If you can remember three simple rules you can do rune readings. Interpreting the runes is just that easy. After you learn this trio of rules, your mastery of rune readings is only minutes away.

To interpret a rune reading, look for stones that...

1. Make patterns or shapes with other stones.

2. Lie close or far from others.

3. Land face up or face down ("occluded").

There are a few other frills and flourishes you'll learn later in this book. But these three are the basics. With them in mind, even if you never read that far, even if they are the only thing you learn about rune reading, you'd be able to glean all the essentials of a reading, every time.

During your initial readings, you will probably have to look up the meanings of the individual runes several times until you learn them all. But, looking up runes this way, in conjunction with a reading, will impress them more quickly and deeply on your mind. So, it won't be long before you've memorized the whole 23--often in no more than two or three readings.

Stones that Make Patterns

What does looking for patterns mean? The best answer is that you will know when you see them. Even if the pattern seems vague to you, if your intuition suggests a shape, don't block it out. You don't need to be psychic to read the runes, but you do need to use your intuition.

Typically, when you look at the way the stones have fallen in a reading, you will notice that some of them form patterns. Lines, triangles, and clusters are common patterns. Certain patterns symbolize relationships between forces in your life that interact harmoniously. Other configurations indicate runes whose energies interact inharmoniously.

Sometimes these are called positive and negative configurations, but this is a misnomer. There are no negative aspects in rune readings, only inharmonious ones. But what is inharmonious can be harmonized. In short, such patterns are not truly negative because each apparent difficulty also holds an opportunity--if you look for it--as symbolized by the rune Thurisaz.

The forces represented by runes in certain patterns work harmoniously together. These runes reinforce each other and blend their energies well, just like notes in music. Runes that touch, lines, and triangles are among the more harmonious configurations.

*Stones that touch. The forces symbolized by these runes are so harmonious they act together almost as one. The powers of runes that touch are said to be multiplied by the number of runes touching. When two runes touch, their effect is doubled; when three touch their power is tripled, and so forth.

*Straight or curved lines. These are also called "lines of power." Runes that are part of such a line indicate the special strengths of the person being read for. Such lines should be read like a sentence or paragraph that begins, "These are _____'s best qualities."

*Triangles. The triangle has been recognized as a symbol of wholeness and well-being since ancient times. Sacred and mystical designs frequently incorporate triangular shapes and configurations. A triangle is the least number of lines that can enclose a space and is one of the most inherently stable of structures. (Unlike a square or rectangle, they cannot easily be made to collapse.)

As I've said, some configurations are inharmonious. Like certain notes in music, they are dissonant and jarring. Rather than working together to further your life, these runes disrupt each other's forces--so that their effectiveness is undercut or paralyzed. Energies of runes that form patterns such as squares, and rectangles, or rune stones that lie at the opposite sides of a reading always conflict:

*Squares. Squares have four corners formed by lines that form 90 degree angles. When forces intersect at this angle, they cross each other. Runes at the corners of squares are therefore said to work at cross-purposes--each undercutting the other's energies.

*Rectangles. A rectangle is one of the least stable shapes in geometry. One side is already over-balanced and a rectangle will easily collapse unless it is well-braced. The energies embodied in runes that form rectangles tend to collapse in a heap and remain inert.

*Stones at opposite ends. When two runes lie on the opposing sides of a reading, the forces they symbolize oppose--and so block or neutralize--each other. Such runes represent key parts of the life or self that are in conflict.