A Guide to Greek Alphabet Divination (Runes)

As many may already know, Runes are a popular form of divination in order to communicate with the gods! However, aside from the popular Norse runes (elder futhark) that everyone might be aware of, did you know that there’s also a form of “rune casting divination” for the Greek alphabet?

First found inscribed in Olympos, a city in ancient Lycia, the Greek alphabet divination system uses the 24 letters from the Greek language and assigns them meanings, and based on what rune you pull, can give you advice from the gods on your current situation!

There were many Alphabet Oracles in ancient Greece, and the idea of reading the Greek alphabet for signs of the gods is one of the oldest divination methods that we know of.

To create your runes, any way of making them works! Historically, they would be painted onto pottery shards, but any way you can think of to have them accessible to throw/draw is completely okay. I have personally used black stones with gold paint on them.

You create one piece per letter, and in total there will be 24. Each letter will be listed and elaborated on later on in the post!

In order to call upon the Theoi to get an answer, you can firstly call upon them in an invocation. After you have called upon them or asked your gods to give you an answer (sometimes no formal structure is needed) you can reach into a bag which contains the letters and pull out one at a time and read that, or you can grab them and throw them and look for patterns or groups of letters that are clumped together. 

THE LETTER MEANINGS

And those are the letters! Happy letter-casting! 

I’m finishing my alphabet oracle today ✨

What are runes?

Runic alphabets have been around since about 150 AD and used as a writing system by a lot of Germanic languages. These systems were eventually phased out, slowly but surely, with the progressive Christianisation that started around 700-1100 AD. The three most commonly known (and used?) Are the Elder Futhark, the Younger Futhark and Futhorc.

Runes aren’t, themselves, broadly meant for divination, thought there are a few passages in the Eddas that mention Odin “finding” and using them.

Alright, so which alphabet should I use?

Whichever one you want! I prefer using the Elder Futhark, because it’s the first alphabet I learned and got familiar with, but that doesn’t at all stop you from using the Younger Futhark or Futhorc. I’d heavily suggest making sure you read up on the differences in each alphabet though; Ansuz, for example, won’t look the same, mean the same or even be called the same from one alphabet to another. 

Familiarize yourself with each of them if you want/can, and choose based on your own preferences and criteria. Always work with what feels best for you!

But I’m not really familiar with Germanic traditions / I’m a baby witch, should or can I use runes for divination?

This is the concept that got my goat real good the first time. You do not, in any way, shape or form, need to be experienced to cast runes. This is a notion that is outdated and perpetuated by gatekeepers and exclusionists. No one gives a flying flip how long you’ve been practicing witchcraft, or if you even practice at all!

Divination should be seen as a tool to further yourself and/or your craft. It can be used by itself or in conjunction with other activities, practices or beliefs. I was 15 when I started learning about runes (dear god that was literally over ten years ago) and I had no idea what I was doing back then. I read up as much as I could about the system I was wanting to use and, once I was comfortable with it, I started doing small readings.

It shouldn’t matter how new or familiar you are to divination, rune casting or Germanic traditions. If rune casting feels right to you, you are more than free to use whatever divination method feels right to you.

What should I do before I start a reading?

As a Norse Pagan, I usually invoke my patron deities (Baldr and Loki, in this case), as well as Odin and Freyja, sometimes Gullveig/Heiðr because reasons. I have no idea whether or not this has any actual bearing on the reading itself, as mine were as accurate before I converted as they are now.

Making sure you’re in a quiet and/or comfortable space is also a good idea, even if that just means popping in some earphones and listening to something that makes you focus and feel calm.

This is also a good time to mention that cleansing your runes (stone, bone, wood or otherwise) is a very good idea. I typically do this with candles, incense, a bowl of water and a point of quartz for each element. I don’t do this nearly as often as I probably should, since most people suggest cleansing them after each reading… but, whatever, being lax with that hasn’t bitten me in the ass so far. So if you’re a spoonie, don’t worry: cleanse your runes when you feel they need to be cleansed, and that’s it.

Alright, I think I’m ready; how do I start reading?

Let me start by saying that the bullshit about never reading yourself? It’s just that. Bullshit. Do readings on yourself if you want to. Who the hell is going to stop you. Do whatever you want.

On that note, there are a few ways to cast runes, though these probably aren’t close to being the only ones: 

If you can think of another method, literally nothing is stopping you from using that instead. The runes are acting as a universal translator for whatever it is you’re tapping into. They’re just a tool to receive a message. How you choose to receive that message is completely up to you!

