runes ?

[Trojina]

Have been thinking about runes lately for some reason. I've never had any. Does anyone here have experience of using them ?

 

[magictortoise]

I use them from time to time. Usually carry them around with me in my pack. If I need to ask a question and haven't time to sit down and roll the coins I draw a rune out of the bag for reply.

A former classmate of mine from my days in the Religious Studies Dept at San Diego State, Ralph Blum, has written a good interpretive guide to the runes called THE BOOK OF RUNES. He also studied the I Ching and incorporates some its wisdom as well as the wisdom of our instructor in the text.

Ken Wanamaker

 

[Trojina]

thanks

 

[crystal_blue]

A former classmate of mine from my days in the Religious Studies Dept at San Diego State, Ralph Blum, has written a good interpretive guide to the runes called THE BOOK OF RUNES.

Blum is sometimes criticised for changing the traditional order of the Runes and adding a blank rune.

 

[magictortoise]

I haven't kept up on what he is doing. I just like his first translation because of the interpretations and the destiny profile material. He drew much from the classes we took in the I Ching. In fact I know for a fact that he used the I Ching to interpret the meanings of the runes and brings those to bear in his interpretations. The destiny profile questions were a product of the research of our professor. I know he has written many books since but I haven't read them. Rune usage is not an on-going study of mine. But they are usually spot-on when I draw one at random, either with a question or just to inquire about the general flow or the mood I am experiencing.

Ken

 

[crystal_blue]

Cool, what Runes do you use?

 

[magictortoise]

I use the set that came with Ralph's first book. They are in a blue bag.

 

[willowfox]

Neither Ralph Blum or his book are worth reading or following, and as for his blank rune, well, that's pure imagination on his part.

 

[crystal_blue]

For a beginner, I'd suggest the Elder Furthark Runes (Blank Rune optional - it kind of spoils the symmetry, and it doesn't have the same history as the others, also a blank rune is something of an oxymoron), or the Witches'/Gypsy Runes (there are a few different versions floating around, most contain the same general symbols).

 

[Trojina]

Thanks for the suggestions. I know some people make their own - that would be a really nice thing to do i think, but i have never even seen real rune tablets anywhere - perhaps i've just not noticed. Theres plenty of new agey shops near me so I'm not sure why i don't see them.

It wouldn't be that hard to make them, I imagine they would have more significance for you - guess you burn the runes into the wood - or inscribe them on stone. Hmm well i will probably just buy a set when i see some, it may turn out i don't like them. I don't know how the quality of them feels, how complex an answer you can get from them ? Anyway some kinds of divination just don't resonate with me., like tarot for example, I just don't like to use that. Runes seemed good as they are so physically tangible.

I asked here because I never even met anyone who used them, never saw anyone offering rune readings at fairs etc, wondered why, perhaps as a divinatory tool they are quite crude/basic, i don't know ? Actually though i never saw anyone offering I Ching readings either at the Psychic fairs they have here - I never go now, they became dull, they seemed to be all tarot readings and expensive crystals -

 

[crystal_blue]

I don't know how the quality of them feels, how complex an answer you can get from them ?

Like anything, you get out what you put in - as George Washington Carver said, "If you love it enough, anything will talk to you."
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I asked here because I never even met anyone who used them, never saw anyone offering rune readings at fairs etc, wondered why, perhaps as a divinatory tool they are quite crude/basic, i don't know ? Actually though i never saw anyone offering I Ching readings either at the Psychic fairs they have here - I never go now, they became dull, they seemed to be all tarot readings and expensive crystals -

The Yi-Jing/Runes aren't as colourful as the Tarot - they don't have that air of mystique, nor as great a sense of 'laying out ones future'.

