by Amaris Michael

Created on: March 07, 2007   Last Updated: May 11, 2007

The Viking Runes are an oracle, a form of divination similar to the I Ching. Runes do NOT foretell the future, but provide a snapshot of the way the energies are flowing or in existence at the time of a reading. If use of the Runes is said to have an ultimate goal, it would be enlightenment and bringing one closer to the divine.

Now, all that being said, you should know pretty much what Runes are and how to use them, right? No? Then I guess we need to provide a bit more information.

The Runes are stones, pieces of wood, pieces of paper, some sort of individual pieces that marked with a glyph. These glyphs were used by ancient peoples as a form of alphabet, but also used to "mean" something. The Poetic Edda tells us that the Norse god Odin hung from the Yggdrasil (tree of life), wounded by his own blade, and before he fell he spied the Runes and captured them for mankind. The Poetic Edda also gives us some basic meanings for the glyphs.

However, unlike the I Ching, Runic interpretation did not come from a set book. The meanings of and use of Runes was transmitted orally, leaving us in modern times to sort of find our own way or rely upon another who has found their way. As mentioned, the Poetic Edda gives us a clue, but is somewhat vague.

There are many writers who have put forth Runic interpretations. Most Runecraft uses the elder Futhark - 24 glyphs which were traditionally divided into 3 sets of eight (or Aett as it was referred to). The first Aett was known as Freya's Aett, the second was Heimdall's Aett, and the third was Tyr's Aett. The name Futhark comes from the letter "value" of the first 6 runes - Feh, Ur, Thurs, Ass, Reid, Ken. The names of the Runes varies, too, depending on the writer. For example, Feh, Fehu, Feoh are just three such "acceptable" derivations. Some writers will add in a 25th Rune, the Blank or Wyrd Rune.

As you can see, it gets somewhat confusing. BUT, the user must decide for him or herself what interpretations will guide a reading. When first starting to utilize the Runes, it's probably best to pick one book that makes sense to you and stick with that. Once you become more familiar with the Runes, you can add other writer's interpretations. These interpretations are just that and should be guided by what the Runecaster feels and intuitively understands about the Runes.

Actually using the Runes varies, too. Some will draw a single (or Odin) Rune from a bag. Spreads vary from 3 Runes to several (12 or more) with each position representing

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