The first step in learning to read the runes is to get to know the runes themselves. This doesn't necessarily mean memorizing interpretations out of a book, although the literal meanings of the rune names should be memorized as a starting point. Instead, try taking one rune each day, starting with Mannaz and ending with Odin, and meditate on it. There are several exercises you can do daily to aid in this: word association with the rune names, visualization, physical connection with the rune, etc. I know of one coven member who made 'flash' cards to help him memorize the associations of each rune.
Always keep a record of your rune readings in a journal. Although it's not quite as easy to draw a nine rune cast as it is to record a tarot spread, do try and make the effort. Record which runes landed face up and face down, what you think each one meant in the context of the reading, and what your general impressions were. Even if a reading makes no sense to you when you do it, its meaning might become clearer later on, and this will encourage you to pay closer attention to your instincts (even if you are sure you're wrong!).
One thing I've done since I first found runes was to draw 1-3 runes each time I do a tarot reading -- I've found it adds a great deal to the reading! I record my rune readings in the same journal as my tarot.
Some books give upright and reversed meanings for the runes (like Tarot cards). This is obviously impractical if one is 'casting' the runes, since many will land sideways or at odd angles. Also, one would think that if this had been the intention of the original creators of the fuþark, they wouldn't have designed so many runes to look the same upright as inverted. I find that drawing a rune from a pouch is the best way to handle the upright and reversed issue.
The most important thing, however, is that you feel comfortable with the method you choose. If you feel the need for a more structured reading than a simple cast provides, devise a pattern for your casting cloth that has some meaning for you to give the reading a more tangible context. If you find nine or twelve runes to be a bit overwhelming, use three or four. If you want to just grab a handful and cast them, go right ahead. The runes themselves should tell you how they want to be read. Different sizes, shapes and materials lend themselves to different methods, and through meditation and experimentation you should be able to choose a technique that best suits both the runes' 'personality' and your own. Just make sure your method is consistant.
Here are a collection of ways to read the runes. They are based on my own knowledge, and more that I've gathered from books and the Internet.
ONE DRAW
This single layout is useful to all levels of
experience. It is especially recommended, however, to
those who are just beginning to get a sense of interpreting
runes. Before beginning, recall that consulting the runes is
not at all like having your fortune told. They merely act as
the guiding energy that enables you to seek a higher level of
consciousness...and find the right solutions. The real work
just begins once they have revealed their message.
One Draw - Drawing a single rune is a simple way to find
the answer to a question or give one a quick overview of a
situation, or done in the morning, a quick overview of the
day. In times of great stress, the One Draw can help you
quickly diagnose your next move. For instance, drawing
Isa or say a reversed stone, indicates the situation is calling
for patience, not for a decision or commitment. Drawing
Wunjo suggests pleasant outcomes are available (wishes
will be granted so grant them). If Hagalaz is received in the
instance of the One Draw, internal and external conflicts
are likely to become confrontational at this time...
Following up this reading with a Three Sisters or Four
Wheel is good way to find out more details.
THREE SISTERS
The Three Sisters is the most common
layout in modern rune interpretation. It is the layout I use
most often, during my twice-monthly moon diary entries.
Once mastered the Three Sisters reading provides a basis
for the other layouts. When you're ready to discover more
details, the next logical step would be to try the Four Wheel
method, or the Runic Cross.
Three Sisters - This spread is most often read from left to
right. The left rune, the past, represents the past influences
that brought you to your current situation, therefore it
doesn't necessarily introduce new information. The center
rune, the present, represents the action you should take in
an effort to overcome this obstacle. Look carefully at the
advice given here. If you choose to follow it, the outcome
will likely lead you to the final rune. The last rune, the
future, indicates where you are going and what you can
shape. It is not fixed, for there are many possibilities to
each situation. It merely acts as a guiding force that helps
you seek the answers within yourself.
FOUR WHEEL
In both the Four and Eight Wheel, the
center rune represents the idea or person that is being
influenced by the surrounding runes. This centerpiece
"selection" differentiates both layouts from the rest. A runic
symbolic representation of a question (Ehwaz selected as
your center rune to analyze the issue of a physical location
move) differs from a question you may ask in the Three
Sisters layout. Although adaptable (as I just mentioned
above with the Ehwaz rune), the Four Wheel is primarily
used to discover more information on a rune that may be
difficult to determine within a reading or by itself. In this
sense, the Four Wheel is perfect for the student that seeks
to gain more insight into a specific rune.
