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The Runes and Roots Oracle, by Nicolette Miele and Adrienne Rozzi

The Runes and Roots Oracle, by Nicolette Miele  and Adrienne Rozzi
Destiny Books, 979-8888502471, 144 pages, 36 cards, November 2025

Runes and plant magic speak the same old language of the earth: one carved into symbols, the other rooted in leaf and stem. Both arise from close listening to cycles, seasons, and the subtle ways meaning reveals itself through form and growth. Beyond simply a divination tool, The Runes and Roots Oracle by Nicolette Miele  and Adrienne Rozzi is an invitation to delve deeper in this ever-flowing realm. Rooted in Norse mythology, witchcraft, and plant wisdom, this oracle deck asks the reader to step into a mythic–imaginal world where symbols are alive, the land speaks, and knowledge is earned through relationship rather than immediacy.

At its core, the deck’s purpose is clear: to reunite runic magic with the living intelligence of the natural world. Each rune is paired with a specific plant ally, emphasizing particular energetic, psychological, or spiritual dimensions of the symbol. These pairings are not merely illustrative but deeply intertwined.

Horny Goat Weed, for example, accentuates the erotic and creative fire of Kenaz, foregrounding the rune’s generative, catalytic force; meanwhile, Lavender is paired with Wunjo, which together “gently remind us that within each of us, there is a sanctuary where we can always find solace, peace, and the magick of simply being.”1 In this way, the deck operates as a fusion of esoteric knowledge and embodied, earth-centered wisdom.

Roots in Feminine Power and Norse Cosmology

A strong current of feminine spirituality runs throughout the deck. The creators draw deeply from the mythic presence of the Norns, the weavers of fate, and from Mother Nature herself as an animating intelligence. Rather than offering a detached system of meanings, The Runes and Roots Oracle asks the user to engage with the spiritual and cultural background of Norse cosmology, combined with western esotericism and plant magick, as a living worldview.

This mythic engagement is reinforced through the spreads provided in the guidebook. Larger layouts such as the nine-card Yggdrasil spread or Loki’s Unveiling the Shadow four-card spread encourages deep psychological and spiritual inquiry, while even simpler three-card spreads (past, present, future) are framed through the lens of the Norns and the unfolding of Wyrd. The result is a deck that consistently gestures beyond fortune-telling toward participation in a living mythos.

There are 24 cards that feature the traditional Elder Futhark as well as an additional 12 Bind Rune Aett, which are created by combining two or more runes together. The intricacy of the plant correspondences with runes make for very layered, thoughtful card meanings.

The Booklet as Initiatory Text

The accompanying booklet reinforces this initiatory tone. Rather than functioning as a purely reference-based manual, it is structured as a frame narrative: the reader encounters Yggdrasil, engraved with runes, and meets the Norns themselves. This narrative device subtly shifts the reader from consumer to seeker.

The booklet includes a unique ritual for cleansing and binding the deck to the user, underscoring the idea that this oracle is meant to be informed by one’s relationship with the deck. Notably, the rune and plant entries are not numerically ordered, requiring frequent consultation of the index. While this may be mildly inconvenient for beginners, it also feels intentional—less a flaw than a design choice that favors intuition and familiarity over efficiency, particularly for those already conversant with the runes.

Later sections of the booklet, especially those dealing with bind runes and ritual work, further emphasize that this is not a deck designed for instant clarity. It is something “found,” like a relic pulled from a crone’s library, that must be studied, lived with, and slowly understood.

Card Imagery: Ancient Pages, Living Symbols

Visually, the cards resemble pages torn from an ancient spell book: parchment, papyrus, and aged engravings layered with symbols. Each card features a combination of imagery surrounding the central rune and its plant ally. There is a palpable nostalgia here, reminiscent of 16th-century pen-and-ink manuscripts, which harmonizes beautifully with the booklet’s suggestion that this deck originates from a witch’s cottage hidden deep in the woods.

User Experience and Learning Curve

My immediate impression of the deck was one of admiration, especially for the thoughtful integration of plant wisdom into the runic system. The imagery is vivid and layered, inviting contemplation rather than quick interpretation. That said, the cards themselves contain few descriptive keywords. Unless one is already familiar with rune meanings and/or herbal correspondences, readings often require repeated reference to the guidebook.

This becomes particularly noticeable in larger spreads, such as the nine-card Yggdrasil or the twelve-card Web of Wyrd, where grasping the gestalt of the reading can be challenging without significant prior familiarity. With time and repeated use, however, the deck clearly becomes more intuitive, suggesting that this slow unfolding is part of the designers’ intention.

In this sense, The Runes and Roots Oracle does not present itself as a tool made for the user so much as a tool the user must grow into. Its wisdom is not delivered; it is cultivated. In a similar spirit of cultivation, the plant wisdom of the deck may be taken as purely symbolic or ritualistic. However, the oracle also invites the user to put the deck’s plant lore into actual practice–though first advising the user to approach herbalism with due care and caution.

