Galdr and Stadhagaldr: How to Embody the Runes

You've been working with runes mentally.

Studying their meanings, pulling them for divination, analyzing their patterns. All good, all useful.

(Or: Why Chanting Weird Sounds Actually Works)

But you're only using about a third of what the runes can do.

The ancient rune masters didn't just think about runes. They sang them. Chanted them. Shaped their bodies into rune postures. They understood something that most modern practitioners miss: the runes aren't just symbols to interpret, they're energies to embody.

This is galdr (rune chanting) and stadhagaldr (rune postures). And they're going to feel weird at first. Standing in strange positions while making Viking noises in your living room is objectively absurd.

Do it anyway.

Because here's the thing: your body knows things your mind doesn't. Your voice can access states of consciousness your thoughts can't reach. When you embody a rune through posture and sound, you're not learning about it intellectually, you're becoming it temporarily.

That's a completely different kind of knowledge.

Think of it like this: you can read about swimming, study swimming techniques, watch videos of swimmers. But you don't actually know swimming until you get in the water. Galdr and stadhagaldr are how you get in the water with the runes.

Fair warning: this article is going to make you do things. You can't just read about galdr, you have to actually chant. You can't just look at stadhagaldr diagrams, you have to stand in the postures. If you're not willing to be physically uncomfortable and feel ridiculous, skip to the next article.

Still here? Good. Let's make some noise.

What Galdr Actually Is

Galdr comes from the Old Norse word "gala," which means to crow or sing out. It's magical chanting, vocal vibration used to invoke runic energies.

The ancient practitioners understood something modern science is just catching up to: sound changes consciousness. Specific vibrations create specific states. The pitch, rhythm, and resonance of galdr aren't decorative, they're functional.

When you chant a rune's sound correctly, three things happen:

1. Physical resonance - The vibration moves through your body, affecting your nervous system, breath, and energy state. Different runes resonate in different body areas.

2. Consciousness shift - The repetitive chanting induces mild trance, quieting your analytical mind and opening intuitive channels. You stop thinking about the rune and start experiencing it.

3. Pattern activation - You're literally vibrating the rune's pattern into manifestation, both internally and externally. Sound shapes reality. This isn't mystical, it's physics applied magically.

The combination creates direct experiential knowledge that bypasses intellectual understanding.

The Basic Galdr Technique

Here's how to actually do this:

Step 1: Learn the sound

Each rune has a core sound based on its name. Fehu is "FEH-hoo." Uruz is "OOR-ooz." Thurisaz is "THOOR-ee-sahz."

You're not just saying the word, you're elongating and emphasizing specific sounds within it. The vibration matters more than pronunciation perfection.

Step 2: Find your breath

Take a deep breath into your belly, not your chest. The power of galdr comes from diaphragmatic breathing. Shallow chest breathing produces weak, ineffective chanting.

Step 3: Chant on the exhale

Release the rune sound slowly on your out-breath. One long, sustained chant per breath. Feel where the sound vibrates in your body.

Step 4: Repeat

Nine times minimum. Traditionally, runic workings use numbers like 9, 18, 27 (multiples of nine). Start with nine repetitions and increase as you develop capacity.

Step 5: Sit in silence

After chanting, be quiet for several minutes. Don't immediately move back into normal consciousness. Let the shifted state teach you.

That's the basic framework. Now let's get specific.

Galdr for Freya's Aett (Runes 1-8)

ᚠ FEHU - "FEH-hoo"

Sound emphasis: The "FEH" vibrates in your chest and solar plexus. The "hoo" moves up and out through your throat.

Where you feel it: Heart and chest, radiating outward like wealth flowing.

Consciousness shift: Abundance mindset, generosity, energy of manifestation.

When to use it: When you feel scarce, when you need to activate resource flow, before important financial decisions or creative projects.

How to chant: Start strong on "FEH," sustain it, then let it dissolve into a softer "hoo" as you run out of breath. It should feel like you're projecting something outward.

