What You Need For Casting

Once you have the meanings of the runes memorized the only thing that you’ll need to have for a casting will be a set of runes. The other items on this page are optional but can really help set the mood for your cast, which helps you to focus your mind and can lead to better results.

Casting Items List

Set of Runes

You can either buy or make your own runes to cast with, but this is the one thing that you will need.

Pouch to Hold Your Runes

If you plan to carry your runes with you it’s good to have a pouch or some type of container to carry them in. Try to pick a material that will not “suffocate” your runes. Pick something that will allow energy to get to your runes and also allow them to release energy as well. Any fabric material works well but something like metal container may not be the best choice. A wood box can be a good idea, just try not to use wood that’s heavily coated with stain and/or varnish.

Summary of Rune Meanings

If you don’t have the meanings of your runes memorized then it is a good idea to have with you a sheet with all the meanings on them. You can get a list of the rune meanings for various sets in the Rune Meanings section. Just select the set of runes that you are using.

Casting Cloth

It’s a good idea to have a casting cloth especially if you plan to do a lot of outdoor castings. This way you can cast on the grass, sand, or any other outside surface and not worry about trying to find the runes buried under something. You can make the casting cloth any size you’d like, but remember that you will be tossing the runes onto them, so try not to make it too small. A good size for a casting cloth, which is also personal to you, is to measure it from the lengths of your body. Stand up and stretch your arms out so you make a “t” shape with your arms parallel with the ground. Measure from fingertip to fingertip. This is the width of the casting cloth. Now extend your arms up above your head and measure from the floor to the tip of your fingers. This is the length of your casting cloth. The material and color of the cloth is up to you, although white is a great color for all around use.

Casting Pillow

If you’re doing a lot of outdoor readings you may find that sitting on the ground for a long while may get uncomfortable. I suggest that you use a casting pillow, sometimes called a stol. This actually serves two purposes. First it makes reading more comfortable so you can concentrate on casting and reading the runes. The second thing it does is put you a little higher up above the runes and give you a feeling of being “above” the runes more. You’ll feel like you’re on another plane reading making the power you add to the cast a little stronger. Another purpose you can use the casting pillow for is to place it at the opposite end of the casting cloth and place your mearmots on.

Mearmots

These are personal items and talismans that help you to focus your mind. If you are doing a reading for yourself, use items that mean something to you and to the reading. If you are casting about concerns in your family, you may use pictures of members in your family. If you are doing a casting for someone else, then use items that are personal to them and to the cast.

Pen, Pencil and Paper

Some people, like myself, like to record all of their readings so it is good to have a pen or pencil and paper with you to write the information down. If you’re doing a reading for someone else they may want to have the information for later use or reference. Also there are times when you do a casting that you may want to read more into the reading but can’t remember the exact casting meaning for the runes. You can write the runes down and read them when you have the exact meanings near you. The one other reason that you may need a pen or pencil and paper is for writing the question down that you are casting for. It will help you focus your mind and you can place it with the mearmots when casting.

Making Your Own Rune Set

You have decided to make your own rune set and now you need to know what you should use to make them. First off let me say that by making your own set of runes you will find that you will get more accurate readings. Why? Well because you are putting your own energy into the set and filling them with a personal power that will help you in your readings.

When making your runes the material that you use is up to you. You could use stones that you have gathered along a lake front, cut small wooden tiles from a fallen tree branch, or use clay and then bake them to harden them. The choice is up to you. I will first talk about the few methods that I have used and how I went about making them, then I will show you how to add more power to the runes before you cast them. Some call this consecrating the runes. It is not necessary, but will help your runes to become more personal to you.

Stones or Small Rocks

One of the easiest ways to make a set of runes is to gather small rocks or stones that are all nearly the same in size. Then get some of your favorite color paint and paint the runes on the face of the rock. If you can’t decide on which color to use for the paint, red is a great color. It seems to have been the color of choice for rune casters (and carvers) in the past. If you’d like to have the color associated with a reason for casting check out this color association chart. After you have painted the rune symbols on the rock you may want to coat or seal the rock. You’ll find out that if you don’t the paint may begin to chip off the rocks. You can get a coating glaze at any hardware store. If you are having trouble picking a coating glaze ask someone at the store for help. They’ll be able to tell you what will work best for the paint and material that you are using.

Wood Tiles

If you prefer to use a material other than stone, wood is probably your next best choice. It’s easy to work with so you can make the tiles into just about any shape that you’d like. Probably the easiest way to make runes from wood is to take a fallen tree branch and cut some circular disks. Then you have the choice to mark the runes anyway you’d like. You could use paint, ink, burn them in the wood, or even carve them out. Once you’re done putting the runes on the wood, you can stain the wood to decorate it more. I suggest that if you paint the rune symbols on the wood that you do it after you have stained the wood. If you carve, burn or use ink to make the rune symbols you should do that before you stain the wood. Of course there’s no rule that you have to stain the wood, you can leave it natural.

Clay Runes

This is one way that I have not yet tried. The reason is that I’m not too sure just how to “fire” the clay once I have made the runes. If you know someone that does ceramic work then you could ask them to “fire” your runes in a kiln. That or find out how to “fire” the runes on your own.

Clay will be very easy to work with. Buy some clay at a hobby shop and mold it into the shapes that you will be using for your runes. Then simply carve the rune symbols into the clay and then “fire” them in a kiln or over a fire. Like I said I have not tried this method, and I do not work with clay so I’m sure there are more ways to decorate the runes that you are making than I’ve listed here.

Bone

If you hunt, know someone who does, or can get your hands on some animal bone, this is another option for your runes. I know some people who would never use bone because of the way they feel about animals. The choice, however, is up to you.

Working with bone will be a hard thing to do. If you know someone with a bone-saw you can have them cut the tiles for you. Otherwise you may have to go to a hardware store and buy a hacksaw and blade that can cut bone. You may have to ask for help on this one, and you might get a few odd looks from people when you tell them you need a saw to cut bone. When you paint on the rune symbols you may want to coat/seal the bone so that the paint will not chip off, much like with the rock. Carving may difficult to do on bone, and to be honest I can’t even begin to tell you how to go about it.

Consecrating Your Runes

After you have made your runes, the next thing that you may want to do is to consecrate them. This is like a small dedication that will add your personal power to your runes. If you’re using these runes for religious purposes then design a small ritual and consecrate them the same way you have with other tools that you may have consecrated before. If you’re just using these runes for casting – non-religiously, then you may want to do something like the following.

Gather your runes, a small bowl of water and a candle. Light the candle and place all of your runes on the left side of the candle. Take each rune and dab a little water on it with your finger as you say the name of the rune. If you don’t have the names of the runes memorized have a sheet next to you with the names on it. Then pass the rune over the candle flame and say it’s name again. Then place the rune down on the table on the right side of the candle and say the rune name one last time. Repeat this with each rune until you have completed consecrating each rune. You are now ready to use your runes.

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