Viking runes

Origin and historical use

The runes appeared around the 1st-2nd century AD among the Germanic peoples. The mythical legend recounts that Odin, the supreme god, hung from the Yggdrasil tree for nine days and nine nights, pierced by his own spear, in order to receive the wisdom of the runes — and gave it to humans. From the start they had a double function: writing AND magic-divination.

The Roman historian Tacitus describes in the year 98 (in his Germania) how the Germans practised divination with marked sticks: they cut a fruit-bearing branch, made small marks on the pieces, threw them on a white cloth, and the priest interpreted them looking up. This practice survived in different forms throughout the Middle Ages, especially in Scandinavia, until Christianisation gradually displaced it.

The Elder Futhark

The 24 runes of the Elder Futhark are organised in three groups of 8 (called aettir): Freyr's aett (Fehu, Uruz, Thurisaz, Ansuz, Raido, Kenaz, Gebo, Wunjo), Heimdall's aett (Hagalaz, Nauthiz, Isa, Jera, Eihwaz, Perthro, Algiz, Sowilo) and Tyr's aett (Tiwaz, Berkano, Ehwaz, Mannaz, Laguz, Ingwaz, Dagaz, Othala). Each rune has a name, a phonetic sound, an associated word and deep symbolic meanings.

In addition, modern tradition adds the blank rune (Wyrd), which represents the unknown destiny, what cannot be predicted. It was introduced by the British author Ralph Blum in the 1980s, though it does not appear in the original tradition. Some traditional readers reject it; others integrate it. There is no consensus.

How to consult them

The runes are usually drawn from a bag with eyes closed while concentrating on the question. Typical spreads: 1 rune for a quick energy of the day; 3 runes for past-present-future or situation-action-result; 5 runes in cross for a deep reading; 9 runes for the most complete reading. Each rune is interpreted by its symbolism, its position and whether it falls upright or inverted (some traditions ignore the inversion).