Questions to Ask the Runes
These are questions to ask the runes when you are casting for yourself, or about to sit with a rune reader, and are not sure how to word what you want to know. The list follows the order a session tends to take: questions for a single rune, then a decision laid out in two or three, then love, work, obstacles and what to carry forward. The notes cover how to read the answer you get, which yes-or-no question a wording stands in for, and when to put the bag away.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
One rune
What should I keep in mind today?
Why ask it
The plainest single-rune pull, and it works because a day is short enough to check. Write the rune down in the morning and look at it again at night. A few weeks of that will teach you more about how you read your own set than memorizing a table of meanings.
What do the runes have to say to me right now?
Why ask it
Ask it when nothing in particular is wrong and you only want a general read. Take the rune as a heading for the next few days, not as a warning, and do not go hunting for a crisis to fit it. If a specific worry comes to mind the moment you see the rune, that worry is your next, narrower question.
What does this situation ask of me right now?
Why ask it
Name one situation out loud before your hand goes in the bag. A usable answer reads as a stance you could take this week, the way Isa is usually read as hold still and Uruz as put your strength into it. If you cannot turn the rune into something to do or stop doing, the situation was named too loosely.
What have I overlooked in this?
Why ask it
This is the open form of "is there something I am missing", which a single rune can only answer with a shrug. Expect the reply to point at a person or a practical detail you already half know about. A rune that seems to have nothing to do with the matter is worth a day's thought before you draw again.
What strength do I already have for this?
Why ask it
Worth asking when you feel under-equipped, because it sends you looking for what is there. A hard rune still answers it: Nauthiz, need, is often read as the toughness that comes from having gone without. If nothing in the rune fits, ask a friend what they would have said and compare.
What should I be ready for this week?
Why ask it
About as close to a forecast as a rune question gets while staying useful, since being ready is in your hands and the week is not. A hard draw is no sentence: Hagalaz means hail, weather nobody chose, and the sensible answer to hail is slack in the calendar. On Sunday, check the rune against what happened.
What is at the root of what has been bothering me?
Why ask it
For the days when you cannot word a question at all. Draw one rune, then finish the sentence "this is really about" in writing before you look anything up. The first ending you write is usually the real question, and it deserves a cast of its own.
What do I need to hear that I would rather not?
Why ask it
Decide before you draw whether you want the honest version. A good answer stings a little and names something specific; a comfortable one usually means you reached for the kindest meaning in the book. With a reader, saying this question aloud gives them permission to stop softening.
Which rune should I live with this month?
Why ask it
A study question more than a reading, and the best way to learn the alphabet one stave at a time. Carry the rune or draw it on a card, and note where its theme turns up in ordinary life. By the end of the month you will have a meaning of your own to set beside the book's.
A decision
What brought me to this choice, where do I stand now, and where am I headed as things are?
Why ask it
The classic three-rune line, read left to right. The words "as things are" matter: the third rune describes a direction and not a verdict. If it worries you, go back to the middle rune, which is the one position you can still change.
What is the situation, what action suits it, and what follows if I take it?
Why ask it
The other common three-rune layout, and the better one when you already know the history. Read the middle rune as advice and the last as what that advice tends to produce. An action rune you dislike is still useful, because you can say exactly what you object to.
What do I gain if I say yes, and what do I give up?
Why ask it
Two runes, one for each half, laid in that order. It replaces "should I do it", which leaves you with a yes or a no and none of the reasons. Be wary of a cast where the cost looks trivial, and ask yourself what you left out of the question.
What does it look like if I change nothing?
Why ask it
Staying put is an option too, and it rarely gets a cast of its own. A calm rune here is a fair sign the urgency is coming from somewhere else, perhaps from other people's timetables. Lay it beside whatever you drew for going ahead before you decide.
What do I want from this that I have not said out loud?
Why ask it
One rune, and then a sentence of your own beginning "I want". Decisions stall when the stated reason and the real one differ, such as a move described as a career step that is mostly about being near someone. Once the want is on paper the options usually sort themselves.
What do I need to find out before I commit?
Why ask it
The best answer here is dull and can be looked up: a figure, a date, a conversation with one person. Draw Ansuz, the rune of speech and messages, and the reading is close to literal: go and ask somebody. If the cast sends you to a fact, get the fact and leave the runes in the bag until you have it.
Which part of this is in my hands?
