PORTALS, PATTERNS AND PATHWAYS
A Handbook for Rune Magicians, Star Gazers and Myth Makers
Date of publication for the UK: 26 May 2026 (pre-ordering is open!)
This book will become available in Canada and the US in June 2026
SYNOPSIS
Any author knows very well that words seek the company of words, deeds lead to further deeds and deeds also look for expression through words, to paraphrase Odin speaking in Hávamál St. 141.
This book presents an innovative way of working with the runes. There were three key insights (explained below) which led to me developing the material presented here.
- Years ago I wrote in my Rune Journal that “Every liminal space between runes is a mystery school, and its curriculum is mythology!” This insight proved to be incredibly fertile ground for mapping the liminal spaces between the runes.
- The letter (or glyph) sequence of many early (ancient) alphabets (such as Phoenician, Archaic Hebrew and Egyptian Hieroglyphs) appears to be connected to the night sky and star patterns. Does a similar correspondence exist for the runes?There is also a chapter about Old Norse Astronomy, guided by astronomical numbers and references to celestial events described in the Poetic Edda.
- Next I asked myself the following question: before the Enlightenment, Astronomy and Astrology were one unified field of study. What happens if I arrange the Runes of the Elder Futhark in a Circle and then look at that circle the way that an astrologer reads a natal (birth) chart?
The runes map a mythical or imaginal realm where cosmic blueprints share their stories and wisdom through archetypal figures, deities, personifications, alchemical images and symbols. I found countless correspondences and wisdom teachings (portals, patterns and pathways, which gave me the title of this book!)
THE RUNE MAGICIAN MUM: “About fortune-telling and other dangerous practices!”
I am planning to teach some online rune classes wrapped around the time of publication (or as close to that date as other teaching commitments allow me to get!)
I will also write some essays about the runes on Substack (and some may well contain information that did not make it into my upcoming book so please stay tuned!
ABOVE: PLEASE CLICK ON THE GRAPHICS TO READ THE ESSAYS AND SEE A VIDEO OF THE SIGURD ROCK CARVING!
KÄLLBY HALLAR
Shown here is a very powerful rune stone, one of a pair known as the "Källby hallar". It is situated in the Swedish province of Västergötland, on the southern shore of Lake Vänern, in a place called Kinnekulle. It was raised on land belonging to an Iron Age farm and there are grave mounds in the vicinity.
The inscription reads:
Styrlakr/Styrlaugr satti stæin þannsi æftir kaur, faður sinn.
Styrlakr/Styrlaugr raised this stone in the memory of Kaur, his father.
It shows the god Thor (Old Norse: Þórr), strapping on his famous magical belt: Megingjǫrð. The "headdress" may show the horns of his Billy goats: Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr).
The other stone facing it (not pictured here) shows a Christian cross and inscription).
THE RÖK RUNE STONE
Arguably the most famous and most mysterious rune stone in Sweden, located in the Ödeshög municipality, province of Östergötland.
"The stone is unique in a number of ways. It contains a fragment of what is believed to be a lost piece of Norse mythology. It also makes a historical reference to Ostrogothic king (effectively emperor of the western Roman empire) Theodoric the Great.
It contains the longest extant pre-Christian runic inscription – around 760 characters – and it is a virtuoso display of the carver's mastery of runic expression.
The inscription is partially encrypted in two ways; by displacement and by using special cipher runes.
This means that the inscription is intentionally challenging to read, using kennings in the manner of Old Norse skaldic poetry, and demonstrating the carver's command of different alphabets and writing styles (including code)!
THE OLSBRO RUNE STONE
This stone is located west of Åsarp, in the province of Västergötland, in Sweden.
The inscription reads as follows: Guve reste denna sten efter Olav, sin son, en mycket dugande ung man. Han blev dräpt i Estland.Håvard högg stenen.
Guve raised this stone to commemorate Olav, a very decent young man. He was killed in Estonia. Rune Master Hávarðr carved the stone.
This stone was carved, around 1010 -1040, in the Ringerike style.
The most striking feature is "The Big Animal", meaning the lion at the heart of the stone. According to the museum in Fotevik this may represent the power of a Danish king. It seems that Olav, who is commemorated here, followed the Danish Harald Bluetooth and his army all the way to Estonia, where he died.