Today's Runes for James Legge

The Cross spread is used to plot the arc of your life and the forces acting on it. It is the most popular spread, giving a very complete view of the situation. Gold Runes are most commonly used for questions about business, career, and property.

The left rune represents an important element of the past. Gebo means gift, and like any gifts, the rune may be understood on many levels. Gifts are generally positive things, for both the giver and the recipient. In many cultures however, gifts and favors carry with them an obligation to respond in kind. It is for this reason that gifts, and hence the rune Gebo, are frequently symbolic of friendships, marriages, alliances, mergers, and other bonds between people or organizations. Gebo is a strong rune and the unions represented are strong as well. Moreover, Gebo is not reversible, as true friendships are not easily undone.

The middle rune represents a deciding element of the present. Eoh refers to the Yew tree. The Yew does not go dormant and therefore represents endurance. Even the wood of the tree is strong, resilient, and pliable - the Yew bends, but does not break. The evergreen nature of the Yew is present even in the rune itself, as it cannot be changed even by reversal. This rune is historically symbolic of death, but, as in the Tarot and as suggested by the nature of the Yew tree itself, death is seen only as a transmutation of something eternal and unchanging - the spirit.

The top rune represents a force that works for you. Raido is the rune of riding, as in a cart or as cargo. It is seen here reversed, suggesting a disruption of travel or communication. Etiological analysis of this rune has also given it interpretations of advice or justice, and of being in a position of moral correctness. Reversed, there is an indication of the lack of solid council, or the holding of a position that is not morally sound.

The bottom Rune represents a force that works against you. Ehwaz is representative of the eight-legged horse ridden by the god Odin. As such, this is the rune of controlled movement and travel, including the pursuit of an objective or station in life. Since some older sources show Odin not as a man riding a horse but as a centaur-like being, this rune can also represent the union of man and nature, or the fusion of two entities in perfect harmony. As this rune is reversed, this could bode poorly for travel or for the vehicle involved. In the more spiritual sense, this rune could represent difficulties in self-improvement or other attempts at advancement. Finally, it may represent a splitting of two or the inability of two to act as one.

The right rune represents the critical element of the future, at the core of the final outcome. Uruz symbolizes the Auroch, a member of the ox family that became extinct long ago. This rune represents the strength, bravery, and endurance of this animal of old. Uruz portends the ability to meet problems head on and to overcome them. When the world was new, warriors used to test their strength against the Auroch. Hence, this rune has come to represent the masculine principle and the capacity to meet a challenge.