Rune of the Day
Draw a rune from the bag to read today’s message.
A rune reading that draws one of the 24 Norse Elder Futhark runes to read today’s guidance and flow. Runes are the old script in which Germanic languages were written, carved into stones and objects from around the second century, and each letter carries a name and a sense — cattle, ice, the sun — which is what the reading works from. Sixteen runes differ top from bottom and are read for their shadow side when they come up inverted; the eight that are symmetrical have no reversed meaning.
How it works
Draw one of the twenty-four Elder Futhark runes from the bag. The sixteen runes that are not vertically symmetrical can also come up reversed, and every draw can be shared, reproduced, or cast again.
What you'll get
You see the rune's glyph and name, the reading that shifts between upright and reversed, a one-line summary, and how love, work, money, and health are running.
The name of a rune is its meaning
Every rune carries a name, and the name doubles as the meaning. Fehu is cattle, so it speaks of wealth and income. Isa is ice, so it speaks of stopping and waiting. Sowilo is the sun, so it speaks of coming into view and of achievement. That is why an unfamiliar character still yields a reading once you know the name behind it. Rather than memorising terms, lay the picture the name draws over your own day, and it reads far more easily.
How to use one rune a day
Draw once in the morning, settle on what to watch for that day, and then close it. Drawing again whenever something goes wrong tends to continue until a rune you like turns up, and at that point the rune stops throwing light on the day and becomes a frame that explains it away. Opening it again in the evening to set the morning rune against the day you actually had is about the right pace for enjoying this practice over a long stretch.
There is more than one rune row
Beyond the twenty-four of the Elder Futhark that this page uses, there are several rune rows. In Anglo-Saxon England the row grew to somewhere between twenty-eight and thirty characters, while in Viking-age Scandinavia it shrank the other way to sixteen. When the order or the sense of a rune looks slightly different from book to book, it is usually because the books follow different rows. None of them is the authoritative version; they simply diverged across time and place.
When runes were carved and carried
Runes were not originally letters for paper. They were cut into stone and wood, into weapons and jewellery, and the custom of carving a name or a wish and keeping it close is long attested. One caution: in twentieth-century Europe a few runes were pressed into service as political symbols, so if you are thinking of wearing one as a tattoo or a pendant, it is safer to look up how that particular character reads today before you decide.
Do not let a rune make the decision
A rune is closer to a mirror held up to the grain of your day than an instrument for settling a contract, a change of job or something between people. We would not suggest putting off a planned step because a reversed rune came up, or skipping a check you owe yourself because a good one did. Weigh decisions with numbers and circumstances, and let the rune do the smaller work of showing you what has been nagging at you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there runes with no reversed meaning?
Yes. Eight runes are vertically symmetrical and look the same upside down, so they have no reversed reading. Only the other sixteen can come up reversed.
How many runes are there?
Twenty-four, the Elder Futhark — the oldest runic alphabet of the Norse world.
What were runes originally used for?
They were the writing system of the ancient Germanic and Norse world, used in inscriptions and records. Each letter carried a name and a meaning, and tradition holds they were used for divination as well. This page follows that tradition.
Does a reversed rune mean something bad?
It speaks of a blockage or a shadow side rather than plain misfortune. The same rune upright means its force is flowing well; reversed means it has not yet found its place.