Runecaster’s Handbook
Photo courtesy of Amazon.com
I recently had the pleasure of reading Runecaster’s Handbook, sent to me from the awesome Weiser Books. As I have stated in the past, I am not much of a Divination type gal except in the ways of Scrying. However, this book is pretty inspiring to giving runecasting a shot!
Runecaster’s Handbook is part of a trilogy. The other two are Futhark: A Handbook of Rune Magic and Runelore: A Handbook of Esoteric Runology. I have neither of those books and Runecaster’s frequently refers to them as if the reader has already previously read them. That doesn’t mean you will need those books, Runecaster’s is quite in depth and thorough. But I was left wondering if there was even more information that I should be diving into. As a result both of those books are now on my wish list.
Runecaster’s is set up like some Tarot handbooks. There is a bit of historical background and then moves into the symbolism and what the runes mean individually. With each rune meaning is a bit of a chart that features the Original English Rune Poem (OERP), Old Norwegian Rune Rhyme (ONRR), and the Old Icelandic Rune Poem (OIRP). I really liked this because it gives the reader the chance to see which thing really resonates with them (and for me it was the OERP). The brighstave and murkstave were quite intriguing. I had wanted to compare them to the inverse readings of Tarot but learned in a later chapter that it’s not an inverse reading at all. The book moves on to the different tools of Rune. I had always thought runes were the stones (or in my own case, handwritten lima beans!) but I was pleasantly surprised to learn of staves that were coin shaped, sticks, and cards!
Edred Thorsson also goes into great detail about creating ritual around runecasting. I have read such advice before in regards to Tarot, as a way to really focus. Edred Thorsson also presents another aspect. This is a very sacred practice and the gods may take some offense if you don’t treat the divination as sacred. And while I have always felt practices are sacred, treating them as you would any other sacred rite has been put on the back burner by many. It has become something more “mundane”. Perhaps out of habit or simply not having the spiritual connection one should in divination. Either way, I appreciate Edred Thorsson for pointing out the sacredness and offensive nature of not creating ritual into runecasting. Aside from simply pointing out the sacredness, the book progresses to actually covering rituals surrounding runecasting. Very helpful for any newbie to the scene! It ends on actual runecasting. Sort of similar to Tarot spreads there are tons of ways to read the runes and the last section carefully explains those spreads and how to read them.
This book is perfect for someone whom is brand new to the world of runes. Long time practitioners may benefit from the historical references but it’s pretty much Runes 101.
**links will be provided once Weiser Books website is up and running!**
**Weiser Books did send me the book at no cost to myself in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own and are not swayed by Weiser Books in any way**
