Reading the Runes
By Melanie There are 2 basic ways to read runes: Placing and Casting. Placing is drawing individual runes from a bag and placing them in a predetermined spread. Casting is drawing runes from a bag, throwing them on a cloth and reading the stories they tell. It is the only historical method of interpreting the runes. Before I talk about the differences between these two methods, I’m going to chat a little about how to draw runes from the bag. With knowledge of the Futhark and the skills I’ll teach you here, you can start reading for yourself.
How many runes do you draw?
The number of runes you draw from the bag depends on how specific you want your reading to be. Three is the most popular number, and is ideal for beginners. With a Three Rune Spread, you are looking for the answer to one very specific question. It is not effective in getting a broad feel for someone’s personal fate. To increase the broadness of the reading, increase the number of runes drawn. Other significant Norse numbers include seven, nine and twelve. For Cast readings, I usually grab a “handful”.
Placing
The basic difference between Placing and Casting is the amount of personal will exerted on the reading. Both rely on chance in that you are blindly drawing runes from a bag. With Placing, you trust your personal relationship with the runes to place them in a pattern that makes sense to you. There’s a school of thought that states that any pattern can work, but patterns drawn from Norse Mythology are the most effective.
The most popular Placing method for Rune Divination is the Three Rune Spread. Three runes are drawn from a bag and placed linearly either horizontally or vertically. The first Rune represents the past, the second present and the third future.
I generally do not abide with such a linear view of the world. When I do my Three Rune Spreads, I lay them in a circle. The Norse view of fate is a little different from modern thought. The Norse blended both past and present into one. It was the future that was separate. For that reason, when I do a Three Rune Spread, I use the first rune for “What do you want?” The second for “What is in the way?” And the third for “What is the Outcome?” I have found that the outcome does not depend on which action you take. It has always been simply what is.
Casting
A Cast reading is storytelling in its most basic form. In storytelling, the storyteller is always an outside character. I recently did both a Cast and a Placed reading for a good friend. Though the outcome of both readings was the same, we both felt stronger about the Cast reading. She stated that she felt I brought more of myself into the Placed reading. In the Cast reading, she felt a stronger connection with the runes and what they said. It was almost like I wasn’t there.
Casting is always chaotic, but there are some basic elements in each of the readings I’ve done. First is shape. The readings I’ve done for myself have always taken the shape of Yggdrisal (the tree of life). This was the perfect shape for me to read and always effective. Since doing Cast readings for other people, I’ve found a myriad of wonderful shapes from burning fires to circular targets. It is important to meditate on the overall shape of the reading before you open your mouth. Like the title of a story, the shape tells you what the story is about.
The second element in Cast readings is the relationship that the runes have to each other. If there is a clumping of runes, you generally want to dig it out and find the rune at the bottom. This rune is heart of this part of the story. In some cases, it is the goal and the other runes represent obstacles. In other cases, it can represent a process with the bottom rune being the first task and each consecutive one being another step towards the finish.
I have come across one clumping that showed a deep psychological block. Step lightly if this comes up. We are not licensed psychologists, and sometimes there’s a good reason someone is hiding something. In the one instance that it happened to me, I talked about the surface runes, pointing to the hurt without uncovering it. This allowed the person to choose when the issue was dealt with and insured that they were in a safe place before doing it.
In contrast to Clumpings, Groupings are runes which land close to each other without touching. Like an atom molecule, these runes affect or swim with each other without being directly related. They represent related topics such as home, or work, or even general trains of thought. In one grouping I found that the three runes were all parts of an upcoming trip.
The final element is proximity to center. Runes that are further outside of the story are usually issues that have been recently overcome. They are still building blocks for what is present and what is going to be, but should be acknowledged without undue emphasis. Frequently, they deserve congratulations. Runes that are in the center represent what a person is focused on or what is the base of the reading. Sometimes they can be the future, but more frequently they are a strong wish or desire.
In summary, Placed readings are when you draw runes and place them in a predetermined pattern. Cast readings are when you draw runes and cast them onto a surface. In Cast readings, you first look at the overall shape, second examine the runes relationships to each other and finally examine where the runes are in proximity to the center. The decision to Place or Cast is entirely personal. I do, however, encourage you to experiment with both.
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Northern Mysteries & Majick
By Freya Aswynn. Llewellyn Publishing.
If you read only one book on the Runes, this is it. Aswynn is a revolutionary author whose work in demonstrating the futility of ignoring the feminine when working with Runes cannot be overlooked. In this, I consider hers to be the first complete book on the Runes. Her section about the individual Runes is thoroughly drenched in mythology, yet her ideas regarding this lore are fresh and modern.
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