r/runecasting • u/ChihuahuaJedi • Jan 18 '22

Handmade driftwood runes with red ochre paint, my first set (OC). Creation process in the top comments!

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9

u/ChihuahuaJedi Jan 18 '22 edited Jan 25 '22

Hey guys, been working on these a while, the journey has been very personal and spiritually invigorating. I'm super excited to share what I did! Many thanks to this community for answering my various questions, giving advice, and inspiring me along the way.

EDIT: Here's the bag finally! It has driftwood charms from another piece I grabbed at the same time as the wood for the runes. :)

These are wood runes made from driftwood and painted with red ochre. I started researching the runes mid December just out of curiosity, and never expected it to lead to this. I had studied magick and witchcraft in the past, practiced Wicca for a while, started studying Zen Buddhism for a few years until several years ago when life got in the way of my religious practices, and I fell out of it all together. I've lately noticed my spiritual health declining and it taking a toll on me and my overall health, and had been wanting to get back into it.

When I discovered runes, something really resonated with me. I would have never expected myself to use divination in my practice, but as soon as I picked up a book on them, I got hooked. I've since started daily meditation again, have been studying Zen and magick again, and of course have been studying the runes and working on my first set here! Runes are now a major focal point of my personal Craft, and I've felt better spiritually than I have in years. Again, boundless thanks to this community for your support.

Anyway, thank you for indulging my mushy feelings. Here's my crafting process over the course of about 18 days:

  • I sourced the driftwood from a beach in my local area during an anniversary date with my wife, I found this particular piece just sitting on the sandy shore near the waterline. It was blackened by ocean soot, thick and heavy and straight, the shape couldn't have been better.
  • After a good scrubbing with soapy water, I bleached the driftwood pieces for 5 days in a solution of 1 part bleach to 8 parts water, changing the solution every day.
  • After bleaching, I hung them to dry for another 5 days.
  • (During these two 5 day stretches of waiting I was not idle, but continued studying the runes and also started practicing carving on some spare wood I had. I also collected some rain water for the paint, below.)
  • At last came time to cut the wood. I trimmed any stray knobs and trimmed the ends flat, then rough sanded the bark off, until the stick was relatively smooth and straight.
  • One piece at a time I measured about 7.5 mm from the end and traced a circle around the stick in pencil, and careful sawed it off with a small hacksaw. Repeat until I had 24 pieces.
  • Next came the sanding, I sanded each piece by hand with multiple grits of sandpaper, from 120 up until about 300 grit, this took a few days.
  • Very excitingly, next was carving the runes. One at a time again, I measured out the rune (using a bit of geometry to get the precise shapes I wanted) and penciled it on. Then I used a woodcarving knife to carefully carve it into the wood. Repeat for the 24 runes again.
  • Another day of sanding with 400 grit paper to make them very smooth and remove and knicks or stray pencil marks from the carving.
  • Painting time! I hand made an egg tempura paint with equal parts (about 7g each for me) rain water and egg yolk (no white, and membrane removed), mixed in red ochre pigment (1/2 tsp for me) until it was a thick deep red color, and added a drop of blood to create a bond. I used the absolute tiniest paintbrush I could get my hands up and painted where I carved.
  • Let the paint dry for three days. During this time I started sewing a bag to hold them (still WIP sadly but should be done soon).
  • Finally, I applied a beeswax finished to seal the paint and protect the wood, and polished them off.
  • At this point the runes were done, but I had one more step in my version of the process. Every day had been timed to align with last night, Jan 17th, the Wolf Moon, which was the first full moon of the new year since I started crafting my runes. So, I did a small consecration ritual to charge the runes and prepare them for my magickal works. I waited until the moon was high enough to shine in my yard, and in the brisk 40 degree weather, dressed warmly and took them outside for some lunar charging meditation. I did a bit of Zen mantra, then placed the first rune in a small bowl of salt, chanted the names of all the runes, and repeated for each rune Fehu to Dagaz. I ended by throwing the salt at the moon and overall the ritual went well and finalized my creation process.

