Jeff Russell

Alrighty, to do this reading, I opened a sacred space, called upon the Wyrds (Norns) and concentrated on your question while shaking the Runestaves vigorously. I then dropped them in a dice tray, said a prayer to the Gods who help me with divination, and then drew three staves without looking, using the spread "Relationship (the context of the overall relationship), Work (where to focus your efforts to improve things), and Outcome(s) (whatever is most likely to come about if you do what you're thinking about). If I drew the stave right side up, it is "bright," and if I drew it face down it is "murky," which is roughly equivalent to drawing a card reversed in systems like Tarot. In the system of interpretation I use, "murky" means either that the forces represented by the Rune are manifesting in an unhelpful or harmful way, or else that they are somehow "blocked" - not manifesting fully or at all.

Asking - "What does anonymous most need to understand about improving his/her relationship?"
Draw
Relationship: Algiz (Murky) - "Elk" or "Protection"
Work: Eihwaz - "Yew"
Outcome(s): Berkano - "Birch Goddess"

My Take on It
For the overall relationship, I drew Algiz, which is Rune dealing with archetypal forces and mankind's links with them. When drawn murky, it implies that there are hidden dangers, perhaps that you are in danger of being overwhelmed by archetypal forces. Algiz also sometimes is linked with the "roots and branches" of a question - the less obvious, more twisty parts of a situation that are nevertheless important. What all this suggests to me is that your relationship might be look like everything is fine, but perhaps there are hidden elements causing tension that you and/or your partner might not be fully aware of. I'd look especially to anything to do with archetypes, which here might mean traditional gender roles, and any tensions that might be around those. The work suggested to improve thing is Eihwaz, the Yew, which stands for the World Tree and calls to mind Woden's self-sacrifice upon it. It implies cultivating inner strength through tough, flexible discipline. Given the context and the question, this suggests to me that you might paradoxically need to work on yourself to be a better partner in the relationship - maybe it is your own views toward those archetypal forces and how you relate to them that need to be worked on? In some ways, Woden's act was supremely self-focused - he sacrificed himself to himself and was utterly alone in order to gain the Runes for his own knowledge and power. And yet, he then taught those Runes to the wise among mankind. Lastly, for Outcome(s), I got Berkano, which is the Rune of birth, death, and rebirth. It has a "Mother Nature" kind of vibe, and in my own personal experience, I associate it especially with spiritual/religious awakenings/rebirths. Since this is about a relationship, I feel like I should point out that this is the Rune of literal birth and motherhood as well, so it could indicate a child (please, please do not take this to mean "go make a baby to fix a relationship you're not sure about"!). Given the spiritual nature of the other two Runes, though, I'm inclined to think it's more in keeping with those.

So, to sum up, it sounds like there are hidden risks related to archetypal forces in the relationship as is, the work you need to do is disciplined transformation of the self, and the outcome of such work is likely to be a "birth" or "rebirth."

Please let me know if you have any follow up questions, and if you're willing, I'd very much appreciate hearing whether this struck a chord or felt off, and if so, in what ways.

Cheers,
Jeff