Certainly learning the runes is tricksy, because you have far fewer clues from the rune compared to tarot cards, and a smaller number of representations to work with, and so the runes tend to be more "dense" and packed with meaning and information.

However, I also know that with practice, patience and perseverance, you will will get there.

That makes sense. I will try them both out and see how I feel. Up until now I have been just trying to learn the runes and using them in spell work.

I certainly agree that it is more important that one has a way of working that allows a question to be asked, the caster to engage with the medium, and for their to be a consistent way of reading/interpreting the answer. If pulling your rune staves from a bag and placing them down in a particular order represents your way of being, then I would suggest one sticks with that. If you prefer a more "holistic" appraich relying on seeing meaning in the "randomness" of the pattern as well as the the way the staves relate to each other, then that is the better path for you.

I tend to use the method that most closely matches the question being asked. Where I am looking for the answer to a question with a clear "past influences, present issue, potential outcome" reading, then I will prefer to use a three rune or other systematic spread. Where the question is less defined, or someone wants a more general reading, then a casting approach allows for a complex reading and allows the identification of a greater number of influences and factors.

Cool I'm gonna try it. I am just waiting for supplies.

It worked well for the athame so I'm gonna try it.

Personally I have not, but it sounds well, sound.  I haven't completed my own runes yet, I keep putting it off. (I know, shame on me).  I've got the pieces all cut out from an ash branch, but haven't carved/burned the runes in yet.

I think anything that helps you to feel more in touch with your personal tools is a major plus.

Absolutely wn! That's just another type of spread, really.
Offhand, I can't remember which of my books mention that form of reading, but I think the Runecaster's Handbook is one of them.
I think the way it was read was, runes closest to the center were either of the more immediate future, getting more distant in time as you read towards the edge, or of more significance. I think the former though.  Runes that fall face down can either be ignored, or read as "murkstaves", and also runes that fall in close proximity to each other have a stronger bearing on each other, reinforcing the meanings they make in combination, than runes that fall apart from each other or oppose each other i.e. one far right, one far left.

If in fact it was the casting of runes that Tacitus wrote about in his work "Germania" (though he only mentioned staves from a fruit bearing tree) it would indicate that it was the original method of runic divination.  And while we have no concrete proof it was actually runes that were inscribed on those staves, I'm not aware of any other symbology used by the ancient germanics... what else could it be?

But outside of that, I think pretty much any reading system you devise, so long as it is consistent, should work for you. In fact, much like spellwork, one you customize yourself might work better for you than any of the standard types.  (I'm being maybe a bit hypocritical here, I've never used anything other than the Celtic Cross when reading Tarot, lol)

Hi NewVitki, and welcome to the board!

I hope you find it useful, informative, entertaining, and fun, and look forward to your posts.

I have to close up my altar after use and for that reason found myself disconnected from my tools. I decided to name my athame and did a naming ritual. It worked very well and I not only feel more connected but it increases the feeling of energy when I hold it. I have decided to mark my runes. They are wood with the runes burned in. I am going to make some dragon's blood ink and add some blood and mark them and then sleep with them to attach myself to them. This is what I did with the athame until I got the name. Any thoughts on this or has anyone done something like this to feel more connected with their runes?

I have a question could you "throw" runes like they "throw" bones? Would it be disrespectful? Could you mix other items with the runes like dice or rocks or trinkets? If you put down a cloth with rings (one past, present, future) and read the runes in the rings would that be accurate?