GROUND CLOTH

This step is as important as the RUNES themselves. A Ground Cloth, or ground will determine how each RUNE is read.

Beginners and those doing RUNES and/or a ground for the first time might consider waiting until you are more familiar with both RUNES and Ground. Others may have a Druid ground their RUNES to a cloth on their behalf. Once the RUNES are 'grounded' do not use them on any other surface than the Ground. The reasons for this will become clear as you read on.

Some Grounds are very elaborate and beautiful. Some are quite simple. So long as the four basic circles and the four elements are present (or four directions if that is your preference), the Ground will work. The more elaborate the drawing on the Ground, the more difficult it will be for the reader to determine the true placement of the RUNES. Even the most minor miscalculation can greatly impact the final results of a reading. For this reason, I always work with a simple Ground, so that I may concentrate on the RUNES. I believe they are more beautiful than anything I could possibly draw, being the artistic clodd that I am.

I have read many interesting explanations as to why there are 25 Runes. Most of the information published makes no mention of using a Ground. From what I have learned from my Grandmother, there were 32 RUNES in use. (I continue in this tradition, using 32 RUNES stones. When I make RUNES for others, I make only 26 RUNES stones, unless specifically rquested otherwise). Druids select 25 of the 32 RUNES for the purpose of divination. The remaining 7 RUNES were private or sacred to the person holding those RUNES. The 25 RUNES + the Ground = 26, (which is 2 * 13). 13 is a sacred number to many for various reasons. In this application it is the 13-month lunar cycle, the completion, death/rebirth, light and dark, knowing and ignorance, ... the full cycle of life. Two 13's are required for opposition and balance. Two people will be using the RUNES for the purpose of divination, one reading and one questing. I could go on forever on this one topic. In summary, the RUNE reading is not true Druid divination unless 25 RUNES and a Ground are used between two people. Although other things may be used in addition to this, these are all that is required. The basic tools needed for runic divination are

• a set of RUNE stones
• a casting cloth (Ground)
• a candle or a crystal

The basic RUNE cloth, or Ground, consists of material onto which are drawn three circles. Any material may be used so long as it is durable, soft and of natural material. Leather works better than cotton because it will last longer and provides better protection for the RUNES stones when they are thrown on a hard surface. Cotton, backed by quilting or any other insulating material will work just as well. Do not use glue on any item that will come in contact with the RUNES.

• Circle 1 - The center circle is where the reading begins. This is referred to as Circle 1 - the Self. The innter-most self, representing what is held secret or sacred.

• Circle 2 is the Circle of Relationships and Life Path. These are those people who are in your life and effecting your life on a day-to-day basis.

  If your mother is 3,000 miles away, yet you talk to her often and remain very close she would be considered in this circle. If, however, your mother lives close to you but you haven't spoken to her for years, then she is not in this circle. If you just plain dread the sound of her voice, then she is in this circle, because of the effect she has.

• Circle 3 is the Circle of Elemental Forces and External Influences - Spirit Guides. The symbols within the third circle represent the four elements and the four directions. Air, Earth, Water, Fire and East, South, West, North. These directions and elements are not fixed. This area represents events that effect more than just you, such as; the bus accident on the corner, the rain, the weather, politics, taxes, your neighbor's barking dog. Nothing personal, and yet it is very personal. The elements will influence everything in life. When we work with these energies, things are not necessarily easier, but they do move along much more quickly and support is more evident.

• In the fourth area, which may or may not be in a circle are four RUNE symbols. These symbols are not arbitrarily assigned. These symbols will be explained in detail later. For now, let's call them the umbilical chord. It is was binds the RUNES to this particular cloth. Once the RUNES are bound to the cloth they are considered 'grounded' and therefore the cloth is called the 'Ground'. This is the circle of Karma. The RUNE symbols which are placed in the corners of the ground cloth define both the cloth itself and the karma of the reading.

• When one or more RUNES are thrown Off the Cloth Entirely they will be read as representing past lives. Anything that is not on the cloth indicates either a lesson learned from a past life, or one that is being repeated here. Which is true depends on the RUNE and the quadrant of Karma.

  Grounding the RUNES to the Cloth
  

  

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