Does anyone else work with rune casting? How does it compare to reading the Tarot for you?
Are there any good Tarot decks that work runes into the cards? Or does anyone combine runes on stone with a reading with a normal deck?
10 Likes
Most readings leave you with more questions than answers.
Get unlimited tarot readings and actually ask the follow-up. Full spreads, not generic meanings or automated generators.
For me, they each scratch different itches. Tarot gives me the whole story - the why, the emotional undercurrents, where things might lead. Beginners come to Tarot just to ask yes/no questions but they learn to stay for the guidance and value it can add to your life. Runes just tell me what IS. No sugar coating, no maybes.
The Runic Tarot by Jack Sephiroth is probably your best bet if you want both in one deck. It has the full 78 cards but incorporates Elder Futhark throughout. I don’t use it too often, but it fits a pretty nice use. It juggles both systems, so it might take a little more practice than most. If you do want to combine your normal rune stones with any other Tarot deck, I would suggest pulling your spread first and then running one rune per card when you need a clarifier.
The rune messages are pretty black and white and without much nuance, so it might help if the cards are being vague or if I’m getting conflicting messages. The rune usually points to what actually matters.
The Haindl deck has runes on the majors, but tbh I barely notice them when reading. I originally thought I’d use them for some kind of fusion, but after studying the meanings a bit, I found they were really too limited than just the cards themselves. If I needed to go deeper than my deck, I would mix a different Tarot system before adding runes again.
Maybe that’s just my experience, and YMMV, but I think there is probably a reason that the cards are more popular than ever and you don’t really see anyone working with runeology.
Not common, but you might find some readers still using runes… they tend to be a little later in life… it has become less popular.
Anyone else notice runes seem more popular with the Norse pagan crowd while tarot is everywhere? My local metaphysical shop has one tiny rune shelf vs an entire tarot wall. There’s this woman who makes hybrid decks with bind runes incorporated into the minor arcana. Can’t remember her shop name, but they’re hand-painted, absolutely stunning. Expensive though - think it was like $180 for a full deck.
For deck recs that mix runes with tarot, I’d check out The Runic Tarot by Jack Sephiroth, Tarot of the Northern Shadows, and Clive Barrett’s Norse Tarot. If your rune set has a blank rune, that’s a modern addition. You can either assign it a meaning or just take it out - I prefer removing it for clearer readings, but that’s a personal choice.
I like to chant the galdr of the drawn rune quietly before shuffling the cards. It helps the imagery come through better. Then I journal both together - the rune as the main theme and the cards filling in the details.
Try using a single rune as the ‘verb’ of a tarot spread. Ehwaz turns the reading into movement, Isa into pause. For timing, overlay the Norns: Urd (past), Verdandi (present), Skuld (trajectory) on a 3-card line.
It’s quick and playful, keeps the two systems from talking over each other.
Yeah, I get what you mean about the Haindl.
When someone just stamps runes onto tarot cards without really weaving them into the whole system, it ends up feeling more like cool-looking clipart than something that actually works together. The artist really has to think about how the two languages talk to each other, not just mash them up.
That said, I wouldn’t write off runes entirely just because one fusion didn’t work for you. The limitation you experienced might actually be the runes’ strength in a different context - they’re meant to be stark and direct. When tarot gets too layered, or I’m overthinking a spread, pulling a single rune can cut through all that mental noise.
It’s less about depth and more about brutal clarity.
As for popularity, I think runes require a different kind of study that doesn’t appeal to everyone. Tarot hands you all these rich pictures and instant stories, while runes are super abstract and tied to a pretty specific cultural/historical context.
That price tag makes sense for hand-painted work, though! Bind runes in the minors is such a clever approach - way more subtle than slapping Elder Futhark on the majors like most fusion decks do.
You’re totally right about the Norse pagan connection. I think runes require more cultural context to click with people, whereas Tarot has been adapted so many times that it speaks to almost anyone now. The metaphysical shop comparison says it all - Tarot’s just more accessible as a starting point.
3 Likes