Rune

Origin and mythology

Runes are the signs of the Futhark, the ancient Germanic alphabet whose name comes from the first six runes (F-U-Th-A-R-K). The Elder Futhark had 24 runes (1st-8th centuries AD), the Younger Futhark (Viking, 9th-11th centuries) had 16, and the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc had 33. For divinatory use, the Elder Futhark of 24 signs is preferred for its greater symbolic richness.

According to the Poetic Edda, it was the god Odin who obtained the runes after an extreme sacrifice: he hung from the world tree Yggdrasil for nine days and nine nights, wounded by his own spear, without food or drink. At the end of the ninth day the runes were revealed to him. In Norse cosmovision, runes are not therefore a human invention: they are a divine gift, fragments of the cosmic order that human beings can consult.

The most significant runes

Fehu (wealth, cattle): material prosperity, abundance. Ansuz (Odin): divine inspiration, message. Raidho (path, journey): movement, ritual, cosmic order. Kenaz (torch, knowledge): clarity, light, vision. Wunjo (joy): happiness, harmony, moment of grace.

Others of great weight: Hagalaz (hail, destructive-purifying test), Isa (ice, necessary paralysis), Eihwaz (yew, resilience and connection between worlds), Algiz (elk, divine protection), Sowilo (sun, victory and vitality). In a three-rune cast, the AI combines their meanings while taking into account also the order and whether they appear inverted (when applicable).

How they are consulted

The classical practice: the 24 runes are kept in a cloth bag, the question is concentrated, three runes are drawn with the left hand. The first indicates situation or past, the second obstacle or present, the third advice or future. Some runes have a different reading when they come inverted (opposite, weakened or problematic meaning). Although runes have a Norse pagan origin, they are also used today from non-religious frameworks like any oracle.