Today's Runes for Tim Burton

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. Spirit Runes are most commonly used for questions about mysticism, spirituality, and religion.

The left rune represents an important element of the past. Isa is the rune symbolizing Ice - cold, stagnant, frozen, and unchanging. This rune suggests heat removed not just from anger or conflict, but from passion as well. Paradoxically, Isa conveys images of slippery slopes and unsure footing, but also of circumstances that have crystallized and become utterly immutable. Remember that in the cold north, ice is not just THE challenge to be overcome, but the very nature of the environment. Be courageous, for you work against this element every day. Will you fight alone or with others against this, our common foe? Is there much worse than lack of change?

The middle rune represents a deciding element of the present. Ehwaz is representative of the eight-legged horse ridden by the god Odin. As such, this is the rune of controlled movement and travel, including the pursuit of an objective or station in life. Since some older sources show Odin not as a man riding a horse but as a centaur-like being, this rune can also represent the union of man and nature, or the fusion of two entities in perfect harmony. As this rune is reversed, this could bode poorly for travel or for the vehicle involved. In the more spiritual sense, this rune could represent difficulties in self-improvement or other attempts at advancement. Finally, it may represent a splitting of two or the inability of two to act as one.

The top rune represents a force that works for you. Nyd represents many things, most of them unpleasant - heed it well. Constraint, delay, loss, need, and sorrow are all frequently seen in this rune. Nyd speaks most strongly of pause, the hallmark of the both the timid and the patient, and is often interpreted as foretelling a delay in the effect of other runes that it accompanies. Fortunately, even where there is misery and danger there are valuable lessons to be learned - the trick is to learn them before you are overtaken by despair.

The bottom Rune represents a force that works against 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 right rune represents the critical element of the future, at the core of the final outcome. Wunjo is the rune of joy. The reversal of this rune suggests that joy is withheld. Since joy is frequently communal, this rune often suggests loneliness. Alternatively, some have seen Wunjo as the rune of perfection and the rune of the gods. Therefore this rune reversed could signal a feeling of separation from one's deity, or as imperfection in an important work.