Runes. Old, mysterious and varied. Today we use them as we would tarot cards, but is that how they can only be used? Here’s a little history.
The Elder Futhark runes are the most widely used today though they are not the only runes, there is also the Younger Futhark ( consisting of only 16 runes) and the Saxon runes, Medieval runes and Ogham runes. (There’s probably more, but they haven’t been found yet 
).
The Elder Futhark is most associated with the Vikings yet it is actually the writing system of the ancestors of the Vikings. Archeological findings have dated some runes back to 160CE in Scandinavia and historical records show the Elder Futhark being used up until around 700CE. By 790 CE it was replaced by the Younger Futhark. So the use of the Elder was officially documented as before the Viking age which ran from around 793CE to 1066.
So why does this matter? I’ll get to that later. Let’s look at how our ancestors used the runes, and why they did not use them for divination. 
To see how they were used, we look at the sagas. There’s many stories of how the runes were used, by ordinary people, in everyday life that we can copy today. And you don’t need to be a rune master either. So what did our ancestors do?
In early Norse life, the local person would know the energy behind each rune. Some could read, some could not but that wasn’t important. The energy was. The average man or woman wouldn’t have access to fancy materials, or have the time to carve out all 24 runes and make a bag to hold them in, no - they were too busy carving out a living in the harsh climate of old Germania. So they would carve the rune, as they needed it, on a material they had to hand, wood, stone or metal. They would inscribe the rune, say 
onto their material, and place it where they needed too. Sometimes, they would use the runes to pass on messages, by carving a few Runic letters onto sticks.
It was important also, to the old Norse, not just to understand the energy behind each rune, but also the mythology of the gods. To them the physical and supernatural world worked together, so as they carved out their rune, they would’ve invoked a god associated with that rune to give the energy a boost.
In the Ballad of Brynhild, Sigurth is told by the Valkyrie Brynhild how to use runes.
“Winning runes learn, if thou longest to win. And the runes on the sword-hilt write. Some on the furrow, and some on the flat.” Each rune he carved had to be placed in or on a specific place or object. He even had to draw them on his hands.
Here, we see that the purpose of the rune is not to see the future, or even to seek advice, it’s to add additional strength, power or another energy to an item or yourself to help you achieve something, or overcome something.
Heathens agree on this type of rune usage. But what of the modern use of divination? There’s disagreement on this use.
Because it’s not backed up by found history, some Heathens say it’s wrong to use runes in divination. Divination usage of the runes started in the 70/80’s they say. However, we have a problem. 
First, a huge amount of history is missing, second we cannot live today as the old Norse did. For example, the old Norse did human sacrifice - totally wrong today! They also kept slaves! Wrong! So when looking at old Norse practices, we can’t and shouldn’t try to re- create the past. The past is the past. So what other reason is there why divination is considered taboo?
The Volva. The Volva was the seeress of the old Norse. She was wise, powerful, respected and the main true source for divination. It was believed that in ancient times she had the power to communicate with the Norns and weave a different fate for you, and she held a set of runes. As a result of this, the old Norse had no need to use runes for divination, they just went to see their Volva. Today, finding a Volva is hard, unless your lucky enough to know one, so now, you have to access that gift yourself. 
So what modern ways can we use the runes, embracing both the energy and the divination, and do we need to be dogmatic about how they’re used? I’d say times change. I don’t do my laundry by the river, I use a washing machine. History is wonderful and useful but the world changes, nature doesn’t stand still so why should we. Here’s a few ways you can use the runes today that honours both tradition and modern life.
You can engrave them into practically anything. If you are a kitchen witch, engrave a few runes into your wooden spoons, onto the bottom of your pans. Every time you boil the kettle, bless the water by tracing with your finger a rune over the kettle - noone needs to see the rune. One of the key factors in Nordic witchcraft is you are the power - you don’t need spells or incantations, you just need to believe that rune can do what it says it can - and it will. 
Scatter a few carved runes around your house, in the four quarters for protection. If you want strength and courage, chuck a rune in your bag or pocket. For protection from bad dreams, carve it on your bed.
Take your favourite amulet and trace a rune with your finger over it, mutter the runes name 9 times, the energy is now attached to the amulet. There is no limit to how you can use them.
For divination, why not? Today, we multi-task, so you are the Volva. So what are some divination techniques?
Well, you can buy or make a set, learn what they mean, place a white cloth on a table and shake the bag, grab a few and throw them down. Or use rune cards, and shuffle and pull a card. You can even learn the runes by heart, put both hands, palms facing you, and look into your palms to see the rune via your minds eye. 
In short, there is no snobbery in the runes. The academics will say you can’t do this, and you can’t do that, because that’s not how it was done. But today, I feel, we can. So if you want to access the runes for energy only - great. If you fancy yourself a Volva - great.
Let Odin guide you, 
let the runes tell you how you’re relationship should be with them, after all, they’re magic and they may just surprise you.
If you’re curious about bringing old paganism into modern life, I’d recommend the following book:
A Modern Heathens Guide to Norse Paganism by Quinby C Larson 
Skoll. 
, but throws me off 
the gods have a sense of humour.
any opinions. Thanks lovelies 
(which will amuse one god of mischief no doubt I’m sure 
)
The Ouija Board is just a patented version of a talking board used to communicate with spirits and doesn’t have any sort of cultural connection. It’s free to use for anyone who wants to 
Odin and I don’t click very well just yet, we’re getting to know each other, I like him he’s just very 
I hope it works out for you and I look forward to hearing all about it when you try it!
