Runes 301 - Making Your Own Runes - Shells

The Runes I have been using for several years were not intended to be a permanent set even though I stained them with my blood as part of the ritual.  I made them after the original staves I had been working on were ruined.  They have served me well, but I always planned to make another set and, this year, I committed to making at least three new sets of Runes.  Last week, I finished the first one.  Shells.

I have a strong connection to water and live near a lake.  Earlier this summer, I collected the shells while visiting a friend's cottage on the lake.  When I got home, I washed the shells to clean them so that I could write the Runes on them.  Though I wasn't considering this part of the ritual, I certainly felt Freyr's energy while I was doing it.

With the shells clean and dry, I painted a Rune on each one, going in order of the Elder Futhark.  I applied two coats and let them dry for several days.  I was waiting for the right moment to complete the ritual - a blessing on them.  This also got to be tricky, because I wasn't using my own blood.  When I mixed it with the paint, it changed the color.  Some say a drop of blood will suffice and that may be true, but I prefer a drop for each Rune.  Instead, I decided to take them back to the lake and rinse them in the lake water, but I had to wait for the right moment.

One morning last week, it was raining and I realized this was the moment I needed.  I put the Runes in a pouch and stopped by the lake on my way to work.  As the rain fell on that cool, misty morning, I emptied the Runes into the sand right where the water was lapping onto the shore.  It gently washed over them as I took each one separately and swirled it in the water before wrapping it into a cloth.

Although I called on Njord for a blessing, it was Freyr who presented himself more prominently.  Njord was there, but took a secondary position.  I know that neither god is associated with the Runes like Odin and Heimdall, but I requested Njord as a god with a connection to the sea.  I sometimes sense him along the shore and around marinas, so it felt right.  Still, it was Freyr who stood behind me to the left and watched as I completed my ritual.  I take his presence to mean that this was a good time, a fertile time, for me to bless the Runes and make them my own.  Even though my blood wasn't used, the water from the lake and the rain served to create that bond.

When I got home from work, I drew three Runes for myself to make them my own.  Eihwaz, Jera, and Sowilo.  These are three powerful Runes for me.  Eihwaz has become an important Rune for me when I need to be strong or calm - focused.  Jera is my guiding Rune; whenever it shows up in a draw, it is powerful.  And Sowilo is my Rune for the year, reminding me of feminine energy (to balance last year's Rune - Thurisaz).  I think this sets a good precedence for this set of Runes and the connection between them and me.