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Episode 121: Runes
541 Plays3 months ago
Welcome back Witches, in this episode we dive into the ancient and mystical world of Runes, exploring their origins, meanings, and how they're used for divination. So get in loser, we're casting rune stones and unlocking the secrets of the universe together!
We would be forever thankful if you left our podcast a 5-Star review. If you really loved the show and want more Get in Loser content, check out our Supercast & Buy Me a Coffee links below. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @GetinWitches, on TikTok @weredoingwitchcraft, or email us at [email protected]. You can support our show through our links below.
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Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio- The Witch
References:
- Elin aka MooseLady (n.d.). Learn the Runes- Valhyr. Valhyr. https://valhyr.com/blogs/learn/the-runes
- Spectrum (2023). A Guide to Introducing Rune Stones to your Spiritual Practice. Spectrum Store. https://www.spectrumstore.sg/blogs/blog/a-guide-to-introducing-rune-stones-to-your-spiritual-practice
- Donald Tyson (2004). What is Rune Meditation. Llewellyn. https://www.llewellyn.com/encyclopedia/article/2355
- Madame Pamita (2021). How to Use Runes in Spells, Magic and Divination. Parlour of Wonders. https://parlourofwonders.com/blogs/blog/how-to-use-runes-in-spells-magic-and-divination
- Youtube: Eadig- Runes Explained: History, Lore, & How to Use Them
The Norse Witch- Their entire rune series
Esoteric Explorations- Runes: The Most Powerful Gift to Mankind
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Upcoming Episode
00:00:00
Speaker
Do you feel drawn to learn more about witchcraft in the occult but feel lost on where to start? Then welcome to Get In, Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft, a podcast all about what it means to be a witch and where to get started on your journey. Join us as we navigate through various witchy topics and share what we've learned about the craft. So get in witches as we dive into the divinatory practice of using runes.
00:00:50
Speaker
started recording in that recording I started researching my Japanese deity episode, which spoiler alert for any of our listeners, and like a month, you will be getting an episode on a Japanese deity. Why I decided to go ahead and research that like, you know, five episodes too soon is beyond me. I was like, wait, is that the next one? Did I mess that up? especially know
00:01:18
Speaker
Um, I have lost my mind just a little bit. Um, so. Look, I feel like we thrive in chaos. It's fine. We do. Everything's fine. We get it there. We get it. We get it done.
Thriving in Chaos and Social Media Challenges
00:01:31
Speaker
And it's spectacular every time. So. Yeah. Yeah. It is there to complain about.
00:01:39
Speaker
Only a little bit of stress on our end, but it's fine. A little bit. Not too much. Not too much. Just fine. Nothing that we can't handle. And then I'm like, I will make sure the newsletter is going to be completely prepped and everything. Did I do any of that? No. I do still got some time. Yeah, still got some time. Yeah. Oh, I did. I did like schedule our social media stuff. I did a lot of stuff for that. Yeah. But I think it's like catching up now where like, we're not going to have anything. So I got to do it again. And I'm like, oh, I forgot. I was going to, I was going to make this a thing. Like I was going to be consistent. Right. I have a hard time. And then ADD.
00:02:29
Speaker
80D in life. Yeah. Well, these past few weeks have been crazy for both of us. So you know what? All we can do is give us ourselves grace and do what we can. It's good. We're trying our best. Is this episode going to release in like three days? Yeah. Is that a problem? No, it's fine. Everything's fine. Look at it. Recorded, edited, and scheduled. It's fine.
Shopping Adventures and Frustrations
00:02:56
Speaker
hi Are you crying? No, we're not crying. I'm laughing.
00:03:04
Speaker
I'm so happy. I'm just so happy to be here. But in all reality, it's good to be back. We've had a little break. Yeah, you you got to do some traveling and lots of target shopping. I was jealous of. I do miss Target. I think I went like at least 10 times. I'm not joking. like It was a lot. And it wasn't enough. No. Luckily enough, it wasn't. Did you get to see all the beautiful Halloween stuff that won't ship overseas or to APOs?
00:03:40
Speaker
who Sure did. Some of it was like, oh, I really want this. Like when we went to TJ Maxx and like commercials and stuff, I'm like, oh, I really want this. And they had this, one of those like, I guess now everyone's going crazy for because of course, the Medusa heads. I want it, but I was like, there ain't no fucking way that is going to fit in my suitcase. and left it um So I will say I'm so happy my sister-in-law Nicole bought one and I'm so glad she got it. Yeah. I don't want to steal it. It's fine, but it's gorgeous. It's gorgeous. Absolutely. I keep seeing everything online in my house.
