When seeking guidance from the Somber Lord and the Lady of Enlightenment, one must first choose a means of seeking such guidance. I am not a priest of Jastev, yet I have found that some degree of skill in these matters waits hidden in my heart and hands. Many diviners favor cards, crystal balls, or watching the way of the stars, but I have found my pair of silver runestones guides me well and truly. I have written this guide to describe my own experiences with runic divination and perhaps aid others in practicing this art. You may wish to read a brief non-Elanthian note before proceeding further.
If you would seek to divine the future by runes, you must first obtain a proper pair-- and, as beautiful as many find the runestones given to members of Four Winds, they are not appropriate for divination. They are appropriate for gambling, and roughly as useful as dice. The pair of runestones I own came from my voyage aboard the Dhu Gillywhack. Four sets of runestones were sold aboard the Gillywhack: a pair of antique silver runestones, a pair of branded fel runestones, a pair of granite runestones, and a pair of bone-inlaid runestones. I would recommend any of the same. This guide will be most helpful by far to those who own one of those four pairs or a set crafted from the same pattern.
Upon examining a pair of runestones, you will discover that each rune bears six different images, and that the two runes are different from one another. The first runestone is the stone of Domain, and its six symbols are a sun symbol, a rainbow symbol, a cloud symbol, a snowflake symbol, a shrouded sun symbol, and a blank side-- a side without a symbol....
The second runestone is the stone of Direction, and its six runes are a journey rune, a protection rune, a strength rune, a joy rune, a harvest rune, and a retreat rune.
Taken alone, these symbols would be fairly meaningless. Understanding the implications of the Domain rune is the first step in learning to divine through runes.
the sun: success, power, fertility, attainment, the physical
the rainbow: mercy, surcease, foresight, the intellect
the cloud: chaos, confusion, change, the societal
the snowflake: death, comfort, divinity, the spirit
the shrouded sun: illusion, treachery, deception, the emotional
the blank side: none, some, or all of the above, no true context
The implications of the Direction rune are more obvious, but still worthy of description.
journey: passage from one thing to another, voluntarily or involuntarily;
usually symbolic, but sometimes literal
protection: guardianship, maintaining inner focus, things which are
precious
strength: power, prowess, pride
joy: love, happiness, gain of any kind
harvest: gain and loss simultaneously, balance, a final result or destiny
retreat: fear, confusion, the subconscious, the dream realm, a refusal;
usually symbolic, but sometimes literal
In simplest form, divination may be practiced by focusing on a question, situation, or person and tossing the runestones upon a flat surface (a table, a bench, the ground.) It is often helpful to speak your question aloud, as it helps many people to focus, and as your focus will affect how clearly the runes respond to you. Combining the Domain rune with the Direction rune will indicate the result to your question.
You may look here for some examples of simple divination.
Runes can be read in many different ways-- the situation and context is everything. If you are very familiar with the situation about which you ask, the answers you receive will be far clearer than if you come to the situation knowing little. Learning to interpret runes requires a great deal of time and practice. Proper divination requires also the favor of the Somber Lord and a bond with your runestones.
There may come a time when you roll your runes and they reveal an answer
that seems utterly nonsensical or innately false-- the runestones have
"lied" to you. This can be very disheartening, and many diviners
have abandoned the trade upon the first such occurrence.
The first thing to do is to consider all aspects
of the matter, and to consider alternate interpretations of the reading.
While the runes often reveal their truths symbolically, they may reveal
their truths literally as well. A snowflake symbol combined with
a journey rune often indicates a need for exploration of one's spiritual
side, but it may also mean "Go to Icemule." A shrouded sun symbol
combined with a strength symbol may mean that someone is profiting from
a lie, but it may also mean that there will be a rising of undead or that
someone will show his true prowess during the time of a coming eclipse.
Runic reading is rarely simple, and the full context must be taken into
consideration before making an interpretation of the runes.
