My Rune Story

My rune story started maybe 18 years ago, I can't really remember. I came across these mysterious symbols and though of them as a divination system. I tried to relate them to the tarot (which I'm no expert in and if I do a tarot reading I still need to consult the books).

 I just didn't understand runes. I didn't get it. They didn't click. I had purchased a mass produced set made out of some sort of plastic so I bundled them up and chucked them in the back of my cupboard. I forgot about them because they weren't for me.

 A few years later I came across them again. I realised then that they were not like the tarot at all. I threw away all preconceived notions and approached them with no expectations. This time they clicked. I got it!

 I studied the runes day and night. I knew they were not a tool of divination, not traditionally anyway. They are magical symbols that hold within each one deep mysteries that can only be unraveled when they're pondered over. They tie in with the mythology and stories of the gods. They are not a thing like a stone or a card, they're an idea, a concept.

 However The modern new age technique of divination using the runes is an effective form of gaining insight. And I began to do rune readings.

 My best friend at the time was a Swedish Australian. Her father is Swedish and her mother Australian. She would often go to Sweden with her father and spend 2 or 3 months there getting to know her family and her heritage.
 On one visit she made me a set of runes. An amazing set made out of Reindeer Antler. How she got them past customs is a mystery.

 They were amazing...

 

The readings I did with these runes were spot on. They blew me away every time. And I knew it wasn't me... it was the inherent power within the runes.
 Now normally I'd say a tool holds no power, the power comes from those using the tools. Not these runes.

 There was one rune, Jera that my dog got a hold of an bit it. There one tooth mark marred the symbol and I couldn't see it any more. But I knew what it was so I didn't let it bother me.

 Time passed and my readings just got better. And then I lost Jera. I searched everywhere and I never found it again.

 I gave up on the runes. I took it as a sign from the gods that I was not worthy. At the time I was not studying the mythology or honoring the old gods. I considered myself and atheist.

 9 years passed and I was called back to old gods and their stories. I began studying them again. I found my old rune set. Now there were 4 missing.

 My friend had also given me a key ring at the time made of reindeer antler. I set to work and carved it by hand to fashion the 4 missing runes. You can see them in the picture. They a different shape and colour to the rest.

 It took me all day to carve through the antler, sand them smooth and mark them.

 That was 3 days ago. I found a wooden box to store them in and the set has not left my kitchen table.

 But I've lost Jera again. Its gone. I can't find it anywhere. Jera is the rune of the harvest.

 What to make of this?