00:04:25
Speaker
Yeah. I see everything online and I'm like, I'm like, try to add stick heart to see if it'll ship. And they're like, we don't ship to APO. And I'm like, that's rude. It is rude. It is rude. So rude. All the things I don't like. Cost the same as shipping to New York. Just ship it to me. Yeah. So what if it has to go on a slow boat? I don't give a fuck. I don't care. I don't care. I know there was even a lot of stuff that Anthony was like, Oh, I'd really like this in my office. And like, It just won't ship. And I'm not going to ask people to go do it for me because that's too much.
Germany's Garbage System vs. Japan's
00:05:00
Speaker
Is it though? They loved me and do it. I don't know. Yeah. Well, and the other thing too, like outside of that stuff, we, so we have a Costco membership still.
00:05:14
Speaker
because we have vouchers that we need to use before we have until like December to use them. And I was like, Oh, we'll just order online. You can't use the fucking voucher online. You have to do it in person. Yeah. Cause we were like, Oh, they have like a, you know, we have cats and litter boxes are disgusting. They have the litter robot at Costco right now. And it's got what's Costco price. And it has the, um, whatchamacallit, the Costco manufacturer. That's the word.
00:05:48
Speaker
I'm like, what's the word? It has a manufacturer's like discount on it too. So instead of being like $800 for this like specific model, it's only I think it was four or something. And then we have a voucher for like 300. So I was like, I will pay like a hundred something out of pocket for a litter robot that like ah scoops all the poop and shit out and puts it in a trash bag for me. they wouldn't ship it to APO. And then I was like, okay, let me, I asked Jen, I was like, can I ship it to you? And then I'll like Venmo you money to ship it to me. And she was like, absolutely. So then I was like, all right, ready to check out, gets the little voucher puts in the code. And it's like, that code isn't ah a like, whatever. It's not like a, I forget how they word it, but it wasn't like one that I could use. And I was like, what the hell? So then I Google it. You can't use the fucking vouchers online. You can only use them in store in person. And I'm like,
00:06:45
Speaker
What the fuck, Oscar? Yeah.
00:06:50
Speaker
This is the only time I've had a struggle with Costco in all my life. I've loved this store my whole life and now I'm so annoyed. I'm gonna need Costco to step up their fucking game. Like, do not love the military. Is that what you're saying? Right? Love your troops overseas. Like, I hate to be a military dependant, Karen. But in this instance, this is bullshit. I'm like, please, for the love of God, please. I need this robot. I need it. I'm tired of scooping poop. but And like we've never bought one before because of how expensive they are. So we're like, oh, this is like a perfect opportunity. Like spending $100 on it is not that bad.
00:07:33
Speaker
God damn it. I know. Costco. If any of my listeners work at Costco or knows a way around it, please let us know. Fix this issue. If you need this. Tell Costco, do better. I need her to have this because I've seen these videos of this fucking poop scooper robot and I need her to have it. Yes. I need it horribly. I had to clean out a litter box yesterday because it was trash day. are so like if you're if you've never been to Germany. Our trash system is really hard. Yeah. So we have basically four types of trash cans. Well, one of them is just bags. So we have a blue bin and that's all paper. So cardboard, paper, like flyers and shit that you get in the mail all goes in that.
00:08:26
Speaker
And then we have a brown bin and that's considered compost, but compost here is different because you can put meat in it, which like you don't do that. If you're making compost, you don't put like meat. It's just like vegetables and eggshells and coffee grounds and that kind of shit. So like leftover cooked meat and vegetables and coffee grounds and tea and all of that goes in the brown bin. And then your black bin is your smallest trash can. And that's regular trash. And that only gets picked up every two weeks. And it's tiny. We can fit two full trash bags in our black bin. So every time that it's like black bin trash, I'm like, cause we, the litter, cat litter has to go in black. You can't put that even though we use um natural, we use like compostable litter. You can't put that in the brown bin, which also is weird to me because you can put meat in there.
00:09:24
Speaker
Yeah. They don't use it as compost. They burn it. So why can't I put natural litter in there? I don't know. But if we have black trash coming, I'm like cleaning out the cat boxes and like stuffing the trash can as full as I can, because it only comes every two weeks. Yeah. So I was really... happy Yeah, well, and then the other one is yellow bags, and yellow bags is like your recyclables, like aluminum
Pet Regulations and Import Experiences in Germany
00:09:48
Speaker
cans and plastic bottles and um the wax-coated cardboard, like what food comes in, like milk cartons and that kind of stuff. And you can have as many of those as you want. Like yellow bag and black trash get picked up together, and you'll see like everyone's black trash cans out, and then they'll have like 20 yellow bags just lining the sidewalk to be picked up.