Why ask it
Sorts the decision into what you can settle and what you can only meet. Drawing Perthro, the lot cup that readers connect with chance, is a fair hint that some of this cannot be planned. That is a relief more often than a worry, since it shortens the list of things to get right.
What is the first step, small enough to take this week?
Why ask it
A rune gives a theme, so the work is translating it into an errand. Raidho, the journey rune, might become booking the visit; Kenaz, the torch, an hour of reading up. If you cannot find a step that fits inside seven days, the decision is still too large and needs splitting.
How will I know in three months that I chose well?
Why ask it
Asks for a sign you can check, which is the honest replacement for "will this work out". Put what the rune suggests into plain terms, such as sleeping better or dreading Mondays less, and write a date beside it. When the date comes, read the note before you cast again.
Love
Where do we actually stand with each other?
Why ask it
Three runes, for a couple or for two people who have not yet said what they are: you, the other person as you see them, and what lies between you. Keep the middle one honest by remembering it shows your view of them and not their private thoughts. If the third rune surprises you, that is the thing to raise with them in person.
What am I like to be with at the moment?
Why ask it
Use this in place of "does he love me" or "is she the one", questions about someone who is not at the table. A rune can only be read against what you know, and what you know is your own side. An unflattering answer is the useful kind here: it is the half of the relationship you can change by Friday.
What does this relationship need from me now?
Why ask it
Good for a steady partnership that has gone a little quiet. Answers tend to be modest: time, attention, an apology that has been owed for a while. If Ehwaz comes up, the horse rune that readers take as two moving in step, ask what the pair of you have stopped doing together.
What should I understand about how we talk to each other?
Why ask it
Aim it at the pattern and not at the last argument. A worrying answer is one you recognize at once, such as going silent or keeping a tally. Bring that one observation to your partner as something you have noticed in yourself, and leave the rune out of it.
What do we each give, and what do we each expect back?
Why ask it
Gebo, the gift rune, stands for exchange, and this is its question whether or not you draw it. Lay one rune for giving and one for expecting. A lopsided pair is no proof that anyone is being used, only a reason to talk about who does what.
What am I assuming about them that I have never checked?
Why ask it
Sharper than asking what they feel, because it stays on your side of the fence. Whatever the rune suggests, turn it into one question you could put to them directly. Asking it will tell you more than a second cast would.
What would have to be different for the two of us to work?
Why ask it
Ask this where you were going to ask "will we get back together"; it suits a relationship on a break as well as one that has ended. A hopeful answer names something you could change yourself. If the rune only makes sense as the other person becoming someone else, take that as your answer and stop casting on it.
What did my last relationship leave me holding on to?
Why ask it
For anyone newly single or newly dating. The answer is often a habit of guarding and seldom the person themselves. If the draw brings up more than you expected, close the bag for the night and talk to someone you trust.
What kind of partnership am I ready for now?
Why ask it
The single person's version of "when will I meet someone", which no rune can date. Read the answer as a description of what you could offer this year. If it sounds smaller than what you have been looking for, that gap is worth knowing about before the next first date.
Work
What at work deserves my energy this season?
Why ask it
A season is the right span for a work question: long enough to matter, short enough to review. Have your actual task list beside you and match the rune to one line on it. If it matches nothing on the list, the answer may be the thing you have not dared to add.
What would make me a stronger candidate for this job?
Why ask it
"Will I get the job" is the question people bring, and no rune can answer it. This one can be worked on: match the rune to one piece of the application, the letter, the examples you plan to give or the person who could introduce you, and fix that piece before the deadline. Hiring steps differ from one employer to the next, so ask the recruiter what they are and when you will hear.
What would taking this offer change about my ordinary days?
Why ask it
Keeps the cast on daily life, where a job is actually lived, and off the title and the salary. A good answer sounds like a Tuesday: the commute, the people, the kind of problem on your desk. Notice periods, benefits and contract terms differ by employer and place, so ask about them and do not read them from a rune.
What is behind my restlessness at work?
Why ask it
Boredom, low pay, a bad manager and wanting a different life all feel the same at four in the afternoon. One rune will not sort them for you, but arguing with it will: say why it is wrong and you have usually named the real cause. Hold off on big moves until you can state that cause in a sentence.
What is my part in the friction with this coworker?
Why ask it
Name the person before you draw, and keep the question on your half. Should Tiwaz turn up, the rune named for the god Tyr and tied to fairness, ask whether you have been even-handed with them. If the trouble is mistreatment and not mere friction, a cast is the wrong tool: find out who handles complaints where you work.
What do I need to learn next?
