If you already own a rune set, that's great! If not, you might be considering if you want to make your own or to purchase a set. There is no right or wrong answer here. I have both made my own sets of runes and purchased two sets that 'spoke' to me. The first set I purchased, I did so long before I began working with runic energies as the collectives, as spirit allies. That first set is one crafted of amethyst, a stone that holds a special meaning for me. Years later, I can appreciate the irony in that amethyst purple is the colour I associate with the hagalazi, a collective very dear to me.
My second set, I acquired in 2012 at Pantheacon. This set is carved into little goldstone buttons that look like shimmering dragonscales the colour of burnt orange fall leaves, a colour I associate with the nauthizi. It was Elodin, one of my nauthizi guides, who prompted me to purchase this set. It is tiny enough that I can carry the pouch in my pocket comfortably.
I also have a set that I crafted myself by wood-burning the runes onto wooden disks. This set has been 'blooded', meaning as each rune disk was crafted, I made an offering of a drop of blood to each collective. There are those who say that the runes need blood offerings, but I have not found it to be an absolute necessity. The final step was to paint these wood-burnt rune disks.
Sooo.... back to the question at hand. If you think you wish to purchase a set, keep your eye out for a good one. As you can tell above, I prefer sets made of stone. Should you decide to make your own set, there are many options open to you. Here are just a few-
1. You can try your hand at wood-burning, as I did. Many craft stores sell wood-burning tools and have round, flat wooden disks that are perfect for making runes. These disks usually come in a few sizes, so you have a choice as to how big your runes are. I prefer the smaller disks. If you are really skilled with woodcrafting, you may wish to seek out a tree limb of the appropriate width and of a length to make at least 32 disks. If you are taking it from a live tree, be sure to ask the tree's permission as well as leave an offering. Trees are always happy for an offering of water and a little bit of love! Remember, all things deserve respect and, as you will learn, all things are suffused with the energy of the collectives. If you want to make friends with some allies from the collectives, don't make the runai grumpy before you even get started! If you have never done wood-burning before, it is important to keep a few things in mind.
First- make sure to draw the rune on the disk before actually trying to wood-burn it. This gives you a guide-line to follow with the heftier carving pen and can make things much easier for you.
Second- when etching, remember to go with the grain of the wood and not against it, whenever possible. Going against the grain can cause the etching pen to skip and stutter, making the carving uneven.
Third- if you plan to paint, be sure to do the carving before you do the painting. I know, it seems fairly obvious, but I have known people to try the opposite with rather poor results. The paint will gunk up the etching pen and burning paint smells terrible!
Fourth- If you plan to paint, I have found that using metallic, satin or pearl acrylic paints work the best. The colours come out shimmery and brilliant instead of flat.
2. Another option is to craft a rune set from clay. Craft and hobby shops carry a variety of clay types to choose from. See what fits your needs best. Determine the size you want your rune disks to be and find something the right size to serve as a 'cookie cutter', to ensure the disks all come out the same size. Small cups, such as shot glasses, make good cutters. Use a tooth pick or other tool to etch the rune into the clay before you bake it or leave it to dry.
3. Using glass buttons, such as those you may put in the bottom of a fish tank, is another idea to consider. These buttons come in a variety of colours and usually have one flat side and one gently rounded side. You can use metallic ink pens to write the runes on the glass, though be warned, this rubs off over time. You may use paints and a very fine-tip paintbrush to paint the runes on the buttons (be aware of the same considerations as the metallic ink pens) or, if you are skilled in this area, you may even choose to etch the runes into the glass buttons with a glass etching tool. Unless you are very skilled, this requires a small vise clamp to hold the button for etching.
4. One last suggestion you may wish to consider is collecting smooth river rocks that are all roughly the same size and painting, writing or etching the runes onto the rocks. Likewise, if you are skilled in glass-etching, you may choose to collect precious or semi-precious stones of a like size and etch the runes into them.
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