00:10:11
Speaker
So they don't care how many of those you have as long as you separate it appropriately. But black trash always gives me anxiety because that's, you know, in America, everything basically just goes in one bin and you have to pay for a recycling bin if you want to recycle. But in Germany, you're forced to and there's all these crazy rules. So if I don't know, like if I'm just not 100% sure on something, I'll just put it in regular trash because I don't want to like you know, put something in a trash bin that it's not supposed to be in for like recyclable or anything like that. And then like our regular trash bin is like this tiny little skinny fits two trash bags can and I'm like a little stress every time every time I'm like
00:10:52
Speaker
please just take my can. Yes. Yeah. Just pick it up. Yeah. That's how it's really strict in Japan too. Um, and I think like, well, for ours we have, we have four, we have the regular trash and then we have, which we have like a, I mean, it's smaller than a regular American trash can or trash bin, but it's not like that little or whatever. We can only fit two bags, but then we have one for, um paper, one for plastic and one for cans. We have to separate all that. And we can only use clear trash bags. And so you can't use any sort of colored bags here. And if you do use colored bags, not only like they won't pick them up, but they use the clear bags because like
00:11:41
Speaker
that trash men will pull out your trash bags out of the bins and they will inspect the bags. And if there's anything in the bag that they don't want to pick up, they will leave the whole fucking thing and then put a note on your trash bin of why they're not going to pick it up. And I'm like, But it's never happened to us, thankfully, because I'm super anal. We're washing everything out. The shit is getting picked up. I don't give a fuck. It is getting picked up. so We have heard horror stories with the Gilbert socks, which are the yellow bags. you That's like your recyclables. So your cans, plastic, like styrofoam goes in there.
00:12:17
Speaker
wax-coated cardboard, like any of that stuff goes in those bags. But we've never had this happen, but we all are also like anal about trying to make sure that we do things appropriately. And like I said, if I don't know, like if I just cannot find anything to tell me like, yes, this goes in that bag, I'll put it in our black trash. But like we've heard horror stories of the trash people coming to pick up yellow sacks from people and it not being appropriately like sorted or like something that's not supposed to be in there is just in there. and they'll dump the whole bag on their property and tell them they have to sort it and figure it out. And our black trash. If you were in America, you would get cut. Like, I'm sorry. Right? Right? The black trash, the one that's just like any trash, your can is based on your family size. So because Anthony and I are just two adults, not like children in diapers or anything, we get the smallest trash can that they have.
00:13:14
Speaker
Yeah. And I'm like, but do my dogs count? Cause I have to pick up dog poop every day. I have to throw my litter in this. And they're like, no, if you have children in diapers though, you get a big can. Oh, okay. Yeah. So like families with children or like just multiple people in a household gets a bigger can, but because we're just two adults and we shouldn't have that much trash, which I get like trash is an issue, but like, because because we're just two people and shouldn't have a lot of trash. We get this tiny, tiny can that I'm like stressed about every week. Women have periods, dog shit, cats have litter. like And they're like, we don't care about that. We don't care. Yeah. Free bleed and let your cats poop outside. I don't know. Well, that's what everyone else does. I'm constantly cleaning up other cat poop in my yard too. Yeah. Because we've got wrapped poop.
00:14:12
Speaker
We're up to 11 cats that come on our property like regularly, like daily. We see 11 different cats daily. Which they're cute, but also they drive my dogs insane. And it's like it's not even like their trays. They're like some of these cats. No, these are all like well taken care of like beautiful fucking cats. Mm-hmm. That's how like in England they're like it's so weird cuz like you know in America Usually like you don't really see a lot of people like letting their indoor or cats like outside for any reason But like in England even when you would adopt a cat like it was in the rules That you had to allow your windows to be open so many hours during the day to allow your cat to be able to go outside however, they wanted to and it's like I
00:14:55
Speaker
that defeat the purpose of having a fucking cat. Yeah. Here it's like dogs. There's a lot of like rules, right? Like you can't leave them alone for more than four hours. You're supposed to take them on daily walks or like stimulation outside. There's like all these regulations, but for cats, we don't care. Do as you please. It's your cat. Like there's not, when I brought Nike in, ah well Nike and Tolkien, I think I told you like, I felt like I was breaking so many laws because nobody gave a shit about their paperwork. But with the dogs, we had to have like a vet come to the airport and check them and like certify that all their paperwork was good, that their shot records were good, that like everything was
00:15:38
Speaker
in line for them to be in country. And the cats, I'm like, can somebody please just for my sanity, look at the paperwork, just glance at it. I don't even care if you read it, just pretend because you're giving me anxiety. Yeah, just tell me that I'm doing okay. Okay. Yeah, they did not give a shit about the cats. They left Tolkien on a belt. They were like, Oh, he's probably an oversized baggage. And I'm like, I had to go track a worker down because there was nobody there. I'm like, hi, can I just take him? And they're like, yeah. Why are you asking me? Is it your cat? I'm like, so anyone could have walked up and took my cat? Because nobody's watching. I had so much anxiety bringing the cats in because I just wanted someone to tell me like, yep, your paperwork is good.
