How to Create and Use Your Own Runes so They Make Sense to You

Several years ago I became interested in divination and its tools, including runes. I still have this interest and have worked with both tarot cards and runes. However unlike some, I am less interested in memorizing the meanings of the symbols on runes. Because these symbols are ancient and they are not really a part of our own modern symbology, the only real way, if you are a stickler for tradition to learn how to read the runes is to memorize what each symbol stands for. Unless that is you're willing to think outside the box!

It was when I became frustrated with always having to check the book that I had for meanings of the runes, that I came up with a different method to create the same result, and that solution was to make my own runes. This is not as difficult as it may sound. To begin with you need a set of symbols that you can easily recognize the meaning of simply by looking at them. Another thing to keep in mind is that you want a wide range of symbols so that when you do a reading you are able to be as accurate as possible. What I mean by this is for example is that you don't want all your runes to symbolize love, or relationships. To start out with you should come up with symbols under the following categories, Prosperity/Wealth, Relationships, Family, Spirituality/Divinity. I used symbols such as a heart for love, a dollar symbol for actual cash, a halo and wings to represent angels for example until I had several symbols.

Once you have as many symbols as you'd like under each category, and feel free to add however many categories and symbols as you'd like, you need something to put the symbols on. I've seen people gather agates and paint the symbols with acrylic paint on them, and I've seen wooden coins with the symbols marked on in permanent marker in a color favored by the creator. You can even use blank cards, or cut cards from cardstock and draw or paint the symbols onto them. Whatever method you choose, once you have your list of symbols, then you have to paint or draw your runes onto your medium of choice.

Once the paint or ink is dry then you are ready to begin using your runes. The first step is to mix up your symbols, if they are cards shuffle them, and if they are stones, wooden coins or something similar find a cloth bag, or a small cardboard box and after putting them inside shake them up. Then you can just reach into the bag or box and draw out your runes for a reading. If they are cards treat them as if they were tarot cards and pull the cards to be read from the deck.

There are many types of spreads you can do for runes, so I won't go into them all because they are too numerous for the purposes of this article, but my favorite is a three card/stone/wooden coin spread. The first item would represent the past, the middle the present and the final one the future. Make sure you concentrate on your question before actually reaching for a card/stone/wooden coin or whatever your medium of choice was, and doing the spread. Then carefully look at your symbols and see how they relate to your question.

You will find that using symbols which have meaning to you will make doing a reading with your own runes much easier than trying to learn someone else's system from scratch. Also, over time your runes may even take on additional meanings as the process of your life unfolds and you work with them on a regular basis. It is my hope that creating and using your own runes will help to guide your life in wonderful directions.