Why ask it
A usable answer names a subject you could find a course or a mentor for. Vague draws happen here, so narrow it by casting once for the skill and once for who could teach it. Put the first lesson in the calendar the same day, or the cast was entertainment.
What is my relationship with money at the moment?
Why ask it
Fehu, the first rune, means cattle, the movable wealth of its day, and it is the stave readers link to earnings. Ask about your habits and feelings and never about amounts: no rune knows your balance. Questions of debt, tax or investing belong with a qualified adviser.
What does this project need that it does not have yet?
Why ask it
Works for a business idea, a thesis or a renovation. The answers that help are concrete lacks, such as a deadline, a partner or a first customer. If the rune you draw reads as patience, check honestly whether the project needs time or you are avoiding the next hard task.
What am I planting now that will take a year to show?
Why ask it
Jera means year, and readers take it as the harvest that arrives only in its season. Whatever you draw, read it on that timescale, which suits anyone tired of seeing no result. Write the answer on a dated card and put it where you will find it a year from today.
Obstacles
What is standing in my way that I keep walking around?
Why ask it
The second half does the work, since it assumes you have seen the thing and stepped past it. Thurisaz, the thorn, is a common reading for an obstacle that has to be handled head-on. A friendly-looking rune here can mean the block is something you enjoy, which is harder news.
What is this standstill good for?
Why ask it
Ask it when nothing moves and pushing has stopped helping. A stalled season often has a use: rest, preparation, an end to something that needed ending. The worrying answer is the one that says the delay is yours, and then the next question is what you are waiting for.
How am I adding to this problem?
Why ask it
Uncomfortable, and the only obstacle question whose answer you can act on alone. Read the rune strictly as a description of your own behavior and resist assigning it to anyone else. If you finish with a full account of another person's faults, cast again another day.
What here do I have to accept?
Why ask it
For the part of a problem that will not move: someone else's decision, a diagnosis, a door already closed. The cast will not make it lighter, but naming it stops you spending effort there. If what comes up is heavy, especially around health or grief, take it to a person and not back to the bag.
Who or what could help me with this?
Why ask it
Read the rune as a kind of help and then put a name to it. Algiz is commonly taken as protection and Mannaz as other people, and either one is a plain hint to stop handling it alone. The cast is finished when you have sent the message asking.
Which difficulty should I meet first?
Why ask it
For weeks when three things have gone wrong at once. Write each trouble on a slip, draw a rune over each, and start with the one whose rune reads as most pressing to you. The ranking is yours, and the runes only slow you down enough to make it.
What is this setback teaching me that an easy stretch could not?
Why ask it
Only ask once the worst has passed; in the middle of it the question sounds like a scolding. A good answer is small and specific, such as who showed up or what you can do without. Leave it for later if the first meaning that comes to mind is that you deserved it.
Carry forward
What is the one thing to take from this cast?
Why ask it
Ask it last, of the runes already on the cloth, by choosing the one you would keep if the others went back in the bag. Say why in a single sentence. A reader can be asked the same thing, and their choice set beside yours is often the most interesting minute of a session.
What should I leave behind as I go on?
Why ask it
Works as the second of two runes, one for what to keep and one for what to drop. Look for a habit, a grudge or a plan that no longer fits, and expect a small pang when you name it. Feeling only relief tells you something as well: you were ready some time ago.
What have I inherited that is worth keeping?
Why ask it
Othala, the last rune in many orderings, stands for home and what is handed down, which makes this its natural question. Answers run from a trade or a recipe to a way of treating guests. Try it with a parent or grandparent at the table, since they will have the stories a rune only hints at.
What is beginning for me?
Why ask it
Best asked at a natural turn: a birthday, a new year, the first week in a new place. Whatever you draw, look for something still small enough to be overlooked, the way readers take Berkano, the birch, as growth that has only just started. Beginnings named early tend to get looked after.
What is going right that I have stopped noticing?
Why ask it
Casts lean toward trouble because trouble is why people reach for the bag. This one corrects the balance, and it is the question to ask when Sowilo, the sun, has turned up and you could not see why. If the answer involves a person, tell them.
What am I ready for now that I was not a year ago?
Why ask it
A question about change you can verify from memory, so the rune has something solid to be read against. Think of one thing you avoided last year and ask whether the draw speaks to it. If you honestly cannot see any difference, that is worth a cast of its own on what kept you in place.
When I cast again, what should I ask about?
