Making Your Own Rune Set

What can they be made out of?

I have seen many different materials used to create a set of Runes, and it is entirely up to the person who will be owning and using the Rune set as to what they use. The most common technique I have seen, and one I subscribed to myself initially, is to buy a set, already made. Some of these sets are beautiful, and make great gifts for others. I have seen some absolutely stunning sets made of gold, jade, amethyst, and sets which use a different crystal for each Rune. I have also seen sets which are plainer, but still as beautiful, some using different woods for each Rune, some using stone, some clay. All are equally beautiful, useful, and easy to use, except they come at a very high price on occasions.

Some of the hand-made sets I have come across include glass nuggets, sea-shells, pebbles from a beach, wooden sets, bone or antler sets, and even paper sets! They really can be made using anything, and usually the materials can be found in your natural surroundings.

However, some materials are more practical than others! It is difficult to always carry a set of pebble Runes, as they can grow heavy after a while, whilst wooden Runes tend to be lighter. Storage may also be something to think about: will the Runes you carry with you be under pressure? Maybe they'll be kept in a briefcase amongst other objects which might crush or damage seashell Runes or glass Runes? Durability is also an issue, so if you plan to make wooden Runes, you will need to take some precautions during the making process in order to make sure they stay healthy, and looking good as new! Some authors suggest that if you are going to use wood to make your Runes, you should cut it off a living tree, and make sure the tree you cut it off is a fruit-bearing tree (such as apple, yew, pine, cedar, redwood, olive, peach, pear, cherry). They say this because a fruit-bearing tree will give your Runes a more fruitful air to them, and your readings will be more accurate, your bond with your Runes more enjoyable, and so on and so forth... They also say not to take the branch if it is dead, because the Runes then are not 'alive'... However, this is up to you. I know many a person who would object to cutting the branch of a living tree, and would prefer to gather the branches off the ground.

How do I make a set of Runes?

If you are going for the paper option, it couldn't be easier! It's simply a case of getting 24 small slips of paper, and writing in ink the Runes, one Rune to each slip. However, if you want to go further with this, you could make Rune Cards. There are quite a few sets of Rune Cards available to buy, Ralph Blum's being the most famous right now. Basically, you just go one step further, and illustrate the slips of paper with pictures having some reference to the meaning of each Rune, much like you would a Tarot card!

If you want to make Runes out of pebbles, sea-shells, crystals, or glass nuggets, you would do best not to carve in the symbols, as you would do with bone, antler, or wood, as you may crack the materials you are using. In this case, you may want to buy one of those gold or silver marker pens, and write a Rune on each of the stones, shells, crystals, nuggets. Then, when the ink is dry, you might want to varnish them to prevent the ink from scratching off due to overuse.

To make wooden Rune sets, it is a lot more difficult, but the Runes themselves are more durable, as they actually have the symbols inscribed into them. To do this Rune set, here is what you'll need:

• A branch of wood, whatever wood you choose.
• A small saw to cut the rune disks, possibly an electric jig saw or table saw.
• A clamp or vice for holding the Runes in place
• A tool for cutting the Rune symbols, possibly a chisel point carving knife, X-acto blade, screwdriver, wood-carving chisel, or anything that cuts!
• Medium and fine sand paper
• Fine steel wool
• Reddening dye to colour the Runes. (Optional) If you do want this, then you could use the red pigment from tiver, minium, red india ink, red candle wax, dragon's blood resin, red jeweller's rouge, or red enamel paint. If you mix a little gold metallic paint with the reddening dye, you will get a shimmer on each Rune! (Yeah! Sparkles!) To be more traditional, for the red pigment, just prick your finger and let the blood act as the reddening agent. Of course, this is optional, and is not to everyone's taste.
• Linseed, lemon, walnut, or olive oil.
• A cloth to apply the oil.
• Something to place the Runes on after they are reddened.
• A sturdy, wide-mouthed Rune bag to put your Runes in when you are done. This can be made of any material, although natural fibres are often preferred. I have seen cotton, velvet, hessian, and so on... It is entirely up to you.
• Time. About three hours in total, so you might consider doing 8 Runes in one go, then another 8, then the last 8... There is no real rush! Doing it in 'shifts' also allows for you to meditate on each one. Traditionally, the set of Runes is split into 3 sets of 8, these being called the Aetts. The first Aett is the Goddess Freyja's Aett, and her influence can be seen in the first eight Runes. The second Aett is the God Heimdall's Aett, and his influence permeates these eight Runes as well. The third and final Aett is Tyr's Aett, and his influence can be seen in these Runes as well. You could try meditating on these Aetts if you create your Runes in three separate shifts.

Okay, you've got all the stuff. You've gathered it all into one place, and you've got your time free, with no distractions. Now you can make the Runes!

