Runes 301 - Making Your Own Runes - Getting Rid of Old Runes

Runes are a very personal thing.   The first time I picked up a set of Runes, I had a strong and immediate connection to them and have worked with them to understand their wisdom ever since.  An important part of that process is making your own Runes and making them your own.  Over the years, I've written posts about how to make your own set, shared sets that other people have made, and even offered my perspective on how to make new Runes your own.

But, there are two sides to that coin and several people have asked me about the second side.  "What do I do with Rune sets that I don't want or use anymore?"

An excellent question.

Part of making Runes involves the magic within them and, when you're done with them, removing it. This can mean a couple of things: passing them on to someone else or getting rid of them all together.

My personal preference is not to pass on Runes that I have used, but that is not to say it cannot be done.  If you decide to pass on your Runes to someone else, I strongly recommend a cleansing process.  I'll give some examples below.

The one instance where I would say firmly not to pass on Runes is if you have stained them with your own blood (or other bodily fluid).  Those are yours.  By staining them with your bodily fluid, you have inextricably linked them to you.  They cannot belong to anyone else.  They have to be packed away some place secure or gotten rid of (destroyed).  This includes things like wood Runes and ceramic Runes where you've added your blood to the clay.

To dispose of Runes you no longer want or use, I recommend incorporating one or more of the elements - air, earth, fire, water - to cleanse and/or get rid of them.

Here are a few examples of things that I've done to release the magic and dispose of Runes:

I have had two sets of wooden Runes, one that I no longer used and one that I was making that someone else accidentally ruined.  For both of these, I burned the Runes and then buried them.  Two elements - fire and earth.  While they burned, I waved my hand over the fire and, as the smoke rose toward Asgard, I asked that the magic return to Heimdall and Odin.  That was the third element - air.  Finally, I used water to put out the fire, thus using all four elements.

Earlier this year, I attempted to make a set of Runes out of clay, similar to the Jera medallion at the top of this post.  They were turning out really well, but the protective coating I put on them was faulty and they got very sticky.  In fact, they stuck together and, when I tried to separate them, the coating peeled off and some of them snapped in two.  I didn't want to, but I have to dispose of them, because they are ruined beyond repair.  So far, I have peeled off the coating and torn it into tiny pieces, which I will burn - fire and air as the magic releases.  (Don't worry.  It's nontoxic.)  I have also broken the Runes into tiny pieces and I am going to grind them up using a mortar and pestle.  I will likely bury the ground up pieces -earth.  No water, but three out of four is pretty good.

Here is a summary of the elements and the role they can play in cleansing and getting rid of Runes you no longer want.