Final Thoughts

The Runes and Roots Oracle is a richly textured, deeply intentional deck that rewards patience, study, and mythic imagination. By uniting runic magic, plant allies, and feminine cosmology within a narrative framework, Miele and Rozzi have created something that feels less like a product and more like an inheritance, an artifact from a living tradition.

This deck will likely resonate most strongly with practitioners of witchcraft, those already familiar with the runes, those with an interest in plant correspondences, and readers drawn to slow, initiatory forms of divination. For such seekers, The Runes and Roots Oracle offers not just answers, but a relationship with symbols, with nature, and with the whispering roots of fate itself.

Runes for the Green Witch, by Nicolette Miele

Runes for the Green Witch: An Herbal Grimoire, by Nicolette Miele
Destiny Books, 1644118661, 288 pages, January 2024

Runes embody the cosmic forces that created the universe and their mystical vibrations permeate all of nature. The word rune, derived from the Gothic runa, means “mystery,”2 and in Nicolette Miele’s debut book Runes for the Green Witch: An Herbal Grimoire, the twenty-four Elder Futhark runes become energetic keys that unlock the secrets of herbal medicine and magic.

Miele is a rune worker and herbalist based in Pennsylvania, and she is also the proprietor of Handfuls of Dust Apothecary. In her online shop, she offers rune readings and handmade products, such as rune sets and ritual oils. Her line of Rune Wisdom ritual fragrance oils supplements this book well, as each blend is infused with runic energy and corresponding crystals and herbs.

“Through runes and plants, which complement each other beautifully, we will honor the wild spirit that resides in each and every one of us,” Miele writes.3

Just as the title suggests, Runes for the Green Witch combines runic mysticism with herbal witchcraft. Like most runic reference books, this work is separated into three parts, dedicated to each Aett, or group of eight runes. There are twenty-four chapters, one for each Elder Futhark rune.

Each chapter begins with an introduction to the individual rune, giving its historical and divinatory context, as well as some of the author’s personal insights into its magical uses, followed by a list of herbal correspondences for the rune, along with their magical and medicinal applications. Miele also provides lists of additional correspondences, including tarot cards, zodiac signs, planets, moon phases, crystals, chakras, and cross-cultural deities that she associates with the runes on an archetypal level. 

While I like the idea of having a long list of magical correspondences for each rune, many of the author’s miscellaneous associations did not resonate with me. For example, Miele identifies the zodiac sign of Aries with Uruz, the mighty aurochs, and I feel that Taurus the Bull would be a better fit. I also found the Queen of Swords, traditionally the widow or divorcée in tarot, to be a strange association for Berkana, the mother rune, while the Empress made perfect sense.

The deity associations felt tenuous to me as well. I see gods from different pantheons that share similar characteristics as being part of the same archetypal current, but being unique personalities in their own right, so I am hesitant to conflate them unless there is historical precedence for doing so. In my personal practice, I prefer to just let the runes be runes, whose verdant powers are nourished by the rich soil of their native Norse mythology, without imposing foreign spiritual systems on them or conflating them with tarot, astrology, or chakras. However, I think these correspondences might be useful to someone new to rune work who finds cross-cultural comparisons helpful.

In keeping with the title of this book, the plant correspondences are where Miele’s runic wisdom and wise woman herbalism truly shines. “The subtle communication between humans and plants relies on primal intuition—something many humans today have to work harder to access,” 4 Miele says. She recommends building intimate relationships with individual plant spirits by consuming their essences in teas, soaking in bath water infusions, or burning them as incense, and keeping a journal of the emotional and psychic impressions received. Ansuz, the rune of communication, can help us learn to listen with our hearts to the subtle voices of plants. 

Reading this book encouraged me to incorporate runes into my tea-drinking rituals. Miele associates raspberry leaf with Perthro, the rune of the womb, which reminded me of when I found out I was pregnant with my first child. I drank raspberry leaf tea sweetened with honey to strengthen my womb. Perthro is a rune of mystery and initiation, and giving birth for the first time was an intense rite of passage and an initiation into the mysteries of the mother goddess.

Miele praises raspberry leaf as a nurturing and protective plant ally for women and children. “This lunar herb exudes compassion and seeks to comfort those who are working through traumas, especially traumas from childhood,”5 Miele says.

Inspired by Miele’s insights, I decided to include both raspberry leaf and the rune Perthro in the ritual honoring my most sacred time of the month. I drank raspberry leaf tea as a tonic to relieve menstrual cramps and infused the brew with the spirit of Perthro. With my index finger, I traced the Perthro rune in the air over my steaming cup of raspberry leaf tea and intoned the name of the rune, then imbibed the gentle, soothing potion. 

Rewilding is a common thread that runs throughout Runes for the Green Witch, which Miele defines as “the restoration of land to its natural state.”6] The rune Uruz embodies this concept the most, as it is a rune of instinctual urges and primal energy. Uruz represents the aurochs, a species of wild cattle that was hunted into extinction, and the last aurochs bull died in 1621.

