How to cast and read runes

How to read the labels Historical what the old sources say. Later tradition what later writers added. Modern modern practice and my own notes.

This is the page many people come looking for: how to actually read runes. I’ll walk you through the two basic methods, how to ask a good question, how to read one rune and then several, what to do about reversed runes and how to keep a record. Everything here is gentle and practical.

First, one honest reminder. No surviving source from the Viking Age or earlier describes runes being cast for divination. Tacitus describes marked lots, but he never says the marks were runes (see what the sources say). Every method on this page is modern practice, most of it developed since the 1980s. That makes it no less useful, but it is worth knowing.

Modern

What a reading is, and what it is not

For me, a rune reading is a structured way of reflecting on a question. You choose one or more runes at random, look at what they traditionally mean and what they suggest to you, and use them as prompts to see your situation from new angles. A good reading leaves you with clearer thoughts, better questions and perhaps a next step.

A reading is not a forecast. It cannot tell you what will happen, what someone else is thinking or which decision is right, and it should never make an important decision on its own. If you are under 18, read runes only with the knowledge of a parent, guardian or another safe adult.

What you need

• A rune set of 24 runes, bought or homemade. Wood, clay, card or stone all work. If you make your own, never use yew, which is poisonous.
• A bag to draw from.
• A plain white or light cloth, about the size of a scarf, if you want to cast.
• A journal and pen. This matters more than the runes.

Choosing or making a set

You do not need an expensive set. Many readers start with a homemade one: 24 squares of thick card, or small discs of air-dry clay, with the runes drawn in nontoxic paint or a permanent marker. A homemade set teaches you the shapes as you make it, which is a real advantage. If you buy a set, check that it has the 24 Elder Futhark runes in their historical forms and that the shapes are clear. A set with a blank piece is fine; you can simply set the blank aside.

Keep your set in a cloth bag, away from damp, heat and small children or pets who might swallow a piece. There is no need for elaborate cleansing rituals. If you like a small habit, wipe the pieces with a dry cloth now and then, or simply put the bag away tidily after each reading as a way of closing.

Drawing and casting

There are two basic ways to choose runes.

Drawing. Put all your runes in the bag, mix them with your hand and draw one or more without looking. Lay them out in order, face up, and read them one by one. Drawing is simple and quiet, and it works well with spreads, where each position has a meaning. Most beginners start here, and many readers never use anything else.

Casting. Take a handful of runes and scatter them onto a cloth. Read the runes that land face up, and sometimes their positions: which lie near the center, which near the edge, which touch. Casting feels closer to the image of lots thrown on a white cloth in Tacitus, and some readers find it more intuitive. It is also harder to interpret, because there are more variables.

Neither method is more authentic. Both are modern. Try both and use what helps you think.

Preparing for a reading

You do not need a ritual, but a few steps help you focus:

1. Choose a quiet time and place. Turn off notifications and sit with your runes and journal.
2. Settle. Take a few slow breaths. If you light a candle, use a stable holder and never leave it unattended.
3. Write your question at the top of a fresh page, with the date, so you can check later what you actually asked.
4. Mix the runes gently in the bag while you think about the question.
5. Draw or cast.
6. Write your first impressions before you look anything up.

Asking good questions

The question shapes the reading. Good questions are open, about you and about the present or near future.

If you notice yourself asking the same question again and again, hoping for a different answer, put the runes away for the day.

How to read one rune

Work through these steps. With practice they become quick and natural.

1. Name the rune aloud and notice its shape.
2. First impression. Write the first words, images or feelings that come, before looking anything up.
3. The name. Remember what the rune is named for: cattle, sun, ice. This is the oldest layer and often the most grounding.
4. The poems. Recall what the rune poems say about the named thing. They often offer a surprising angle.
5. Modern keywords. Consider the modern meanings on the rune’s page, remembering that they are modern.
6. Connect. Ask how this rune speaks to your question. What does it suggest, challenge or invite?
7. One sentence. Sum up the reading in one sentence. If you cannot, the reading may simply be unclear, and that is fine.

A worked example

Here is an example of how the steps fit together. Say the question is “What do I need to keep in mind as I start a new class?” and the rune drawn is Ansuz.

• First impression: an open mouth, someone speaking.
• The name: Ansuz means “god,” and the Old English rune name ōs can mean mouth or god.
• The poem: the Old English stanza calls it “the origin of every kind of speech, a prop of wisdom and a consolation to counselors.”
• Modern keywords: communication, wisdom, messages.
• One sentence: “Listen carefully, ask questions and speak up when I have something to say.”

