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The Elder Futhark Runes aka the Norse Runes. (These are the Runes that I use when I do readings). These runes have a complex history and it is beyond the scope of this presentation to go into detail but we will cover enough to inform you, the reader. The Elder Futhark is thought to be the oldest version of the Runic alphabet, and was used in those parts of Europe which were home to Germanic peoples, including Scandinavia. Other versions probably developed from them. The names of the letters are shown in Common Germanic, the reconstructed ancestor of all Germanic languages. In Old Norse the word rune means 'letter', 'text' or 'inscription'. The word also means 'mystery' or 'secret' in Old Germanic languages and runes had an important role in ritual and magic. The earliest known Runic inscriptions date from the 1st century AD, but the vast majority of Runic inscriptions date from the 11th century. Runic inscriptions have been found throughout Europe from the Balkans to Germany, Scandinavia and the British Isles. In recent times we have also found runic inscriptions in North America. It has been said that the Norsemen ( The most famous one being Leif Ericcson) sailed west and discovered that part of North America that encompasses our northern land around the Great Lakes and Canada. Runes are an oracle from which one seeks advice. They work best if you detail your current circumstances and then ask a specific question. Rune readings are sometimes obscure. They hint toward answers, but you have to figure out the details. This is when the rune casters intuition becomes paramount. Some times the Runes "sing" to me, and their meaning becomes instantly clear. Runic divination or "rune casting" is not "fortunetelling" in the sense that one actually sees the future. Instead, runes give one a means of analyzing the path that one is on and a likely outcome. The future is not fixed. It changes with everything one does. If one does not like the prediction, one can always change paths. Our Future is created by our present actions. The Elder Futhark contains 24 runes. There are some who insert a Blank Rune, and it has no real meaning in the Elder Futhark. It is not "Odin's rune". It is not "the unknowable", nor is it the "Wyrd Rune". This trend of a 'blank' rune was created in the 1980s and perpetuated (for the most part) by author Ralph Blum. In the use of the "blank" it is denoted to be a negative, just like a upside down rune is looked on as a negative and there in lies the problem. We have enough negativity in our lives without creating more through a reading. The result is chaotic chaos. This also goes for reading the card/rune in an upside down position. My advice: if you find rune courses or teachers or casters speaking about a 'blank rune' like it's a part of the Elder Futhark, you might want to reconsider that course, teacher or reader. Or should you purchase a book/card set where the author mentions a blank rune or talks about 'witch's runes', be wary of the information within that book. The same advise applies should you purchase a set of runes or rune cards with such information. Just keep this in mind; It is a blank piece, an extra for your set, a spare to use should you lose one of your other runes. And that is the only value for it. Keep the runes, use the blank as a spare, and save the book for starting a fire or for your outhouse when camping. The Runes are divided into three Aettir or groups of eight. The Aetts are named after Freyja, Hagal and Tiw. It is easier to memorize the three Aetts than it is all 24 runes as a whole, so let us start by dividing the runes into their Aetts. (See page on Rune Aetts.) Runes can be made from several different materials. You, no doubt have seen them engraved onto glass, written onto cards, stones, fired clay, semi-precious gems are perfectly suited to this use, and so is woodburned into pieces of wood, Wood is the prefered type and chooseing the right kind of wood is also important. We know that woods have magical properties and this should be considered in choosing the wood you want to make you runes from. Each rune is associated with a tree. The properties of the trees are: knowledge - roots into the "other world" healing - roots, fruits, and the bark of the tree life force - food, provided either from the tree such as fruit, or the birds, squirrels, etc., that may live in the tree spiritual guidance - the arms or branches of the tree raise to the heavens personage - a unique and physical attribute of the tree. Some trees are for love, some are for building because of their strength, some are for magic, etc. Remember a tree is the most perfect of spiritual beings, with its roots buried alive in Mother Earth and its limbs alive and growing in Father Sky. Should you choose to use a live wood, remember that is is part of Mother Earth, and that the tree is alive. Follow the ancient way by doing honor to the tree, asking to remove a suitable limb and be sure to leave a respectable gift at its base. The gift should be something you prize deeply. In the folklore of the ancients this story is told. "When the earth was young, Odin and his two brothers found two trees: an ash tree and an elm, faint, feeble, with no fate assigned to them. Breath they had not, nor blood, nor senses, nor language possessed, nor life-hue. Odin gave them breath. Hoenir gave them senses (shape). Blood and life-hue was given by Lothur." So it goes without saying that we are the forebears of the trees. One does not just carve runes, one recreates this ritual. By chanting the name of the the rune, one gives the rune breath, the energy of its name. By carving it, one gives the rune senses (shape). By coloring the rune one gives it life's hue. When you carve runes you create life. (For guidelines to making your own runes, check out the projects page on |