ᚢ URUZ - "OOR-ooz"

Sound emphasis: Deep, primal, almost a growl. The "OOR" is guttural and low.

Where you feel it: Deep in your belly, root chakra, base of spine. This is the most physically grounded rune sound.

Consciousness shift: Raw life force, physical power, untamed vitality.

When to use it: When you need primal strength, before physical challenges, when you've become too mental and need to drop back into your body.

How to chant: Make it rumble. This isn't a pretty sound. Let it be animalistic. Feel your body vibrate with the bass frequency of it.

ᚦ THURISAZ - "THOOR-ee-sahz"

Sound emphasis: Sharp, disruptive, the "TH" is almost spat out. Then it builds through "oor-ee-sahz."

Where you feel it: Throat, sometimes teeth and jaw. Aggressive energy.

Consciousness shift: Breakthrough, disruption, confrontation, cutting through obstacles.

When to use it: Before difficult conversations, when you need to break old patterns, when you're being too passive and need aggressive clarity.

How to chant: Start sharp and forceful on "THOOR," then let it evolve through the rest of the syllables with decreasing intensity. It should feel like you're pushing something out of the way.

ᚨ ANSUZ - "AHN-sooz"

Sound emphasis: Open, resonant, the "AHN" opens your throat and mouth wide.

Where you feel it: Throat, mouth, sometimes the top of your head. Communication and inspiration.

Consciousness shift: Divine inspiration, communication, ancestral wisdom, poetic consciousness.

When to use it: Before writing, speaking, teaching. When you need inspired ideas. When you want to connect with ancestral knowledge.

How to chant: Open your mouth and throat completely on "AHN." Let the sound be pure and clear, not forced. This is about receiving, not pushing.

ᚱ RAIDHO - "RYE-tho"

Sound emphasis: Rolling, rhythmic. The "R" should roll if you can manage it.

Where you feel it: Whole body in motion, rhythm, pulse.

Consciousness shift: Journey, rhythm, right timing, purposeful movement.

When to use it: Before travel, when starting new projects, when you need to find the right rhythm or timing for something.

How to chant: Make it rhythmic and rolling. Let your body sway slightly. This rune is about movement, so don't stay completely still while chanting it.

ᚲ KENAZ - "KEN-ahz"

Sound emphasis: Bright, illuminating. The "K" is sharp, the "EN" opens.

Where you feel it: Behind your eyes, forehead, sometimes top of head. Mental illumination.

Consciousness shift: Insight, creativity, illumination, transformation through understanding.

When to use it: When you're stuck on a problem, before creative work, when you need sudden insight or inspiration.

How to chant: Start with a sharp "K" sound, then let "EN-ahz" expand outward like light spreading. Visualize your mind lighting up.

ᚷ GEBO - "GEH-bo"

Sound emphasis: Balanced, reciprocal. Equal emphasis on both syllables.

Where you feel it: Heart center, sometimes hands (the giving and receiving places).

Consciousness shift: Partnership, exchange, sacred reciprocity, connection.

When to use it: Before important meetings, when working on relationships, when you need to understand the give-and-take in a situation.

How to chant: Keep it balanced and even. Neither syllable dominates. Feel the energy of exchange, back and forth, balanced.

ᚹ WUNJO - "WOON-yo"

Sound emphasis: Joyful, almost singing. This is the happiest-sounding rune.

Where you feel it: Whole body, but especially heart and face (you might involuntarily smile).

Consciousness shift: Joy, harmony, things being in right relationship, wish fulfillment.

When to use it: When you're stuck in heaviness, when you need to shift into gratitude, when you want to align with joy.

How to chant: Let it be light and uplifting. Don't force it deep, let it rise. This should feel genuinely pleasant to chant.

Stadhagaldr: The Rune Postures

Now we add body. Stadhagaldr means "standing galdr" - combining rune postures with rune sounds.

