MIPC: Divination by Runes

Note: MIPC stands for Magic in Popular Culture and this is a series of entries in which I take a spell, ritual, belief, etc... from a work of fiction such as books, comic books, movies, or television shows and analyze it against real world belief and practices. 

Stardust: The Book Vs. The Movie 

In this entry will we explore the manner in which the Runes are cast in the 2007 motion picture Stardust as well as the book by the same name and written by Neil Gaiman. As you can see in the above video, the soothsayer works with four Runes. The Runic symbols appear to be carved in bone or possibly wooden rectangles. They are: Birch, Odal, Ing, and what appears to be Lagu (which if you are paying attention spells out BOIL)  If you watch the above video closely, however, the Witch Queen (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) appears to be using different symbols. Of the four she tossed in the air, I could only see two which were Jera and Daeg.  The Runes are operated by posing a  subjective question and then casting the Runes on a flat surface. If all four Runes fall face up, the answer is yes; if they all fall face down the answer is now. There seems to be a force (magic?) which prevents them from falling any other way. 

The book differs from the movie in that the runes are described as small, square, red granite tiles. Specific symbols are not mentioned nor are they shown. In one scene the runes are cast, picked up and then cast again. From this reading, one of the villain's is able to determine that his prey (the falling star) is "moving faster and further."  In another scene, the same villain has to decide if he can trust a stranger to travel with him. He removes the velvet pouch containing his four runes from around his neck and has the traveler pick three of them one at a time. He regards the runes and determines that the traveler can come with him. No explanation of how he came to this conclusion is given. 

The Elder Futhark 

The Runes come to us from Norse cultures. According to the Icelandic Elder Edda, Odin spied the runes as he hung from the Tree of Yggdrasil. Other names for the Runes include the Futhark or Elder Futhark - so named after the first six runes Fehu, Urisaz, Thorn, Ansu, Radio, and Ken... so when you say Futhark, it's sort of like saying "A, B, C's". 

Unlike the fantasy world of Stardust there are actually 24 Runes divided into three groups of eight called aetts. Each aett is named after the first Rune in that group. The first group is Fehu, the second group is Hagal, and the third group is Tyr. I should mention that sometimes there is a 25th rune which is blank and which represents the unknown. 

Each rune has it's own divinatory meaning. In fact, some runes are associated with Nordic Gods or forces of nature. Similar to the book and movie portrayed in Stardust, runes are often used for divination. They may be drawn unseen out of a pouch or bag while at other times they may be cast on a flat surface and read according to the diviner's interpretation and/ or tradition. 

In my experience working with the Runes in the past, I would only read those runes which fell face up. Those runes closest to me would represent the past, those furthest from me would represent the present and those in between would be regarded as the future. 

How to Divine with Four Runes 

Magic in the real world often differs from how it is portrayed in the world of fiction. It would be insane to think that when casting four Runes they would always fall right side up or upside down with no variation. Therefore if we were to adapt this practice for the purpose of divination we might look to other forms of divination which are similar. 

For example the Obi method of divination makes use of four coconut shells, called chamalongos, although you can use any four objects which can be read as right side up or upside down - such as cowries shells, coins (I would recommend four silver mercury dimes, or even four dominoes).. The chamalongos consists of two sides: a dark side (the convex side) and a light side (the concave side). The dark side is though to be heads and the light side is tails. 

Chamalongos ©2021 Carolina Dean 

The chamalongos are operated in a manner similar to the way they are used in Stardust. That is, a subjective question is asked then the chamalongos are tossed on to a flat surface and are read depending upon how they fall. With the four chamalongos there are five possible outcomes. They are:

• Four Heads Up- When all four chamalongos fall heads up, the answer is Yes. 
• Three Heads, One Tails - In this case the answer is maybe, or more likely than not likely. This outcome always requires a second throwing of the oracle. If the second toss is Four Heads Up, Three Heads, One Tail, or Two Heads and Two Tails - then the answer is yes. If the second throw is One Head Three Tails or Four Heads, then the answer is no. 
• Two Heads and Two Tails- When the chamalongos fall in this pattern then answer is yes and you are not to ask the question again. 
• One Head and Three Tails - This pattern represents a firm and definite No answer. 
• Four Tails - When the oracle presents this pattern the answer is a very strong no and may indicate evil, negativity, or other blockages around you that may require spiritual cleansings before you can move forward

Again this only speculation on my part, since the rules of magic work differently in the universe of Stardust and I could be completely wrong. However, using the Obi Divination as a model it would be quite possible to use four runes for divination purposes. I have about three runes sets but I would not want to break any of them up to use exclusively n this manner. 

However, I might use this method as an adjunct to the overall traditional manner of divination with the runes. For example, after the runes are cast and read the querent may want clarification on a few points. You may want to turn all the runes face down and mix them up thoroughly. Next, have the querent pick four Runes. The Runes chosen can be read in relation to the question and then these same four Runes could be cast in the manner described above and then interpreted in the same manner as the chamalongos.

- Carolina Dean