Why ask it
Closes a session by pointing at the subject you circled and never named. Write the rune and your guess in a notebook, then wait a few weeks: casting again tomorrow on the same matter mostly measures your nerves. The notebook is also where you find out whether your readings hold up.
Wording and casting a rune question
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Wording a question the runes can answer
Open with what, how or which
A rune is one word with a field of meanings around it: harvest, ice, gift, journey. A question that opens with what or how gives that word room to say something. One that opens with will, should or is leaves room only for yes or no, and no rune means either.
One subject per cast
"What about my job and my marriage" gets a rune you can pin to neither. Split it into two casts on two days if need be. The exception is a question built for a layout, where each part has its own position and you have said which is which.
Name the person, the matter and the span of time
"What does this month ask of me in the apartment hunt" can be checked at the end of the month. "What does the future hold" cannot be checked at all. The narrower the question, the more plainly a rune either fits or does not.
Keep yourself as the subject
Ask about your part, your options and your view of someone, and leave their private thoughts alone. A cast about another person's feelings is a guess you cannot test, and it tends to arrive as whatever you were afraid of.
Write it down before you draw
Put the exact wording on paper, with the date. It stops the question from shifting once you see the rune, and it gives you a record to read against later, which is the only way to learn whether your readings are any good.
Why yes-or-no and prediction questions read poorly
A rune is a theme, not a verdict
Some people count an upright rune as yes and a reversed one as no. Several runes, Isa, Gebo and Dagaz among them, look the same either way up, so the method fails on a good share of draws, and when it does work it gives you an answer with no reasons attached.
Prediction leaves nothing to do
"Will I get the job" has two possible answers and you can act on neither. "What would make me a stronger candidate" has many, and every one of them is a task. A rune read as a forecast also tends to be remembered only when it comes true.
Rewording, with examples
"Will we get back together" becomes "what would have to be different for the two of us to work". "Should I move" becomes two casts: what moving brings and what staying brings. "When will I meet someone" becomes "what kind of partnership am I ready for". "Is he lying to me" becomes "what am I assuming that I have not checked".
When you truly need a yes or a no
Ask the open version, read the rune, then make the call yourself and write down why. If you find you were hoping for a particular rune as you drew, you already have your answer, and the cast has done its job.
One rune or three
The single rune
Suits a day, a mood or one narrow question. Draw without looking, say the rune's name, and give your own first reading before opening a book. A single rune a day is also the easiest habit to keep, and the quickest way to learn a set.
The three-rune cast
Laid left to right. The two usual assignments are what led here, where things stand and where they are heading; or the situation, the action and the outcome. Some readers name the three places after the Norns of Norse myth. Choose the assignment and say it before you draw: picking it afterward is how a reading bends toward what you hoped.
Reversed runes and the blank
Many readers take a rune that lands upside down as its meaning blocked, delayed or turned inward, and others ignore orientation entirely. Settle your rule before the cast. The blank rune sold with some sets is a modern addition and no part of the 24-rune Elder Futhark, so leaving it out of the bag is a perfectly sound choice.
Which meanings to trust
The rune names and their old senses come down through medieval rune poems. The layouts and most of the divinatory meanings in current books are modern, and the books disagree with each other. Pick one source, stay with it for a few months, and let your notebook correct it.
If a reader casts for you
Ask at the start which layout they use and whether they read reversals. Tell them the subject and keep the answer you are hoping for to yourself. It is fair to ask how they got from a rune to what they said. Fees, session length and the subjects a reader will not take vary from one to the next, so ask how it works with them.
What tends to go wrong
Drawing again until it agrees
A second cast on the same question the same evening measures how much you disliked the first. If the rune made no sense, write that down and return to it in a few days. The ones that puzzled you are often the ones that read clearly later.
Hunting through meanings until one fits
Every rune has several published senses, and with enough books open any draw can be made to say anything. Give your own reading first, look up one source second, and stop there.
Casting when frightened
Late at night after bad news, every rune looks like confirmation. Sleep first. A question that still matters in the morning will be better worded then, and one that has faded did not need a cast.
Reading for someone who has not asked
Casting on a partner, an ex or a relative without their knowledge gives you conclusions about a person who never had a say. Ask about your own side of it, or invite them to draw with you.
Putting a rune where a professional belongs
Symptoms go to a doctor, contracts and disputes to a lawyer, debt and investments to a qualified adviser. A cast can help you notice that you have been putting off the appointment, and its usefulness ends there. What help exists and how to reach it depends on where you live, so ask locally.