Why bother? Because your body is a antenna. Different physical positions activate different energy channels, different states of consciousness. When you shape your body into a rune while chanting that rune's sound, you become a living embodiment of that pattern.

It's powerful. It's also going to feel absolutely ridiculous until you experience what it does.

How to practice stadhagaldr:

1. Stand in the rune posture
2. Hold it for the duration of your chanting
3. Chant the rune sound nine times minimum
4. Pay attention to what shifts in your body and consciousness
5. Rest briefly before moving to the next rune

Let's learn the postures for Freya's Aett:

ᚠ FEHU posture

Stand upright. Raise your right arm up and out at about 60 degrees. Extend your left arm straight out to the side at shoulder height. Your body forms the shape of Fehu.

What it does: Opens your chest, expands your energetic field, creates receptive/projective channels. You physically embody the giving and receiving of resources.

Hold this while chanting "FEH-hoo" nine times. Feel wealth flowing through the channels your arms create.

ᚢ URUZ posture

Stand with feet wide apart, knees slightly bent. Both arms hang down at your sides, slightly away from your body, palms back. Low, grounded, strong stance.

What it does: Connects you to earth, activates root energy, stabilizes. You become immovable, powerful, primal.

Hold this while chanting "OOR-ooz" nine times. Let the vibration rumble through your planted legs and pelvis.

ᚦ THURISAZ posture

Stand upright. Raise your right arm straight up. Left arm straight down. Both arms slightly out from your body. You form a vertical line with a slight angle, like a thorn or hammer.

What it does: Creates a channel from above to below, focusing power into a single directed line. Aggressive, penetrating energy.

Hold this while chanting "THOOR-ee-sahz" nine times. Feel like a lightning rod, focusing disruptive power.

ᚨ ANSUZ posture

Stand with feet together. Both arms out to the sides and slightly down, forming a "Y" shape with your body. Open, receptive stance.

What it does: Opens you to receive from above, creates a chalice shape with your body. Receptive to inspiration and ancestral wisdom.

Hold this while chanting "AHN-sooz" nine times. Feel like you're receiving downloads from somewhere beyond yourself.

ᚱ RAIDHO posture

This one has movement. Stand upright, then step forward with your right foot while swinging your right arm forward and up. Like you're walking with intention.

What it does: Activates forward momentum, rhythm, purposeful movement. You embody the journey.

Hold the lunging position while chanting "RYE-tho" nine times. Feel the forward-moving energy.

ᚲ KENAZ posture

Stand upright. Extend your right arm forward and up at about 45 degrees, like you're holding a torch. Left arm down or at your side.

What it does: Creates a channel for creative fire, illumination from above moving through you and forward. You become the torch.

Hold this while chanting "KEN-ahz" nine times. Visualize light flowing down your raised arm and out.

ᚷ GEBO posture

Stand with feet apart. Cross your arms in front of your chest, each hand touching the opposite shoulder. Or, extend both arms out to the sides and slightly down, then cross them in front of you. Either creates the X shape of Gebo.

What it does: Embodies exchange, partnership, the crossing of two equal forces.

Hold this while chanting "GEH-bo" nine times. Feel the energy of reciprocity and sacred exchange.

ᚹ WUNJO posture

Stand upright. Right arm curves up and over your head, hand pointing down. Left arm at your side or extended slightly. You form a joyful, reaching shape.

What it does: Opens you to joy, creates a protective arc over your head, embodies harmony and fulfillment.

Hold this while chanting "WOON-yo" nine times. Let yourself feel genuinely good while doing this.

Combining Galdr and Stadhagaldr: The Full Practice

Now put it together. Here's a daily practice that will transform your relationship with the runes in about three months:

The Nine-Rune Morning Practice (20 minutes)

Pick one rune to work with. Let's say Kenaz.

1. Sit with the rune (2 minutes) - Look at it, contemplate its meaning, set your intention for working with this energy today.

