Runes are the alphabet that the Germanic and Norse peoples carved into wood, bone and stone for almost a thousand years. Each sign has a sound, a name and a meaning, and that threefold nature is what turned them, much later, into a tool of divination. Casting the runes means drawing a few signs at random and reading what they say about the question you carry inside.
The Elder Futhark
The oldest runic alphabet is called Futhark after its first six letters, F, U, Þ, A, R, K, and it has 24 signs. It was used between the 2nd and 8th centuries, and the oldest complete inscription that survives is the Kylver stone, in Gotland, from around the year 400. In the Viking Age, from the 9th century, the alphabet shrank to 16 signs, the Younger Futhark, which is the one seen on most Scandinavian rune stones. For divination the Elder is almost always used, because each of its 24 signs has a well-documented meaning of its own.
The 24 signs are grouped into three rows of eight called aettir. The first, Freyr's, speaks of wealth, strength and the beginning of things: Fehu, Uruz, Thurisaz, Ansuz, Raidho, Kenaz, Gebo and Wunjo. The second, Hagal's, speaks of trials and fate: Hagalaz, Nauthiz, Isa, Jera, Eihwaz, Perthro, Algiz and Sowilo. The third, Tyr's, speaks of community and completion: Tiwaz, Berkano, Ehwaz, Mannaz, Laguz, Ingwaz, Dagaz and Othala.
Runes as an oracle
The Roman historian Tacitus describes in the year 98 how the Germanic peoples cast lots with marked twigs, and that is the oldest reference to divination with signs. But the modern method of casting runes, with its fixed meanings and its spreads, belongs to the 20th century: Ralph Blum popularised it in 1982, and since then it has become one of the most practised oracles.
Upright and reversed
A rune can come out upright or reversed, upside down, and the meaning changes: the reversed one is not the opposite, it is the same force blocked, delayed or turned inward. Nine runes are symmetrical and have no reversed position: Gebo, Hagalaz, Isa, Jera, Eihwaz, Sowilo, Ingwaz, Dagaz, and Nauthiz according to some schools. When they appear, they always speak in the same direction.
How to cast the runes
The simplest method is Odin's rune: you shake the bag, draw a single rune and read it as a direct answer to the question. It is the best way to start. The three-rune spread is read as past, present and future, or as situation, challenge and advice. There are larger spreads of five, seven or nine runes, but they add complexity without adding clarity for a beginner.
You ask one specific thing, shake the bag while thinking of it, draw without looking and read the rune in its position. If the answer opens another question, you draw another rune. You do not repeat the same question.
Runes online
On Esoterium the bag is shaken on your screen and the rune falls onto the cloth, upright or reversed, with nobody choosing for you. You type your question, read the answer in the light of what you asked, and the rune is kept in the casting. You have five questions per casting; when they run out, the runes are gathered and you start again.
Frequently asked questions
Do runes predict the future? No. They are a mirror: they hand the question back in other words and force you to look at it from somewhere else.
Do I need to know all 24 meanings? Not to start. Each rune that comes out teaches its meaning, and within a few castings you recognise the main ones.
Are these Viking runes? The Vikings' runes were the 16 of the Younger Futhark. The 24 used for divination are older, but the name has stuck.