From: chewy@shell.portal.com (Paul F. Snively)
Newsgroups: alt.divination
Subject: Re: Elder Futhark & Runecasting
Date: 23 Aug 1994 03:40:49 GMT

sunnyway@aol.com (Sunnyway) writes:
> I'm about to embark upon making my first set of runes.  Any
> suggestions as to material, techniques, etc.?

Not being a stonecutter, I bought a beautiful set inscribed in
hematite.  Generally speaking, you may wish to have a dialogue with
folks who are wise with respect to the use of semiprecious
stones/gems/crystals in meditative work.  Before making my purchase, I
got feedback from two such people about the qualities of hematite, and
greatly appreciated it, and do find the feedback accurate.

> I'm anxious to hear from those who runecast, to share their
> experiences.  Any help and suggestions for a beginner are
> appreciated.

At the risk of offering platitudes, the secret to runemal, again in my
experience, is practice, practice, practice!  Think of your intuition,
your ability to know without thought, as a muscle like any other
muscle.  It needs exercise and strengthens as you use it.

> The viking genes run true in me so the Elder Futhark seems
> appropriate.

I also feel a strong connection to the Norse tradition, although, due
to my being adopted, the evidence for a lineal connection is strictly
circumstantial.  My first set of runes was the one available with `The
Book of Runes, by Ralph Blum, made of clay, and consists of the Elder
Futhark plus the blank rune, the Rune of the Unknowable, which I
personally find a highly valuable addition (so much so that I have
chosen not to purchase an otherwise lovely runeset inscribed on rose
quartz simply because it lacked the blank rune.  Yes, I could buy an
appropriately-sized piece of rose quartz and add it to the set... but
somehow that would feel wrong to me, not having been done by the
person who inscribed the set.  This is, of course, just IMHO).

> Any suggestions as to reference books? I'm working from Tony Willis'
> _Discover Runes_.

I would add Blum's `The Book of Runes' to that.  Blum and Willis are
my favorite sources, perhaps because they seem the least vested in
achieving some sort of magical power.  However, I also occassionally
refer to Edred Thorsson's `Futhark' or `Runelore' for additional
interpretational material, while choosing to ignore the Nordic
religious aspects of Thorsson's writing.

Hopefully this is of some help.  Please feel free to write with
comments, questions, and the like.  I've posted here about runework a
few times, and seen some others, but I would enjoy and appreciate
being able to sustain a regular dialogue with other runeworkers.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul F. Snively          "Just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean
chewy@shell.portal.com    that there's no one out to get you."