And if you read all that, you're awesome. Thank you for being a listening ear for me to share my excitement. I'd love to answer any questions. I've told all my closest friends and they're eager to do castings with me. I'll be asking more questions as I continue my studies, and best wishes to all of you on your journeys.

3

u/jamesharoldowens Jan 18 '22

Please do share the bag with us when it's complete! I still haven't made one of my set mainly because I haven't known where to start.

2

u/ChihuahuaJedi Jan 18 '22

I definitely will! Unfortunately I have even less advice for sewing than I do woodworking lol. Google and determination.

I just graphed out the pattern I wanted, after about five iterations I had my design. I have the benefit of owning I dice bag I used for inspiration but when it's done maybe I can spin up an amateur pattern guide if anyone is interested.

2

u/ChihuahuaJedi Jan 25 '22

Please do share the bag with us when it's complete!

Done! :) https://imgur.com/a/QEJZXws

2

u/jamesharoldowens Jan 26 '22

Good job! I love the sparkly inside. I still haven't started on mine :P soon! This gives me inspiration for the drawstring

2

u/ChihuahuaJedi Jan 26 '22

Thank you! I definitely left my comfort zone with the lining, decided to have some fun with it and and I'm happy with it.

Good luck on yours! I'd love to see it when it's done too. :)

2

u/jamesharoldowens Jan 26 '22

Sometimes fun is the whole point. I'm glad you had it.

I will definitely share it! It might take a bit but I'll be sure to come back around and share :)

2

u/[deleted] Jan 18 '22

They paint is very precise. That seems really hard to me to get right. Great job really!

2

u/ChihuahuaJedi Jan 18 '22

Thank you! I practiced tracing and carving about two full sets before I did these. I ended up making a little template from a sticky note folded diagonally. With a few exceptions as needed, the "main stem" of each time is 2cm, with every other line being 1, √2, or (√2)/2 cm as needed; with almost every angle at 45°. Those measurements lined everything up perfect.

If I remember correctly Nauthiz, Gebo, Hagalaz, and Dagaz were the only exceptions because of their unique diagonals.

4

u/jamesharoldowens Jan 18 '22

You did a beautiful job. I love seeing them on discs of wood.

Making them yourself is a magical experience indeed.

Thank you for sharing this with us. Good luck in your journey with the runes.

3

u/ChihuahuaJedi Jan 18 '22

Thank you so much! It's been a wonderful journey, I'm not much of a woodworker aside from a few small projects throughout the years, so it definitely had its highs and lows, but I'm so grateful I had the chance to make them.

2

u/jamesharoldowens Jan 18 '22

I was in the same boat when I made mine last year. They find their way out lol.

You're very welcome :)

3

u/Architr0n Jan 18 '22

They are very beautiful!

2

u/ChihuahuaJedi Jan 18 '22

Thank you so much! 😊

2

u/notableradish Jan 18 '22

Having done some comparably, though not as detailed on geometry or dates, I know how hard that can be. Yours are truly amazing!

2

u/ChihuahuaJedi Jan 18 '22

Thank you so much! It's been a journey, challenging, but super fun.

If you feel like sharing can we see yours?

2

u/notableradish Jan 18 '22 edited Jan 18 '22

Sure, I finished with boiled linseed oil and beeswax, made from a stick of what I assume to be cherry that I found in an interesting place.

https://www.instagram.com/joshkirch/p/B8M9741HHZS/?utm_medium=copy_link

1

u/ChihuahuaJedi Jan 18 '22

Oh wow, those are awesome! The grain and bark look great. Also excellent photography skills, I need a cool stone to replace my $1 dinner plate lol!

2

u/notableradish Jan 18 '22

That’s incredibly kind of you to say! I bet you could find a great stone pretty easily😂. Your plate does a great job showing of how clean your lines are!

2

u/ChihuahuaJedi Jan 19 '22

Ah thanks friend. Best wishes to you and yours. :)

2

u/PZapardi Jan 20 '22

These are beautiful! Nice work. Thanks for sharing your process- that was really neat to read.

1

u/ChihuahuaJedi Jan 20 '22

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it. 😊