon England, Kings and Bishops had the power to read the runes, but the practice died out with the spread of Christianity – which regarded the use of Runes as Pagan/witchcraft.
Runes are used both in divination and magickal workings. They are an integral part of a magickal system with its own pantheon. They can function as an alphabet and are useful in vision questing, dream recall, and controlling your environment.
Runes can be used in three forms: purchase or make Rune Cards, make tiles or buy rune stones. Runes can be made from pebbles found in a riverbed and painted with white symbols. You can make them from ceramic if you’re crafty, or polished stones. Runes are usually stored in a cloth/velvet bag.
How to use Runes:
Runes are extremely versatile. You can use tarot spreads as a pattern for interpreting your runes, or you can draw one for a quick answer, or three for a past/present/future or background/challenge/outcome readings.
Think of the questions before you draw the runes from the bag. If you’re using rune cards, you would shuffle them the same as a tarot deck.
You can either toss the whole bag of runes on your rune cloth and read them as they fall, or you can reach in and grab one stone at a time and lay them in a spread like you would the Tarot.
In Silver Ravenwolf’s – To Ride A Silver Broomstick – on pages 202 and 203, she details ways she uses the Runes and I found those tips quite helpful.
Using Runes as power symbols
This is a practice I actively use. Every day, I meditate on what I need for the day. I then associate a Runic symbol with the closest meaning to what I feel like I need to support me through the day.
I then write that symbol on the inside of my non-dominant hand/wrist.
WHY? Good question!
As I covered in the Personal Energy Circuit course I posted previously – your non-dominant hand is the hand that receives energy. I want that Rune to filter the energies I receive to my benefit. So that is why I put it there. If I wanted the rune to filter the energies I sent out, I would write the rune on the inside of my dominant wrist. You can still do that too, if you want.
Please feel free to download this 2 page PDF
Recommended Reading
The Book of Runes by Ralph Blum
Leaves of Yggdrasil by Freya Aswynn
To Ride A Silver Broomstick – Silver RavenWolf
The Book of Divination – Michael Johnstone
Complete Book of Witchcraft – Raymond Buckland (aka Uncle Bucky’s Big Blue Book)
Rebel Witch – Kelly-Ann Maddox
Circe's Grimoire 
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