runes tree-plant-gem associations

Liliana

This is a list of correspondances between the runes ands trees, plants, and gems. Umbrae had a different gem association list then mine so you can choose which you want to use :)



rune gem tree plant Gem 2

fehu- moss agate elder nettle Green Tourmaline or Amber (related to Freyja)
uruz- carbuncle birch iceland moss Tiger's Eye (Courage and strength)
thurisaz- sapphire blackthorn houseleek Hematite (bloodstone)
ansuz- emerald ash fly agaric Lapis Lazuli (trad. Link w/upper worlds)
raido- chrysophase oak mugwort Turquoise, warder of travelers
kauno- bloodstone pine cowslip Flint (craft of fire), fire agate or fire opal
gebo- opal elm heartsease Emerald or Jade
wunjo- diamond ash flax Topaz
hagalaz- onyx ash bryony ***
naudiz- lapis lazuli rowan snakeroot Obsidian
isa- cats eye alder henbane Diamond
jera- carnelian oak rosemary Moss Agate
ihwaz- topaz yew lilac Smoky Quartz
perth- aquamarine aspen aconite Onyx
algiz- amethyst service sedge grass Black Tourmaline
sowilo- ruby juniper mistletoe Norse sunstone, iolite, Icelandic spar
tiwaz- coral oak aconite Star Ruby or Hematite
berkanan- moonstone birch ladys mantle Jet (black petrified wood)
ehwaz- iceland spar ash ragwort Turquoise
mannaz- garnet holly madder amethyst
laguz- pearl osier willow leek Malachite
ingwaz- amber apple selfheal Ivory
othila- spinel hawthorn clover flurite
dagaz- chrysolite spruce hemp Petrified Wood
odin- tourmaline ash marigold

:THP
 

einhverfr

My assoications between gems and runes

As always, the runes being mysteries, any associations are not exact. Anyway, here is my list.

I welcome comments here. These are based largely on associations between stones and the Rune Poems (our earliest sources of meanings on the Runes aside from etimology). I am planning on designing a set of Runic jewelry incorporating these stones.... As one effect of these plans, soft stones are not generally used here.

Abbreviations include: ONRR for Old Norse Rune Rhyme, OIRP for Old Icelandic Rune Poem, and the OERP for the Old English Rune Poem

Fehu: Amber. Fehu and amber are both associated with gold.
Uruz: Blue chalcedony. This is a little harder to explain but two of the three surving Rune Poems include precipitation images (snow in the ONRR, drizzle in the OIRP), and blue chalcedony seems to embody these pretty well.
Thurisaz: Carnelian. This seems to be the best example of a gem that I can think of that is "ruddy" but not really "red."
Ansuz: Hawkseye. This is black (nine nights), has cat's eye. (Odin lost his eye), and seems appropraite for the rune. There is also the connection between the falcon and the eagle in the Eddas and the Eagle is associated with Odhinn (as the shape in which he flew back from the land of the giants with the Mead of Inspiration in his mouth).
Raidho: Citrine. Raidho is connected to the chariot of the sun but I wanted to save yellow zircon for Sowilo (see below).
Kenaz: Carbuncle, and especially facetted red garnets. These garnets really come alive when viewed by firelight, and since you get both the "sore" image (Kaunaz) with cabs and the faceted gems that come to life when viewed in fire/torch/candle-light (Kenaz), this seemed most appropriate.
Gebo: Ametrine, bicolor tormaline, or other bicolor stones.
Wunjo: Druzy quartz as it seems like an "army of crystals" well organized.

Hagalaz: Star sapphire (blue, grey, or black). One form of this rune looks exactly like the 6-pointed stars on these gems.
Nauthiz: Red Garnet (again owing to the fire connection), but for this jewelry, I would set with silver here rather than gold. Alternatively if using unset stones, you could use pyrope garnet here and almandite for Kenaz. The connection with fire is arguably implied by the ONRR and the term "needfire."
Isa: Colorless quartz (seen often as being very ice-like). Tormulated quartz might be even better.
Jera: Champaign zircon.
Eihwaz: Iolite. Maybe a dark purple spinel/sapphire would work as well. As an alternative, particularly dark green stones (emeralds, tsavorites, etc) might be an alternative (the ONRR and OERP make the connection to the evergreen nature of the yew), and there is an association of fire in the ONRR as well, so particularly dark red garnets could be used as well.
Perthro: I chose Onyx here because it represents the black unknown of the lot box (OERP). But I suppose there are other possibilities.
Elhaz/Algiz: Bloodstone seems to be the obvious match here. Both the "elk's sedge" and the "blood" imagry in the OERP are apparent in this stone. *Elhaz means "elk" and *algiz means "swan" but the swan imagry is probably related to the concept of the valkyrie.
Sowilo: Yellow zircon (long associated with the sun).

Tiwaz: White diamond (associated with the north star in the OERP)
Berkano: Emerald (several of the rune poems associate Berkano with the green of the tree). Tsavorite and demantoid might make other options here.
Ehwaz: White tourmaline or zircon (both doubly refractive like iceland spar but hard enough to use in jewelry)
Mannaz: Moonstone (there is some reason to associate Mannaz with the moon).
Laguz: Pearls.
Ingwaz: Spinel crystals (owing to their octahedral shape), yellow sapphires or spinels.
Dagaz: Padparadsha sapphires (being the color of the clouds at sunset or sunrise). Red zircon (quite rare though) would make a good alternative.
Othila: I am thinking brown zircon or brown diamond here owing to the combination of earth tones and sparkle and the associations both with land and wealth.