When all aspects have been considered, if none seems
to offer an explanation of the runes' strange behavior, then it is time
to consider whether you may have lost the favor of Lord Jastev (losing
the favor of Lady Lumnis is difficult) or somehow offended your runestones--
many believe that an actual spirit dwells within a set of true divinatory
runestones, guiding the runes as they fall. In particular, never
second-guess your runes by asking a question twice on the same day-- this
shows an offensive lack of faith. Take steps to ensure that your
runes are clean, undamaged, and appropriately housed, and perhaps seek
the blessing of a priest of Jastev or the advice of another diviner.
From time to time, a very strong bond with a set of runestones can actually
cause
a refusal to answer-- runestones that "care" for their owner may seek to
avoid bringing their owners grief or causing a self-fulfilling prophecy.
In the end, many patterns can be understood only
after they emerge-- some truly dedicated runic diviners keep diaries of
their "inexplicable" rolls, that they may see the patterns in retrospect
and know the meanings when they encounter such patterns in the future.
Fortunately or unfortunately, I am hardly so devoted.
A twinned rune reading is performed either by tossing two sets of runestones simultaneously or by tossing a set twice in quick succession. The meanings of the runes remain for the most part unchanged, but the manner in which they are read varies. This type of reading should be performed with the aid of a standard interpretation chart-- I offer one above, but you may choose to develop your own.
The first thing to do upon throwing a twinned rune reading is to check for a modifying pattern. Modifying patterns are indicated by the presence of a single blank rune in the reading; if there are two blank runes, then neither is a modifying pattern. If there is only a single blank rune in the reading, then....
...if the blank rune is accompanied by a journey rune, the pattern in
the other pair of runestones has not yet come to be.
...if the blank rune is accompanied by a protection rune, the pattern
in the other pair of runestones is currently in effect.
...if the blank rune is accompanied by a strength rune, the pattern
in the other pair of runestones may be invoked through taking appropriate
action but is not currently in effect.
...if the blank rune is accompanied by a joy rune, the pattern in the
other pair of runestones indicates a specific person's influence upon the
subject of your question, and indicates that the person may be characterized
by the component of the other pattern.
...if the blank rune is accompanied by a harvest rune, the pattern
in the other pair of runestones is already past.
...if the blank rune is accompanied by a retreat rune, the meaning
of the pattern in the other pair of runestones should be reversed.
With the modifying pattern taken into account, the second rune pattern should be read as if it were a roll of only those runestones.
You may look here for some examples of modifying patterns in twinned rune readings.
If there is no modifying pattern, then the next thing to do is to check whether the pattern is an established four-rune pattern of significance. If these runes occur in a single four-rune reading, in any order, look no further for significance.
blank, blank, retreat, retreat: This will not be revealed to you.
rainbow, rainbow, retreat, retreat: This question is irrelevant
and / or meaningless; you are asking the wrong question.
rainbow, shrouded sun, strength, retreat: If you do not stop
asking questions and act now, all will be lost.
rainbow, shrouded sun, retreat, retreat: You are denied that
answer, as it would be a self-fulfilling prophecy of destruction.
With deific four-rune patterns, the pattern typically indicates that a situation or person falls into the domain of a specific deity. In more extreme cases, these patterns may indicate the direct attention of a deity, which is frightening enough in and of itself... and, in a very few cases, these patterns may indicate the influence and intervention of one of the Arkati, either directly or indirectly. A full list of deific four-rune patterns may be found here.
There may be other unique four-rune patterns with specific meanings, but my research has yet to reveal any to me. I welcome contributions from any diviners who practice twinned runic readings and have learned of others; you may contact me here.
If the runes have not revealed an established four-rune pattern in your twinned reading, the final step is to examine them in crossmatch. Both Domains rolled should be matched with both Directions rolled, revealing four aspects that must be considered in the situation-- if you rolled Domain 1 and 2 and Direction A and B, you would consider Patterns 1A, 2A, 1B, and 2B, to use simple notation.
You may look here for some examples of crossmatched twinned runic readings.
Until another day, may the blessings of the Somber Lord and Koar's Queen accompany all your divinatory efforts.
By my hand, heart, and will,
Tanager Skydancing.