Lessons

Interpretation 2

Introduction

In the last lecture we were introduced to the concept of interpretation. If rune reading was a building then interpretation would be the mortar which held it all together. It is a skill which we can analyse artificially but which must ultimately come from within. Your ability at interpretation will determine how successful you are as a rune reader. In many ways it requires a range of contradictory skills, as much the talents of the computer programmer as the mystic. One side it technical and analytical, requiring excellent observational skills and the ability to quickly process a large amount of information. The other side though needs someone who can understand and relate to people. A good reader is someone who can read the client as well as the runes.

The above diagram represents the relationship between a reader, client and the runes, in the context of a reading. The lines represent the flow of information. Blue lines show information received by the reader. Orange lines represent the message of the runes. What this diagram tells us is to keep in mind during any reading that both the reader and the client have access to two sources of information. In an ideal world, you as reader would be the sole channel for the message of the runes, but often this is not the case. Be alert to the possibility that the client is receiving something directly from the runes. A client who is familiar with Tarot and reversed cards may well try to apply the same techniques to runes, even if you do not use them. Equally clients may have cultural impressions of symbols, or memories of other readings in which they received the same rune. Don't assume that just because you haven't explained a glyph a client won't have jumped to their own conclusions.

As the above diagram shows there are three components to the final interpretation. These insure the client is informed whilst at the same time having their hopes and fears addressed. Many rune readers, including undoubtedly some on this course, intend only to read for themselves and will not understand our emphasis on thinking about the client and their needs. However every rune reader at some point will find themselves giving a reading to another person. These readings are inevitably unplanned and the result of necessity. Hence the client is vulnerable and if the reader is not sensitive to this, you risk inflicting further emotional damage. For this reason we consider it safer and more professional to address interaction with the client throughout this course.

Stages of Interpretation

Carrying out a multi-rune spread interpretation is obviously more complex than interpreting a single rune. However this does not mean that it is automatically more difficult. When you first start reading the runes, it is best to be systematic and follow these stages

1. Identify each rune in the spread separately
2. Identify any deeper patterning
3. Summarize and link the individual rune interpretations focussing the interpretation on addressing the issue/answering the question

As you become more experienced with the runes, you will probably find stage 1 disappears as you are able to Summarize meanings on-the-fly without producing a full interpretation of the individual runes each time. We will now see the method in action using the same scenario and spread we encountered in the previous lecture

Standard Three Rune Spread

"The issue is my friendship with Steven"

Outcome	Action Required	Current Situation

STAGE 1 - INTERPRET INDIVIDUAL RUNES

To remind you, we interpreted the Current Situation rune Pertho (Peorth) last time and reached the following interpretation:

We will now use the same method as for interpreting individual runes in the last lecture and tackle the other two runes in the spread, producing an interpretation of each.

Action Required

Preservation, stability, focus, detachment, completion, cooling relationship, treachery, deceptive beauty, delay (For simplicity we are using the same meanings as in Lesson 8 - Rune Meanings)

This position is certainly going to be Advisory with the possibility also of some use of the Descriptive function. We can pretty much rule out the Predictive and Representative functions.

As with any reading, it is for a client and you would be able to refine your reading based on your intuitions about her. Like every other rune, Isa (Is) covers a range of possibilities and you would hope to establish where on the scale is applicable to this reading. However if you don't feel confident to fine tune your interpretation in this way, remember what you were told last time, provide all the information and let the client do the pruning out.

Ultimately though rune reading is not a rational process. You have to learn to trust your psychic side, your intuition and your inspiration. This is one of the hardest things to do since our society denies the paranormal. Most of us have learned since childhood to suppress that side of ourselves. Rediscovering that side will take time and effort and is in many ways beyond the scope of this course though some appropriate resources are available at the Student Site.

Once again take the meanings applicable to the position and link them to the question asked

Outcome

love, partnership, sharing, gifts, balance, exchange, union, sacrifice, dishonesty, lack of balance (For simplicity we are using the same meanings as in Lesson 8 - Rune Meanings)

The most likely functions served by a rune in this position are (obviously) Predictive and Advisory.

As always the meanings selected are not according to any formula but the intuition of the reader about the client and the situation. These meanings are then melded together to produce an individual interpretation for this rune.

As has been stressed before, while we use terms such as "outcome","evolving situation" and even "future", nothing about such a position is inevitable. It is particularly important to make this clear when relaying an interpretation to a client. Though we have been careful not to privilege any of the four functions of a rune in previous lectures, with respect to a client there is a clear order of significance

1. Advisory
2. Descriptive
3. Representative
4. Predictive

Since a client is normally concerned most about what will happen to them, this is not an order they would necessarily agree with. However as readers we know that the Predictive component of the reader is the least certain and the least important also. Our role as reader should be to provide the client with advice and information to enable them to appropriately address and resolve the problem, concern or situation which caused the reading. Hence the most important information provided by the runes in a reading is Advisory in nature, closely followed by that which is Descriptive. While often a Descriptive rune simply details a situation a querent already knows of, their perception of events may be skewed or they may have not picked up on the significance of some aspects.

STAGE 2 - IDENTIFY DEEPER PATTERNING

As we learned back in Lesson 17 deeper patterning can occur with the runes, but not with every spread or in every reading. On this occasion there is a definite interaction between Gebo (Gyfu) and Isa (Is). Given the context of the reading and the other runes drawn, it would seem that Isa (Is) is acting as a brake on Gebo (Gyfu), holding back some of its more positive meanings.

STAGE 3 - LINK MEANINGS TOGETHER AND SUMMARIZE

Two of the runes in this spread hint strongly at deception, something hidden or danger. The advice throughout is to take care and proceed with caution. However the last rune suggests a positive outcome. All of these different aspects need to be reflected in your interpretation

As we saw earlier though the decoding of the rune meanings should not be the only feature that comprises an interpretation. It should also include "necessary reassurances" as we put it. What are these though? Here we have to read the client, which in this example is rather difficult as we don't have them in front of us. Applying common sense and our intuition to the one piece of evidence we do have should cast some further light on things. Something a reader should ask themselves in every reading is

Why did the client ask this particular question?

In this case it is highly significant because something must have provoked the querent's concerns about this friendship. Two possible scenarios are:

• Her friend has said or done something to make her concerned and doubt him
• She is interested in moving their relationship beyond friendship and wants to be sure of him

Either or both of these may be applicable (or indeed neither since we have to remember that we are not infallible, but the balance of probabilities and our intuition lead us to these two). Hence we have to ensure our interpretation addresses these.

Conclusion

The method outlined in this lecture is structured and ideal for new rune readers. It is also a little mechanical and you do not have to feel you need to stick to it slavishly. When all is said and done it is just one possible method and it takes some time to work through fully. Hence with a client waiting in front of you it might prove difficult to apply. For practice though it is fine. By the time you take real clients you should be in a position to look at the runes laid out in the spread and get the "feel" of the message without interpreting each rune first. Obviously the more runes there are, the harder this is to do, which is why you should initially stick to three rune spreads but practice regularly.

You have completed the lesson. Read it as many times as you need to in order to feel you understand it. Then return here for:
Lesson 19 - Comprehension Tests, Reading and Further Exercises

Please ensure you complete these exercises before moving on to the next lesson.