The Elder Futhark were gifted to us humans by Odinn, who hung on the world tree Yggdrasil as an offering. All wisdom is said to be contained in these runes. As with the tarot, they are arranged in an order, and it is thought that there is method behind this chosen order; that like the tarot, the arrangement leads one on an esoteric journey of discovery of the purpose behind the runes. Many inscriptions have been found where the entire Elder Futhark has been spelled out. (Indeed, as our word "alphabet" has its roots in the "alpha-beta" of the first two letters of the Greek alphabet [and its precursor in the "aleph-beth" signifying the first two letters of the Hebrew alphabet], the word "futhark" comes from the first six letters of this particular alphabet. Note that "th" is a single consonant, and is represented as such in the Elder Futhark.)

One can use these runes for divination. Typically, if one is using stones, the stones are cast from a bag, perhaps onto a cloth. The reader will consider juxtaposition of stones, plus physical proximity to the querent. Symbols which are hidden (the blank side is up) might be discarded, or read as hidden influences. (I seldom use stones in my own readings, so my comments here are scanty, and others may have elaborations I am unaware of.)

When I cast runesticks (my personal preference), I will mix them in their fabric carrying case, then reach in and take the lot of them in my hand, and then cast them out on the floor. It is preferable to be at a seated elevation with regards to the floor or ground for best casting dynamics. (Invented phraseology...) The runes will scatter; ones away from everything else I discard, unless it seems like the sticks bearing central runes are insistently pointing at their direction. A typical reading takes me about twenty minutes -- with a wide standard deviation. Runes seldom are read as a vacuum -- everything, as in life, seems to be modified by everything else. Runesticks that cross each other tend to point to conflicts; runesticks that parallel each other tend to complement one another, runes that seem to fall in a line reinforce one another. Runesticks closest to the querent have the most immediate effect. If they seem to spread out to some point, that point may be a potential outcome which many factors are driving the querent towards. There IS free will; while there may be factors the querent cannot control, nothing is [ahem] carved in stone. The runes provide knowledge by which choices can be made.

As for extrapolating into the future -- if events in a person's life are proceeding quickly, the dimensions of that extrapolated future will be shorter than if the events are going slowly. This I think seems self-explanatory -- but I have seen those who declare That The Runes Predict Three Months, as if this too were carved in stone. (This "statement" is the only reason I bring this up.)

I've had good results with a quick, three-rune drawing. I draw three runes, and regard them as a tripod (a stable configuration), and reflect on the interactions of these three runes. I don't use any "Past, Present, Future" or other predetermined trichotomies or linear scales by which to study them. Rather, I see them as a braid, and let them form themselves (usually NOT into a trichotomy, and extremely rarely into anything remotely linear)into what syncretic meanings they choose. This gives me (IMAO*) the opportunity for some really in-depth contemplations which have usually been very insightful.

*IMAO - in my arrogant opinion. (A match to IMHO, in my humble opinion. Both popularized by science fiction fandom, although only IMHO seems to have made it onto the 'Net.)