Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all had an awesome holiday season this year. I also hope you were able to avoid the Plague of 2017. I, unfortunately, did not, and I am still dealing with the tail end of it. But sickness aside, I’m super excited for 2018 and hope you are too.
I thought that for the first post of the year I would start off with a little bit of new year magick. It’s maybe a bit different from what you might expect. We’re going to talk about making a bind rune for the year.
Bind runes are a bit similar to sigils. They combine different runes {in my case working with the Elder Futhark} which when put together create something even more powerful and full of intention than when they are on their own. It’s a spell in a way, putting your intentions into the Universe and attracting your desires. You draw out your bind rune and then activate it with one of a few different methods. The bind rune can then be used in a variety of ways to draw on the intention it was created for.
This particular bind rune that I like to make at the beginning of the year is a little different though. Usually, you would choose a specific intention and select individual runes to work with based on that desire. Here we’re actually leaving it up to the Gods.
The intention behind this annual bind rune is to use four runes, one representing the four seasons to come, to create something that will attract the right energies and lessons needed for the year. But rather than choosing consciously we do some sacred divination with our runes and leave it to the Gods to gift us what we need for the year ahead.
To do this, you’ll need a few things:
- a set of Elder Futhark runes {if you work with the blank/Wyrd rune remove it for this work}
- a white candle
- some paper for sketching
- a journal for recording observations
- some incense {you can use anything you find sacred or a blend specifically for offering purposes}
If you are familiar with northern traditions or Asatru ritual, you can use other ritual elements like the Hammer Rite, invoking the Gods, and making a libation offering. This is entirely up to you. You can certainly take this magick and blend it into your own form of ritual or use it on its own.
Create sacred space and set up your work area. I like to do this at my altar but work where you feel you’ll be most comfortable, especially since you’ll be doing some writing and drawing. Light your white candle and take a few moments to gaze on the flame and relax. Focus on your intentions to receive messages from the Gods for the year ahead. In your heart or out loud, call on the Gods {for me it’s Odin, Thor, and Freya} and share with them your reason for asking for their help and their blessings. Let them know you are looking for guidance in this new calendar year.
Next, take up your runes. I do this while keeping my runes in their bag but you may want to empty them into a bowl or spread them out on the altar or table. Whatever way you choose to do this don’t look at the runes. We want to let the right runes come to us rather than us feeling drawn to them through a visual connection.
I focus on the first season, spring, and roll the runes around through my fingers. As I do this I’ll say:
Gods of Asgard, grant me your gifts.
Odin grant me wisdom.
Thor grant me strength.
Freya grant me beauty.
Share your blessings for the season of spring.
When I feel my fingers have reached the right rune, I draw it from the bag and place it on the altar.
I repeat this same process three more times, for summer, fall, and winter, using the same incantation but changing out the season.
Once you have all four runes, start by just writing in your journal a bit of insight for each season based on the runes you pulled. Meditate on them, talk to the Gods. What wisdom can be gleaned from the runes you have pulled? What lessons need to be learned, what cautions might be in the message for you? ‘
Take your time with this and don’t rush. This initial set of insights is what you will help you get a sense of the year ahead as well as what intentions each rune is going to bring for each season. It is this combined energy of the four runes that will set the intention for your bind rune for the year.
Now comes the fun part, the making of the bind rune.
To do this, you’ll just take the four different rune shapes and blend them, drawing them together, until you create a single image that contains them all. Try it in various ways, move the paper and turn it to get different angles. When your bind rune looks and feels magickal to you {and you’ll know} then you’re ready to stop.
This is my 2018 bind rune.
Once you have your final design sketch it into your journal with your notes. Then cut or rip off a square of paper from a separate sheet and draw it again. This is the one that we’ll be working with to activate the energy of the bind rune. This is what brings it alive and aligns it with our energy.
There are four ways to do this:
- blood
- saliva
- chanting
- breathing/speaking
Galdr/Chanting
The chanting, know as Galdr in Norse tradition {literally Old Norse for “incantation”} is a form of working a verbal spell. This is a little trickier for newbies to rune magick. You need to know how to pronounce your runes and chant them. If you’re new to this and you’d like to try it, this page is a very helpful resource.
Some people create a specific name for their rune, a combination for the first syllable of each rune, and then use Galdr to “birth it” so to speak since it’s basically a new rune formation. This is great, and I love doing this when I’m working with just two runes. But four might be a bit much here. But again, it’s your magick so play around and do what feels right.
To use Galdr for your rune activation, you’ll just chant the names of each of your four runes one after the other until you feel this rune has awakened. For me, this happens when I almost seem to go into a trace where the rune is chanting me rather than me chanting it {that probably makes sense to you other shamanic folks out there}.
Blood and Saliva
Blood and saliva are pretty straightforward. Pick your chosen fluid and simply trace over the bind rune with it. A little chanting here can’t hurt, so as you trace each rune symbol you might want to chant it out loud as well.
Breathing and Speaking
Breathing and speaker is another easy one. For this, you’re going to blow on to the image while stating your intentions. In this situation, you can do this by just stating the main energy you wish to attract for each season based on what you’ve learned from each rune message. As an example, if you pulled Hagalaz for spring you might say, “May Hagalaz help me know when I need to seek the guidance and wisdom of others for my own best interest during the spring.”
Next, light your incense and give it as an offering to the Gods. Then take your bind rune and pass it through the smoke of the incense three times then {carefully} over the flame of the candle three times. Place it with the candle and allow the candle and incense to burn out. Your bind rune is now activated and ready to be used.
You can use your bind rune throughout the year as a personal mark or symbol or attract these blessings and lessons from the Gods. It can be helpful to meditate on it when you find you’re struggling with something during the year. Recall the messages of the individual rune and then meditate on all four together, reflecting on the power of the cycle in your life this year.
Visualize your rune any time you need to draw on its energy.
Carve it into candles for rituals, especially when working on anything related to your lessons for the year.
Wishing you all the magick and power of the Gods for 2018. May they grant you all you need, light and dark, as you make this journey around the Wheel.