00:16:25
Speaker
Yeah, I looked at it. fine Yeah, I even told Marie because Sven and Marie picked me up. I'm like, can you ask someone because I feel like somebody should look at it. And even they were like, nobody like checked anything. And I was like, no, and it's giving me anxiety because I'm like, I feel like they're gonna be like, you broke the law. Yeah, you imported an animal. No, they didn't care. Yeah, they didn't care. They told Sven, they were like, cause Sven was like, I'll go ask. And he like went and asked, like one of the, there was like a TSA type person there and they were like, Oh no, for cats, it's fine. As long as like everything was good when they got on the plane, we don't care. I was like, wow. Yeah. But we're not talking about garbage and traveling with animals. We're not.
Introduction to Runes and Their History
00:17:13
Speaker
We're not. and we're out We've rambled about that for a while. Yeah. It's like 23 minutes later. It's fine. Sorry, guys. Sorry. Just go with it. You love us. It's fine. Again, we haven't we haven't done this in a month. We haven't. So we forgot how this works. yeah We're slowly going to figure it out. like Yeah, yeah, yeah. not But we're going to talk about runes today, and I'm excited. yeah although I hated this research. I'm going to just be clear. It wasn't the easiest research on the planet, surprisingly, because I feel like
00:17:49
Speaker
this because like being a Norse pagan or because like Vikings are so popular, like you see runes more often now than I ever have in my entire life, but this was definitely a more difficult topic to research and because we weren't finding the information we were looking for like online I stuck mostly to YouTube videos and like how people explained them there that way our information wouldn't be the same when we did the episode so even then like my research is based on YouTube videos that I don't know like where they got the information from so
00:18:33
Speaker
If it's wrong, that's why. if We did our best. this was well and I just feel like with runes as well, like we can talk a lot about runes and a lot about like the history and like how to use it and stuff, but whenever it comes to visualizing yourself using them, you're going to have to actually see pictures. You're going to have to actually like see things in person or just on the you know whatever like on the internet or or just as you're like researching it to really understand what we're talking about because some things are probably not going to be translated well because there's only so much that we can say without having a picture in front of your face.
00:19:16
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So maybe like the week that this episode, well, I guess that's maybe in like three days when the episode comes out, we'll post on our social media as kind of maybe just like the runic alphabets at the very least so that you can see what they look like to kind of, if you've never seen them, you know, to understand what we're talking about. yeah And if you are super familiar with them and things don't make sense, or we say wrong things, let us know because, again, this was ah ah definitely a harder episode for us to research. It really was. Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, I guess just getting into it, um let's talk a little bit about background and history. So, rooms at their core are historical characters whose purpose is to reproduce and mimic certain sounds,
00:20:06
Speaker
which in turn create words and meanings. So they were said to have been discovered by Odin and the word rune comes from the Old English and Norse word rune and it it means like mystery secret or whisper apparently and they were originally used for divination but were later made into a writing system during the Viking Age and when written runes can be read either right to left or left to right, so you can write them anyway, which I feel like makes some of this even harder when you're like trying to research this because it's like, depending on the person writing them, they could read you know right to left or they could be reading left to right, so the meaning could be like completely different.
00:20:50
Speaker
The reason for their distinctive look was because they were originally carved into stone and wood, making it difficult to create circles or other shapes. Because if you've ever seen them, they're like they can consist of a bunch of straight lines that connect in different ways. So to make the carvings easy, they were created by drawing distinctive strokes. And to further understand this, it's important to know that the shapes of the runes also described their character. So like a downward stroke would symbolize stability, while an upward stroke would indicate mobility. And then a downward stroke that was followed by an upward stroke, like think like a V, like the shape of a V, that would symbolize divinity. So like depending on which way the line was drawn, it also had some symbolism into what it meant.
00:21:39
Speaker
I love that symbolism, yeah like a little bit about it because I feel like that's something where now that you say it, it's like, oh, it's intuitive intuitive to think it would be like that, but it's something that you wouldn't necessarily know unless you knew. Yeah, so like if you know nothing about them and you see them, you're like, oh, this is just a bunch of lines, which for me, I feel like that's kind of like what I thought. And then the more I started researching this, and there was one YouTuber, she is in our show notes. I don't remember which one it was, but she was very thorough on like the history, the shape, and like the ways of drawing them.
00:22:18
Speaker
And so she made a lot of this make sense for me. And I was like, OK, this is starting to click. And it makes a lot of sense once you like understand like how they're drawn, why they're drawn that way. So yeah. So runes have been around for a very long time. The oldest runes were found to date back to the year zero um and also seen between the year one and 250 CE during the Roman Iron Age. The oldest rune though was found in Norway in what is called the Svengerud rune stone. And I tried looking up how to say this and I could not fucking find it. So if I said it. Yeah. A lot of this language I feel like was not. ah There weren't pronunciations. I don't know if it's just because it's so old or
00:23:07
Speaker
Yeah, so yeah I don't know, I could have been completely butchering that, and that's totally fine, but you know how it is. So, yeah. The Svingarud Runestone is essentially a sandstone object that was found in a grave in 2021. And before this discovery, the oldest ruins were located in Denmark at Vimoskombe. dating back to 160 AD. And just in general, runes have been found throughout Scandinavia as well as throughout different societies in Europe who use Germanic languages.