1. First, you need to cut the Rune disks. Cut 24 (or more to allow for mistakes!) half-inch (1.25 cm) thick rounds from the branch
2. If you want to, you can make a ritual out of it. If so, do your ritual thing now!
3. Sand all the surfaces of each of your disks. (I recommend cutting 30 disks, esp. if you are a beginner!) Start sanding with medium grade sandpaper, then fine sandpaper, and smooth out any corners, bumps, and protruding bits.
4. Carefully pencil the 24 Runes onto the disks, drawing the symbols against the grain of the wood. This means you stand less chance of splitting the disks when you carve them. You could, at this point, chant the Rune name as you draw it.
5. Put the first disk in the vice or clamp, and make sure it is secured in there tightly.
6. Now, carefully either carve the symbol into the wood, or burn it in with a wood-burning tool.
7. Use fine steel wool to remove any rough edges left over from the carving.
8. Remove any pencil marks with a soft rubber.
9. When done with that Rune, place it on a cloth, and complete the other Runes.
10. If you have chosen the option to redden your Runes, this is the time to do it. Start with the first disk you carved, and redden each part of the disk. Set the disk onto the cloth to dry.
11. Do this to all the disks.
12. To give your Runes a soft, satin finish, mix some olive oil (less than 1/4 of a pint) with 24 drops of lemon oil. Maybe you would like to add a few drops of any essential oil in too. Stir these oils into the olive-oil base. Work the oil into each rune with a cloth. You might want to meditate on each Rune's meaning whilst you are doing this, and you might also want to sing to each Rune whilst you're doing this too! It's entirely up to you what you do behind closed doors! (Singing a Rune's name is known as Galdr. For more information I recommend The Little Giant Encyclopaedia of Runes by Sirona Knight, although if you learn how to pronounce the names of each Rune - and all good Rune books will tell you this - you can simply chant that.)
13. Buff them all to a soft, satin finish.
14. Apply linseed oil to one side of each Rune and let it dry, then the other side of each Rune and let it dry. You could do this once a year, as it keeps the Runes sealed, and prevents cracking.
15. Now, you have your wooden Rune set! You can do this with stone Runes, although you will need lots of stones because you may end up cracking them if you do. You will also need different cutting tools if you plan on using stone. Also, be aware that with stone Runes, the reddening will wear off quite quickly through use, compared to wooden Runes. You could do this same process quite effectively with bone and antler too.

A Set of Clay Runes

A simpler method that is just as effective as wooden Runes is to create your set of Runes out of clay (this is my preferred method.) It is simple, and doesn't require any special equipment other than the clay, and it is perfect for the Rune-maker virgin. Here's what you need:

• Clay, preferably real clay, not the synthetic stuff that you buy in cheap art shops. Synthetic clay I have found to be more difficult to bring to a smooth finish and to work. It seems to bounce back in fact, instead of staying moulded in the shape you want.
• A smooth wooden board or surface
• A blunt knife with no serrated edges
• Water

Making these Runes is simple.

First, get your clay and take a small amount of it in your hands, rolling it into a small ball. Then place it on the surface and flatten it with your thumb evenly, so it is about the size of either a penny coin or tuppence coin, depending on whether you like your Runes big or small. Make sure you don't make it too thin: about 6mm is a good thickness for a small set of Runes. Now smooth around the edges, which may have cracked because that is what clay often does when pressed, closing up gently with a very wet, blunt knife any jaggedy bits or splits. Turn the Rune over do the same whilst it is on that side (this means it won't stick to the surface making it impossible to remove without ruining it) and then turn it back and gently press, using the cutting edge of the blunt knife, the Rune into the clay. 'Carving' is not recommended, since this drags the clay and it splays everywhere, whereas pressing simply makes a deep yet thin indent in the clay. If you like you can make this indent shallow and wider so that later when the clay is dry you can paint in the Rune in black, though I have not found this necessary since I use a deep thin indent. Wet the knife again, and gently smooth the surface of the Rune to remove any fingerprints, and gently use the knife to pick up the Rune and place it somewhere to dry or somewhere until you can put all the Runes in a kiln. (I use air-hardening clay.) Now, continue for the rest of the Runes, always referring back to the first Rune for size so that you have an even size throughout.

The does take some practice to perfect the technique, but after a few goes you'll have it spot on! Making Runes this way is also a very cheap option, and they make great Christmas presents for your Pagan/New Age friends and relatives.

Buying a set of Runes

This can be expensive. I have seen sets that range from £15 to £50. It depends largely on how much money the creator wants to squeeze out of you, and what materials they use. A set of pewter Runes, or crystal Runes, you should expect to be fairly dear, whilst a set of pebble Runes I suggest you should leave well alone: such Runes you can make yourself in under half an hour. Be warned, however... Buying a Rune set is much like buying a Tarot deck... You must find one that 'speaks' to you... And, this is why Rune set buying can be addictive, and you may well end up buying many, many sets and becoming a collector! I know one person who is well on the way to that horrible fate.

For those of you who want an entirely personal set of Runes, making a set would be best. That way, you can be creative, and do what you like! You could colour them any colour you want, you could carve them any way you want! If you really were going a bit mad on the creativity thing, you could stick anything onto the individual Runes! (This should bring up funny images of individual Runes, that look as though they're wearing feather head-dresses, or loin cloths... The mind boggles...)

A personal Rune

A practice undertaken by a few Rune readers is to take a blank Rune, and inscribe it with a personal symbol. Many sets you buy today have the *heretical* 25th Blank Rune, called Wyrd, which was created in the 1980's by good ole Ralph Blum. It is said to represent that which is unknown, that which is in Fate's hands... Often, those who don't want to use such a Rune will put their own symbol on it.

Conclusion

Now you have a set of Runes, whether you made them yourself or bought them, gave them feather head-dresses or kept them plain and simple... You are ready to study them, get to know them, and learn from them. If you have made your own Rune set, feel damn proud! It was a highly prized skill for the Norse, and it is even mentioned in the Havamal:

"Know how to cut them, know how to read them,
Know how to stain them, know how to prove them,
Know how to evoke them, know how to score them,
Know how to send them, know how to send them..."