Runes & Magic

In the ancient past the Germanic runes were sacred, magical symbols which the initiated could use for good or bad.
Of course, later it changed, the runes became 16 the 'Futhark' which is familiar to us today.

Now I wondered if anyone here uses runes for magical purposes and if indeed it works?

I use Runes... On Occasion. They work extremely well for me. I made my own from a Sacred Oak in my backyard. Divination is a very useful Art. There are many forms you can use... or none at all... Developing a means of asking & receiving answers to questions is one of the things I encourage people to develop... It's less questions for me to answer myself.

Hi Napoleon Thanks for your reply. That;s brilliant that you made your own runes but especially from the sacred oak, would give it a magical touch I reckon!

I could not find any branches that would work well enough for the purpose of my runestones, so I had to cut up a wooden dowel, sand down the pieces, and draw the runes on them nine times with silver sharpee. But I think what matters most is the personal energies you invest in them (in this case alot of sweat and meditating). As for magical purposes, you bet I do. They are extremely versatile and open to much creative application, just as long as you don't slight the Aesir, I believe.

I'd love to hear more from those who use runes. What drew you to them? Were you able to connect with them quickly or did it take time and practice? Do you use them literally or intuitively or both? Are there sources you would recommend?

I'm always looking for more information from people who really use runes (and there aren't too many).

Well, I think what fixed me on the path was a flash of blue in my living room when my room mate and I were teaming up on a combined ritual and meditation. The only thought that came to mind was Odin's blue cloak, and ever since then I have felt a need to study more and more about the Aesir, the Old Norsemen, and especially the runes. That was about seventeen years ago when that happened. I am always practicing, in some way or another. I have a journal I started where I write everything in elder futhark, when I practice my gung-fu every time I bow in and out a pay a salute to Odin, Tyr and Thor, and even give them a runic salute at the end with their respective runes. (trace them in the air before bowing out). Even with all that, I do not think I am anywhere near even the ancient adepts who had just passed their initiations, never mind the nomadic rune masters. For me, I just look for whatever book or piece of information I can find, take the information and then apply it in a way that works for me. Using different books I even managed to make my own method for rune casting, and I am kinda proud of it. Its just something that I think resonates with a lot of people in the world, calling us to a way of life that we feel is home to us.

[Howla Dark]

I have some futhark rune stones as well as rune cards. It's fun to make my own runes also. I made a rune board as part of a runic course that I studied a few years ago. They are helpful and quite interesting.

[birds]

"Reading Runes is one of the most popular methods of Mancy (Divination). There are different kinds of Rune stones depending on which alphabet you choose to follow; Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, Cirth, Elder Futhark, Gothic Runes, Hungarian Runes, Turkic, Younger Futhork. Elder Futhark is the emerging Rune alphabet in popularity; it is also known as the alphabet with the "blank"."

I read that on a website. I have pages of Runes that I've had and used for quite some time now. They are on pages of paper and I kept them after tossing the magazine in which they were in years ago.
These are in a circular type of form. One has to think of a question, think of a number, and count that many spaces, after having decided from which rune to begin, and then the one that the person lands on is the answer for their question. Other pages list the definitions of each.

I'd like to obtain physical ones so I can try the other methods and alphabets.

Method #1: With your runes in their pouch close your eyes, concentrate on what you want an answer for (past situation, present situation or future situation) and chose a rune from the bag as your answer.

Method #2:Gently toss the runes from the bag onto a soft surface and the runes while thinking of what you want an answer for (past situation, present situation or future situation) and the rune(s) that stand out the most to you is your answer.

Method #3: Lay the runes out in grid and let your hand pass over the runes slowly while concentrating on what you want an answer for (past situation, present situation or future situation). Use your left hand if you are right-handed and your right hand if you are left-handed. You will sense the rune that holds the answer to your question.

Method #4: With your eyes closed and while in a neutral state of mind draw three runes from the bag and line them up. The first rune is an answer to a past situation, the second one is an answer to a present situation and the last is an answer to a future situation.

I use runes and have been working with them for over 10 years. Every time I take up the runes, I learn something more. I have used them for divination and direction, but also in fertility rituals and spell making. I have a set of hand cast bronze runes which are incredibly powerful.

[Moon_Glow]

I made my rune set from stones that were in my yard. They were all together on an old collapsing rock wall... it almost looks like a dried up tidal pool containing the perfect number of perfectly shaped round, smooth stones. I initially tried painting the stones but found that they were too small and eventually just used a sharpie.

I have had amazing guidance from these stones and I wish you the same luck with yours. I found it helpful to simply ask the stones to "show me what I need to know right now" and record the answers in a diary/journal. The next day I would go back and re-read my findings from the day before and compare to what happened.

The results convinced me that I was indeed consulting the Oracle. I'm still very new as well, I've had mine for about 3 years now and I still feel like a novice, the amount of information out there is overwhelming.

Good Luck with it and stay diligent, practice makes perfect

:)