Runic engraving for altar box?

[Allthepacas]

I need help putting together a set of runes to engrave in my altar.

[Blackthorn]

Can you elaborate more?

[Allthepacas]

I am making a box altar and want to engrave the box with runes, hopefully something about containing the energies inside the box.

[Blackthorn]

I understand that I mean what kind of message are you trying to convey specifically, if any? Do you have a specific runic alphabet in mind? Any runes in particular that jump out at you that can be a starting point?

Edit: I posted this before seeing your edit about containing energies, I will think on it and let you know if I have any ideas

[Allthepacas]

Thanks, I have no experience when it comes to runes, I can use all the help I can get.

[Xiao Rong]

If there was something negative inside the box that you were trying to contain, I'm told Thurisaz :thornrune: could be a good rune for that (it's a thorn, so conceptually it's like surrounding the box with a wall of thorns).

Since it's your altar box, though, I'm not sure how appropriate that would be. You could consider doing a bindrune, which is really just combining a bunch of runes together. You can see some examples below:



You could customize a bindrune by choosing the specific runes that you wanted, and then meshing them together into a single symbol, using a list like the one below.



There are certain magic words that can be spelled from runes, like "Alu" (ale -- sometimes used for prosperity).

One really simple and cool thing the ancient Norse used to do was simply to write the entire runic alphabet on a charm. The reasoning was that if you had the whole alphabet, then it incorporated every possible magic word and spell that you could possibly think of, so it had every possible protection and blessing. I feel like that could be a really simple and easy thing for your altar box.

[Allthepacas]

I am blanking on ways to combine the runes in such a way that when ingraved it will sanctify the contents and prevent alien energies from tainting them.

[Vesca]

I would strongly suggests reading up on the Runic alphabet before using them in a magical setting. Runes represent forces, and they interact with each other in sometimes not so straight-forward ways. If you're using them without knowing their purpose, associations, energy, and how they interact with other energies, you may find yourself experiencing some negative effects even with the best of intentions.

I'm not saying "don't use runes." Just that some legwork and research is appropriate.

[Allthepacas]

That's why I am asking for help and am wary of doing it myself

[Vesca]

The amount of depth you're probably looking for is probably not going to be conveyed satisfactorily on a forum that involves a series of smallish posts. That's why there are oodles of books written on the topic, and why runesters practice and are trained for decades.

Hopefully someone here can give you a short and sweet run-down of a couple runes, but if you're interested in looking deeper (as that's what it kind of sounds like you're trying to do with the boxes intention) here's a book that covers a lot of the basics:

Futhark: A Handbook of Rune Magic
by Edred Thorsson

[Holdasown]

Don't be afraid to do it yourself. First off Algiz is a basic protection rune. Raido is a rune for exploration and journeying. A good one for you being on a spiritual journey and working with the contents. Berkana for the goddess and Gar or Ansuz for Odin. You can always ask the runes for inspiration and just think about it for few nights. Definitely don't worry about what you decide to use, the runes mean lots for things and can read different for different people. If you are still not sure let me know what your main worry is. I will try to help.

[Allthepacas]

Thanks!
I will pm you with some ideas