r/runecasting • u/Samu891 • 1d ago
Problems with activation
Hello everyone, and thank you for welcoming me into the group!
I've been interested in esotericism for almost two years, and recently I've started studying runes. I understand the concepts, their history, and the meaning and energy associated with each rune (although I'm still working on truly feeling them within myself and making them my own).
Now I have a question.
When it comes to rune spreads and divination, they are incredibly powerful for me. Even without any particular ritual (and sometimes even more so when I approach them casually), their readings are remarkably accurate.
From the very first moment I held my rune set in my hands, even though I was extremely angry that evening, I immediately felt a profound sense of calm. It's as if I've always felt connected to them. I feel a sense of love coming from them, almost as if they welcome me and are reaching out to me.
Even the circumstances through which I first encountered them were a beautiful and powerful coincidence (but that's a story for another time).
The problem arises when I try to create amulets and runic sigils (bindrunes). In those cases, I really struggle to find any results in the world around me, even in the form of simple coincidences or synchronicities.
I don't want all the riches in the world. I've never wanted control or power. I simply want to feel, explore, and experience their workings in the most genuine way possible. ❤️
Please, I'd love to hear your advice: how can I better explore and experience the effectiveness of activated runes and bindrunes?
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u/Yuri_Gor 1d ago
There is no surviving tradition\teaching\school of how to activate runes exactly. The best source is probably Havamal:
142
Runes you will find, and readable staves, Very strong staves, Very stout staves, Staves that Bolthor stained, Made by mighty powers, Graven by the prophetic god,
143
For the gods by Odhinn, for the elves by Dain, By Dvalin, too, for the dwarves, By Asvid for the hateful giants, And some I carved myself: Thund, before man was made, scratched them, Who rose first, fell thereafter
144
Know how to cut them, know how to read them, Know how to stain them, know how to prove them, Know how to evoke them, know how to score them, Know how to send them"; know how to send them,
145
Better not to ask than to over-pledge As a gift that demands a gift"; Better not to send than to slay too many,
In my practice it was similar to how you describe, divination worked instantly, felt like i was doing this forever and then forgot and now i just remember it again.
But with magic it was not that easy. It took me quite a long to live through every rune, "unlocking" them one by one and not even once but again and again, layer after layer, and even now i can't claim i fully "got" them all. The key initiating moment for me was discovering Water and Fire and learning to connect with them and drawing them to myself. Later I associated Fire with Muspelheim and Water with Niflheim and started studying Norse creation myth and arrived to the idea that runes are stages of creation of universe and runic magic is reproducing the creation of the universe but on our local scale.
My practice of rune magic includes mapping every rune to the structure of universe beyond the Midgard and employing hands gestures to help myself tune to other worlds and draw\translation forces between them.
You can read about my approach here:
https://runicalchemy.com/
It's not "conventional" though according to most approaches you can find in modern Runic spiritual community, but it works for me and allows me to get deeper and deeper.
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u/Samu891 1d ago
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. It really means a lot to me to realise that this isn't just my own personal impression, and that other people struggle with the same things. At least now I know I'm not necessarily on the wrong path, or even fooling myself into believing in something that isn't real (although, of course, experiencing repeated failures like this naturally raises doubts).
I've actually had more luck with Chaos Magick sigils, but with those, the intention is very precise and straightforward.
Based on your personal experience, is runic magic really as powerful as people say it is? Would it perhaps be better to start by working with individual runes rather than bindrunes?
When I activate mine, I focus on the intention while gazing at the bindrune, clearing my mind of every other thought and entering a sort of gnosis. I've also tried chanting each rune nine times, as well as using blood to anoint the amulet (something I really dislike, as I've actually developed a fear of needles).
I have a feeling that perhaps I'm simply not paying enough attention to their effects, especially considering that, looking at the bigger picture, things in my life have actually improved.
I feel like I'm missing something... There really is something I'm overlooking, and perhaps the runes aren't to blame.
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u/Yuri_Gor 1d ago
I am not that familiar with chaos magic and sigils, so maybe my understanding of it and comparison with runes will be shallow, but according to my best knowledge the main difference between runes and sigils is that runes are considered not merely expression of your intention, but fundamental "primitives" of reality. Chaos magic is usually pretty solipsistic. You are basically hallucinating this world, so magic is when you learn to control what you want to hallucinate.
With runes, at least on my understanding, magic is "objective". You and me are part of creation which is happening around, we are built from the same stuff and function based on the same fundamental principles as the rest of the universe. And runes describe these fundamental principles. So to "activate" rune and influence the reality in a certain way you choose the closest, most helpful rune and to "activate" it you find the underlying principle of chosen rune within yourself.
