Intro to Bind Runes

INTRODUCTION TO BIND RUNES ---------------------------

Introduction Normally, when people talk about runes, they think of casting the runes in order to get a view into the potential future. The image of the Volva (seeress) sitti ng in a dark cave with a fire, throwing down the runes, and telling a young adve nturer whether his next quest will be profitable (or even survivable), carries w ith us, even into today. However, when the Vikings were at their height, the use of runes in magic didn t r each just to the concept of divination. In fact, there are very few references t o runic divination in historical literature.

Runic magic, does extend into the concept of active magic, where one just didn t try to see into the future, but attempting to have an impact on it. A common practi ce was to combine a series of runes into a pattern that asked upon the gods for a given result. This result could be a blessing, or it could even be a curse.