The Grid
Casting grids vary in size and cells depending on the knowledge desired. Readings regarding entire villages are often performed on massive grids spread across fields, while personal readings may be performed on the space of a table top. Artifacts have been recovered which appear to be granite casting boards etched with grids for the ease of wandering seers.
Physical denotation of the grid was not always necessary for experienced seers. Many get to a point where they are able to perceive a grid without laying out lines; there are even recorded instances in which seers are able to perform the ritual by feel alone, as sight is known to abandon the medium. If one is marking a grid, it is recommended to do so by physically etching the grid into stone, laying temporary lines in salt or burning lines into a field using fior srad.
While the size of a grid may change depending upon the reading desired, the layout has been, up to a point, standardized, as most seers can trace their lineage back to the time of the divide amongst the silent gods and mankind. The core grid, at its smallest, is three cells wide and three tall, giving a total of nine possible spaces. As the grid is expanded, it must always maintain this aspect ratio; ie, four wide by four tall, five wide by five tall, etc.
The expanding nature of the grid is often referred to as the dark spiral, as more knowledge is desired, the seer must access darker arms of the abyss and put good faith in the humor of the silent gods. Illustrated above, one can see the core grid in light grey with each expansion sweeping outward in darker hues. Grids considerably larger than these have been recorded in arcane histories, though their meanings, unfortunately, have been lost.
Each cell is as important a part of the narrative of the reading as the runes. This grid layout is built off the notes of Sister Astanoshia in the sixth aeon; aside from it's holy purpose as a casting grid, she writes in her journal that one can use a full grid as a walking meditation practice in which one reflects on the domains as they spiral further and further from the purest self. This is a calming and contemplative way to familiarize yourself with your grid, and something I always recommend to fledgling seers as a daily practice.
Some prefer to stand inside the grid to cast their runes, while others do not enter the grid until all runes have been cast. Personally, and my sisters in Astrid agree, I believe a seer must cast from inside the grid, as the voices of the silent gods are speaking long before the runes leave your hand. Certain domains might have a gravity and influence of those trying to speak through you. There is great tragedy to be found in the grid, but at the same time, a rune cast in the domain of suffering might have a conversation that tells a story of healing. The rune of Iomaíocht, the rival, landing in the domain of losses might foretell your ruin, or the downfall of your enemy -- this is why it is important to read the runes as a whole, rather than individual cells. In that sense, the grid is almost the alphabet or codex with which the silent gods scrawl their message.
Physical denotation of the grid was not always necessary for experienced seers. Many get to a point where they are able to perceive a grid without laying out lines; there are even recorded instances in which seers are able to perform the ritual by feel alone, as sight is known to abandon the medium. If one is marking a grid, it is recommended to do so by physically etching the grid into stone, laying temporary lines in salt or burning lines into a field using fior srad.
While the size of a grid may change depending upon the reading desired, the layout has been, up to a point, standardized, as most seers can trace their lineage back to the time of the divide amongst the silent gods and mankind. The core grid, at its smallest, is three cells wide and three tall, giving a total of nine possible spaces. As the grid is expanded, it must always maintain this aspect ratio; ie, four wide by four tall, five wide by five tall, etc.
The expanding nature of the grid is often referred to as the dark spiral, as more knowledge is desired, the seer must access darker arms of the abyss and put good faith in the humor of the silent gods. Illustrated above, one can see the core grid in light grey with each expansion sweeping outward in darker hues. Grids considerably larger than these have been recorded in arcane histories, though their meanings, unfortunately, have been lost.
Each cell is as important a part of the narrative of the reading as the runes. This grid layout is built off the notes of Sister Astanoshia in the sixth aeon; aside from it's holy purpose as a casting grid, she writes in her journal that one can use a full grid as a walking meditation practice in which one reflects on the domains as they spiral further and further from the purest self. This is a calming and contemplative way to familiarize yourself with your grid, and something I always recommend to fledgling seers as a daily practice.
Some prefer to stand inside the grid to cast their runes, while others do not enter the grid until all runes have been cast. Personally, and my sisters in Astrid agree, I believe a seer must cast from inside the grid, as the voices of the silent gods are speaking long before the runes leave your hand. Certain domains might have a gravity and influence of those trying to speak through you. There is great tragedy to be found in the grid, but at the same time, a rune cast in the domain of suffering might have a conversation that tells a story of healing. The rune of Iomaíocht, the rival, landing in the domain of losses might foretell your ruin, or the downfall of your enemy -- this is why it is important to read the runes as a whole, rather than individual cells. In that sense, the grid is almost the alphabet or codex with which the silent gods scrawl their message.
The Runes
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How to Cast Runes
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