A reference shelf

The Lorebook

Norse runes, myth, literature and the tarot, gathered in one place. Every page keeps three kinds of knowledge apart and labels them: what the evidence shows, what the old texts say, and the modern readings made for this site.

Follow a trailOr start with the runes

Yggdrasil and the nine worlds, an interpretive illustration. Explore the map

On the shelf

  1. Runes The 24 runes of the Elder Futhark: name, sound, place in the ættir, what the inscriptions and rune poems show, and the meaning used for readings here. 24 runes
  2. Tarot All 78 cards with the meaning used for readings here, upright and reversed, and a short sourced history of where the tarot came from. 78 cards
  3. How to Read Tarot Plain guides for reading cards together, asking a good question, choosing a spread, reversed and challenging cards, court cards, the four suits, a worked reading and keeping a journal. 9 guides
  4. Hávamál The Sayings of the High One in full, in Olive Bray’s 1908 translation, with each passage put into plain English and read for today. 164 stanzas
  5. Yggdrasil The world tree and the places around it, from the gods’ halls to the roots, quoted from the Eddas and shown on an illustrated map. 188 places

Discovery trails

A trail walks through the Lorebook around one question, mixing runes, cards, Hávamál passages and places on the tree, with a short note at each step on how it connects to the last.

See all 24 trails

  1. Sorrow and HealingHow do you carry a sorrow, whom do you tell, and what helps?12 steps: 2 runes, 4 tarot cards, 6 Hávamál passages
  2. Quarrels, Feuds and Making PeaceWhen is a quarrel worth having, when should you walk away, and how is one settled?12 steps: 1 rune, 4 tarot cards, 5 Hávamál passages, 2 places on the tree
  3. Youth, Age and LearningWhat does each stage of a life know, and what does the old pass to the young?12 steps: 1 rune, 4 tarot cards, 6 Hávamál passages, 1 place on the tree
  4. Spells, Songs and RunesWhat does the Hávamál say words and runes can do, and how should a reader today take it?12 steps: 2 runes, 1 tarot card, 8 Hávamál passages, 1 place on the tree

How to read the labels

Historical evidence
Inscriptions, objects and documented practice, with the source named.
Myth and literature
What an identified text or tradition says. The text is named, and a passage appears only when we may reproduce it.
Modern interpretation
Divinatory meanings, reflection questions and connections made for this site. A modern practice, not a record of what Norse people did.