I’m easing into the challenge of predicting this year’s American Idol winner by pulling a single rune.

Runes are small pieces of wood, clay, or stone, marked with the letters of an ancient Scandinavian alphabet. Each letter has both a literal and a symbolic meaning.

I pulled the”Berkana” rune — a symbol of fertility, creativity, and flowing water. The word “Berkana” takes its name from the birch tree, which can bend without breaking.

Berkana almost always describes women — so I’ll go out on a birch limb, and predict that this year’s American Idol will be a young woman.

Because “Berkana” symbolizes fertility, I would also guess that this year’s winner will be a mother. She’s probably given birth to at least one child — but possibly more than one, because she’s just so fertile.

As I write this, I wonder: could this year be the year that a pregnant contestant competes for the win?

Alternately, the rune could suggest creative fertility. This year’s winner will probably a singer/songwriter who gets high marks for composing her own music.

I tend to pick up on a lot of puns — both verbal and visual — when I do readings. When I pulled the rune, I was struck by the fact that the “B” symbol on my runestone looked like a pair of breasts. That reinforced my first impression that the winner will be a girl — because she’ll have a nice rack.

I wondered where the winner would come from, and as I did, I absent-mindedly turned the runestone on its side. From that angle, the “B” looked like a mountain range. To me, it looks as though the winner will come from a hilly or mountainous area. The winner might also have auditioned in Colorado.

Historically, the Berkana rune symbolized an array of goddesses, including the Norse goddesses Freya, Frigg, Hel, Nerthus, Holda and Berchta. You don’t find many American girls with those names, but I’m willing to bet that this year’s winner will be named after a goddess or a female saint. Keep your eyes open for a Mary, Maria, Bridget, Catherine, or some other name with a strong religious or spiritual overtone.

Oddly enough, I also see this year’s winner hurting her leg or twisting her ankle at some point during the competition — not enough to be serious, but just enough to cause a bit of a stir. (Maybe that’s another direct reference to the birch: she’ll have limbs that can bend without breaking!)

And one last thing to note: this year’s winner will also have experienced a tragic fire or a burn in her past.

But here’s something to remember: I did this prediction just for fun, and just as a mental exercise, without knowing anything about this year’s lineup. I reserve the right to change my mind if I fall in love with any of the contestants along the way.

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Note: This was originally posted on the Idol Psychics website at http://idolpsychics.com/2012/01/27/my-prediction-this-years-winner/.