A step-by-step guide to working with the runes throughout the year.

The Old Norse runes, known as the Elder Futhark, have long joined forces with the cycles of the seasons to offer powerful initiations, guidance, and wisdom. Aligning the sacred festivals, plantings, and harvests of ancient runic calendars with our modern 12-month calendar, Kelley Harrell reveals how the runes can once again offer initiations as well as instruct us on the holy days and creative rhythms of today.

Drawing on her more than 25 years of shamanic practice and runic study, Harrell offers a step-by-step primer to work with the runes throughout the year. She explains how the 24 runes of the Elder Futhark follow a seasonal progression in which each stave rules the calendar for a half-month. She explores the meaning of each rune in detail and presents structured runic devotionals for each half-month, interwoven with guidance on how to make the best use of the life force available during each season, as well as runic initiation rituals for the 8 pagan Sabbats, or holy days, such as the Summer Solstice (Litha) and Beltane (May Day).By moving through Nature's cycle with the runes, each year becomes a reliable and trackable process of personalized growth and spiritual connection. Progressing through the teachings of each stave while honoring the seasons, Harrell's year with the runes becomes an initiation into a direct relationship with powers of Nature.