Wyrd: The blank rune

Many modern rune readers have introduced an extra, blank rune to the accepted symbols of the Elder Futhark. However, since the runes are essentially an alphabet, and each rune represents a letter, there is very little justification for this.

After all, each letter signifies a sound, or combination of sounds, and even in the modern alphabet there is no symbol that represents silence. In addition, there is no historical evidence whatsoever that the rune masters of the past ever included a blank stone or stick either in their divinations or in the runic calendar.

Some modern practitioners of runic divination have given the blank rune the name Wyrd, a word that literally means "fate". The norns were said to weave the web of Wyrd, in other words, creating the destiny to which we are all individually bound. In turn, according to some myths, the Norns were the daughters of a mysterious goddess called Wyrd, who seems to be little more than a personification of their collective function. One interpretation of the blank rune is that it signals that fate has taken a hand in your affairs and that you should look no further into the reading. However, this is a function that is already present in the Elder Futhark, found under Pertho. The function of fate as a necessity can likewise be found within the meaning of the rune Nauthiz. In summary, the Wyrd rune does not belong to any of the three aetts of the Elder Futhark.

For those who wish to use the blank rune in their readings, however, here are a few suggestions as to its possible interpretation. The Anglo-Saxons and other races of northern Europe believed in a universal force that they called Orlog. Orlog, which literally means "doom" or "destiny", governed the fate of nations and entire populations ( in fact, there is a Dutch word, oorlog, which means "war" ). In terms of this rune, Orlog should be taken to mean the individual fate that is our birthright. In expresses the karmic debt, which many believe has been carried over from a previous life. According to this view, most of the important elements if life are already predestined and nothing can be done to change them. When the blank rune turns up, it means that you are reaching such a point and that there is absolutely nothing you can do to change it. Although free will exists, at this moment events will go as they have been ordained.
If the blank rune turns up as the answer to a specific question, the answer is that this is not the right time to ask it.
The blank rune also indicates major changes in your life. Some even suggest that a bereavement is likely. However, since the rune has no symbolic associations, it would be difficult to work out if this is the case.
In my opinion, the use of Wyrd, the blank rune, is not necessary to runic divination, and is simply a modern addition to the ancient practice of rune-casting.

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