There are two types of bind runes. Those that are purely artistic and those that are created with intent to provide protections or aid. This post is concerning the latter.

First and most important: Know your tools. Your tools include the implements you will use to transcribe the rune and the rune set itself. If you are going to burn into wood or carve wood, you should already have proficiency with these tools. If you are going to use a tool to carve into stone or crystal (such as a dremel) you should be proficient with the tools. If you are not proficient with them, or are not experienced working with these materials, start there.

I will assume you know how to work with whatever mediums you are prepared to work with. Which you choose is important: A wood etching can be hung on a wall, or over a doorway. A stone can be placed in front of the door or somewhere on the grounds. Small stones and crystals can be made into a necklace. Paper can be framed and placed in a home or folded and carried on your person.

When you are thinking about having something with your focused intent imbued into it, where would it be most effective? Imagine where it will be placed.

Next: what exactly is the intent you wish to place on the object? You have to learn to feel that intent. You have to let it consume you. It’s a skill. This is the core to the craft. This is what I define as the Art: calling up the intent and imbuing an object with that energy.

It is something that you develop over years of practice. Just other artists, you aren’t going to make masterpieces from day one. You dedication to the Art, to any art, determines your skill.

You can imbue bind runes with general intent, to be used by anyone and you can imbue bind runes for a specific person. Those that are attuned for a specific person are most powerful for that one only.

When selecting the runes for wards, protection, wealth, luck, etc., you only need two or three max. These are not complex things to focus on. Having more runes than you need can reduce your focus. There are certainly opportunities for more complex bind runes, but they are a more advanced topic that this this blog post won’t cover.

I want to stop and make a special comment. Do not try to imbue a bind rune with harmful intent. The risk to one’s self during the process is greater than the effect it may have. You never fully let go of negative intent that you channel.

After selecting your runes, you arrange them. This is part artistic, part instinct. You take your selected runes and combine them until they “feel” right. I call it setting the focus. As I am envisioning what I want it to accomplish, I am also seeing the runes twisting around in my head. When what I see feels in sync with what what my intent feels like, then that’s it. I found a web app that you can use in case internal visualization doesn’t work as well for you. It’s a little tedious, but can help with design. Of course, you can just use a sketchbook, too.

Two completely different bind runes from two different rune-workers can have the exact same effect. There are no universal bind-runes.

Step by step:

  • Determine what your intent for the bind rune is.
  • Choose the object that you will be marking with the bind rune.
  • Design the bind-rune until you feel it is a best match your intent.
  • Prepare the object with your personal ritual (cleansing and attuning).
  • Imbue the object with the bind rune.
  • Clear your mind, return to a neutral state.
  • Finishing artistic touches on the object.

Imbuing

This is where you transfer the energy of your intent to the object. This is not a technical process. It is a spiritual and emotional event. You must be able to feel your intent strongly. For me, if I am making a general protection bind rune, I will imagine a shield around the object that is the size of a house. It’s not a specific size, it’s the size of the home that it is close to. If it is a general bind rune, I don’t imagine any specific house, but just a house. I think of feeling safe, warm, happy. I think of peaceful, relaxing moments. Everything inside the bubble shield is vibrant, colorful. Everything on the outside is gray. I then visualize negative and harmful effects being turned away by the shield. The bind rune I have designed helps me stay focused on that.

As I am feeling my intent grow, I pick up the object and whatever tool I am going to use to engrave it. I then feel the intent moving into my arms and out of my fingers into the object. The entire time I am working with the object, I feel the pulse of my intent washing over the object.

When I finish marking the object, I set it down on the workshop table along with my tool. I get up, and go outside, breath deeply, clear my mind. As with many types of art, it will drain you. Just like the painter who paints for hours non-stop or the musician writing a new song, they become very focused. It is the same for bind-runes. They are both a visual and an energetic art.

Finally, after a few hours have gone by and I am recovered from the binding, I will return to the object and put any finishing touches on it. If it is a light colored crystal for example, I may paint the bind rune to make it stand out. If I have engraved it into wood, I may stain it. If I used a piece of paper, I may put it in a frame. If I am making it into a pendant or necklace, I will use some copper wire and either a chain or a leather strip (being that I am not skilled in metal working or leather working, I buy these supplies from a local craft store). This final part is purely aesthetic and does not affect the rune or require any particular state of mind.

As I said, this is an artistic, emotional and spiritual skill. It takes practice. Lots of practice in design, marking and imbuing. There is style to it, just like any other art.

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