Penthasilia, is the Anglo-Saxon runes system an extension of the FUTHARK based systems with the extra stones/letters? Or is it different when interpreting, etc.? I'll look at the books you mentioned before, but I don't know the difference between the two systems, I don't know where I should start.
It is basically an extension- the names have been changed slightly, as well as some of the forms, but you can easily take a full set and reduce it to the FUTHARK set without issue. I have included a couple websites below to give you some more detail on the similarities and differences. But for practical purposes, you can think of it as an extension.
I haven't seen any actual Anglo-Saxon rune stones that I can buy online so far. I've been looking and i think I like the plain ceramic ones (I haven't seen one I liked though), the various coloured stone ones (those are everywhere) and maybe the bone runes.
You can find various sets through Mengloth's Market:
http://www.menglothsmarket.com/futhorc-runes.html
Those have the full rune sets of 33 to include the anglo-saxon and northumbrian.
Thanks for the info on Odin. I've heard of him and that he sacrificed his eyesight for foresight or something. I'll try the old poems when I've grasped the basics.
For the runes, as the poem goes, he hung on a tree for 9 days. After being there, starved, wounded and half mad, the void opened and the spirits of the runes came through it. It was at this point that he was able to take them up- to understand them, and place them in form. You can find the full poem here:
http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/odins_magic.html and it is a great site in general for rune information. Another good site is Raven's:
http://www.northernshamanism.org/shamanic-techniques/runes.html and here you will find more discussion on the spirit of the runes.
Also, when you said that it's not for everyone and that they work on a deeper level than tarot. Do you mean that it give direct answers unlike the tarot where it is hard to pinpoint the exact meaning/s? When I was looking around, I noticed that people commented that when they tried a reading using runes, it was very straight to the point but they didn't sound very experienced as you. Will you still get results if you don't take the time to develop your own meanings of each of the letters, and just look up the meanings?
Well, I find that they give direct answers, but they are in no way simple. If you think of the runes as their own spirit- imagine the response you would receive to a question if you asked a wise ancestor?. They would give a direct answer- but it would not be a simple do this/do that, avoid this/avoid that, etc. The runes really work well with showing you the multitude of paths/consequences available to you at any given time- and as such there is no right/wrong or good/bad choice. It simply is. Working with them, you can hopefully get a chance to see how the web of causality and effect will change based on your decision(s).
I would hesitate to just rattle the runes, pick them, and then open a book to see the answers if you don't plan to go much further with it. I don't know how much, or how far, that would take you. A superficial look at the meanings for each rune may be vastly different than your own personal take on them, once you work with them. For instance- many can see Isa as a hard, cold rune- but it is truly one in which I find a great deal of solace.
On the other hand- you should work with them while learning them! I have just seen many times people not going beyond that superficial use, and then eventually, the use dies off as they do not seem as easy to use as cards, etc. So, during studying- absolutely pick some, read the meanings in the book- but then use the following days to delve deeper into the meanings.
Rune study lasts a lifetime. I am an infant in training, only working with them intensely for the past 10 years. Before then, I had looked lightly, but then put them away. I took a year off from using any other divination system and focused only on the runes- it was then that my study really started. Each time I use them, I learn something new. There is no other way to describe them, other than really stressing how much they are their own entities.
Best of luck to you in your studies, hopefully the above websites can give you at least a bit of a taste for the different rune types, meanings and history. I am always happy to answer any questions if you want to PM as well.
