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The Runes are described as an Oracle. An Oracle will not tell you what to do next in your life. What it will do is point out the hidden motivations and inner choices which must be addressed in order to bring resolution to the situation at hand. Sometimes the information is very direct. Sometimes, the Runes require reflection in order to fully understand and undertake the solution they describe.
The Runes are 25 stone objects – each with a glyph pressed into it – except for one: which is the Blank Rune. Just as with the Tarot, no one knows who invented the Runes or what their original meanings were. We know they originated with the Vikings, and that they crossed the Atlantic, but that is all. However, most sets of Runes come with a book to help you unlock their meanings.
Casting One Rune – Powerful Stuff
Recently, I was waiting on a friend to help me with a chore. He was supposed to arrive on a Friday, but he didn’t. I could always count on this friend and I was very confused. So, I drew a Rune to look into the situation from a perspective other than my own. Did he forget? Is he mad at me? Is he incapacitated? I had no idea. So I asked the question: “Why did he drop out of sight when I needed him?” Then, I reached into the bag and pulled Rune #23, “Standstill.”
The gist of the meaning was this:
- You may be powerless to do anything but submit or surrender
- Positive accomplishment is unlikely now
- All of your plans are on hold
- There is no reason for anxiety
- What you are experiencing is not necessarily the result of your actions
The following week, I found out why he didn’t show, didn’t call, and left me hanging. He had a cluster migraine that came on Thursday night, and he didn’t get control of it until Sunday night.
You can see how I was
- Powerless to do anything
It became clear that
- Positive accomplishment was unlikely and
- All my plans were on hold
It was good to know in advance that there was
- No reason for anxiety
And that
- What I was experiencing was not the result of my actions – in other words, he wasn’t mad at me — there was some other reason he wasn’t calling. Instead of my brain flitting from fear to rationalization to anger and back, I could just take a deep breath and wait until I heard from him.
Hidden Motivations
My outer motivation was to complete a task that I could not do alone, and that my friend had offered to help with.
My inner motivation was my urge to blame him for my not accomplishing my goal. He must be some kind of thoughtless friend to leave me in the lurch like that. I can’t trust him – he’s flaky.
Another inner motivation was to be the poor, sad victim of that thoughtless friend. How could he do this to me? How can he call himself my friend if this is the way he treats me? I’m worthless. The only friends I can attract are thoughtless, selfish ones.
Now, granted, these are exaggerated for the sake of this discussion, but if you dig deep enough, you’ll sometimes find that these so-called exaggerated claims are not so far off.
Inner Choices
I had to choose between being a victim and/or blaming him – or just waiting – and not passing judgment. The payoff here is that I freed up all my worry and angry energy to apply to more constructive things. In the meantime, he contacted me, we got the job done, and no one got hurt.
The Contemporary Runes
Tarot cards can be traced as far back as about 1500 AD. Runes can be traced as far back as 1300 BC — The Bronze Age! As mentioned earlier, no one knows the original meanings of the Runes. The first known references that were made regarding the Runes were written 1400 years after they were first carved!
Enter Ralph Blum, author. Some time before 1982 (he doesn’t specify exactly when) he was given a set of homemade Runes that were baked in an oven like cookies. They were made by an Englishwoman who also provided him with 2 sheets of paper on which the purported meanings had been written. As often happens in life, he put them away and forgot about them, only to rediscover them one night and begin to attempt to understand them. If you’re wondering if Ralph Blum made up the meanings of the Runes and devised the spreads – well, yes he did. But let me say that he was inspired — meaning in spirit — with the meanings of the Runes. Please don’t think that because this was the method used to unlock the meaning of the contemporary Runes, that they are any less valuable as a tool. After all, many of Thomas Edison’s best inventions came to him in dreams and they are no less practical. Let’s just suspend our disbelief and see what the Runes can bring us.
Before You Begin
You are not required to perform any kind of ritual to utilize the Runes. Simply reach into the bag. But before you do – focus and form a complete and specific question in your mind. In the beginning, you should actually write it down. The exact wording of your question can oftentimes coax the correct answer. Do not begin with an earth shattering question like, “Should I quit my job?” Choose something a little less intense for your first practice sessions.
The One Rune Draw Using a Specific Question
Form a complete question in your mind. Don’t assume the Runes know what you mean. Put your hand into the bag and rattle the Runes around. One of them will stick. I know this sounds funny, but as time goes on, you’ll know the feeling. Draw that Rune out of the bag, and set it in front of you vertically. Remember that there are reversed positions in Runes, so don’t automatically turn it one way or the other. Just place the Rune in front of you whichever way it presents. Now, look it up in the book and read what it says.
While you’re reading the explanation, think of the wording of your question. Think of the intention behind it as we discussed earlier. Trusting the Runes takes time, so if you’re not happy with your reading, you’ve got three choices: think about it, forget about it, or draw another.
It is my opinion that you should stick with choice #1. Think about it. Give the Rune a chance to show you what the real meaning was for you. Also, sometimes, when you forget about it, the meaning will be revealed. I caution you not to draw another Rune. It will confuse the issue. As times goes on, you will know when you really should draw another Rune, or even reverse the orientation of the Rune by turning it upside down or right side up, either before or after you’ve read the meaning of it.
Answers Without Questions
There is another way to consult the Runes. You can ask them to comment on a situation in your life. For instance, as you’re running your fingers through the stones in the bag, you might say, “The issue at hand is my best friend.” This is far more practical than asking a question like, “Should I call out my best friend for her terrible behavior to me?” The Runes will give an insight into the situation from all perspectives, and you must study the answer to know what to do about the specific problem at hand.
The beauty of the Runes is that they make you think. They place responsibility for solving your problems firmly within your grasp. And although the original meanings have been lost to us, their current meanings are practical and insightful. They are even self-regulating. If you use them too often, instead of using your own personal judgement and insights, their message becomes muddled. If you save them for the trickier questions in your life, the Runes will shine a light for you.
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