Today's Runes for Douglas Adams

The Diamond spread reveals the dynamic forces at work in a situation. It is the spread of choice for understanding a hidden conflict. Gold Runes are most commonly used for questions about business, career, and property.

The bottom rune represents the foundation that forms the basis of the issue. Berkana, the birch tree, is representative of rebirth, fertility, and a positive outcome to ventures undertaken. It is also the rune of families. Here the rune is reversed, warning you to be heedful of new beginnings, lest they sour. Rebirth is either delayed, or totally disrupted. There is also a warning of family troubles.

The left rune represents one of the forces acting on the issue at hand. Man refers to Mankind and your interaction with the whole of human population. This rune is reversed, suggesting a separation from your fellow man. There is a lack of harmony in your interaction with others, either because you do not accept society or society does not accept you. Alternatively, this rune may also represent your separation from nature, and your ability to rise above the base level of being. As the rune is reversed, this may suggest an incomplete level of spiritual attainment or an intellectual block.

The right rune represents another of the forces acting on the issue at hand. Othila is the homeland. Land was the purest form of immovable wealth in Norse civilization, distinct from the movable wealth represented by Fehu. This rune speaks of stability and safety stemming from inheritance, both material and genetic. With respect to the question asked, consider the background of the people and families involved...

The top rune represents the conclusion to which your strivings can carry you. Ehwaz is the rune of the eight-legged horse that the god Odin rode into battle. Horses are symbolic of a number of things. Firstly, horses may symbolize vehicles such as cars, motorcycles, planes, or boats. Secondly, horses may symbolize not wealth, but status. Thirdly, horses may symbolize motion towards an objective. As such, this rune suggests a journey or a quest to achieve a goal or improve one's station in life. On a deeper level, the rune Ehwaz evokes the unique relationship of horse and rider as an inseparable team. To the modern eye this may be the relationship of master and underling, but to the Norse it was a total union. In fact, early representations of Odin are not of a man and a horse, but, of a centaur-like creature - the ultimate symbiosis of Man and Nature.