If you’re looking to get into runes, it might seem difficult to choose the rune set that’s right for you! Runes are typically made from bone, wood, or crystals, and they all work just as well as one another!
I love elder futhark runes, and when I picked my rune set, I just went into the nearest metaphysical shop and they had 2 to pick from, and I just chose my favorite. But with the world of everything at your fingertips on the internet, it can be more daunting to shop for runes!
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This article will go over what the main rune types are, and some features of each type. Try to listen to your intuition when you read this to see if a specific kind interests you.
Buy Or Make?
Before you get into what type, make the decision first on whether or not you want to buy a rune set already made, or make your own runes.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with either choice, if you’d rather buy or make your own runes. But regardless, let’s look at the different materials runes are typically made out of and see which is best for you. You can make your own runes out of each type listed, or even some other materials if you’re making them yourself. Find out how to make your own runes here.
What To Look For In A Rune Set?
My biggest suggestion is to just pick out the rune set that appeals to you the most, since your intuition is trying to guide you.
But there still are a few things to think about. Make sure that the Elder Futhark rune set has 24 runes (sometimes 25 if there’s a blank rune included). If it doesn’t have that many, something weird is going on!
You also want to make sure that all of the items were ethically sourced. Hopefully people will be listing their sources, especially for bone (and crystals).
And finally, make sure that these runes are built to last! You really don’t want to have a rune set that the runes just rub off because they weren’t painted on well. Or that the pieces break with any use because the wood isn’t hard enough.
So let’s look at runes made out of bone, wood, and crystals.
Bone
Bone was one of the traditional ways runes were made originally, because bones were readily available from hunting or other animals nearby. As long as the bone is ethically sourced, there’s nothing wrong with using bone runes!
Most bone runes will be shaped about the same size, and will have the rune carved into the bone piece or painted on top. There should be 24 in the set (or 25 if using a blank rune).
Often, the bone runes are in a rectangle shape, and are beautiful to work with.
Wooden
Wooden rune sets are another more traditional option for runes. Wood would also have been easily available when runes were beginning to be used. It’s easy to get them all to a uniform shape, and are easy to burn the rune onto the piece. All of these features made using wooden runes popular in the past.
They are still a popular option today. And you can get a variety of shapes when it comes to wooden runes, often they’re either round or rectangular. These are usually flat discs that are mostly uniform shapes.
Wooden runes are beautiful, and can come in a variety of shades, just depending on the wood type and stain used. Sometimes they even have extra carved into the wood around the runes!
These are the only ones that you don’t really have to worry about ethically sourced, at least comparing to bones and crystals.
Crystals
Crystal runes are actually what I have and use, and I enjoy them! These can come in virtually any type of crystal. Mostly they are sets of the same crystal, so they all look relatively similar.
With saying that, there are some rune sets with different types of crystals in them. Depending on what you want, these can be a great option. When I’m doing rune castings though, I’m afraid it might bias my choices, since I’ll have a sort of idea of what the rune is based on the crystal it is.
Crystal runes can be made in most crystals, as long as it’s hard enough to tumble and withstand use.
The runes are either carved into the crystals and then painted in, or just painted on top of the crystal. Often, since these are tumbled crystals, they might all be slightly different shapes, and won’t necessarily sit flat.
Rune Dice
One other option that is widely debated on how they work are rune dice, and you can read all about those here! But there are rune dice available at least in crystal and wooden sets.
Final thoughts
Just go with your instinct as to which rune set speaks to you! That’s probably your best bet for how to choose runes that will work best with your energy.
And once you get runes, be sure to check out how to do rune casting!
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