 

[willowfox]

Check this site out, it's quite good;

http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/meanings.html

 

[Trojina]

Yeah Crystal Tarot cards have good dramatic impact, too much IMO

Thanks for the link wfox

 

[magictortoise]

Neither Ralph Blum or his book are worth reading or following

This seems a bit arrogant and one-sided, Willow. Like saying that a certain translation of the Yi is not worth reading nor following. If I can find one person who has benefited from his book then it has been worth it . And I know many! And you didn't even give reasons nor examples. No matter your take on his interpretations or the blank rune, the first book is worth reading for the destiny profile questions alone. I know of no other place where they have been published. And they are not his invention. He applied them to rune usage. One can ask those questions of the I Ching. They are very useful the person who holds self-knowledge in highest regard.

Best regards,

Ken Wanamaker

 

[crystal_blue]

No matter your take on his interpretations or the blank rune, the first book is worth reading for the destiny profile questions alone. I know of no other place where they have been published. And they are not his invention. He applied them to rune usage. One can ask those questions of the I Ching.

What exactly are these 'destiny profile questions'?

 

[willowfox]

This seems a bit arrogant and one-sided, Willow. Like saying that a certain translation of the Yi is not worth reading nor following.

I honestly don't think Ralph Blum's books are any good at all, I have indeed studied the first well ,but his next books went way beyond silliness and no future studying was necessary. I am not going to quote this and that from them because any reader will see these faults very plainly. The blank is a glaring mistake.
And as for dreadful translations of the IC, I have already mentioned a few on this forum when I was younger and wiser.

 

[Sparhawk]

Aren't absolutisms funny as hell? I, for one, would take Chris' over any others I've seen in this forum. At least the man can argue ad nauseam and bury you with information to support his views and opinions. Saying something is so, most of the time doesn't cement a "fact". It never leaves the realm of "a personal opinion" and opinions are, well..., opinions, not facts. Of the former we are all full of, as much as we are of hot air; of the latter, we mostly lack as there are few of our opinions we can prove as facts, especially when it comes to such theoretical subjects as mantic systems.

Once in a while, some honest detachment, openness and perspective in proffering our opinions would be refreshing, as well as realizing that many "fact" only live in our heads, not matter how much we try to flesh them out in a common and shared "reality."

 

[martin]

And then there are also 'factoids'.

IMO 'factoid' is a word that was coined by Norman Mailer, but IMO I forgot what it exactly means.
So I looked it up, yes, I really did, that's a fact, IMHO.

'Mailer himself described a factoid as "facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper".' (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factoid)

Now, the fact that Normal Mailer defined 'factoid' exactly this way had IMHO no existence for me before appearing on the internet, so it's not really a fact IMO but rather, how shall I call it, a webfactoid IMO.

 

[dobro p]

Trojan -

I used runestones for about three years. Like Willowfox, I don't have much use for Ralph Blum's book - it comes across as a sort of vague mish-mash of newageness and interviews with his own left thumb. (I found Michael Howard's book way more useful.) Unlike Willowfox, I used the blank rune with the set: it's not at all traditional, but the blank rune holds a useful meaning for me, so I used it. If you decide to use the blank rune and assign a meaning to it, then the intelligence that informs the oracle will work with that.

However, earlier this year, I stopped using the runestones, cuz I found them to be less than useful. Think about it: the runestones have 24 or 25 variables in total. The Yi has 450 variables in total. The Yi is *way* more precise. And when you dealing with an oracle, precision is useful. IMHO. Your mileage may vary.

 

[bruce_g]

Trojan, an acquaintance made her runes of clay, then baked them and painted them. She gave the only runes reading I've had, and it was impressively on. No idea which version she used to interpret.

 

[Trojina]

Dobro yes I thought using runes to divine must be much more basic than the Yi - there being so many fewer possibilities, but am curious to see how they feel/work. I imagine they have a quality of their own, perhaps they are good for some kinds of questions or moods. Mainly I think they seem aesthetically/sensually pleasing so I want to get my hands on some just to try.

Bruce that sounds a good way to make them, I'll have to think of some ways to experiment

 

[willowfox]

Trojan, an acquaintance made her runes of clay, then baked them and painted them.

The traditional way of making runes is from wood and painting the symbols on in red paint.

 

[crystal_blue]

The traditional way of making runes is from wood and painting the symbols on in red paint.

Mix the paint with a few drops of ones blood...and keep them in a red bag...
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