2. Simple galdr (5 minutes) - Sit comfortably, chant "KEN-ahz" 27 times (three sets of nine). Focus on the vibration in your body.

3. Stadhagaldr (5 minutes) - Stand in Kenaz posture, chant "KEN-ahz" 18 times while holding the pose. Feel the energy move through your positioned body.

4. Silent integration (5 minutes) - Sit quietly, notice what shifted, journal any insights.

5. Daily carry (3 minutes) - Carry a token of that rune with you (draw it, carve it, just have an image). When you see it during the day, silently chant it once to reinforce the pattern.

Do this daily. Work with each rune for at least three days before moving to the next one. With 24 runes, that's 72 days minimum. Three months of embodied practice.

What happens: The runes stop being external symbols you study and become internal energies you can activate at will. When you need Thurisaz energy for a difficult conversation, you'll be able to silently chant it and feel the shift. When you need Fehu consciousness for a financial decision, you'll embody that state instantly.

This is how you move from student to practitioner.

Advanced Technique: Rune Binding Through Galdr

Once you're comfortable with individual runes, you can combine them through sequential chanting.

Let's say you need to break through creative blocks and manifest abundance. That's Thurisaz (breakthrough) + Kenaz (illumination) + Fehu (manifestation).

The practice:

1. Stand in Thurisaz posture, chant "THOOR-ee-sahz" nine times
2. Immediately shift to Kenaz posture, chant "KEN-ahz" nine times
3. Immediately shift to Fehu posture, chant "FEH-hoo" nine times
4. Stand still, let the combined energy settle

You've just created a bind rune through your body and voice. The energies activate sequentially, building on each other.

This is advanced work. Don't attempt it until you're solid with individual runes. But once you can do this fluidly, you have a powerful technique for complex magical operations.

Why This Feels Weird (And Why That's Good)

Let's be honest: you're going to feel stupid doing this at first.

Standing in strange poses while making prolonged vowel sounds is not normal modern behavior. If someone walked in on you doing stadhagaldr, they'd think you'd joined a cult or lost your mind.

Good. That discomfort is your conditioning trying to keep you small and "normal."

Every transformative practice feels weird initially. Meditation feels weird. Therapy feels weird. Working out feels weird. Anything that actually changes you rather than just entertaining you is going to push against your comfort zone.

The weirdness is the point. You're doing something your ordinary consciousness doesn't know how to handle. That's when change happens.

So yes, you'll feel ridiculous chanting Viking sounds in your living room. Do it anyway. The people who can push through the initial discomfort are the people who actually develop real runic practice.

The people who stay comfortable stay stuck.

Practical Tips for Not Quitting

• Start small - Don't try to do all 24 runes in one session. Work with one or two per day.

• Morning is best - Your mind is quieter, your house is probably quiet, you have fresh energy. Don't try this when you're tired.

• Use headphones if you're self-conscious - Play ambient music or drumming quietly so you're less aware of your own voice. As you get comfortable, you won't need this.

• Track your experience - Journal briefly after each session. You'll forget the subtle shifts if you don't write them down.

• Don't perform - This isn't about chanting beautifully. It's about the vibration and the intention. Rough, authentic chanting works better than pretty, performative chanting.

• Give it three months - You won't see the full effects in a week or even a month. Commit to 90 days of daily practice before you evaluate whether it's working.

• Work alone - This is personal practice, not group ritual. At least initially, do this by yourself where you won't be self-conscious.

What Actually Changes

After three months of daily galdr and stadhagaldr practice, here's what you'll notice:

Physical changes - Better breath control, more awareness of how sound moves through your body, stronger core from holding postures.

Mental changes - Quieter mind, easier access to non-analytical states, faster recognition of runic patterns in daily life.

Energetic changes - You'll feel the different qualities of different runes viscerally. Thurisaz will feel distinctly different from Wunjo in your body.

Practical changes - When you encounter situations that require specific energies, you'll be able to activate them. Need courage? Activate Tiwaz through silent galdr. Need creativity? Activate Kenaz. The runes become tools you can deploy.

