Sample Reading - Interpretation
This reading is one I did at work for myself, on the closing date of the sale of the print shop I work at. I have no idea what to expect from the new owners, so I wanted to do a reading to find out what I was in for. As is common with most readings I do for myself, I didn't exactly get the answers I was expecting.
Please keep in mind that I am not a terribly gifted reader. I am presenting this merely as an example of how to go about interpreting a nine-rune cast, NOT as a shining example of my psychic skills.
Individual Runes
Five runes landed face-up:
inguz - relates to the work situation. Possibly home-based business
dagaz - daily activity, regular job
ehwaz - the means by which work is accomplished; communication (this is a desktop publishing job). Could also be a physical move.
berkana - bounty, productivity, pleasant work atmosphere (??)
kenaz - inspiration, creativity, learning
Four others landed face-down:
eihwaz - significant change, with a possible spiritual aspect
othila - property (ownership). Also, home.
laguz - fears, uncertainty
hagalaz - disruptive change, possible disaster, clearance
I also pulled a final rune to get the overall outcome:
sowulo - very positive, growth, change
Overall Impressions
The overall shape of this reading is an 'X' - a crossroads converging on eihwaz. This is hardly surprising given the situation. It is also the shape of the rune 'gebo', meaning a gift or a new relationship. In this case it could mean either (or both). The line of runes between kenaz and inguz seems to more 'positive' than the runes between hagalaz and laguz, indicating that there might be a crucial choice to be made, or a crucial attitude adjustment. The cast could also be read as a choice between four options.
Interpretation
The initial situation is fairly well defined, with a range of possibilities outlined - regular work (dagaz, inguz), a creative outlet (kenaz), or a possible move to a different situation (ehwaz).
It might be possible that inguz here represents home-based work, since I often associate it with a more domestic situation. The appearance of othila next to it seems to confirm this. Opposite these two are kenaz and dagaz, which I believe represent a continuation of the same job with more opportunity for creativity and expanding my skills.
The ehwaz arm of the 'X' seems to lead to the most negative conclusion (hagalaz), although this might be just a necessary disruption of routine and clearing away of old baggage. I see this as relating to a move to another job. The fourth 'arm' is confusing, but seems to relate to my feelings of uncertainty about the whole situation. I am not at all sure what berkana might represent in this context.
Conclusions
Instead of offering any clear predictions about what my job situation might be in the next few weeks, the reading simply presented me with a clear definition of what my options are and where those choices might lead. As I said before, this is fairly typical of my readings (and why I don't read runes for money). In general, I would say that either staying with the job under the new owners or going back to running my home-based business full time seem to be my best options. Switching over to a new job looks like a bad idea at this point, although it may be that my fear of starting over with a new company is sabotaging this posibility.
Outcome
As it turned out, the new owners went back on their word and didn't offer to keep me on (perhaps this was the 'hagalaz arm' and a deception represented by laguz). I took the opportunity to work on expanding my business, mostly through the web site. This has worked out extremely well, and I am now in the process of expanding my product line and starting a web site development service. This is probably the creative aspect represented by kenaz, especially since kenaz also has a technological side to it.
It seems, upon reflection, that there were only two things going on here - one being the new owners (berkana) deceiving me (laguz) and forcing me to move (ehwaz) into a seemingly disastrous position (hagalaz). The other track is the more positive outcome - creative work at home. At the centre of it all was eihwaz, turning the wheel from one path to another. All it required was a motivating event and a shift in attitude.