Discovery Trails

Paths through the Lorebook, each built around one question. A trail mixes runes, tarot cards, passages of the Hávamál and places on the world tree, with a short note at every step on how it connects to the one before. You can leave at any step and come back to it later.

24 trails, 236 steps in all

Modern interpretation Trails are editorial pathways made for this site. They do not describe how Norse people taught or learned.

  • Rune
  • Tarot card
  • Hávamál passage
  • Place on the tree
  1. What Is in Your HandsA short trail through four runes, built around one question: what is within your control, and what is not?4 steps: 4 runes
  2. Resources, Work and GenerosityWhat do we have, what do we do with it, and what happens when we share it or hold it back?8 steps: 2 runes, 3 tarot cards, 3 Hávamál passages
  3. When to Wait, When to MoveSome situations ask for patience and some for action, and it is often hard to tell which.8 steps: 2 runes, 3 tarot cards, 3 Hávamál passages
  4. Knowledge, Judgment and UncertaintyHow do we find out what we need to know, notice where our knowing stops, and still make a decision?9 steps: 2 runes, 3 tarot cards, 4 Hávamál passages
  5. Friendship and TrustWhat keeps a friendship alive, and how much should you trust anyone?9 steps: 2 runes, 2 tarot cards, 5 Hávamál passages
  6. Protection and BoundariesHow do you guard what matters without shutting everyone out?9 steps: 2 runes, 3 tarot cards, 4 Hávamál passages
  7. Hospitality and the StrangerA stranger arrives at the door.9 steps: 1 rune, 2 tarot cards, 6 Hávamál passages
  8. Endings, Mourning and What LastsThis trail follows endings: what breaks, what is lost, and what the old sources say outlasts a life.9 steps: 2 runes, 3 tarot cards, 4 Hávamál passages
  9. Speech, Silence and SecretsWhen should you speak, and when keep quiet?9 steps: 1 rune, 3 tarot cards, 5 Hávamál passages
  10. Sacrifice and What It BuysIn the Norse stories, knowledge and justice cost something: an eye, a hand, nine nights on a tree.8 steps: 1 rune, 2 tarot cards, 3 Hávamál passages, 2 places on the tree
  11. Fate, Time and the NornsHow much of what happens is already set, and how much is ours to shape?8 steps: 2 runes, 1 tarot card, 2 Hávamál passages, 3 places on the tree
  12. Courage, Fear and RiskWhat is courage, and how is it different from recklessness?9 steps: 2 runes, 4 tarot cards, 3 Hávamál passages
  13. Love, Longing and FollyThe Hávamál has more to say about love than its reputation suggests, and much of it is about folly, honestly told.9 steps: 1 rune, 2 tarot cards, 6 Hávamál passages
  14. Slow Growth and CraftSkill and wisdom take time, and most of that time looks unimpressive.9 steps: 3 runes, 3 tarot cards, 3 Hávamál passages
  15. The Making of the WorldsHow do the old accounts picture the beginning: ice and fire meeting in an empty gap, a tree that holds everything, a middle enclosure made for people?12 steps: 2 runes, 1 tarot card, 9 places on the tree
  16. Ragnarök and What Comes AfterWhat do the old accounts say about the end of the world, and what is left when it is over?12 steps: 2 runes, 3 tarot cards, 7 places on the tree
  17. The Halls of the GodsWhat does a dwelling say about the one who lives in it?12 steps: 1 tarot card, 11 places on the tree
  18. Light in the DarkWhat does light mean, and what lies far from it?11 steps: 2 runes, 4 tarot cards, 3 Hávamál passages, 2 places on the tree
  19. Home, Kin and BelongingWhat makes a place, and a people, your own?12 steps: 2 runes, 4 tarot cards, 5 Hávamál passages, 1 place on the tree
  20. Appetite, Ale and MeasureHow much is enough, of drink, of food, of pleasure?12 steps: 1 rune, 4 tarot cards, 7 Hávamál passages
  21. 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
  22. 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
  23. 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
  24. 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