Alphabets have been used as symbols in divination since the ancient Greeks and their Greek Alphabet Oracle. The Elder Futhark and Ogham give us precedent for other runic divination systems in the territories where the English language first emerged, so I see no reason why modern English should not have its very own divination system based on the English alphabet. Accordingly I have designed one here for the reader's amusement as well as my own, employing these constraints:
First, every letter of our alphabet must be represented in the oracle.
Second, a commonly-used modern English word or group of homophones (or near-homophones) must be attributed to each letter, and at least one word paired to the letter must be traceable to Old English. The words chosen must either have ubiquitous presence in the average anglophone's daily life, or else they must have widespread cultural significance as a symbol, metaphor, or common idiom.
This activity was partially inspired by the works of linguist Margaret Magnus in her research into phonosemantics, especially Gods of the Word: Archetypes in the Consonants, which establishes that within the English language there are some clear recurrences of related meanings, among English words with the same onset consonant. I have opted to integrate some of Magnus' interpretations of the phonosemantic connotations of each consonant, as a supplemental third constraint in my word selections.
A (and Æ)- ash
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Rise from the ashes.
Keywords: ambiguity, uncertainty, transformation or transmutation, the products of a creative or destructive process, loss and grief, making something good out of a bad situation (ash is a key ingredient in several useful products, such as fertiliser and soap), finding a silver lining, analogous to Death in tarot, and to "Ansuz" from the Elder Futhark (and "Æsc" from the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc), which has significant ambiguity to its possible interpretations, due to very dissimilar implied meanings in its several rune-poems.
O and G in this oracle can also be seen as connected to "Ansuz" and other runes descended from it; it's up to the reader to decide which interpretation they prefer.
B - be / bee
Be bold, but not too bold.
Keywords: Hyperactivity, overextended resources, busy, stress, burnout, haste, desperation, frenzy, self-neglect, demanding projects, time pressure.
C - cow
Don't have a cow, man. The cow jumped over the moon.
Keywords: Peculiarity, extremity, overreaction, ridiculous incidents, lack of credibility or repute, tall tales, cowardice, provocation.
This rune is an impolite nod to the "Fehu" rune in the Elder Futhark, which refers to cattle as wealth. Cattle are still certainly owned by wealthy people in modern times, but their symbolic connotations have changed greatly. Here 'cow' is both in the sense of the farm animal and the verb 'to cow, to be cowed,' exhibiting cowardice.
D - deer / dear
Be careful, my dear.
Keywords: Scarcity, value, strain, expense, fragility, coveting, cherishing, miserliness, frugality.
This rune is relatively analogous to the "Nauthiz" rune in the Elder Futhark, but has the option of positive connotation, which Nauthiz generally lacks.
E - Earth
What on Earth?
Keywords: The start and endpoints of cycles, origins and endings, corresponds to The World in tarot (as well as the Wheel of Fortune), alpha and omega, garden and grave, loops, revolutions, returning, annual events, processes coming full circle.
F - fire
Out of the frying pan, into the fire. Get fired up!
Keywords: hearth, home, fuel, escalation, stability and things which disrupt it, interruptions of services, loss of work, refinement (as 'firing clay'), changes in severity, motivation, eagerness and zeal, connected to the Sun and Strength in tarot.
G - God / good
Give as good as you get. It's for the greater good.
Keywords: benefit, reciprocity in excess, disproportionate retaliation, revenge, jealousy, grace, forgiveness and punishment, consequences, rules, authority, tradition, justice, mercy, paternal dynamics, connected to the Emperor, Justice, and Hierophant in tarot.
H - here / hear
Oh, I heard it through the grapevine. I'll be right here beside you.
Keywords: rumour, doubt, missing details or context, cherry-picking, listening, attentiveness, vigilance, presence, companionship through trials, support, bias, taking sides, giving comfort, good news, cause for hope, an awaited message, related to the Star in tarot.
I - I / aye / eye
We just didn't see eye to eye. There's no "I" in "team."
Keywords: "Yes" if the query is a straightforward yes-or-no question. Otherwise: identity, ego, contention, competition, allegiance, argument or stubbornness, input, feedback, perspective, judgment, the "Evil Eye" giving rise to uncharitable beliefs about others, related to Judgment in tarot.
J - jump
Might as well jump! Go ahead and jump.
Keywords: risk, precipice, edge case, liminal place or state, confidence, trust, dumb luck, arriving at the moment to make a decision much sooner than anticipated, connected to the Fool in tarot.
J didn't feature in Old English, but 'jump' can trace its etymology to Proto-Germanic. This is probably the closest I'm going to get to a suitable candidate for this particular letter.
K - kin / can
Can you dig it? Kith and kin.
Keywords: capability, support, backup, cavalry approaching to your rescue, family, kinship, cousins and other extended relations, shared circumstances, bonding, affinity, social grace, fluency, dexterity, adroitness, fluency, fluidity, aptitude, also 'can' in the sense of a container where something is stored and saved for later: saving, preservation, supplies, reserves, abundance, a full pantry, good enough, sufficiency.
K is really just another way of representing C, in modern spelling updates to Old English words. Kin and can may not be homophones in your dialect; they certainly are in mine.
L - love
All you need is love.
