Dear Friends,
In the last post, we discussed a brief history of runes and some simple castings that you can do to help guide your future. If you find yourself intensely drawn to working with runes, you may want to consider making a set of your own. Making and using your own runes will help you connect more with your readings. And on top of that, it’s just a fun “crafty†type project (pun intended).
When you make your own runes, you’ll be imbibing them with your energy and making the interpretations more powerful and personal. Although you can definitely get accurate readings with store bought runes, you’ll be able to go even deeper with ones that you make yourself. When you work with store bought runes for a long time, you’ll eventually imbibe them with your energy. But when you make your own, it’s like working with runes you’ve had for five years.
For this project you’ll need some wood. You can either use a flat piece of wood, or you can purchase a wooden dowel that you can cut into circles. For the flat wood, you’ll be creating square shaped runes. You’ll need 25 to 24 pieces in order to create your runes. Twenty five pieces are necessary if you want to include blank rune. The blank rune is most normally read as an answer that you should not have access to. It represents something that you shouldn’t know at this point. Although ancient runes most definitely did not include a blank rune, a lot of modern rune casters use them. I find that it’s a nice addition to a reading and can definitely act as a sign post that someone has “read too far.â€
Either cut your square pieces out of wood or cut your disks out of the dowel. Make sure that your pieces are ½ to ¾ of an inch thick. Make sure to sand the edges of your runes so that you won’t get any splinters. If cutting your own pieces is too much of a hassle, you can also find pre-cut wood pieces at craft stores like Michael’s.
Still another option, if you’re interested in going completely natural is to go for a walk in the woods and approach a tree that you find yourself drawn to. You can connect yourself with the tree and then ask for an appropriate branch. Cut the branch and say a blessing. Make sure to leave an offering of sage or a decorative stone to thank the tree for it’s sacrifice.
You can also do the same process with finding stones for stone runes. Stone runes are fun to use since they produce a wonderful clacking noise as you tumble them together. Walk down a river or creek and look for stones that are approximately the same size. Try to find stones that are flat on one side so you can write the symbols down easily. This may be hard to do in one trip, so you could make it an ongoing project. Just keep looking for stones wherever you go and eventually you’ll collect 24 or 25.
Once you’ve got all of your pieces, wood or stone, you need to inscribe them with the runic symbols. If you are using wood, you’ll need a wood burning tool or paint. It’s easier to write the symbols on wood with paint than using a permanent market. Paint is appropriate for stones as well, but I have seen some nice handmade sets that were created with a set of markers.
After you inscribe your runes, make sure to use some clear coat on top of the symbol. This way your symbols won’t wear off with use. You can choose any color you wish to inscribe the runes. Personally, I’ve always liked the look of red on wood and on dark stones. It’s more traditional and it reflects the way that runes were made with blood in olden times.
Once you’ve given them enough time to dry (normally 24 to 48 hours), it’s time to consecrate them. Just as you would consecrate any other magickal object, you need to consecrate your runes so that they can be used for divination purposes. For this consecration ritual, you’ll need to know each runes name and have a cauldron. Cast a circle as you normally would, and invite Odin to sit within your circle. As the Norse God, he’s appropriate for this consecration ritual. He was the God that first brought the runic symbols to mankind.
Take each rune (in alphabetical order) and hold it to your forehead. Say it’s name out loud, then blow on it (to attune it to your energies) and then place it in your cauldron. Remove them all from the cauldron at the end of the ritual and place them in the bag or box that you will be storing them in for the long term. For the first moon cycle after creating the runes, carry them with you. Have them in your purse, your briefcase or your backpack. Sleep with them under your pillow and meditate with them each day. This will help them become part of you and allow you to divine with them very easily.
Brightest Blessings,
Rose Ariadne
Your Warm And Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”
