I learned of wryd stones while reading the book Wyrdworking by Alaric Albertsson. I have summarized the section about wyrd stones from that book so that I may refer to it quickly. Albertsson does not claim to have made this system. He believes that this system was Wiccan inspired. Wyrd stones can be made of any material. Albertsson first learned of them as river stones painted with symbols. I made mine out of gray clay that I could bake to harden. I formed the stones and carved the symbols into them. After they had hardened and cooled, I painted the carvings with nail polish so they would show better.
I suspect you could use symbols that you feel correspond with the meaning of them. I will present the symbols for the stones in the way that Albertssson did. Basically, I took a photo of each of my stones and indicated its place in the picture in the table of meanings.
The wyrd stones are a Saxon divination tool. They are not runes and should not be considered such.
Link to the photo I used: http://paganmoxie.tumblr.com/
Row 1, Stone 1 Man, Male Indicates a man, basically a male that has reached puberty, energy influencing the situation.
Row 1, Stone 2 Woman, Female Indicates a woman, basically a female that has reached puberty, energy influencing the situation
Row 1, Stone 3 Love, Balance Indicates that things are going well; there is love, harmony, balance in the situation.
Row 1, Stone 4 Family, Tribe Indicates family, children that have not reached puberty, or the tribe.
Row 1, Stone 5 War, Conflict Indicates conflict, not necessarily physical, a fight or a struggle.
Row 2, Stone 1 Home, Traditions Indicates the home. The physical structure of the home and the traditions observed by those who reside there.
Row 2, Stone 2 Confusion, Disorder Indicates a state of disorder. Generally not caused by conflict, possibly internal disorder or confusion.
Row 2, Stone 3 Money, Career Indicates money or career/job.
Row 2, Stone 4 Challenges, Interruptions Indicates an unwanted interruption or challenge. This stone is a warning.
Row 2, Stone 5 Fire, Inspiration Indicates the divine inspiration. It magnifies the significance of any stone near it.
Row 3, Stone 1 Happiness, Contentment Indicates happiness and contentment. Unlike love it does not indicate balance or harmony.
Row 3, Stone 2 Gift, Reward Indicates something good is coming.
Row 3, Stone 3 Growth, Possessions Indicates expansion and acquisition. Unlike gift, it is not always something being given, it can mean personal growth or the acquisition of personal property.
Row 3, Stone 4 Change, Death Indicates profound change.
Row 3, Stone 5 Questioner Blank stone to indicate the
person the reading is for. The proximity of the other stones to it lends to the interpretation of the other stones.
Casting the stones:
The stones are cast collectively. Hold the stones in your hands and form the question you want answered. Be aware, the stones my choose to tell you something else. They often work better with a question in mind. Drop the stones. If any fall with the image hidden, flip it over. Look for patterns in the way the stones fell.
Reading the stones:
Look for groupings, lines, crescents, symbols, and solitary stones and their distance from the Questioner stone. Groupings close to the Questioner have importance, those farther away have less significance. Single stones that are distant from the Questioner can be disregarded, they have removed themselves from the reading. Linear stones should be read from the stone closest to the Questioner out to the most distant in the line.
Use your intuition when reading. If you sense a stone in a particular spot means more or less than what it normally indicates listen to this.
I will often draw the spread and label it with the question and date and time of the reading. This is more of a holdover from my work with other divination methods. However, if you have animals or small children that like to get into what you are working on, this allows you time to work out the reading later.