A Study of the Elder Futhark Runes - Introduction by Beorc Kano

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Runecrafting has many facets, the most common of which being divination, but there are also many other uses, such as blessings, rune spells, wards, enchantments, and many many more. It is an extremely versatile art that can enhance or be enhanced by almost any other art. It combines nicely with elemental work, herbalism, crystal, gem, mineral and metal magic, potions, mystical painting, bloodwork, and many other arts.

The system that I focus upon is the Elder Futhark, the ancient Norse alphabet, and the first deviation of ancient Phonecian in Northern Europe. There are many forms of Futhark, ranging from the Elder Futhark to the Younger Futhark, to the Anglo Saxon Futhork, and so on and so forth. Each rune set has a different number of sigils, ranging from sixteen to thirty five, and different forms of the sigils as well. The Elder Futhark has twenty four, and I find that to be a good balance, for several reasons.

The Elder Futhark, henceforth just referred to as the Futhark, contains twenty four sigils that have phonetic meaning as well as mystical. The runes are divided into three families of eight runes each, known as Aetts. Each Aett has a patron deity, Frey, Hagal (some say Heimdall), and Tyr. Individual runes also have significant deities that they are aligned to as well, but we will deal with those when we study the individual Aetts.

There are several methods for using the runes for divination. The most traditional way that I personally have used is to spread a cloth or skin on the ground, with a circle painted on it. Hold the bag of runes above the skin, and focus on your query, perhaps verbally asking it aloud, or invoking the name of your Patron Deity, or Odhinn himself (I chose Odhinn as my patron deity for when I require one). Allow the runes to fall onto the circle, and read them as they have landed in the circle. Some prefer to look at how they land and interpret that as well, but that relies entirely on the intuition of the caster.

Another, much newer method, was developed by Ralph H Blum, and treats the runes as Tarot cards, and uses lays that are almost identical to many Tarot card spreads. You lay the runes one at a time, drawing them from the pouch and setting them in the prescribed order, and then interpret the tunes and their meanings as according the the meanings of the positions.

I personally vary the way I use the runes, between casting and laying, depending on the question and the precision needed. The most effective questions to ask the runes are vague either/or style questions, not things like "What will the name of my next boyfriend be?" A more appropriate question would be "What trait of myself should I amplify to attract a mate?"

Another use for the runes is called binding. It is not binding int the traditional 'binding a witch' meaning, as in cutting off powers (Although... it would be easier done than said with the runes... They are a very powerful magical tool...). It is that you take and combine two or more runes into one sigil by overlaying them or assembling them into overlapping lines. There are many methods of binding the runes together to combine their energies into one useful spell or effect. I will go into this after I discuss the meanings of the runes and how to use them for divination.