The Reading Ceremony

1. Setting of the Outer Realm.

The outer realm is the physical space in which you are working. It is your temple. The setup of your outer realm symbolizes the universe upon which you intend to operate. Be sure that you will not be disturbed, and make sure that the room in which you are working is clean.

The Altar Setup

You need an altar. A table will do.

Arrange your ceremonial utensils. Leave enough space for the candles and Rune staves which you use for the ceremonial. Set a circle of Rune staves around the table. The circle should be large enough for you and the other person(s) present to move around in it.

Have the Runes EH and GIBOR on the table. You may have a different Rune or Runes taken from the circle and put on the table, depending on what ceremonial you are performing.

At the moment these are general purpose instructions.

Set the cup with water, wine, as shown, together with the incense burner, one altar candle, Thor’s Hammer, and the Rune dagger or power rod. At this point you are preparing the circle for the reading so the petitioner’s candle is not yet positioned as in the diagram. This is where it will be a little later when the reading commences.

You should have your book of ceremonials and your diary available. The look of the center of operations will differ, depending what ceremonial you are performing, but the diagram, without the petitioner’s candle is a good general purpose arrangement.

You may stand, or have a chair available for sitting in front of the table.

Now you can set up the space in which you are going to work, your inner and outer Rune realms. First, tune in to each Rune in the circle, singing the stanza of the magical poem for each Rune. 

2. Protective Circle

Next, you take the Rune dagger, or power rod. First you trace the circle of Rune staves around the table and yourself.

After that you draw the HAGAL Rune in all four direction, beginning with the North (the FA Rune in your circle), and going counterclockwise through the West (RIT), South (IS), and then East (BAR). Each time you draw HAGAL in the air do so with the strongest possible image of protection and Oneness with the universe. Put the dagger or rod back at the side of the incense burner.

3. Light altar candle and say:

Forces of the Light
Eternal in the universe,
Explore darkness!
Sacred Flame, shine!
Bring Light to the night!

All around darkness
All around night
I amidst the Light
Darkness has merged
With the Light!

Original fire of FA
Burning since the beginning of times
Light force of AR
Born in the Sun
At the beginning
Of the Worlds
Give Light to the seeker!

4. Light the incense and say:

May the power of the Runes
Lead me to a greater understanding
Of the universe and myself!

5. Hold both hands over the cup with water or wine.

Be aware of the purpose of your ceremonial. Project into the water or wine the success of the reading and the beneficial effect of it on the querent. Know as you do this that the water or wine symbolize emotional strength. Project energy into the water or wine.

6. Look at Thor’s Hammer.

Be aware that this is the symbol of your capability of drawing, harnessing, and projecting Rune energies. Hold both hands over it, knowing of its power. Imagine it being sent to the realms of destiny, from whence it returns with the knowledge that you seek.Now, you are finished with the preparation and you are ready for the next step, the ceremony of the Rune reading.

Ceremony of the Rune Reading

The realm of action is the circular area on your altar, as shown on page 2. For the reading you do not place your personal Runes around in the usual circle. You shuffle them, face down, inside the realms of action.Set the petitioner’s candle inside the circle, in the Northern direction, as shown in the diagram on page 56.

7. Light the candle of the petitioner, and say:

“This candle represents . . . . . (name of person for whom the reading is to be made), whose trends of destiny the Runes are to show.”

8. Touch the Hammer of Thor and say:

“I am sending the Hammer of Thor to the Runic realms of Creation. may the Hammer of Thor bring back the wisdom of those realms.”

9. [Position of UR (hand or body).]

Tune to the realm of UR. Sing the mantra of UR (3 or 9 times). Sing the stanza of UR. Then say:

“With the power of UR I am seeing the roots of all fate.”

10. [Position of MAN]

Tune into the realm of MAN. Sing the mantra of MAN (3 or 9 times). Sing the stanza of MAN. Then say:

“MAN, symbol of resurrection,
Crown of the world tree,
Symbol of man
I open to the influx of MANA,
Of spiritual power
Which permeates the universe.
Sacred MAN,
Reveal the mystery of MIMIR,
Awaken within me original memory,
Original wisdom.

11. [Position of YR]

Tune into the realm of YR. Sing the mantra of YR (3 or 9 times). Sing the stanza of YR. Then say:

“YR, symbol of the roots
Symbol of the Norns,
Goddesses of destiny,
Who spin the threads of destiny
At the roots of the world tree.
Power of becoming
Which permeates
The Realms of Creation
Bring me in tune with the roots
From which life springs
Eternally.