00:23:41
Speaker
Yeah, and while there are various rune systems tied to many cultures that can be found and used today, most of what we're going to be discussing are the three main runic systems, those being the Elder Futhark, the Futhork, and the Younger Futhark. And so whenever I was looking up the different types of runic systems, I found some research that was talking about how Futhark is literally just like the name of the runic alphabet like just in general, but it's still like I don't know. It's still confusing when you think about it. Some of the stuff is confusing and it is what it is. But the younger Futhark and the elder Futhark, whenever you're comparing them, the elder Futhark is said to be the first language of the runes and is the oldest form of the runic alphabets between the three.
00:24:34
Speaker
Yeah, so the Elder Futhark dates back to the first century to approximately 800 CE is what I could find. And it contains 24 proto-Germanic or Nordic runes. And the symbolism of the 24 links to the fact that in Norse mythology, there's 24 pathways between the nine worlds placed on the world tree. So each pathway represents a rune that can be used to unlock the mysteries of that pathway. The Norse also believed that the number 24 helped to both shape and hold the world together. So that was like a little interesting piece that I found.
00:25:13
Speaker
that. Yeah. Whenever I was looking into this too, they were talking about the alphabet um is often arranged within three groups of eight runes. And it's usually arranged in um a group called an A tier. which translates to either eight or clan or group, depending on like what translation you're using. So to make it even more difficult to kind of understand. But the Elder Futhark is the alphabet most often seen in the Runic alphabet rune sets that we see. like
00:25:51
Speaker
available like in stores or just like whenever you're researching it and you're looking at it online, you're usually seeing the Elder Futhark. But the knowledge about it is limited on this version of runes because it is so old. um So there's just something to keep in mind as well. Yeah. And then the younger Futhark or the scan it's also known as like the Scandinavian or Danish variation. came into play around 600 CE to about 1100 CE. And this runic system contains 16 Icelandic runes, and it's the youngest of the three um main ones that we're talking about today. And the reason that there's only 16 runes within this system is because
00:26:36
Speaker
Some of the runes were used as a number of different sounds within the language. And the biggest difference with this system is that some of the runes were combined to come together as one single rune that had dual meanings and adaptations that transformed into a singular one. So the 24 from the Elder Futh Arc, they just took and combined a couple of them. So that became 16 instead of 24 and it those combined ones just had like dual meanings or like multiple meanings based on the runes that were combined to make them. And then the last of the main three is the Anglo-Saxon futhork. And it's so it's spelled a little, the footh it's futhork instead of futhark, which i don't I don't know why, but you know, they had to change it and make it their own.
Runic Codes and Odin's Mythology
00:27:26
Speaker
So this one contains 29 runes, along with five additional runes that are not part of the Elder Futhark, and a further four runes that were later added by the North Umbrian Anglo-Saxon in the year 800. But these last four are like rarely ever used, and there's I couldn't find a whole lot of information on them either. so um Additionally, there's also like three poems that are tied to each of the like runic alphabets to help describe each of their individual attributes. They're often used in spellwork to help strengthen the spell, like if you're using runes. And these are for the Elder Futhark, this one doesn't have a corresponding rune poem, but for the Anglo-Saxon Futhark,
00:28:12
Speaker
This dates back to the 8th or 9th century, and it describes the 29 runes. The younger Futhark has an old Norwegian excerpt that was written during the end of the 12th century, and the Icelandic excerpt was written during the late 16th century, and both list only 16 runes. Those were in different languages, so I don't know what they're called. or how you use them if you don't know the language. So, and I was not about to try and pronounce those because there wasn't like online pronunciations, but you can Google that. So moving out of the history in the background, let's talk about the runic codes and the at division. So the word at means group division or number of eight, or as Sam was saying earlier, earlier I think there was like clan was added in there, even in each runic system has its own at divisions.
00:29:07
Speaker
which are basically just groups of eight runes that are listed per row. And the divisions are thought to symbolize the rune master's path to enlightenment through the lessons of each of the runes through that system. And each rune has a symbolic meaning that represents the fundamental aspect of reality. So since each system has an et division, this means that each rune has its own et number. And taking the number, you can create a runic code. And originally, this was done to conceal the meaning of the runes from other people. But this can also be done to help you create spells.
00:29:44
Speaker
So the first way that you would do this is you would find the corresponding et, like the number for each of the runes, and write that number instead of the rune itself or its meaning. So for example, if the rune that you were going to use was in the third et, which is the row, and it was the second rune in that row, then you would write 3 colon 2 instead of the meaning or the rune itself. So okay, the second way, this might be a little confusing because it's hard to describe this particular thing because without seeing it, like you really don't, you might not know what I'm talking about. But this is called an isruna, I think is how you say it. And this combines the actual rune, like the drawing of it.
