Rune Divination

   The guide below is a reference of the most common rune meanings for divination. As you gain experience with the runes, you will understand more clear of what each one means to you. Remember, the runes are a tool, you are the artist! Table 1 is a chart of the basic rune meanings for divination.

   Also mentioned earlier, we discussed that the runes are divided into three groups called an "aetts". Each aett is named for its first character or Deity. The first begins with Fehu, or Freyr's aett. The divination relation to this aett means pertaining to the physical realm, such as possessions, the home or money. Tangible goods. The second is called Hagal or Heimdall's aett. This relation is towards actions, lessons, emotions, secrets and karmic stuff. The third is Tyr's aett, self named for the rune and Deity. Tyr's aett relates to mental or spiritual interests. It's also an aett of changes.

   The trick to reading runes is in their interaction with one another. Example, you draw Fehu and Daeg. What does this tell you? Fehu is physical, meaning possessions, Daeg is mental and spiritual and meaning an increase or change. At first glance, it may appear that you are going to come into money. This is not how I would interpret the reading though. Yes, Fehu can mean physical money, but Daeg is a MEANINGFUL increase or change. Good bet those runes drawn together mean a promotion at work, new responsibilities with a raise or an investment that is about to pay off. Either way, it will not be a windfall, but something earned.

   It is suggested that before using your runes for the first time, they must be charged with your personal energies. This can be done simply by holding them to your heart for 60 seconds or an elaborate ritual that you may choose to use. If they are for someone else as a gift, please do not charge these runes with YOUR energies. That would remove the personal experience from the receiver of the set. Recharge as often as you feel necessary.

   Runes give answers to very specific questions and are brutally honest. They do not generalize like the Tarot and they cover a shorter time period of happenings. The runes will focus on what is most important in your life right now. So, if their answer has nothing to do with your question, they are probably warning you about something more pressing and urgent, or your question was not specific enough.

Rune Casting

   There are many ways to cast runes and the way they are cast depends much to what type of set you have, who is casting them and the purpose of the cast.

   Equally as plentiful are the types of spreads that can be used to read the results of a particular cast. Table 2, 2.1 and 2.2< show a few of the more common ones in use today.

   A rune cast can be as simple as a single rune pull out of a bag to answer "yes" or "no" to a particular question or to see how your day will go. More elaborate casts can use all 24 runes in the runic alphabet. You will get more detail this way, but the interaction of that many runes will be beyond all but the most advanced runesters. I'll treat you to some of the ones that I have used personally and therefore have knowledge on.

   A typical cast of the "cookie" runes so plentiful today goes something like this: on a white, unornamented cloth, or any other that is sacred to you, pour out the runes and turn them face down and mix them up well. Some runesters utter a chant of power or call out the names of rune Gods while they spill their runes out on their cloth. Concentrate on your question as you pass your hand over and slightly above the runes. Some of the runes will "feel" different to you in some way. Place that rune aside in the numbered order as shown in Tables 2, 2.1 and 2.2 without changing its orientation. Repeat until you have selected the amount of runes you desire. Turn each rune over as you would the page of a book, therefore not ‘reversing’ runes drawn upright and vice versa.

   If you are so inclined to use rune staves, a way of reading them is to clutch all 24 firmly between your hands at chest level. Concentrate on your question then open your hands so quickly as to release the runes so they fly before you. Reading the runes that have landed upright only, read them from closest to you to farthest away as reading from the past to the future.

   If you are in a situation where elaborate setups are not practical, such as at work, simply pulling runes one by one from their bag and reading them as per your spread is fine too.

