There were many clans and groups that arrived early in the last millennium, and they carried with them different types of divination
psychic systems. One was the ogham or divination sticks that the druids of the Celtic tradition used, and another was the runes. Both systems are still around today, though runes may be more widely known.

The Anglo-Saxons, German, and the Norse people all used rather sturdy pieces manageable by hand, inscribed with characters from the runic alphabet, called futharks, of their culture. The futharks changed and developed over time, and may be read left to right, or may be set up in reverse, which can cause confusion if people try to read messages of old today. Sometimes one or more dots are used to delineate the end of a statement, and sometimes they are not present. The runes are carved or imprinted today with the characters of one northern European runic alphabet or another, such as the Elder Futhark, Younger Futhark, or Friesian Futhark, most commonly, but are never intermingled.

In essence, the alphabets could contain various symbols that pointed toward significant plants, animals, colors, and stones for the groups from which the futharks originated. Each of the symbols has a name, and a meaning, whether it points toward prosperity, fertility, or other topics of eternal relevance. The descriptions can be rather involved, which might surprise you at first, given how simple the symbols are.

Like with tarot cards, some readers do take into account whether the rune is reversed or not, though some runes will read the same either way. For that reason, many readers who divine through runes will only be concerned with the rune if it is conversed; that is, the symbol is face down. Others ignore such runes. When converse is considered, it is almost always agreeably a more negative influence, rather than being the opposite of the upright and face up glyph appearing in a spread. It is important to know what meaning you will use, and send that intent to the universe, so that it knows how to communicate through the runes to you.

The early settlers of Britain were well aware that their actions had consequences. The reading, even today, can be looked at in terms of the questioner’s query with regard to the past influence, present influence, and likely future outcome. The future outcome may be seemingly logical, based on causation, and not necessarily entirely on divination, and that is ok.

Yet, the casting of runes is based upon insight that the universe and one’s super conscious and higher self can bring to the table, which is unlimited resources, compared with limited human resources and intellect that everyone always possesses. When a reading of runes is started, the questioner needs to tune in and focus on their question, and set their intent for a good reading, full of truth and wisdom. They then reach into the rune bag, stir them up, and pull out the correct number of runes for their reading. To prevent from “cheating” runes need to be uniform in their size and shape.

Author's Bio: 

Jackie Williams has worked for as a manager overlooking the talent department for a prominent new age communications company. Later as the internet developed, she diversified her recruitment specialty to server global clients for a internet based spiritual network.
She attained her Master of Arts in Anthropology from Northern Arizona University and her BA from Hunter College.