Magick Mondays - Rune Chains (part 1)
Magick Mondays - Rune Chains (part 1) A recently found and really good way to use the magick of runes is to create something called a rune chain. These are a string of around 5-9 runes hung together on a string or rope which help compliment and enhance an outcome. Now what I find great about these are they work with all sets of runes and I imagine the same can be said for sigils and seals although I have not attempted this yet. First off what are runes? The Runic alphabet or futhark is a form of writing system thought to be used by the Germanic peoples of Northern Europe, Britain, Iceland and of course Scandinavia. The term Rune means secret and they are thought to have derived from symbols of the Etruscan (Northern Italy) alphabet with Latin Influences. we know that the oldest set of runes are called the Elder Futhark, which were used between the the 4th and 9th centuries The earliest known carving of the entire futhark (alphabet), in order, is that on the Kylver stone from Gotland, Sweden, which dates to roughly 5th century, and had 24 runes representing not only letters of the alphabet but different aspects for instance the rune Fehu was used as a representation of the letter F and for the aspects of Cattle or Wealth (cattle at this time were highly prized and so used as wealth). Even today the Elder Futhark is the most commonly used Runic alphabet, especially in Magickal and Heathen practices, due mainly to its simplicity. The Vikings used a 16 letter system called the Younger Futhark or the Scandinavian Futhark but there is many more different alphabets the preference is yours for the purpose of this article I will use Elder futhark Before we continue however I should briefly mention Bind runes. These are usually 3-5 runes combined together to form a new rune which has a specific intention, the best way to use these is to create your own, and linking bind runes in a chain like this would work well but for now we will talk about single runes. Ok so now we understand the runes better its time to select your runes, although you can chain as many as like, it would be more productive to choose only the runes you need in smaller numbers, my preference is between 5 and 9 but the choice is yours. Spend time with pen and paper writing down and re ordering the runes according to your intent, for example a chain for luck could be ANSUZ, GEBO, THURISAZ, JERA and TIWAZ. When thinking about your intent or outcome try to produce it and focus on it as if it has already happened , for example I wish for Luck will not be effective but I am Really Lucky will work better. When you have your design and feel ready it is time to create your runes. First lets look at materials, Wood would be a great material to use but you can also use horn, bone, stone and even paper or card, for this I will use wood as I prefer it to the others and it is easy to work with. You can also choose what method to get your runes onto the material. Wood burning, Carving, Painting, Drawing, Etching are all viable methods, my preferred method is burning but choose what feels right for you. Now its time to create your runes and below is the method I use for creating any runes or rune sets… The ritual will be in part 2 of this article…