00:30:30
Speaker
Being used with the et and the number placement so basically what you're doing with the rune is you would draw the rune but you're going to add extra lines or spokes that combine the rune with its numbered code so in this case you would add three spokes on one part of the rune and two spokes on the other with a rune that would be in the third et as the second rune in that row. And again, like I know this is probably super confusing without seeing it. This is kind of what we were talking about at the beginning.
00:31:01
Speaker
um Maybe we, if we remember, we can post one on the social media so you can see like exactly what I'm talking about. But this was a way that people that used runes in their spell work would use like a rune to hide like its meaning from other people was by adding extra spokes depending on the et and the number and the in the row. Hopefully that makes kind of sense. ah That makes sense to me. course Whenever you started describing it, I was like, I am not following. But yeah, I totally get it. So hopefully, all I was like, give me a second. Let me collect myself and read this again and see.
00:31:38
Speaker
Now, like I can visualize it in my head, so okay i I can see it. Perfect. Let's move on a little bit to some of the lore surrounding the runes. To understand more about runes, we need to understand more about the legend surrounding runes and the Norse people and how runes were significant magical tools that were used by the Norse people. so Whenever you think about Norse pi like paganism, Norse mythology, Odin should immediately pop into your mind. And we've talked about Odin many times on the podcast. He was a leader of the gods and he was always seeking knowledge and wisdom. And he was big on sacrificing for the sake of knowledge. And that's something that when you think about Odin, I mean, that's all of the stories are kind of about him sacrificing for the sake of knowledge. We've even talked about that previously on the podcast. And one of the stories with him being
00:32:34
Speaker
like or him having an eye plucked out in exchange for wisdom. like This is something that we've talked about. It is definitely documented in Norse paganism, so that doesn't change when we talk about runes. In Norse mythology, there was a world tree called Idrassil, and this tree was said to support the world, and at the base of the tree was what a well called Erd, and this well supplied water and nourishment to the tree. And so at the Urd, three powerful women called the Norns lived there, and they controlled the fate of all beings, including the gods, by using runes that were carved into Idrisel's trunk. And so the energy of the runes extended through the upper world, the middle world, and the lower world, which allow the Norns to essentially control all beings.
00:33:28
Speaker
And so Odin was very envious of the Norns and the power and the knowledge that they had to influence fate, and he wanted to gain that knowledge. So he decided He was going to go ahead and hang himself from the tree of Idrassal to peer into the well of the Urd. And so he hung himself upside down from Idrassal for nine days so that he could gain insights from the knowledge the Norns possessed. And while hanging from the Idrassal, he was in this liminal space between life and death. And he called to the runes just by being in that liminal space.
00:34:09
Speaker
And on the ninth night, he saw the runes in the well, and they only showed themselves to Odin because of his sacrifice of hanging upside down in this liminal space for an extended period of time. And the runes didn't just show themselves to Odin, they allowed Odin to understand them. So when he left Idrissel, he was able to heal wounds, blind enemies, ruin the weapons of his enemies, wake the dead, win and keep a lover, free himself from constraints, put out fires, expose and banish practitioners from malevolent magic, and protect loved ones in battle.
00:34:45
Speaker
So basically like everything. Like yeah like I'm sitting here like, and this, and this, and this, and this. yeah And so, you know, while Odin is, well, let me just back up real fast. And so like with this imagery of him hanging upside down, um I didn't realize this whenever I was researching it, or I never placed it before this research. But when we think about tarot symbology, Odin is associated with the hanged man card because of this myth. And I'm just like, wow, I didn't even place that until I was researching this. So just, you know, to let you guys know about that. But we're learning every day.
00:35:27
Speaker
We are. We're learning every day. While Odin is often associated with runes because of this particular lore, the real masters of the runes are the Norns. So the lore of the of rune work calls us to make a sacrifice yourself and learn runes to work with them in our magic and also like also shows how powerful like women are and like how powerful and magical and knowledgeable we are and how much men really want our knowledge and want the wisdom that we possess within our wombs. I will say too, it just goes to show how often um men are given credit for
00:36:09
Speaker
for things because I will say on every video that I went to on YouTube on runes that discussed the discovery of them was all it was all Odin when it you know when you think about it yeah no the the Norns would have been the keepers of the runes and that's where he gained the knowledge like he might have discovered them from them but they had them first they were the masters like yeah yeah they had the knowledge and then like the insight that he was given, like this is what they like worked with every day and yeah he was just allowed into that world. It's not like that was what he did. So I'm gonna say that. But we digress. But also, yeah.
00:36:57
Speaker
um Women are powerful, women are magic, women women are amazing.