Notice that nothing here predicts how the class will go. The rune gave a focus for the first week, and that is all a reading needs to do.

Reading three or more runes

When you draw several runes, read each in its position first, then look at the whole:

• Do they tell a story together, or contradict each other?
• Are several from the same aett? A modern way of reading the three groups of eight treats the first as everyday matters, the second as forces outside your control and the third as people and community.
• Do several share a theme, such as water, ice, journeys or home?
• Is there a turning point, where the reading moves from difficulty toward resolution?

A simple three-rune draw, read left to right as what has led here, what is happening now and what may develop, is the easiest next step after a single rune. The spreads page has more layouts.

Upright, reversed and merkstave

When you draw a rune, it may come out upside down. Many modern readers give a reversed rune, sometimes called merkstave (a modern term built from Old Norse words), a different meaning: the challenging side of the rune, a blocked form of it or an inner aspect. This convention appears to be modern and influenced by reversed cards in tarot. There is no historical evidence for it.

You do not have to use reversals. Many experienced readers do not, and simply read each rune for its full range, bright and dark. If you do use them, note that nine runes look the same either way up and cannot be reversed: Gebo, Hagalaz, Naudiz, Isa, Jera, Eihwaz, Sowilo, Ingwaz and Dagaz. Choose one system, write it in your journal and use it consistently.

The blank rune

Some sets include a twenty-fifth piece with nothing on it. The blank rune was introduced by Ralph Blum in 1982, drawing openly on ideas from the I Ching, and is often read as fate or the unknown. No ancient source has one, and I do not use it. If your set has one, you can set it aside, or use it your own way and note in your journal that it is a modern addition.

Casting on a cloth, step by step

1. Lay a plain cloth on a table. If you like, imagine three areas: a central circle, a ring around it and the outer area.
2. Write an open question with the date.
3. Take nine runes from the bag without looking. Nine appears often in Old Norse poetry, which is why many modern readers use it.
4. Scatter them gently from a low height.
5. Set aside any that land face down or fall off the cloth.
6. Read the center first as the heart of the matter, then the ring as influences, then the outer area as background.
7. Note any runes that touch. Some readers treat them as linked.
8. Write each rune, its area and your reading of the whole cast.

Cast once per question, and resist the urge to cast again. An unclear cast is still worth recording.

When a reading feels wrong or frightening

Sometimes you will draw a rune that seems dark, such as Hagalaz, Naudiz or Isa. Remember three things. No rune is a curse or a doom; the hard runes often point to challenges that can be met or rest that is needed, and the rune poems themselves find something useful in hardship. A reading reflects your thinking, not a fixed fate. And you are always free to put a reading aside.

Remember, too, that chance will sometimes give you the same rune several times in a row. That is how chance works, not a message.

Getting help. If you are in immediate danger, contact local emergency services (112 in much of Europe, 911 in the US and Canada). For crisis support that is not an emergency, use a local crisis line or a trusted person. As examples: in the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans at 116 123; in Finland, MIELI Mental Health Finland’s crisis line at 09 2525 0111. Practice can always wait while you get practical help.

Reading for others

Reading for yourself is the best way to learn. If a friend asks for a reading, get clear consent, explain that it is a reflective tool and not a prediction, avoid health, legal and money questions and absent third parties, and keep what you hear private. See runes, ethics and respect for more.

Keeping a reading log

Your journal is your most valuable tool. For each reading, note:

• the date and time;
• your question, exactly as asked;
• the method and the spread, if any;
• the runes in order, with R for reversed if you use reversals;
• your first impressions, then your interpretation in a few sentences;
• one action or reflection to take forward.

Then, a week or a month later, add a follow-up: What actually happened? Was the reading helpful? Did it change what I did? That follow-up is the heart of honest practice. Once a month, look back: which runes came up most, and is that more than chance would suggest?

A two-week daily draw

The simplest way to learn all 24 runes is one rune each morning for two weeks. Ask “What should I keep in mind today?”, draw one rune, write it down with a one-sentence first impression and then read its page. In the evening, add a sentence about how it connected, or did not, to your day. After two weeks, read back over the log. You will know a good handful of runes by heart, and you will have an honest record of how helpful the practice was for you.