THE RUNE MAGICIAN MUM

“About fortune-telling and other dangerous practices!”

My husband and I have always had regular “parenting check-ins” where we evaluate how we are doing and make changes if necessary. Our sons give feedback, and they also put forward new ideas and initiatives we could try as a family. You’d think that this would no longer be necessary, with three sons in their twenties (!), but we appreciate the closeness and being included in their lives.

We used make ourselves scarce when they had birthday parties (from age 18 and up), to give them some freedom. They all told us that they would prefer us to be present and attend the party, hang out with their friends.

Hang out with their friends?! Two people in their late 50s?!

Last year (2024) I asked our eldest son well in advance (meaning four months ahead of time!) what he wanted for this 24th birthday. “Mum, I want you to be around and offer my friends the opportunity to have some one-on-one time with you!”

One-on-one time with someone’s Mum, what kind of party is this?!

I also want you to have your runes at hand and do rune readings for them (if they want them and if their faith permits that!) Many of my friends (and colleagues) are always asking to meet you but I don’t just bring home anyone who has heard about you or your work. And I don’t want to create even more work for you because I also know how inundated you are with people contacting you! But this is my birthday and this is what I really want!

So a year ago I spent an entire day doing rune readings and mentoring chats with delightful people in their early 20s. I enjoyed it hugely and I was blown away by the trust they all put in me (by opening up). The same son’s 25th birthday rolled around recently and his request was the same: “How many rune readings can you fit into one Saturday, Mum?” Well… if I do eight hours at 30 minutes each, with a lunchbreak “baked in”, 15 people maybe? (Most end up asking two or three questions).

Excellent Mum, I will bring you 15 people who are dying to receive some spiritual guidance from you!

They came, bearing flowers and chocolate! It was a privilege doing rune readings with them, or just talking through some issue that they wanted spiritual guidance on. I am blown away by their trust, but there is another dimension as well: doing this work opens a window on their lives. I see glimpses of what life is like for that generation. Not only our own three sons, but also young women (and some people even had “couple sessions”).

I often think I will only grow “truly old” the day that I do not live with young people any more (or, I guess, when our own sons grow “old”, but hopefully they will produce grandchildren!) I know I am seeing only a small segment of this age group (selected by my son), but between them they span many cultures, ethnicities and all continents. And, for some, it means working within the boundaries of what their faith permits. Islam takes a negative stance on “fortune-telling and other dangerous practices”. (LINK)

This is, of course, a misrepresentation of what really happens. I open every session by explaining that there is no way you can tell a person what their entire future holds. They are always co-creating their future with other people and with higher powers (as defined by their cosmology or belief system). All a rune reading does is highlighting (or identifying) what is taking shape, based on choices already made and “trains already set in motion”. The runes can also (help) identify ancestral imprints and karmic patterns, before a healing session, say. In a way you are only looking at “likely outcomes” (or making a distinction between good choices and less fortunate choices) but no rune reading (or indeed any form of divination) is ever binding.

Any person receiving a rune reading obviously has free will. I may see an opportunity for travel in the runes. However, if your brother invites you to visit him in Australia and you decide not the buy the ticket (or not to board the airplane) then your free will decides what actually happens. The runes only indicate that travel is a possibility, a choice or opportunity open to you. That is all.

One young man said: I am not sure I want to have a reading. Not because I do not believe in the runes, but because I take them very seriously and I may hear something I am not ready to hear. His girlfriend said: “But, if you are worried about something, isn’t it better to know what your choices are? And to ask the runes a follow-up question about the best choice you can make under the circumstances?” So that is what we did. And he was very pleased with the guidance he received from the runes!

THE FAMOUS RÖK STONE (Swedish: Rökstenen)!

This is one of the most famous rune stones in Sweden. It has the longest runic inscription in stone and even describes a lost piece of Norse mythology. It also contains cipher runes (a coded or encrypted message) and a portion of the inscription has not been deciphered yet. It stands by the church in Rök, near Ödeshög in the province of Östergötland.

The young people all left smiling and saying: “See you next year! It will be so exciting to see what has happened before we consult the runes again!” Having done this twice, we apparently have a tradition!

Quick update: my handbook for rune magicians is currently under contract but my publisher has requested significant edits. I am nearly done making all those edits and then the MS will by edited again, by a “proper” editor, before going into production. So I guess we are looking at a publication date in the Autumn of 2026, but we will see. This date has not yet been set! But, for all of you who have asked, this book is coming!! And I will keep you all posted. Expect more posts about the runes here!

I try (but sometimes fail) to get out at least one essay a week (sometimes several), due to travel, international teaching commitments and family care responsibilities (our family lives with Alzheimer’s and I have written several posts about that). All artwork shown in Substack posts is my own, unless credited differently! If you would like to see regular posts about about Nordic spirituality and my life as a Forest Witch (and of course short videos of all the wildlife here!), please follow me on Instagram or Facebook, thank you!

Imelda Almqvist, London UK

With my Rune Drum at Anundshög in Sweden!

BIO FOR IMELDA ALMQVIST

Imelda Almqvist is an international teacher of Sacred Art and Seiðr/Old Norse Traditions (the ancestral wisdom teachings of Northern Europe). So far she has written four non-fiction books and two picture books for children. Natural Born Shamans: A Spiritual Toolkit for Life (Using shamanism creatively with young people of all ages) in 2016, Sacred Art: A Hollow Bone for Spirit (Where Art Meets Shamanism) in 2019, Medicine of the Imagination - Dwelling in Possibility (an impassioned plea for fearless imagination) in 2020 and North Sea Water In My Veins (The Pre-Christian spirituality of the Low Countries) was published in June 2022.

The Green Bear is a series of picture book for children, aged 3 – 8 years. The stories and vibrant artwork, set in Scandinavia, invite children to explore enchanting parallel worlds and to keep their sense of magic alive as they grow up.

Imelda has presented her work on both The Shift Network and Sounds True. She appears in a TV program, titled Ice Age Shaman, made for the Smithsonian Museum, in the series Mystic Britain, talking about Mesolithic arctic deer shamanism.

Imelda is currently working on a handbook for rune magicians (about the runes of the Elder Futhark) and on more books in the Green Bear Series. Imelda runs an on-line school called Pregnant Hag Teachings, where all classes she teaches remain available as recordings, which can be watched any time.

Website:

http://www.shaman-healer-painter.co.uk/

YouTube Channel: youtube.com/user/imeldaalmqvist

Online School: https://pregnant-hag-teachings.teachable.com/courses/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/imelda.almqvist/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/almqvistimelda/

Imelda, Forest House and Forest School, Sweden