Runes

I once had a Runic reading done for me. I knew of the Reader, had known of him for some time, his fame went before him, but he didn’t know me. I didn’t really want to have a reading done and certainly didn’t want to take up his time, but when someone offers and offers freely and enthusiastically, it is hard to refuse. And so, in a quite unlikely situation, we sat down.
He asked me whether I wanted to know anything specific, but I said I would prefer to have just a general reading and so, with some trepidation and not a little cynicism, I reached in and took just three stones out of his bag.

What followed was amazing to the point of disbelief. He told me things I didn’t even want to admit about myself. I looked at this person in a different light. Sitting before me, looking intently into my eyes was not just some guy off the street, although that is what he looked like. This was a Norse Rune Master, of Nordic lineage, taught by his Grandmother, and all the other, semi-fairytale, Land of Legend stuff, which I had been sooo anxious to discredit and disbelieve.
But there he was. And there was absolutely no doubting his power.
So what were these little pieces of domino-shaped bone, with their straight line carvings? I stared at them and they told me nothing and yet to him they told my life story. He had an innate, almost mystical connection with them that meant they spoke to him and imparted their knowledge.
Runes are from the dim and distant past of the Norselands, closely aligned to the Celtic alphabet of Ogham and are said to have been invented by the Nordic god Odin, amongst whose attributes is the power of divination. His formidable powers and knowledge of secrets were gained by self-sacrifice, hanging for nine days on the Yggdrasil or World Tree, impaled there by his own sword.
And therein lies the lesson to us all. Their knowledge is not easy to come by and they should never be treated with anything less than reverence. There is of course always the possibility that deep inside of you there is an ancient Norse wisdom just begging to be nurtured and allowed out, but unless you truly feel this I would advise they be left alone, to those whom they choose, who are given the gift of the ability to control their formidable power.