So I’ve got my runes laid out, now what?

Now comes the fun part. I can only really give you a good run-down of the Elder Futhark, and though it’s a good starting point, I would highly advise you do your own research on whatever alphabet you want to use. Wikipedia is a great place to start, but don’t stop there: look at several different websites and lists and compare. Combine and condense the information for yourself, and get to learn the definitions and meanings for yourself!

Phew! What a list. These are just brief descriptions and meanings that I’ve been able to compile and condense over the years.

But, what does “opposed” mean?

I see where you’re coming from. As a baby diviner, I, also, was confused by this. But let me explain how I’ve come to understand it! 

Sometimes, if you’re doing a set spread, you’ll have a spot for things like, “what will oppose you”, or “what you need to avoid”. Things like that. If, say, a rune like Suwilo was found in something like that, you’d want to try and keep a sharp mind to avoid deceptions or letting yourself be too gullible.

When runes don’t have a reversed form, their position in your spread will usually determine what they mean. (Though really this is true for literally any rune.)

Anything else I should know?

The best advice I can ever give anyone is to always do what you feel is right. If you find yourself wondering, “Should I do this? Is this right?” If you question yourself at all, you should probably not to the thing and go with something else.

It’s also important to mention that the names I have for the runes may not be the ones that you’ve learned to know them by; a lot of runes can go by different names depending on who you ask and where you look. Do your research, and know the runes by the names you feel are best! (And preferably historically accurate.)

As always, if you have any questions regarding runes and how to read them, please ask me! My ask box is literally always open and almost always empty.

ᚺᛖᛁᛚᛚ ∙ ᛟᚲ ∙ ᛋᛇᛚᛚ

PART 1:

This is going to be a little introduction to runes. It’s very messy because I suck at writing essays, but should hold useful information.

In here, I will talk about:

1. The Origins

2. The Power/Potency

3. The Alphabet and Pronuciation

Runes: The Origins Runes were used by Pagan tribes across Northern Europe. There’s a few possibilities as to how or when they originated, from scholars saying they date as far back as 500BC or were invented by Vikings around 800AD, the general agreement is that they’re old and were used in Europe. The word itself is derived from an Old Norse word, Run and Old German, Runa, meaning ”whisper” or “secret.” Runes are closely tied to Odin, Chief of the Gods, as he is a travelling Shaman, and was associated with Wisdom and guidance. He was extremely wise, having undergone many journeys with his familiars such as Hugin and Munin or his eight legged horse, Sleipnir (Courtesy of Loki, who turned into a Mare to seduce a magical stallion.). Sleipnir is an important figure in shamanism, seen as the shamanic horse par excellence, that transports shamans in their journeys when in trance.

Here is the figure of the nine staves, in which Odin observed the 24 runic shapes. Runes, according to ancient Germanic people, weren’t created or derived, but an eternal, pre-existing existing force that Odin discovered. The runic alphabets are called “futharks” after the first six runes (Fehu, Uruz, Thurisaz, Ansuz, Raidho, Kaunan). Much like ours, the elder futharks have 24 characters. The younger futharks have 16, and diverged from the Elder Futhraks in the start of the Viking Age. The Anglo-Saxon Futhorc with 33 characters that altered and added to the Elder Futharks in England. Since runes were to be carved on bone, wood, stone or other hard surfaces, their angles make sense. Curves are harder to inscribe.

The 24 characters of the Elder Futharks, as drawn awfully by me, apologies. So here you have a quick overview of where runes came from, both religiously/spiritually and historically, though it’s nebulous on both sides. Runes: The Potency In ancient times, runes were never vibrated or resonated. That was introduced by sorcerers/witches that treated runic names as magical words that could invoke powers and manipulate energy in order to obtain what they desired. Inversely, Runic Shamans only whispered the sounds, as a secret. A secret could be defined as a message that is concealed only to be revealed to those who have been prepared and trusted to receive it. The knowledge was seen as so sacred that it was only transmitted to those who’s minds and hearts had been prepared to receive this secret. The staves (Elder futharks) have been misunderstood to be the runes themselves. That isn’t the case. The runes are a process by which the fundamental potencies of Nature may be carried or conveyed. The images are more like vessels of the potencies. The knowledge of the runes and the runic patterns where what allowed them to access it. A Rune-stave is an energy pattern that is inherent in Nature and within ourselves. Each pattern, each stave is a transporter of a potential quality which once released, acted intelligently to change the material world. Which explains why runes are associated with deities. They work in godlike fashions. The Nazis also used runes in hopes that it’d help them on their way to victory, but only took the runes meanings in their most superficial sense, just like they did with the swastika and many other powerful symbols. (still pissed bout’ that.) Runes: Alphabet and Pronunciation Here, I’m just going to give you a picture from one of my books on runes, since the chart I made in my Grimoire is really bad.