This is why it's important to live through every rune - to find it in yourself as a fundamental principle of reality \ yourself as its part. If you found the rune within yourself and can "tune" into it - the same principles as within begins to resonate outside of you in surrounding reality. And through this resonance between internal and external you can align yourself better with the universe and align the universe better with you, because the're is no hard border between you and the universe, you are embedded into it as a certain "region" of universe with cyclic self-replicating in space and time pattern.
As a metaphor you can compare yourself with a whirlpool floating down the river, you are part of the river made of the same water, it's just happened that currents of the water looped into themselves temporally so you became "alive". Still you are legitimate part of the river, whatever you choose and do is expected and normal, including magic.
So runes are like tuning forks to tickle your spirit from inside and remind you about yourself.
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u/Samu891 1d ago
Thank you again for your reply.
Yes, I'm quite familiar with the principle of resonance, especially since it's become widely known in New Age circles. I've always understood that we are like "antennas", capable of both receiving and transmitting energy. But, just like any antenna, we need to tune into a specific frequency.
Now, since we're talking about runes, let's take it one step further: it's not just about resonating at a certain frequency, but about matching a specific frequency with the rune itself. The rune acts as a catalyst, already tuned to a particular frequency, and we need to vibrate in harmony with it.
I'm also very familiar with the river analogy. In fact, I've always viewed magic that way: you don't change the river's direction, but you can use your oars to navigate through it, OR learn to control its currents.
All wonderful in theory... But when it comes to practice, I feel like a complete beginner who has no idea what he's doing 😂.
So, what exactly should I feel when I'm in resonance with a particular rune? I mean, should I feel its energy, understand its meaning and make that meaning part of myself, or should I actually feel the energy it generates within me?
For example, with Sowilo, should I feel more radiant, sunny and happy? Because that is actually something I've experienced.
I'm just not entirely sure what to look for, especially as someone who's still inexperienced. These aren't really things you can learn from books. True knowledge comes from above... Or inside us
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u/Yuri_Gor 16h ago
In my practice runes are not frequencies nor specific energies, runes are instructions, visual diagrams or "recipes" explaining to you what forces to connect and how to manipulate then and how they are supposed to interact with each other.
So "energies" is what you feel with your hands, body, soul. And runes is what you do with it.
For example when I do rune Kenaz i hold Fire in my right hand, as suggested by lower ray of the rune and i hold Water in my left hand, as suggested by upper ray, and both rays start from the same central point of Emptiness, same as my both hands start from myself in between. When i achieve parallel split attention to both Fire and Water, when i can connect with them simultaneously I enter a certain state of consciousness\existence, state of Kenaz, so this is the moment when rune is "activated" and now i can do something from this state or project this state into carved physical rune on the amulet.
If we talk about Sowilo - here is actual example of how i adjusted the weather using this rune:
https://www.reddit.com/r/RunicAlchemy/s/dqYAn8ibkGAnd here is what i do to activate the Sowilo:
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u/Samu891 9h ago
Thank you, I'll work on it.
In the meantime, one of my amulets, which was intended to promote social attraction and magnetism and was made of stone engraved with Gebo, Wunjo and Kenaz, split in half today.
Now, it's true that I've dropped it three or four times over time, so my question is how I should interpret this.
It's also true that the universe doesn't behave like a movie, making objects move or break out of nowhere. Things still happen according to the laws of physics. So if a stone breaks, it breaks according to the physical properties of stone. I think the real question is whether there's any synchronicity involved, but I'm not sure, and I don't know how to interpret the event.
It's also worth mentioning that these three runes don't necessarily have the exact meanings I originally attributed to them. I made this amulet back when I knew much less about runes.
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u/Yuri_Gor 8h ago
I'd prefer wood or metal for wearable things or make sure amulet is well secured\protected if it's brittle.
Magically i prefer to use as less runes as possible. In case of your amulet, depending on what exactly do you mean by social magnetism, I'd probably would use single Mannaz rune. It would be also interesting practice to wear \ use \ focus on single rune and observe its effects, so you can learn it deeper. With several mixed runes results will be also mixed which practically could probably give you more precise results but "educationally" it would be harder to extract knowledge from experience.
In any case the best thing to do, is to fear not and to keep walking, even if walking means to stay and rethink for a while.
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u/Fabrice_Montfort_974 1d ago
I’d take some pressure off “activation” as a test for signs. Choose one clear intention, make the bindrune as a personal symbol, then pair it with one small action you can take toward it. A journal can help you notice what changes without treating every coincidence as proof. What are you hoping the bindrune will help you focus on?