Keywords: Romance, found family, relationships of choice rather than common circumstance, integrity, security, rightness, well-being, affection, analogous to the Lovers in tarot.
M - moon
Moon river, wider than a mile.
Keywords: a month, wandering, facade, persona, changing faces, untrustworthiness, duplicity, younger/older dynamics (Earth / Moon relationship), beauty, distance, out of reach, connected to the Moon and High Priestess in tarot.
N - no / know
You never know.
Keywords: A definitive refusal of the question asked of the oracle, if a yes-or-no question. Otherwise: encouragement to seek further information, because the question, as asked, is insufficient.
O - oak
The tallest oak tree was once an acorn that any pig could have swallowed.
Keywords: growth, productivity, improvement, impressive, shelter, raw material, underestimation, ambition, goals, flourishing, magic or spiritual capability, resilience against storms and trials, extremely slow and steady progress, standing alone from the crowd, distinguishing oneself through quiet excellence, analogous to the Hermit in tarot.
P - pin / pen
The pen is mightier than the sword. You could have heard a pin drop.
Keywords: proportionate response, precision, calculation, detailed work, thoroughness, meticulousness, study, research, measure twice and cut only once, avoidance of error, extraordinary care, a temporary pause ("stick a pin in it"), analogous to Temperance in tarot.
These are not all homophones in every dialect of English, but even a near-homophone is pleasing for my purposes.
Q - queen
No queen has clean hands.
Keywords: force, efficiency, grim duty, dirty work, the greater good, necessity, decisiveness, the last word, directness, marriage, parenting, household management, territory or domain, obligation, maternal family dynamics, construction or reconstruction, creativity, source or origin, analogous to the Empress in tarot.
It is shockingly hard to find words of Old English origin, which are spelled with a Q in modern English! Most of our Q words come from Latin.
R - red / read / read / reed / rede
Ready as I'll ever be. Red in the face with anger. Well-read.
Keywords: preparedness, knowledgeable, adaptable, flexible, rolling with it, motivated, angry, passionate, committed, focused, certain, clear, analogous to the Magician in tarot.
S - snake / sneak
He's a real snake in the grass.
Keywords: stealth, subtlety, trickery, concealment, persuasion, charisma, smoothing things over, sin, shame, error, medicine, illness, wit, swiftness, suddenness, shock, temptation, addiction, misleading others, exploitation and opportunism, analogous to the Devil in tarot.
Near-homophones? No. But 'snake' and 'sneak' share their etymology, which I find delightful and very apt to this purpose.
T (and Þ) - thorn
The thorn in my side. Every rose has its thorn.
Keywords: drawbacks, unpleasant surprises, snags, hesitation, caution, people who are real pricks, lack of tact, speaking out of turn, inconvenience, burden, possessiveness, obstruction, analogous to the Tower in tarot.
U - undo / undue
If I had to do it all over again...
Keywords: backtrack, correction, fixing a mistake, second chances, apology, confession, restoration, remediation, reconciliation, inappropriate or disproportionate, undeserved, unsuitable.
Another challenging letter. Old English has plenty of words starting with U, but most of them are no longer spelled with a U by the time they arrive in modern English.
V - vane / vain / vein
But it was all in vain. A rooster stood atop the weathervane.
Keywords: waste, regret, warning, weather, suffering, struggle, emptiness, shallowness, superficiality, vulnerability, easily wounded, thin-skinned, flighty or flaky behaviour, escape, departure, dodging responsibility.
W (and Ƿ) - win / when / winne
Winning at life!
Keywords: Victory, triumph, advantage, joy, bliss, painlessness, mobility, perfect timing, seizing opportunity, chance encounters, good fortune, analogous to the Chariot in tarot, as well as to "Wunjo" in the Futhark.
Win / when is like pin / pen. Some accents make them into homophones; others don't.
X - exception
The appearance of this rune signifies that a previous rune was misread or needs to be interpreted by a different keyword than the one which the diviner selected at the time. Can also signify that the divinatory result is imminently about to "expire" and become irrelevant or inaccurate. If X should appear twice in a row, instead interpret it as the ancient rune Gebo, 'a gift,' which has the appearance of a letter X.
Y - you / yew / ewe
Only you can prevent forest fires. Bah, ram, ewe. To your breed, your fleece, your clan be true.
Keywords: personal responsibility to a collective group, adherence to the social contract, compliance and conformity, obedience, cooperation and collaboration, protecting others, selflessness, shepherding and guardianship, leadership, sacrifice, other-centric behaviour, consideration and courtesy, manners, gentleness, sympathy, allegiance, related to the Hanged Man in tarot.
This letter can be treated as analogous to Eihaz ("Eihwaz" being its more common spelling among modern neopagans), if one prefers.
Z - zero
The appearance of this rune signifies that there is no divination to be accomplished on this occasion. No answer shall be given; put the task aside for another time.
Old English mostly uses Z as the onset letter in loanwords from other languages, or as the terminal letter of words in its own lexicon. Accordingly, this meaning signifies the terminus of the divination on this occasion.
As noted in the rune dice writeup, it is very easy to come by dice, flash cards, Scrabble tiles, or other methods of rolling or drawing a letter or several, to use in divination with the alphabet.
Iron Noder 2023, 25/30