Rune Power, by Kenneth Meadows This should give you a fair idea of the pronunciation, and I definitely recommend the book to anyone interested in Runes and Norse Paganism in general. It’s one of my favourites and my copy is so old and crumpled, it barely stays together. If you want, I can scan the above chart in a clean manner for you to print if you want it in your book of shadows/grimoire.

Next time, we’ll explore the runes individually. Then we’ll look into how to make our own runes, spreads for rune reading, the runic cycles and more!

attention people who use runes (esp. the elder fuþark):

if you work with or have done research on the Elder Fuþark runes, you may have noticed that there are lots of variations on the names. & i mean LOTS, e.g.:

there are a couple of reasons for this:

luckily i regularly study & use Proto-Germanic, & based on our most recent & accurate reconstructions, the names for the Elder Fuþark would have probably taken the following forms (text in /slashes/ is IPA phonemic transcription; where names are different, this is due to differring names in the different attested langauges, or variation within Proto-Germanic dialects):

ᚠ    *fehu /ɸexu/ “wealth, cattle”

ᚢ    *ūruz /uːruz/ “aurochs”

ᚦ    *þurisaz /θurisɑz/ “giant, monster” OR  *þurnuz /θurnuz/ “thorn”

ᚨ     *ansuz /ɑnsuz/ “deity, mouth”

ᚱ     *raidō /rɑi̯ðɔː/ “journey”

ᚲ    *kēnaz /keːnɑz/ “torch” OR *kauną /kɑu̯nɑ̃/ “ulcer”

ᚷ    *gebō /ɣeβɔː/ “gift”

ᚹ    *wunjō /wunjɔː/ “joy”

ᚺ    *haglaz /xɑɣlɑz/ “hail(storm)”

ᚾ    *naudiz /nɑu̯ðiz/ “need, distress, force”

ᛁ    *īsaz /iːsɑz/ “ice”

ᛃ    *jērą /jɛːrɑ̃/ “year”

ᛇ    *ēhaz /eːxɑz/ < *īhwaz /iːxʷɑz/ OR *īwaz /iːwɑz/ “yew”

ᛈ    *perþō /perθɔː/  “?pear-tree, ??game-box (uncertain)”

ᛉ    *elhaz /elxɑz/ OR *algiz /ɑlɣiz/ “elk”

ᛊ    *sōwulą /sɔːwulɑ̃/ OR *sōwilą /sɔːwilɑ̃/ “sun”

ᛏ    *tīwaz /tiːwɑz/ “the god *Tīwaz (Norse Týr, Anglo-Saxon Tíw > Tue[sday])”

ᛒ    *berkaną /berkɑnɑ̃/ “birch”

ᛖ    *ehwaz /exʷɑz/ “horse”

ᛗ    *mannaz /mɑnnɑz/ “human, person”

ᛚ    *laguz /lɑɣuz/ “water, sea, ocean”

ᛜ    *ingwaz /iŋʷgʷɑz/ “the god *Frawjaz (Norse Freyr, Anglo-Saxon Fréa)”

ᛞ    *dagaz /dɑɣɑz/ “day”

ᛟ    *ōþalą /ɔːθɑlɑ̃/ OR *ōþilą /ɔːθilɑ̃/ “ancestral home”

if you would like more in-depth explanations for each of these, HERE is a good source (where we differ, i’d note that this source leans heavily on the Norse variants because our oldest attested uses come from Proto-Norse)

Storm Runes by iCheddar

These are the Runes/Alphabet I was talking about earlier

You are welcome to use them but PLEASE credit me/tag me if you post pictures of it.

Elk Bone Runes with pouch by DreamingDragonDesign

Isaac Taylor - Table of Runes, “Greeks and Goths: A Study on the Runes”, 1879.

What Are Runes?

