Good Omens...And Bad: Prophecy in Theory and Practice, Lab Thirteen

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

As the students enter the classroom, they may notice first of all that there’s a spread of scones, muffins, danishes, cinnamon rolls, and other breakfast pastries. Accompanied, of course, by coffee, tea, hot cocoa, and cider. The second thing they may notice is that the room has been decorated with twinkling lights, sparkly paper snowflakes, and fresh evergreen garland.

Aziraphale is sitting in his chair, looking very pleased to be back.

LECTURE: “First off, let me just tell all of you how much I missed being here for your last couple of classes, and especially how sorry I am for missing the pageant. James has videotaped it, however, and I want you to know how very proud I am of you all.” He eyed Marty slightly for a moment, then continued. “Now, today is our second-to-last lab. We’re going to do some rune-casting, and then I want you to take the remainder of the period to work on your final projects, which will be due next Friday. Also, since I myself have missed a class and a lab, I’m forgiving any absences during the time I was away. However, I do expect to see you all in both classes next week.

“Now, let’s move on today’s topic: runic divination.”

Aziraphale gave a brief lecture on the subject which I am too tired to write and passed around handouts for the lab exercise. “Please use this material to do a casting for yourself or your lab partner.”

Handout #1 (use to create your own reading)
Handout #2 (use to generate an automatic reading)

HOMEWORK: “Please remember that at the beginning of the term, you were all told that there would be a class project required as part of your grade. This project is due next week. There will be a drop box outside my office each day where you can hand your project in, or you can bring it with you to next Friday’s lab.

“I’ll be in my office briefly after class today if anyone needs to see me, or you can catch me here after class.”

Syllabus
Class Roster
Classes Linkdrop
Lab Partner List

[ooc: I'm back, yay! *glomps on class* Please wait for OCD is up. Begin.]

Comments

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

[likethegun]

Sam tried the "fork" reading and finally remembered to hit Post Comment.

The left rune represents the first possible outcome. Wunjo is the rune of joy. The reversal of this rune suggests that joy is withheld. Since joy is frequently communal, this rune often suggests loneliness. Alternatively, some have seen Wunjo as the rune of perfection and the rune of the gods. Therefore this rune reversed could signal a feeling of separation from one's deity, or as imperfection in an important work.

The right rune represents the second possible outcome. Gebo means gift, and like any gifts, the rune may be understood on many levels. Gifts are generally positive things, for both the giver and the recipient. In many cultures however, gifts and favors carry with them an obligation to respond in kind. It is for this reason that gifts, and hence the rune Gebo, are frequently symbolic of friendships, marriages, alliances, mergers, and other bonds between people or organizations. Gebo is a strong rune and the unions represented are strong as well. Moreover, Gebo is not reversible, as true friendships are not easily undone.

The bottom rune represents the critical factor that determines what will come to pass. Fehu is the rune of cattle, the symbol of wealth in the old Norse civilization. Since Fehu is the first rune in Frey's aett, it is a rune of fertility as well. As seen here reversed, it can represent barrenness or the loss of wealth. Some interpret Fehu as representing children, in which case the reversal may portend the distancing of a child from her or his parents.

He gave the runes a little poke and wondered how accurate that would really be.