Consciousness changes - This is the deepest level. Your sense of self becomes more fluid. You realize you're not one fixed personality, you're a collection of energetic patterns that can be consciously shifted. That's profound transformation.

This is why the ancient practitioners chanted runes. Not because it was traditional or mystical, but because it works.

Common Mistakes

Mistake #1: Weak breathing

You're chanting from your throat instead of your diaphragm. The sound is thin and ineffective.

Fix: Put your hand on your belly. It should expand when you breathe in, contract when you chant out. If your shoulders are rising, you're breathing wrong.

Mistake #2: Rushing

You're blasting through nine chants in 30 seconds because you're uncomfortable.

Fix: Slow down. Each chant should take a full, deep breath. Quality over speed.

Mistake #3: Doing it mechanically

You're going through the motions without intention or awareness.

Fix: Before you start, set clear intention. "I'm working with Kenaz to activate creative insight." Then pay attention to what shifts.

Mistake #4: Skipping the silence

You finish chanting and immediately jump back into normal activity.

Fix: Sit in silence for at least five minutes after chanting. That's when the integration happens.

Mistake #5: Being inconsistent

You practice intensely for three days, then skip a week, then do it once, then skip another week.

Fix: Daily practice, even if brief, beats intense occasional practice. Fifteen minutes every morning is better than an hour once a week.

The Galdr for the Other Aettir

We covered Freya's Aett in detail. Here are the sounds and basic approaches for Hagal's Aett and Tyr's Aett. Apply the same principles.

Hagal's Aett (Runes 9-16):

• Hagalaz: "HAH-gah-lahz" (sharp, disruptive, feels chaotic)
• Nauthiz: "NOW-theez" (constrained, tight, difficult to chant)
• Isa: "EE-sah" (cold, still, elongated "EE" sound)
• Jera: "YEH-rah" (cyclical, rhythmic, like the turning year)
• Eihwaz: "AY-wahz" (vertical, spine-activating sound)
• Perthro: "PEHR-throw" (mysterious, hollow sound)
• Elhaz: "EL-hahz" (protective, upward-reaching)
• Sowilo: "SO-wee-lo" (bright, powerful, victorious)

Tyr's Aett (Runes 17-24):

• Tiwaz: "TEE-wahz" (sharp, warrior-like, upward thrust)
• Berkano: "BEHR-kah-no" (nurturing, grounded, growth)
• Ehwaz: "EH-wahz" (partnership, dual, moving together)
• Mannaz: "MAH-nahz" (human, balanced, centered)
• Laguz: "LAH-gooz" (flowing, liquid, adaptable)
• Ingwaz: "ING-wahz" (grounded, seed-like, potential)
• Dagaz: "DAH-gahz" (breakthrough, transformative, dawn)
• Othala: "OH-thah-lah" (ancestral, rooted, enclosed)

Work through these systematically. Three days per rune minimum. That's 72 days just for the first pass through all 24. Then do it again. And again.

By your third cycle through, the runes will be embodied knowledge, not intellectual concepts.

What Comes Next

You now know how to work with runes through mind (divination, interpretation), voice (galdr), and body (stadhagaldr).

But there's still more. The runes exist not just as individual symbols but as a complete cosmological system mapping different levels of reality. The Nine Worlds of Norse mythology, the Well of Wyrd, Yggdrasil the World Tree - all of these are frameworks for understanding how consciousness, fate, and manifestation actually work.

In the next article, we're diving into Norse cosmology as a map of consciousness. Not as ancient mythology to study, but as living structures you can navigate. Because once you understand the cosmology, you understand where you actually are, what forces are acting on you, and how to work with them intentionally.

Ready to climb the World Tree? Let's explore the Nine Worlds.

This article is part of our Runes collection. Read our comprehensive Runes guide to explore the ancient wisdom and mystical power of runic symbols.