Fortunetelling with Nordic Runes: An Introduction

The Nordic runes are a set of alphabetical characters, ostensibly not much different from the ones we use nowadays. However, to the ancient Norse tribes, these letters were more than simple phonetic representations - each had a set of deeply mystical meanings, meanings which would make the symbols themselves, whenever they were used, into magickal items.

As a method of fortune-telling, or divination, a set of runes is used in much the same way as a set of tarot cards - each rune will have multiple meanings, depending on where they fall in the cast, whether they are rightside-up or upside-down ("merkstave"). The meanings also largely depend on personal interpretation.

For this reason, there are many who claim that fortune-telling with runes isn't mystical at all: it's just a way of shaping one's subconscious understanding of their situation into something they can be aware of and analyze.

Either way, I personally have found rune-casting to be an excellent way to gain insight into my life, to better understand problems and form solutions. Here's how to get started:

First, you need to acquire your rune set. There are pre-made sets available for purchase, but many experienced readers will advise you that a set you make yourself will be much more effective, as it will be more deeply imbued with your own personal energy. While I definitely find that this is the case and have built several sets of my own, these days I heavily favor a set I purchased. It's made from red agates, a stone with great properties for divination, and as I don't have the tools needed to carve in hard stone, I bought these, and they've worked very well for me.

In order to build your rune set, as well as do anything else, you need a good reference. There are a number of websites dedicated to this subject, including this one, which I quite like. However, my favorite reference is Lisa Peschel's book, A Practical Guide To The Runes. These guides will give you the runes' meanings, symbols, and popular methods of using them for divining, but feel free to develop and use your own methods as well.

Reading several different resources is, in my opinion, the best way to gain a complete understanding of what the runes mean. Because each rune has multiple, nuanced meanings, reading several author's interpretations will give you more to work with.

When building your set, you can use whatever materials are available to you. I quite like bone (though Peschel advises against it), stone, wood, and clay, though my first set was simply made from cardboard and worked just fine. It's very important that when the runes are facing down, you don't know which is which. They don't necessarily have to be uniform, but none of them should stand out in such a way that you immediately remember which symbol is on the reverse side.

Whether you purchase or build your set, it's important to keep your runes close to you as much as possible, and to handle them idly whenever you can. This way, they will absorb as much of your energy as possible. I have definitely noticed a drop in the quality of my readings when I haven't been handling my set.

Now we get to the fun part: the reading itself.

Bear in mind, always, that reading is not a skill you will pick up immediately. The runes are not a book that can be read to give you exact information - as I said, they are a tool which you will use to shape your own ability to read the situation yourself.

Before I start, I personally like to meditate. This makes my mind still and, I believe, makes me better able to connect to the energy of my tools (the runes) and my own psychic ability. I also use this time to focus upon the problem, situation, or question that I'm trying to gain insight into - focusing on this is important to the quality of the divination.

First comes the process of choosing the stones. I have experimented with multiple methods of choosing, and I would advise anyone else to do the same. Usually, my process involves laying out my runes on a flat surface next to me, face down, hovering my hand over them, and trying to sense which one seems to be the right one to pick up. Once I've selected it, as I place it in the casting, I try to sense which direction I should have it facing - remember, a rune's meaning will be changed based on whether the symbol faces upward to downward, so for this reason, I like to make my rune sets taller than they are wide so I don't accidentally lay a rune on its side and have no idea what to do with it. However, if this ever does happen to me, I've made myself a rule that I will turn the rune clockwise until it is straight up and down, then use that result for my reading.

When it comes time for interpretation, it is important, as I have said, to have the most complete possible understanding of each rune's multiple meanings, but I wouldn't worry about memorizing each of these before you start. I still consult my book while I'm doing readings, and I suspect I will continue to do this for a long time, then switch to another book once I've memorized this one. I hope to gain a deeper understanding as I go - though it may seem paradoxical, the best divinations come from tools that allow you the widest range of options (or no tools at all).

It is important to be honest with yourself while looking for meanings. One classic rule of divination is that the more objective and detached you are emotionally from the information you're seeking, the better you'll be at finding it. Look at your runecast, look at it's possible meanings, and try to decide which one feels most true. Remember, truth is neither fear nor desire.

If no possible meaning or interpretation feels remotely accurate, feel free to toss out the reading and try again, or to come back later when you're in a better frame of mind for this kind of activity. I still come up with readings that seem meaningless and confusing from time to time, and it's important to keep yourself thinking critically.

Lastly and most importantly, take what you're doing with a grain of salt. Even a successful divination is not a prediction set in stone, and if you see something you don't like, you have the power to change it, be it in the present or the future. This is not a process by which we discover our destiny, it is a process by which we help shape it ourselves.