Methods of Working with Runes
00:37:01
Speaker
yeah So anyway, so let's talk about how to work with runes. We've talked a bit about the background, their symbolism, the lore, all that shit. Let's talk about how you fucking work with them. So runes at their core are a system of divination and spiritual guidance. They consist of a set of symbols that represent a specific energy or concept and that like just breaking it down to like just the bones, that is what it is. You can root use runes in your practice to help develop intuition, gain insights, and make decisions, and each letter in the runic alphabet carries a significant magical meaning. So there are different methods when using runes you can
00:37:43
Speaker
you know use them in a variety of different ways and you know we're gonna talk about them now. So one of the biggest ways and most popular ways is just rune casting. And this is one of the easiest methods you can do when working with runes. So all you'll need is a set of runes and that's really it. like That's all you need. So what you would do in this method is you would place your runes in a pouch and hold them in your hand while you focus your intention on a question. And once you've focused in a on a particular question or intention, you'll gently shake or scatter the runes onto a soft surface. And from there, you select a few runes that speak to you or that draw your attention and then use those runes to offer guidance that you seek.
00:38:30
Speaker
so you can do this by referring to a rune guidebook or if like you see a rune and you're just like i know that this rune means this or like you put that symbolism there and then you consult the guidebook kind of like with tarot it's like looking at the different symbolisms there and kind of divining what you see. It's the same thing with runes. And so over time, just like with any other forms of divination, you will develop a deeper connection with your runes and use your own intuition as a guide, which is the main purpose of it.
00:39:03
Speaker
I also went and just kind of googled how people use runes on YouTube and I found a bunch of practitioners that do a bunch of different like kind of cool things. And the first one I came across was rune yoga. So one person said that they basically like they get the i like the image of the rune in their mind and they create the shape of that rune in a yoga pose. and they hold it for you know like as long as they can or like through so many breaths to help both like connect with it and embody the runic system that they're working with, which I thought was kind of cool. I love that. Right? Another one said they use hand gestures or they'll simply draw the rune in the air like with their finger to help like with their manifestations.
00:39:50
Speaker
you could create or carve your own rune stones too for divination. And I know that like a lot of people use different mediums for this depending on like what their practice is like or what they're like what kind of work they're doing, I guess. So some people will carve it into like animal bones. Some people use like specific stones or like crystals that they are like that kind of fit what they're going for. And you can also just carve them into wood. So like sky's the limit there. ye Then there's bind runes, which is a whole different like thing in and of itself. This is the practice of combining runes for manifestation or to create helms for protection. So it's like the combination of multiple runes that kind of
00:40:37
Speaker
embody what you're you know trying to gain from them. When working with runes it's also suggested that you speak in incantation during your practice because this helps to bring power to the rune and connect you to the rune or runes that you're working with and this is where the poems mentioned earlier could come in handy if you could understand their meanings but you know everything ah about witchcraft and like this type of practice is really just based on what works for you and what makes sense to you and your own intuition really puts like that power into it so just you know if you came up with something that whether it's like a little rhyme or incantation that you could use that makes sense for what you're trying to do with those runes that would work just as well as any of those poems would
00:41:26
Speaker
Yeah. Maybe even better because it's personal. Exactly. Yeah. And then it's not like you know you're sitting there trying too hard. like Not that you would be trying too hard, but you know like sometimes whenever I'm trying like to really like do something the way I think it's, oh, well, this is how X, Y, and Z does it. So I'm going to do it this way, and I'm going to use this exact wording and stuff. It's not as powerful because it's not coming directly from me. And if I'm too focused on getting it right, i'm not my intention isn't always there the way it's supposed to be. yeah yeah I agree. I mean, the poems are great. I love that. But also like yeah doing something on your own is good too. Another thing that you could do is just meditating with them. Like meditating with runes can be a great way to build a connection with them and understand them on an intuitive and unconscious level.
00:42:18
Speaker
And you know we see this a lot with other forms of divination, especially tarot, like you know ah something that is a common practice. Whenever you get a new deck, you sleep with it underneath your pillow, you spend time with it, you meditate with it, and you you know try to build that connection. with that medium and the same thing with runes. And in our show notes, we have an entire article by Donald Tyson about rune meditation and the different techniques you can use to meditate with your runes. So definitely check that out if you're interested in ah a deep dive of rune meditation because it's a lot, um but it's very interesting.
00:42:56
Speaker
And then lastly, something I thought that was really interesting when it comes to like something that you can use just you know as a way to like work with runes is tattoos. And I know quite a few people who have runes tattooed on them for protection and things like that. And i I absolutely love that idea. And that's something that you can use as a way to bring runes into your life and your magic and make it very permanent and very personable. Yeah. Yeah. And then just to kind of like close this episode, I'm going to talk about a little bit more in depth on divination with runes.
