The word rune means “secret” or “mystery,” coming from the Old Low German word raunen, “to cut” or “to carve.” This since runes were originally carved into wood and cut into stone. For ease of carving, the runes are made up of all straight lines. Odin, the mythological All-Father and leader of the Norse deities, was the one who discovered the runes. Once, as a sacrifice, he hung from the World Tree Yggdrasil for nine days and nights, pierced with a spear. He was then able to lift up the magical runes, which brought secret knowledge to humankind.
Runes were never employed as a utilitarian method of writing, since each letter had a magical meaning. As Ralph Elliott puts it in his book Runes: An Introduction, “Communication . . . remained a secondary function of runic writing throughout its long history; much more common was the use of runes to invoke higher powers to affect and influence the lives and fortunes of men.”8
Those “higher powers,” from our point of view, were the spirits.
These days, for divination purposes—and for our own spirit communication—individual runes are marked on separate pieces of wood, stone, ceramic, or other material, and used as sets for casting, like the casting of lots in sortilege or the throwing of dice.
It can be fun to make your own runes. One method is to take a length of wood, such as from a broken tree branch, about ¾-inch in diameter, and to cut it into slices (a bandsaw can be useful for this, but a regular hand saw will also work). The slices should be about ¼ inch thick. Make a total of twenty-five of them. On one side of each slice mark one of the rune symbols—three sets of eight, plus a blank. You can use a marking pen or paint, but a more traditional way is to use a wood burner and burn on the symbol, or just carve it in. The individual runes can then be sanded and, if you wish, varnished.
To use the runes for a solitary séance, they should all be placed in a bag and shaken up to mix them thoroughly. Then, either concentrating on the spirit you wish to connect with or keeping the mind blank and open (if there is no one particular spirit you wish to contact), reach in and draw out one rune. Hold it in the palm of your hand and study it. What does the shape of the rune make you think of? For example, the rune Jera, 
, might make you think of two people (seeing them as stick figures), one lifting the other. Or you might be reminded of a trailer hitch connecting up to the towing vehicle.
We may see strange things—or be reminded of strange things—when we study these different shapes. But however strange and offbeat it may seem, write it down. It may be that the one symbol triggers a whole host of thoughts. Write down all of them. This is spirit coming through with information for you.
You can just work with one rune or you can pull a number of them, such as three different ones. (I wouldn’t pull too many, perhaps five at the most.) You can then look at them individually and also as connecting units. Look at them upright and look at them sideways. If you draw the blank rune, you may very well still get a thought coming into your head. Write it down. Take your time doing this, but, by the same token, don’t strain . . . if nothing comes, then make a note of which rune it was and pass on to another.
When you have got, and recorded, whatever comes, then compare that to the traditional meanings of the runes. You may be surprised at how what “just came into your head” ties in with the traditional meaning of that particular rune, and then, by extension, you may be shocked to discover that it all points to one particular spirit and his or her background.
There were many variations on the runes, found in different geographical areas. The earliest had twenty-four characters and is named Futhark, after the first six letters, and for the sake of simplicity these are the runes we will consider for the solitary séance. They are divided into three groups of eight runes, with each group known as an ætt, or ættir (meaning “number of eight”). These groups, in turn, are known as Freya’s Eight, Hagal’s Eight, and Tiw’s Eight. A blank rune is usually added to these to bring the total up to twenty-five. What follows are the traditional meanings of the runes.
Freya’s Eight
FEHU: This is known as the Rune of Possessions, which includes material gains. It deals with fulfillment, financial success, and also perseverance. Its original meaning is believed to have been to do with cattle, or “mobile wealth.” It is also “the price to pay” for success and happiness.
URUZ: This rune is connected with creation . . . the original creation of the world. It represents force, inner strength, and also wisdom. The name comes from auroch, the European bison. It is good fortune if no risks are taken.
THURISAZ: The Rune of Protection, a defense against invaders. It is the great spirit, a giant. Take no risks with this rune and beware of petty annoyances.
ANSUZ: This indicates that something important is to be said. It deals with communication, wisdom, knowledge, mental agility, and creative expression. It also indicates rebirth.
RAIDHO: This is the rune of travel, rhythm, movement—a journey. Its name comes from the Danish word for “wheel.” It ties in with the wheel of the year, the natural flow of the year’s passing.
KAUNAZ: This is the rune of knowledge, yet it also ties in with cremation and the eternal fire. It can indicate inner enlightenment.
GEBO: The crossing of two forces. This rune can also symbolize a gift or an exchange of gifts. There can be interaction and also balance.
WUNJO: The rune looks a little like a flag or a weathervane. It symbolizes joy and hope, also pleasure. It ties in very strongly with spirits, the spirits in all things. Kinship and fellowship are in this rune.
Hagal’s Eight
HAGLAZ: This rune shows a connection or merging between two realms of being (the Spirit World and the Physical World), leading to harmony, transformation, and also protection.
NAUTHIZ: The word means “need” and can imply an actual need and also represent the need-fire (the fire started by rubbing together two sticks). It can be the potential that releases you from your needs.
ISA: Originally representing an icicle, this rune is straight, vertical, and unmoving, holding everything together in its present form. It stops all activity; it is static.
JERA: The rune of cycles . . . summer/winter, for example. It is completion, natural law, and continuation. The word jera means “year.” It cannot act against the natural order of things.
EIHWAZ: This rune symbolizes the vertical axis of the world tree Yggdrasil, a mighty yew tree. It is one of the most powerful runes. It represents communication, death, regeneration, knowledge. It also touches on magic and dreaming.
PERDHO: The rune of luck/chance; a lot that may be cast. Manifestation, chance, wisdom, kinship.
ALGIZ: Protective forces. Sanctuary, refuge, power. The power of human spirit moving and evolving.
SOWULO: The rune of the sun; the solar wheel. It is partnership, as well as journey and transformation plus understanding. It can be used for education, and it counterbalances Isa, thus reactivating that which had become static.
Tiw’s Eight
TEIWAZ: The rune of leadership and powerful guidance. It is the point of the spear. Justice, support, loyalty, and self-sacrifice. This is a rune for faith.
BERKANA: The nurturing rune that brings to life and protects. It is rebirth and growth, transition and spirit. Berkana is the great Earth Goddess, Mother of All. It is rebirth of spirit, tying in with springtime.
EHWAZ: The rune of duality, partnership, interaction, and harmony. There is also movement indicated. It shows the energy of the warmer part of the year. This rune is sometimes referred to as the “horse rune.”
MANNAZ: This rune symbolizes the divine aspect within every person. Humankind is the product of divine energy, bringing intelligence and reason. It is the bridge between the worlds. It is the partnership between human and divine.
LAGUZ: This rune is the energy of life itself, yet it also contains the idea of death and what comes after. “Going with the flow” is incorporated into this rune, suggesting fluidity.
INGUZ: This rune is associated with fertility, gestation, and also castration. It is very much a rune of energy. It ties in with initiation and with rebirth on all its levels.
DAGAZ: The balance between day and night. The name means “day,” and the emphasis is therefore on awakening, light, sunrise, and dawn. Yet also it deals with sunset and twilight. In that sense it is a liminal rune.
OTHILA: This is the rune of heredity and property. It is the sacred land and the bond between that and people. It is ancestral heritage and tribal property. It is generally viewed as a rune of prosperity.
8. Elliott, Runes: An Introduction, 2.