Today's Runes for Federico Fellini

The Cross spread is used to plot the arc of your life and the forces acting on it. It is the most popular spread, giving a very complete view of the situation. Gold Runes are most commonly used for questions about business, career, and property.

The left rune represents an important element of the past. Othila is the homeland. Unlike Fehu, this is the rune of immovable wealth. On a deeper level, this rune speaks to that which you inherit, be it material or genetic. Since Othila is seen reversed here, the obstacles you confront are among those things in your background that you take for granted and consider fairly stable. Problems from the "homeland", from familial inheritance, or from our own origins may be worked around, but they cannot be made to go away. Fortunately, for many problems, this is all that is required.

The middle rune represents a deciding element of the present. 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 top rune represents a force that works for you. Gebo means gift, and like any gifts, the rune may be understood on many levels. Gifts are generally positive things, for both the giver and the recipient. In many cultures however, gifts and favors carry with them an obligation to respond in kind. It is for this reason that gifts, and hence the rune Gebo, are frequently symbolic of friendships, marriages, alliances, mergers, and other bonds between people or organizations. Gebo is a strong rune and the unions represented are strong as well. Moreover, Gebo is not reversible, as true friendships are not easily undone.

The bottom Rune represents a force that works against you. Eoh refers to the Yew tree. The Yew does not go dormant and therefore represents endurance. Even the wood of the tree is strong, resilient, and pliable - the Yew bends, but does not break. The evergreen nature of the Yew is present even in the rune itself, as it cannot be changed even by reversal. This rune is historically symbolic of death, but, as in the Tarot and as suggested by the nature of the Yew tree itself, death is seen only as a transmutation of something eternal and unchanging - the spirit.

The right rune represents the critical element of the future, at the core of the final outcome. Nyd is frequently seen as a powerfully negative rune. You have drawn the rune reversed, which will lessen some of its effects. Generally Nyd represents loss, sorrow, and a hard journey with lessons learned. Nyd reversed here might be cautioning that the lessons might go unheeded representing repeated mistakes. The rune here might also be representing a minor loss or a nearly avoided catastrophe. Be careful, things are tricky and require strong attentiveness.