The Blank Rune (Wyrd Rune): Should You Use It?
Updated: 7 days ago
The blank rune, also called the Wyrd rune or Odin's rune, is an empty 25th piece found in many modern rune sets. It is not a historical rune: it was popularised in the early 1980s by Ralph Blum's The Book of Runes, and no runic inscription or rune poem contains it.
Whether you use it is a personal choice. This guide explains where the blank rune comes from, why it cannot be historical, the honest arguments for and against it, and practical ways to treat it in a reading, including how to read it if you keep it.
Every historical rune is a letter with a shape. A blank piece can be a useful modern tool, but it is not a rune in the old sense.
Why the blank rune is not historical
Runes were letters first. Every historical rune row is an alphabet: the Elder Futhark has 24 runes, the Younger Futhark 16, and the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc up to about 33. Each rune stood for a sound and had a name, so a rune without a shape could not have been a letter. The Elder Futhark chart shows the full row, with no empty place in it.
Nothing in the sources points to a blank rune either. The rune poems name and describe each rune of their row, and none of them describes an empty one. The oldest description often linked with rune divination, by the Roman historian Tacitus, speaks of slips marked with signs, not blank ones.
This does not make the blank rune "wrong" in a modern practice. Most divinatory meanings of the runes are modern too, built in the twentieth century on older names and poems. It does mean that the blank rune belongs to modern reading only, and it is fair to say so clearly. For the background, see what runes are.
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Arguments for using the blank rune
It gives the reading a way to say "not now". Some questions are premature or badly framed, and a blank answer can be an honest one.
It reminds you that not everything can be known. A reading is a prompt for reflection, not a full forecast, and the blank piece makes that visible.
It works as a spare. If a rune from your set is lost or broken, a blank piece can be marked with the missing rune.
It is part of many readers' own practice. If it has been meaningful in your readings for years, there is no reason to drop it because it is modern.
Arguments against using it
It has no historical basis. The runic alphabets have no empty rune, and some readers want their practice to stay close to the sources.
Perthro already does the job. In modern readings Perthro is the rune of fate, chance and the hidden; a second piece meaning "the unknown" makes readings vaguer, not deeper.
It breaks the structure of the row. The 24 runes divide into three groups of eight, the three aettir. A 25th piece fits nowhere.
It can stall a reading. A blank in a key position leaves the reader with nothing to interpret, and the temptation is to draw again until something "better" comes up.
How to treat the blank rune in a reading
Decide what you will do before your next reading, not when the blank appears. Here are the common approaches:
Leave it out. Read with the 24 runes of the Elder Futhark. Keep the blank in the bag's pocket as a spare.
Keep it as "not yet". If it comes up as a single rune, put the question aside and return to it later, perhaps rephrased. Do not draw again straight away.
Read it in its position. In a spread, a blank in the outcome position can mean the outcome is still open and depends on choices not yet made. A blank in a challenge position can mean the obstacle is not yet visible.
Never read it as doom. The blank rune does not mean death, disaster or punishment. In any system that uses it, it means the unknown, not the bad.
On RunicHub the free readings, from the yes-or-no rune to the free nine-rune cast, use the 24 runes of the Elder Futhark and never draw a blank. If you use a blank in your own set, the same reading methods still apply; the guide to rune spreads covers the layouts.
Blank rune or Perthro?
Readers who leave the blank out often point to Perthro, the rune of fate, chance and what is still hidden. The difference is useful: Perthro shows that something unknown is in play and invites you to look for it, while the blank in Blum's system says the answer is not available at all.
If you are unsure, try both for a month. Read without the blank for two weeks and with it for two, write every reading down, and see which version gives you clearer and more honest answers. A rune journal makes this kind of test easy, and it is the best way to build your own practice.
Should beginners use the blank rune?
If you are just starting out, it is simpler to leave it out. Learning 24 runes with their names, sounds and meanings is enough work, and a piece that means "unknown" gives you nothing to learn from when it appears. Start with one rune a day from the full row, as in the 7-day path for rune beginners.
Once the 24 runes feel familiar, you can decide with experience whether a blank piece adds anything to your readings. Many readers never miss it; others find it a useful pause button. Either way, the choice is yours, and it is a modern one.
If a reading leaves you with more questions
A blank or a confusing reading is often a sign that the question needs another angle. Sometimes a second view helps more than another draw. In a personal reading I lay out a spread for your exact question and explain it in writing, including what to do with the parts that are still open.
Where the blank rune comes from
The blank rune comes from Ralph H. Blum's The Book of Runes, first published in the early 1980s (most catalogue listings give 1982). The book was sold together with a small bag of rune tiles, and the set included one tile with no sign on it. The book and its boxed set sold widely, and the blank tile came with it into many later rune sets.
Blum tied the blank piece to the unknowable and to fate, and it has been called the Wyrd rune (from the Old English word for fate) and Odin's rune. He also set out the runes in his own order rather than the traditional row. Some later rune authors criticise these choices sharply, while others kept the blank piece in their own practice.
If your rune set has 25 pieces, this is why. Many manufacturers still include a blank, and some add a note that you may leave it out.
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FAQ
What does the blank rune mean?
In the modern system that introduced it, the blank rune stands for the unknowable: what cannot or should not be known yet. Readers who use it today usually read it as "not yet", a sign to pause, rephrase the question or wait. It has no historical meaning, because it is not a historical rune.
Who invented the blank rune?
It was popularised by Ralph Blum's The Book of Runes, first published in the early 1980s and sold with a set of rune tiles that included a blank one. No runic inscription or medieval rune poem has a blank rune.
Is the blank rune the same as the Wyrd rune or Odin's rune?
Yes, these are names for the same blank piece. "Wyrd" is an Old English word for fate; "Odin's rune" refers to the god linked with runic knowledge. Neither name is attached to any historical rune.
Should I throw away the blank rune from my set?
You do not need to. Many readers simply set it aside, keep it as a spare in case a rune is lost, or use it only for their own readings. Decide what it means to you before your next reading and stay consistent.
What if I draw the blank rune in a yes-or-no question?
Most readers who use it treat it as "no answer for now". Put the question aside and come back to it later, perhaps phrased differently. Do not draw again straight away until you get an answer you like.
Written by Julia, rune reader since 2020. More about me →