By providing an added dimensionality of "space" to the
Three Sisters dimensionality of "time", the Four Wheel
illustrates what forces are working spiritually and
emotionally, influencing your situation. Imagine this new
dimension as a vertical line that divides the horizontal line of
time. The top of this vertical line represents the higher
conscious or higher spiritual regions of the inner self. The
bottom represents the "well of the unconscious" or the
emotionally distressed regions of the inner self. Both polar
regions are difficult to grasp in the everyday living
experience, yet both empower the forces that allow this
very experience. By including these regions in your layout,
you are able to identify the energies that are being
expressed or felt in these realms. See the diagram below:
The Four Wheel - This layout provides a fourfold vision
of the situation at hand by illustrating the line of time
(horizontal line), and level of consciousness (vertical line)
for any given situation.
The center rune lies on the axis of time and level of
consciousness, and represents the nature of the question or
person asking the question. For instance, if you would like
to learn more about your finances, select Feuh as your
center rune. If you would like to uncover more about a
past experience, select Hagalaz as your representative
center rune. If you just want to learn more about how a
specific rune plays into your reading, select that as your
center rune.
Along the line of time, the rune positioned on the left
represents the past influences which have shaped your
current situation. Nauthiz here, for instance, would
indicated that your situation was brought about by
insecurities and fears.
The rune positioned opposite, on the right, represents the
future, where you are headed and what you can shape.
Inguz and Jera are endearing runes to find in this positon of
outcomes. They bring hope, fruition and the sense that
expectations will be met.
The bottom rune represents influences that stem from the
"well of the unconscious" which are always difficult to
identify. The unconscious is the mysterious realm that lies
deep with the psyche, where ongoing destructive and
creative conflicts from past experiences reside. Because it
is protected by an enormous barrier that acts to suppress
these conflicts, these conflicts are seldom identifiable to the
individual. In time they are likely to emerge as images in
dreams or feelings of emotional anxiety.
The top rune represents the higher influences at work
which will offer help and inspiration in your quest. It is the
north star shining through the misty air of the heavens. This
rune is most often neutral, yet in the instance of finding a
reversed rune in this position, such as Raido, it would
indicate that your Higher Self has been directed down the
wrong path and that its powers are inaccessible at this time.
(Aswynn,121-123).
RUNIC CROSS
This reading is derived from Ralph Blum himself.
Although some find his "rune interpretations" helpful in a
modern psychological sense, others find his methodology of reading
layouts is backwards...but what is backwards to some, is
forwards to others. If you are a dedicated Blum fan, please
read no further. If you are interested in seeing this 6 rune
layout as a more detailed version of the Three Sisters,
please see the diagram below:
The Runic Cross - This spread varies in interpretations,
however, I suggest the following: The far left rune
represents your past, while the far right rune represents
what lies in the future. The bottom most rune identifies the
unconscious powers at work that are continuing to
influence your current situation, and the top most rune
identifies the higher conscious powers at work that will act
as guidance and inspiration.
The two runes that lie between the unconscious and the
higher conscious indicate what is affecting your current
situation at close range (your current barriers and sources
of power accordingly). The lower rune represents the
subconscious energies that are being brought to the
surface. What has formerly been repressed or acted out
unconsciously, for instance, you can now identify. The
higher rune represents the active conscious energies that
are within grasp. This rune identifies the personal strengths
that are available to you right now. Harnessing these
strengths and heeding the advice of this rune, will allow you
to shape the future.
EIGHT WHEEL
Here lies the layout for the experienced
rune caster. As my level of experience and understanding
grows, I hope that it will be reflected in these writing. For
now, I can merely draw upon the wisdom of Freya
Aswynn and my exposure to psychological materials.
Acting much like the Four Wheel, the Eight wheel adds yet
four more dimensions of interpretation. Crisscrossing the
vertical line of space, and the horizontal line of time, are the
dimensions of the active future, the inactive past, the active
past and the inactive future. As a helpful rough and ready
psychological guide, imagine the horizontal line as the
surface of the sea and consider whatever falls beneath its
surface as being unknown and out of your control to
change (it is the unconscious realm). Whatever lands above
the surface, however, can be seen and is therefore in your
control to change (it is in the conscious realm). Please see
the diagram below:
The Eight Wheel - Beginning at the points between the
higher conscious and future, the active future has been
added. This rune represents what you can do to handle the
problem. Opposite here lies the inactive past which
represents your unchangeable characteristics, or those that
have not yet ripened.
By inserting a point between the higher conscious and past,
we see the active past. Represented here are past
influences that continue to affect your psychological
complex, yet are changeable. Traumas may be indicated
here as well as pleasant childhood memories. Opposite
here lies the inactive future, the unconscious forces, such as
dreams, anxieties and suppressed materials that invade
consciousness and predetermine your future (Aswynn, 124-125).
Graphics and some text provided by Runecast.com,
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