Rune Set - Bone

Twenty-five runes carved from water buffalo bone, with a card listing the meanings. Bone takes an engraved line cleanly and warms in the hand faster than stone, which is part of why it has been used for casting lots for a very long time.

A note on the count. The Elder Futhark has twenty-four characters. The twenty-fifth piece is the blank, which Ralph Blum put into general circulation with The Book of Runes in 1982 and which now turns up in most sets sold. It is a modern addition rather than a Norse one. Plenty of readers use it for what is not yet knowable and plenty leave it in the bag, and both are fine as long as you know which you are doing.

How to Read Them

Set a question you would be willing to hear a real answer to. Draw one for a straight reply, three for a situation with a shape to it, or cast a handful onto a cloth and read what lands face up and how the pieces sit together. The card covers each character, and the meanings open up considerably once you know a little of the poems the names come from.

Good to Know

25 pieces, carved from water buffalo bone, meanings card included. Carved by hand, so color, grain and size vary across a set and between sets. Bone is porous. Keep it out of water and out of long direct sun.

Pair It With

A Practical Guide to the Runes for the meanings in more depth, and Runecaster's Handbook once you are past the basics. If you prefer stone to bone, the amethyst set or the bloodstone set. If you want the runes as a card deck instead, the Witch's Familiar Runic Oracle. For Norse work with sound, the Vegvisir Ceremonial Drum. More in runes.