00:43:34
Speaker
So what's important when it comes to using runes in your divinatory practice is to understand that there's no right or wrong way to do so. like we I feel like we say this a lot, but especially when you're like new to like practicing or using anything or even just divination in general, you're always trying to like, what's the right way? What's the right way? So it's important to know like, there isn't really one like, what works for you might not work for me, what works for me might not work for Sam, like, everybody has their own way that thing, like the way that things work for them.
00:44:09
Speaker
So, there's not a set of like rules on how runes were used in divination historically. There's only mention that they were used. So for this type of practice, just trust your gut, do what feels right to you, and these are just some of examples of how others use runes in their divinatory practice for some like loose guidelines. So one type of reading is just a simple one-rune reading, and this represents a single word, essentially. So for this, you'll place all the runes in a bowl, a bag, a pile on the table, like, however, hold your question in your mind, or you can even speak it out loud, and then you draw a single rune from the group.
00:44:51
Speaker
And if you need more information, ask for it and choose another single rune. And this is the easiest way for like beginners to really get started is just doing that, like single pool based on your question and then like interpreting the meaning of that rune. The next one was a three rune reading, and this represents the three norms or the fates to represent past, present, and future. So this reading is just like the one rune pool, but you would pull three runes while you're asking your question, and the first pull represents the past, the second represents the present, and the third represents the future outcome. A second version of this would be to pull three runes for each, so you would pull three runes for the past, three for the present, and three for the future, and then spend some time interpreting those meanings.
00:45:45
Speaker
Next is the fourfold wheel. So this one's a little bit different in that you're going to hand pick your first rune that acts as your significator. And the way you do this is to think about your question and then find the rune that corresponds to that question for you. um This rune is going to be the center of what will essentially be across when you're done. So you would then choose a rune as your past and a rune as your present, and these two are placed horizontally on either side of your significator, then you would choose a rune that will be your advice from the gods and a rune that will be your advice from your own subconscious. And these two runes are going to be placed vertically above and below the significator, creating a cross shape. This particular reading is used when you need ah like deeper advice surrounding your question.
00:46:41
Speaker
The next one is known as the eight fold wheel. And this version builds on the four fold wheel. So you're going to choose a significator and the four additional runes in the same placement as with the four fold wheel. But you're going to be adding four additional runes and you're basically going to be placing one in between each of your outer runes. So your active past goes between the past rune and the rune that is the advice from the gods. So it's going to be the upper left corner, essentially. Your fate-related past, and this is the thing that cannot be changed, this goes between the past rune and your subconscious advice. So that's going to be your lower left corner.
00:47:27
Speaker
Your active future goes between advice from the gods and your future. So that is your upper right corner and your fate related future. And this is like the fate related runes cannot be changed. Like that's just, you know, what's set. That one goes in between your future and your subconscious advice. So bottom ah right corner. and all of which at the end is going to create a circle with your significator in the middle. A seven rune reading represents the seven worlds in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, and it's, you know, just pulling seven runes based on your question and interpreting them. The next one is a nine rune reading. This represents the nine worlds in Norse tradition. Again, just pulling nine runes based on your question. And then there's one called Riding the Wagon.
00:48:21
Speaker
So this is where you would take all of the runes and you would cast all of them and read only the stones that are face like upright. So you would like toss them all out on a flat surface and whichever ones that are faced with the rune upright are part of your reading. And then a second version of this type of reading is to cast all of your runes and to just choose three without looking at them and you would use those three runes for your reading. So those are just like different ways that different people do divination with runes. So if it's something that you're like interested in like starting or trying out, these are just a few examples. Hopefully I explained them well enough that it makes sense on where they're placed. Maybe take some notes, like yeah rewind, write down like the placements and stuff. it this It's really hard to
00:49:18
Speaker
put this into words when there's no visual to show you like what it looks like or like what we're talking about, you know? So hopefully it makes sense. If it doesn't, I'm sorry. I don't know how better to explain it. Just Google the different like types while you're listening to this episode and yeah it all makes sense. Yeah. and like I put everyone that I found information from on YouTube, they're in our show notes, so you can also like go to their channels to see like the visuals of what they're talking about in those videos. so Yeah.
00:49:56
Speaker
yeah But that's runes. That is runes. That is runes. Catch you next week where we talk about the fucking moon, y'all. So Can't wait.
00:50:17
Speaker
That's it for this episode of Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft. You can find our source material for this episode linked in the show notes. If you love this episode, we would be forever thankful if you live with a five-star review on wherever you listen to your podcasts. If you really love this show and want more Get In Loser content, check out our Supercast links provided in the show notes or search the Supercast website for Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft. There you can purchase a movership tour podcast and receive exclusives like getting episodes early, shout outs on the show, access to our Ask Me Anything forum, our monthly newsletter, or promo code for merchandise if you want. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at Get In Witches or email us at we'redoingwitchcraft at gmail.com. Join us next week for the start of our new series all about the beautiful moon. Until then, blessed be with you.