Not everyone that’s into runes, wants to do a reading. But let’s say you’re one of those who wants to do that, either for others or just for yourself. There are several ways of reading runes, but you should really start with the Elder Futhark and find your meaning for each rune. So how do you do that?

You need to read the basic meanings of each rune, these can be found in various versions all over the Internet. I’ve got mine here on this blog, and then make your own mind up whether those meanings fit your views of the runes or not. Some do this by doing a larger number of readings and seeing how well the meanings fit with the outcome. Others meditate on each of the runes. Yet others put a rune under their pillow to try and dream of a meaning.

I’ve developed mine through readings I’ve done, and by focusing on the runes one by one. Be prepared for your interpretations to evolve, as mine have. Oh, and until you feel confident interpreting the runes the’regular’ way, don’t even think of interpreting them as lying in opposition. Some call this reversed, others call it Merkstave. A quote from Sunnyway regarding the expression ‘merkstave’:

“Rune users disagree on whether or not to place a different meaning on a rune that falls in an inverted or reversed position. Some runes look the same upside down and right side up. These cannot be ‘reversed’. Nevertheless, any of the runes may appear as a ‘merkstave’ (which literally means ‘dark stick’ and implies a ‘dark’ meaning), depending on how the runes are cast. Note that a ‘reversed’ or ‘merkstave’ meaning is not the opposite of its primary meaning, but usually has a more negative connotation.”

The merkstave isn’t always negative, or even reversed. Another expression is that the runes ‘lie in opposition’. For example the interpretation ‘change’ may have the merkstave meaning of slower, less noticeable change.

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