Table 1 The Runes For Divination
Freyr's Aett
Relating to the Physical
	Fehu - MEANING: Wealth, possessions, material fulfillment, ownership, livestock, animals, benefits, things a man is attracted to. REVERSED: Loss, an offer not to be accepted, poverty, mishandling a fortune or business, slavery, stupidity, domination by others.
	Uruz - MEANING: Male potency, power, a force for change, uncontrolled changes, an improvement, action, speedy events, freedom, courage, using your talents well. REVERSED: Brutality, harshness, ego, lust, hate, change for the worse, your own power being used against you.
	Thorn - MEANING: Stubbornness, bull-headed, lucky, must take council if success is likely, dishonesty, lies, foreboding, punishment, unwillingness to learn, something that must be cleansed by force. REVERSED: The same as upright, only it takes on a more sinister aspect.
	Ansur - MEANING: Truth, honesty, inspiration, good advice, good use of words, good speech, wisdom, clarity, insight, health, harmony. REVERSED: Dishonesty, lies, trickery, malice, refusal to heed warnings, the "slick" salesman.
	Rad - MEANING: Spiritual journey, a quest, an experience, physical travel for pleasure or one you are looking forward to. REVERSED: A warning not to travel, a delay, a trip or quest you would rather not go on, forced relocation, a lesson to be learned, dislocation, disruption, even a death.
	Ken - MEANING: Home and hearth, controlled energy, enlightenment, creativity, learned skill, talent, the craftsman, guidance, a fatherly figure, teaching, new beginnings, light, a beacon. REVERSED: False hopes, blockage of creativity, the proverbial "writer's block", so burdened that one can't see the obvious solution, disillusionment, withdrawal, an offer not to be accepted, a person to be avoided.
	Gifu - MEANING: Gift, unexpected gain, a windfall, an exchange of mutual benefit, joint efforts, partnership, love, growth, a new romance, a marriage, sacrifice for greater gain, a tribute. No reversed meaning.
	Wunjo - MEANING: Happiness, joy, bounty, ecstasy, glory, success, pleasurable pursuits. REVERSED: Impractical enthusiasm, unrealistic expectations, unhappiness, a loss, sadness.
Heimdall's Aett
Relating to Actions and Emotions
	Hagal - MEANING: Tempering, testing, trial, storm, hail, divine retribution, penance, toll, punishment, forced trauma, pain, loss, suffering, a force impossible to control by humans, wrath of nature. No reversed meaning.
	Neid - MEANING: Desires vs. needs, wanting, endurance, perseverance, survival, determination, resistance, delays, defiance of circumstance, the need for patience. REVERSED: Time of testing, your patience and/or sanity could be tested to their limits, substantial delays.
	Isa - MEANING: Standstill, delay, procrastination, illusion, a good situation or relationship cooling off, opposition of forces cancelling each other out, patience required. No reversed meaning.
	Jera - MEANING: Reaping what you have sown, harvest, "just desserts", a major change, a forced cycle ending and a new one beginning, third party intervention, legal advice, legalities. No reversed meaning.
	Eiwaz - MEANING: Strength, reliability, dependability, trustworthiness, solid, protection, caution. No reversed meaning.
	Perdho - MEANING: Mysteries, hidden things, the unknown, psychic abilities, revelation, exposure. REVERSED: Skeletons in closets are about to be revealed, poor use of magick, disappointments and let downs.
	Eolh - MEANING: Defence, being on the defensive, protection, shield, guardian, to turn away, to ward off, repel. REVERSED: Danger approaches, warning, vulnerability, in danger of being defeated.
	Sigel - MEANING: Power of force, weapon, destruction, retribution, clearing away the old for the new, a force impossible to control by humans, defensive strength, wrath of the Gods. No reversed meaning.
Tyr's Aett
Relating to the Mental and Spiritual
	Tyr - MEANING: Primary male rune, warrior, extreme motivation, success in competition, power, authority, victory, valour, honour, fulfilling an oath or obligation, the winning of disputes, an overachiever. REVERSED: Impotence, defeat, shyness, conflict where there should be harmony, man holding secrets, dishonesty on the part of the male in a relationship.
	Beorc - MEANING: Female fertility, birth, fragile new growth, gentle, tenderness, compassion, nurturing, motherhood, mother figure, beauty, family, home, compassionate love. REVERSED: Carelessness, miscarriage, loss of control, abandonment, domestic strife.
	Eho - MEANING: Rapid progress, rapid movement, physical movement, growth, natural changes or progresses in life. REVERSED: Much the same as upright, only you may not like the changes brought about, how they are done or at the speed they are taking place.
	Mannaz - MEANING: Receiving help from others, interdependency, using skill, craftiness, collective skills, humanity. REVERSED: Having to fight "fire with fire", receiving no help from others, being alone, on your own, disadvantaged, must expend a great deal of effort to succeed, use of cunning and slyness.
	Lagu - MEANING: Primary female rune, water, intuition, emotions, depths, gut instinct, imaginings, mystery, a female figure entering your life. REVERSED: Illusions, fears, inhibitions, deviousness, depression, woman holding secrets, dishonesty on the part of the female in a relationship, a need for immediate action.
	Ing - MEANING: Male fertility, a birth, growth, love caring, joint efforts, a family, also the effort and responsibility to that family, a new idea, initiative growth. No reversed meaning.
	Daeg - MEANING: A rune of positive change, slow but gradual improvement, prosperity, a completion, coming full circle, the natural end of a cycle and the beginning of another, natural course of events, a fresh new day. No reversed meaning.
	Othel - MEANING: Inheritance, inherited traits, generations, generations of family, possessions acquired for the family, an heirloom, the home of your fathers, elderly advice, karma, debt of obligation, what a man is bound to. REVERSED: Clannishness (in the negative sence), dictatorship, harsh ruler, a tyrant, loss of family respect, self-pity, unwillingness to fulfil family responsibility.

Table 2 Sample Rune Layouts

Three Rune Method

Rune 1 - Past influence or the influence that led to or got you into the present circumstance. Rune 2 - Present circumstance or your standing. Also can be advice. Rune 3 - Future outcome if advice is taken. Can be changed or influenced through free will.

Table 2.1

Five Rune Method

Rune 1 - Past influence or the influence that led to or got you into the present circumstance. Rune 2 - Present circumstance or your standing. Rune 3 - Future outcome if advice is taken. Can be changed or influenced through free will. Rune 4 - Advice you can take or a strength you have to assist. Rune 5 - An obstacle that you must overcome or a weakness that is holding you back.

Table 2.2

Seven Rune Method

Rune 1 and 2 - Present circumstance or your standing. Runes 3 and 4 - Past influence or the influence that led to or got you into the present circumstance. Rune 5 and 6 - Advice you can take or a strength you have to assist. Rune 7 - Future outcome if the advice of runes 5 and 6 are taken.