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Rune Casting

It is still unknown if the runes were first developed for the use of a writing system or for the use of divination (or casting lots). Either way, in the past, the runes were used for casting, we even see evidence of that in mythology and sagas. Recently there has been a new found interest in new age items and we have see a revival of using the runes for casting and divination. You can now buy a set of runes almost as easily as you can buy a deck of tarot cards. However, if you want your runes to be special to you there’s no better way than to make them yourself.

Once you have your set of runes, what do you do? Well there are many fine books out there to help get you started. If you buy your runes, a lot of sets come along with a small starter book that will introduce you to the history, myths and meanings of the runes as well as how to cast them. If you would like to make your own you can follow the guides below and then use the rest of this site to find out the meanings and images.

So let’s get started…

Picking a rune set – Decide which rune set is best for you to use for casting.

Making your own rune set – Find out how to make your own personal set of runes.

What you need for casting – A list of item that are good to have for casting.

How to do a reading – Find out how set up a reading and where and when to cast.

Casting layouts and spreads – A list of casting spreads and layouts to choose from.

Casting record sheets – Here are a few PDFs for you to use to download, print and record your rune casts on.

Improve Your Casts Through Meditation – Learn how to improve your rune casting through meditation in this 4 page article.

* Layouts that were created by Dan Gronitz for this website. If you wish to use any of these layout ideas in any media please contact me.

** – Indicates a rune cast adapted from a tarot card spread.

Runes in Mythology and Sagas

An important part of runic knowledge can be learned by examining the mythology, sagas, and folklore of the people of Northern Europe, Iceland and even Greenland. By doing so we start to get an understanding of where the runes may have come from, how there were used and even some of the mystery and magick behind them.

For this section I have broken down the stories or myths and have given my input on how the runes come into play in that story or myth. A good place to start is to take a look at how the runes are said to have come into existence in Norse mythology. After we examine the runes in mythology we can begin to learn and understand more about how the runes were used by the people in the saga tales.

Mythology

Odin Discovers the Runes
Runes of the Hávamál

Sagas of Iceland

Egil’s Saga
Saga of the People of Vatnsdal

Other Sagas

The Saga of the Volsungs

Miscellaneous

‘Casting Lots’ in Sagas