12. Drawing the Staves

You may now say the question(s) aloud or mentally. Cast all 18 Rune staves onto the altar, while you look at the sky.
Still looking at the sky, draw three staves. There are other methods to use five, seven, or nine staves.
The first stave tells you about the past, the root, or the beginning of the matter of the question.
The second tells about the present, existing, and active now, of the question.
The third tells of the outcome, future, or development of the matter of the question, if things are allowed to go on as they now are.

13. Interpretation

Before any attempt of interpretation is made, the data in the previous lesson giving the divination meanings of the Runes should be committed to memory.After this section there is a sample reading and how it was interpreted for the querent.

14. After the Interpretation

After the interpretation, you, or the querent, if there is one, drinks the water or the wine. You then end the ceremony by saying:

“Powers of the Runes
Thank you for your advice.
Flow back to the
Realms of Creation.”

15. Imagine or visualize the Rune energies grounding,

flowing into the ground as water flows down a drain, or seeps into sandy soil.

16. Extinguish the flame

of the altar candle, incense burner, and petitioner’s (querent’s) candle, in that order.

17. Remove all utensils.

Note: The ceremonial setting gives the reading a very deep, spiritual background, which cannot be achieved as easily by simply drawing Runes from a bag, or in other ways promoted in some of the recent books purporting to teach Rune Reading. It is the decision of the practitioner whether to access knowledge from the realms of creation, that will give insights into how present trends may be developed, or to give psychic fair type reading with all the superficiality of such.The energies present at the proper ceremonial setting give insight on the levels other than the purely verbal. A reading should not be just words, talk about karma, or light entertainment. It should provide a DIRECT EXPERIENCE of the energies and powers that continually shape our destinies.

Sample Reading

This example is taken from an actual reading at which the petitioner asked for counsel in connection with job difficulties.The Runes NOD, IS and FA were drawn, after the preliminary ceremonial that prepared the reader and petitioner for insights of a specific kind.

NOD

An eighth one is mine:
Quite useful to hear
For all the people in danger and need.
Where hate should arise
Between man and man
I settle it fast.Be aware that there is karma working at the root of the situation, and it reaches back much further than the difficulties encountered in this lifetime. Use NOD to access this karma. Sing NOD aloud, and invoke NOD, and await what NOD will tell you. At this point, the seeker, who was familiar with Runic ceremonial, has some flashbacks into former lifetimes and situations with some of the same people involved in the present difficulties. From those insights the seeker was capable of developing a basis from which to deal with the situation. NOD gave insight and the power to change. The two-way interaction between the petitioner and the Runes, and the subsequent empowering of the petitioner with a subtle, directed energy that cleared the way to helpful insights, is typical of a Sacred Futhork reading.

Mere information and conjecture is more likely in other forms of Rune reading.

IS

A ninth one I know:
If danger is out in the sea:
To protect my dear ship
I conjure the wind
On the billowing floods
And I sing into slumber the sea.You are not innocent of what’s happening, and NOD has shown you. There is old karma that has to be worked out. How you are dealing with it at the present time is the question to be examined. It seems as though you are constantly getting carried away by irritations that form a nucleus around which your thoughts revolve, thus involving you move emotionally than the actual circumstances warrant. Because your emotions are tied to the astral level of energies you are projecting these energies into the situation. This is not beneficial to yourself or the other persons concerned. You are in fact adding to this old karma instead of settling it. It is possible for you settle these karmic debts without the other people having to be aware of this. Sing IS aloud and be aware of the energies that are at the roots of your present behaviors. Be aware of your true ego, which has nothing to do with that ego associated with ego trips and illusions. (At this point the seeker became acutely aware of certain behavioral patterns that could modify the situation. He was capable of gaining spiritually on this basis, and discovered a new aspect of IS).

FA

I know the songs that no wise one knows
And none of the children of men.
The first song is HELP and help it will
Against sorrow, hurt, And any distress.You may not do anything positive you may decide not to learn the lessons from the situation, and still you will receive help on the situation. It’s stirring you up at the present, more than it should. The outcome will be positive in any case, since someone will help you. Yet the true message, which helps you solve the karmic problem rather than the present, worldly one, is to use the fires of purification after you become aware of your true ego in relation to the whole matter. Visualize FA. Visualize its purifying fires, and see them reach you in the not too distant future, so that you no longer need depend on outside help. You learned the lesson, you mastered the karma of this situation, and now you are ready to help those who are still in need of your help: those whose hate around NOD. You know now how to help them, being purified yourself. They may be closed to higher wisdom, yet you lay the spark in them, and helpfully project the purifying fires of FA. Now you are no longer exposed to blind fate, or trends. Now YOU are making the trends.