Beginner’s Guide to Rune Reading with Siri Vincent Plouff

About this episode

The episode features Siri Vincent Plouff discussing rune reading, Norse culture, and queering spiritual practices.

In this week's episode, we’re joined by Nordic witch, rune reader, and author of Queering the Runes, Siri Vincent Plouff, for a deep and delightfully bird-filled dive into runic magic. Siri shares the wild origin story of being claimed by Odin via the infamous “Minneapolis Murder” of crows, how that encounter led them into Heathenry, and what it really means to build a relationship with the runes as living spirits. We unpack common misconceptions about Norse culture, hint it is more than just Viking bros and dreads, the impact of Christianization on the myths, and how Hollywood has flattened an incredibly rich and complex spiritual history. Most importantly, we explore what it means to queer the runes, both as an identity and as a verb. Siri breaks down gender fluidity and performance in Old Norse mythology, Loki’s shapeshifting chaos, Odin’s relationship to feminine magic, and how queering spiritual systems helps us break out of rigid, heteronormative frameworks. We also talk about ethical rune practice, avoiding white supremacist co-optation, and simple low spoon ways to incorporate runes into daily life, including body poses, pocket magic, and protection work. Whether you’re…

People in this episode

Hosts: Molly Donlan, Madison Lillian

Guest: Siri Vincent Plouff

Topics covered

• rune reading
• Norse culture
• queer spirituality
• Heathenry
• runic magic
• gender fluidity
• ethical practices

Keywords

• runes
• Norse mythology
• Odin
• Heathenry
• queering
• spirituality
• magic
• gender fluidity
• ethical practices

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Queering the Runes

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