So how can rune workers rewild themselves with the atavistic energy of Uruz? On a psychological level, human rewilding involves unraveling our societal conditioning and reconnecting with the nakedness of our authentic selves. As Miele says, Uruz “takes us back to factory settings.”7 By meditating on Uruz, taking breaks from technology, and spending more time in nature, we can foster a deeper connection with the green realm and reconnect with our primal instincts. Uruz is also a rune of physical strength and healing, and Miele associates it with medicinal herbs like eucalyptus and echinacea, which support the immune system. 

After reading Miele’s chapter on Uruz, I felt guided by this runic spirit to do more research online, and I was astounded to come across an article stating that scientists are working to resurrect the extinct aurochs through rewilding! Since some European cattle breeds are descended from aurochs that were domesticated in ancient times, their genetic coding has survived, and can theoretically be reactivated through back-breeding. By resurrecting the aurochs and other extinct species through rewilding, scientists might be able to restore some of the biodiversity lost through the irresponsible hunting practices that have compromised earth’s precious ecosystems. Rewilding is also less risky than attempting to clone extinct animals, since it involves selective breeding of living populations. 

My practice is very animistic, and I love that Miele treats the runes as living spirits to whom offerings should be made. “Offerings are immensely important within magickal practice as it shows we’re not just in it for the taking,”8 Miele writes. I wholeheartedly agree with this statement, and I noticed that my connection to the spirit world was enhanced when I committed to a consistent practice of providing offerings on a regular basis. In a shadow work ritual involving the torch rune Kenaz, Miele advises the reader to light a candle as an offering, then “call out to the spirit of Kenaz and request its guidance and protection while you journey to the abandoned depths of your soul.”9

Prompted by Miele’s advice regarding offerings, I decided to make offerings to runic spirits when I drew daily runes. The second day of reading this book, I drew Othala reversed, or murkstave, as my daily rune. Reversed, Othala represents “displacement, lack of security, loss of possessions, enduring family trauma, family conflict, or homelessness.”10 Estrangement, poverty, alcoholism, and domestic violence have been manifestations of a generational curse that I have experienced, and I asked the spirit of Othala to help me heal my ancestral trauma.

As I lit a candle and made an offering of milk and incense, I felt compelled to sing the rune’s name, which reminded me of the magical Norse practice of galdr, a shamanic form of cantillation. While I meditated on the rune, I felt that the spirit of Othala was telling me not to dwell too much on what has been lost. Instead of concentrating my energy on a legacy of generational trauma, she told me to shift my attention to focusing on breaking ties with that cursed inheritance and creating my own legacy. She asked me, What do you want your legacy to be?

During this meditative conversation, I realized that the spirit of Othala felt distinctly feminine to me. Then I remembered that I was working with an Anglo-Saxon rune set and Othala’s Old English name is Ethel. It dawned on me that Othala is a female spirit named Ethel, which means “ancestral land” and “noble” in Old English. I imagined her to be a noble ancestral spirit, or a faery queen. This may have been a flight of fancy, but I like envisioning Othala as a faery queen named Ethel, and I think I’m going to work with her under that name from now on.

Today, Ethel is a feminine name, but in Old English, it was used as a prefix for both male and female names to indicate noble birth.11] As a spirit of noble ancestry, I felt that she was communicating to me that ancestry transcends bloodline. The earth is our mother, and we are all related. The seemingly isolated family problems we experience are actually human problems that concern a lot of people in the collective. I feel this rune can help you get in touch with your innate nobility, and your divine birthright. We all have a divine spark within, and Othala/Ethel can help you to recognize your nobility and more authentically embody your Divine Self. 

What does it mean to be noble? The Latin word nobilis means “well-known,” so to be noble means you are worthy of being known, recognized and acknowledged for your deeds, and remembered.12 This all ties in with legacy, and being worthy of remembrance is a form of immortality. Reversed, Othala reminds me of a burial mound. It looks like a buried diamond, marked by an X. Othala asks, What do you want to be known for in this life? How do you want to be remembered when you die? 

After meditating on Othala/Ethel and channeling these messages, I finished reading the chapter on Othala in Runes for the Green Witch. Miele associates the following plant allies with Othala: “Avens, Babyberry, Blackberry, Coriander, Vervain, Vetiver, Witch Hazel.”13

“The plants of Othala represent ancestral connection and the energies that we wish to invite into our homes and families,” Miele says. “These plants aid in magickal workings regarding our heritage, protection of home and family, tradition, and the breaking of generational traumas.”14

I planted some berry bushes last year, so I already have blackberries growing in my garden that I can use to work with the spirit of Othala this summer. Witch hazel is an ingredient in one of my face washes, so I’m thinking about possibly incorporating Othala into my skin care routine. 

Runes for the Green Witch: An Herbal Grimoire has enlivened the runes for me in ways I never before imagined, and it will help you deepen your connection with the twenty-four runic spirits and their herbal allies too, if you’re willing to get your hands dirty. With spring just around the corner, this book will be a great inspiration for a runic garden theme! I will definitely be referring back to this herbal grimoire while I’m buying seeds and planting intentions.