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why be snarky about the fact that the runes are inscribed on *plastic* pieces? Does it really make a difference?
Well, I missed the part where Johnny said the runes his girlfriend got him were even on plastic. I pictured the mass-produced ceramic or semi-precious stone sets...
That aside, as I recall, there's actually no support in the Lore for runes to be inscribed on individual pieces of any kind and used for divination. Bindrunes, Galdr (incantation), everyday writing, yes. Tossing-the-bones or Tarot style divination? Not so much.
So in that sense, having a "rune set" of any kind isn't exactly authentic, eh? Nevertheless, it's a fairly well accepted modern contrivance, and most heathens I know won't poke at you unless you're using a mass-produced Elder Futhark set a-la Bloom, complete with the 25th blank rune that has no basis in Lore whatsoever. Even then, I know a few people who go ahead and use it, and are left alone because they acknowledge openly that they know the blank rune is completely modern.
Regarding materials, the complaint I hear most often (and agree with) is that mass-produced runes are nowhere near as effective as ones you've made yourself. Generally, I've understood that the best materials for making your own rune set are wooden medalions cut from Yew (or some other wood listed as Sacred in the Lore). But stone, bone, antler, etc. are all pretty popular.
Heathen or not, most folks agree that natural materials are have more spiritual/magical value than the thoroughly man-made, processed material that is plastic. And yet, one of the nicest sets of runes I ever saw was cast pewter - it had a really nice heft to it. Metal is certainly natural, but poured pewter is thoroughly processed, so where, exactly, is the line drawn?
All of this has not a damned thing to do with tattoos.
--Ember-- |
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