Runes are a written alphabet used by the Germanic peoples in northern Europe until around the thirteenth century when they slowly phased out of use. The word rune is believed to be derived from an Old Germanic word rúna meaning whisper, mystery or secret [Elliott, 1959; Melville, 2003; Thorsson, 1984]. The current belief as to why the name of a language was based off a word meaning ‘secret’ is because not many people were educated in the meanings of runes and so runes were seen as a ‘secret language’ that was usually associated with magic by those who could not understand them [Elliott, 1957; Elliott, 1959; Melville, 2003; Rix, 2011].

Because runes were used by the Goths of Eastern Europe, the Saxons of Germany, the Netherlands, and England as well as the Danes and Vikings of Scandinavia; there are many different variations (like how both America and England both speak English however there are many differences between the spelling, pronunciation and preferred syntax) [Antonsen, 2002; Buck, 1919; Hempl, 1902; Rix, 2011]. The Scandinavian peoples are commonly referred to as Norse and since more of their runic writings have survived than any other Germanic peoples, their runes are the most commonly seen.

The Origins of Runes

In Norse tradition it was Odin (the god of wisdom, communication and magic) who traded his eye to drink from the Fount of Wisdom and brought knowledge of the runes to humans when he left Asgard to travel the Earth (Midgard – Middle Land). Scholars, however believe that runes did not originate from the Norse and are instead derived from existing alphabets with which the Germanic peoples came into contact [Antonsen, 2003; Mellville, 2003; Hempl, 1902]. In evidence of this, the oldest known runic inscription is much closer to Proto-Germanic than it is to Old Norse [Antonsen, 2002; Hempl, 1902; Melville, 2003]. In 1874, the Danish scholar L. Wimmer theorised that runes were actually adapted from an early Latin alphabet around the second century B.C.E and in 1899, Norwegian philologist S. Bugge proposed that runes were actually adapted from the ancient Greek alphabet by the Goths [Antonsen, 2002; Hempl, 1902; Melville, 2003]. However in 1928, Swedish scholar C. Marstrander suggested the more popular theory that runes might actually be related to an ancient Etruscan script from pre-Roman Italy [Melville, 2003]. This theory was more likely due to the fact that several early Roman texts refer to Germanic tribes living in the Alpine region of northern Italy around the fourth century B.C.E. [Melville, 2003].

Reference List:

Antonsen, E 2002. Runes and Germanic Linguistics, Mouton de Gruyter: New York. [link to ebook]

Blum, R 1982. The Book of Runes, Oracle Books: Los Angeles. 

Buck, C 1919. ‘An ABC Inscribed in Old English Runes’, Modern Philology, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 219-224.

Elliott, R 1957. ‘Runes, Yews and Magic’, Speculum, Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 250-261.

Elliott, R 1959. Runes: An Introduction, Manchester University Press: Manchester. [link to ebook]

Hempl, G 1902. ‘The Runes and the Germanic Shift’, The Journal of Germanic Philology, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 70-75.

Melville, F 2003. The Book of Runes, Quarto Publishing: London.

Rix, R 2011. ‘Runes and Roman: Germanic Literacy and the significance of Runic Writing’, Textual Cultures, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 114-144.

Thorsson, E 1984. Futhark: A Handbook of Rune Magic, Weiser Books: San Francisco. [link to ebook]

I feel like Rune Magic doesn’t get enough credit or recognition in the modern Pagan world and it really should. Runes are so easy to use, are great for beginners and experts alike. I’ve scanned a few Runes in here with their power and how to apply that power. Keep in mind you can use Runes in any way you feel comfortable. Sometimes, I just draw a Rune on my hand, that way I’m reminded of my spell or wish nearly every moment. Runes are the perfect visualization tool. Put them to good use!

I use runes so much more often than sigils for some reason.

runes rule *fist pump*

Oooo~!

Ooooooooooo, wannnnnnttt. 😳😍😍😍😍

Because it recently came up again, here’s my tutorial for a protective rune chain perfect for a house cleansing ritual or a new home (instructions linked)!  Enjoy! Witchy Words: A Witchcraft Blog

I had to reblog this to see that this is just inches away from 9k notes… which means I could see this roll around to 10k soon.  Whoa.

A custom order I made a while ago: Witch Runes made of rosewood and sealed with coconut oil… they have the softest touch.

If you are interested in a custom set of runes of any kind… mail me at [email protected]