Redwood Forest Runes of the Elder Futhark

These wonderful Elder Futhark runes have been created under the potent energies of the Full Moon with the added bonus of an impending lunar eclipse.

More than just an ancient alphabet, runes are a powerful system of divination and a path to the subconscious forces operating in your life.

To me, there is something inherently ‘wrong’ about mass-produced runes. Yes, they are cheap… but they are soulless.

This particular set of Elder Futhark runes has been entirely made by hand… and when I say made by hand, I really mean it! No electric saws.. no electric sanding. I have put hard work and energy into creating these runes, in order to produce the best possible magickal tool that I can.

Using a small handsaw, I have personally cut each of the 24 runes consecutively from a single Redwood branch, which was gathered from the incredible Whakarewarewa Forest in Rotorua. The branch has had the bark removed and has been gently sanded by hand – again, just good old fashioned sandpaper… no machines.

The Runes have been crafted from a Redwood branch which hails from the same beautiful forest as the Redwood Wand with Fire Agate which you can see in the photos (and which is also available for sale). Do take a look at the Redwood Wand page for my description and experience of the Whakarewarewa Forest.

I deliberately ensured that the runes were cut consecutively from the same branch. This gives each rune an energetic connection with the others and creates a perfectly cohesive set in which each rune is a part of and connected to the whole.

There are 24 runes of the Elder Futhark and I have burned the runic symbols onto them in a technique known as pyrography: a painstaking, laborious (and slightly dangerous!) process. You may be amused to know that I only burned myself once whilst burning the symbols… and – unsurprisingly – it happened was when I was working on Thurisaz (The Thorn). According to the Anglo-Saxon Rune-Poem:

The Thorn is most sharp:an evil thing
To take a grip on, extremely grim
For any man who rest among them.

Freya Aswynn in her book ’Northern Mysteries & Magick’, comments thus: ”Here we are warned that the Thurisaz rune is evil. This is mostly true, as has been proven to me on several occasions. Thurisaz is the most powerful aid in harmful rune workings, but it is so double-sided that it can backfire very easily and quickly. Conversely, it is just as powerful in procuring protection“.

The Thurisaz rune in this set certainly gave me a warning to treat it with respect!

In one of the photos, there is a rune which looks blank, but actually isn’t – it’s just flipped over. There are no blank runes in the Elder Futhark. The notion of a blank rune is a modern invention, which has no place in this set.

I don’t use varnishes or chemical preservatives on my wood. Instead, the runes have received a natural treatment to give them their beautiful rich colour and to preserve the wood – using a clever method which was taught to me by a very skilled craftsman. Rather than applying a layer of wax and oil with a cloth, I have heated a mixture of natural waxes and oils to a liquid and then completely immersed each rune: allowing them to soak and absorb the waxes and oils into the wood. They have been individually rubbed with a soft cloth to remove excess wax… and now they look and smell wonderful!

Grown in a magickal redwood forest, these runes are very special indeed. They have a wonderful, natural connection to the earth – and particularly with the land of New Zealand. They have been warmed by our sun, drunk of our rain, breathed in our air and had their roots in our soil.

Your runes will come complete with a drawstring pouch to store and protect your set when it is not in use.

For more information on using the runes of the Elder Futhark I strongly recommend the book “Runes and Feminine Powers: Northern Mysteries & Magick” by Freya Aswynn. This will be an invaluable resource to the Keeper of these runes, and to anyone interested in learning runic divination and magick: it is THE book on runes.

This handcrafted set of Redwood Forest Runes of the Elder Futhark  is available now for $87 NZD – including free shipping within New Zealand & Australia.

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