Runes 401 - Rune Rituals - A Rune for 2018

Welcome to 2018!  This is my third year selecting a Rune for the year.  Two years ago, I chose Thurisaz to reconnect me to the power within me that I had had let slip away through the daily routines of life.  Last year, I countered the masculine energy of Thurisaz with Sowilo.  It was a nice balance.

My 2018 Rune began calling to me in December...in no uncertain terms.  It is Ansuz.  Ansuz represents many things for me, but the main thrust of this Rune is as it relates to language, wisdom, and communication.  Ansuz came to me in December, because I had hoped to finish the draft of the sequel to my novel, The Son of Nine Sisters, by the end of 2017.  Due to year-end family commitments, it became apparent in mid-November that that was not going to happen, so I gave myself until the end of January, another deadline that will be missed, though only just.  I believe Ansuz came forward to remind me not to lose focus even though my two soft deadlines would pass unmet, and to remind me to stay focused on completing the sequel draft, regardless of missed self-imposed deadlines, and to continue to the next writing project after that.

Even though I have known for more than a month that Ansuz would be my 2018 Rune, I still wanted to perform a ritual to recognize it.  Last year, I sat with my Runes, holding each one individually in my hands, narrowing it down to Sowilo. When I considered this year's ritual, I saw myself painting Runes.  The result is the image above and the process clearly was not about quality painting so much as it was about the process of connecting to my Rune for the year.  It's a spatial thing, but it was also a flowing trance-like process.  I had a vision in my head that looked very similar to the painting, though I could not see the entire painting in my head; I could see only where individual Runes belonged on it.  The ritual was about placing the each Rune in its space as I drew it from the bag.  Sitting in my Bay window on this snowy January morning, I drew the Runes, one at a time.  (The image below shows the order in which I pulled them.)  And, as I drew them, I chose a color that represented that Rune's energy to me and painted the Rune where it was in my image.  There was almost no pause during the entire ritual.  The resulting visual will serve as my reminder for me this year to not lose focus on the commitment I made to my writing.  I will be curious to see how the placement of the other Runes around Ansuz will impact its role as my Rune for the year.

Runes 401 - Rune Rituals - Ansuz

At the end of January, I undertook my first Rune ritual using Fehu.  It was a money ritual, because who doesn't want to make money?  Today, I want to build on that ritual and add Ansuz to help me better focus on my goals, so that I am making money doing what I love.  That sounds even better than simply making money, right? 

I was a little unsure how to go about it, what to do or incorporate into the ritual.  To resolve this, I simply asked the Runes for a little guidance and got a good laugh as I pulled out Wunjo, Laguz, and Ansuz itself.

What this tells me is that I already know the answer.  If I want Ansuz to enrich my first ritual with Fehu, I should bring my joy for writing into it, relax, let that passion flow into the process, and focus on the things around which I want to make a living - writing and communication.

I should note that Ansuz is the Rune I chose, because it is the Rune of the mouth or communication, which leads to writing for me.  You must choose the Rune that best represents your passion.  Please feel free to contact me if I an help with that.

My Fehu ritual focused very strongly on Fehu, but after I completed my first bind Rune, which included Fehu, Ansuz, and my guiding Rune - Jera, I felt like I wanted to balance my energy around my 2013 goal of making my living solely off my writing and communication work.  This meant adding to my ritual more of how I want to earn my money.  Although I included my novel, The Son of Nine Sisters, in the first money circle, that is only one piece of my writing and communication work.

This time in addition to my novel, I included more aspects of my company to the mix - my business cards, Runes (in the gray bag) to represent this blog, an image I use in some of my communication workshops, and two pictures from one of my retreats where we did some creative writing and collage work.  In addition, there are three short stacks of coins, to represent (in a small way) the living I want to earn, and three Runes from my temporary Runes - Fehu, Ansuz, and Jera.  I included Jera for a couple of reasons.  Not only is it my guiding Rune, reminding me that there is a process involved in all that we undertake and that we must respect that process and not try to cheat it, but it is also the name of my company - The Jera Institute.

Once the circle was complete and the contents inside, I began the Ritual.  Closing my eyes as I sat next to the circle, I saw Frigg as I did the last time.  However, Ansuz is related to Odin, so I tried to see him too.  He was there, but his image was hazy, almost only a shadow.  Interestingly, over his left shoulder, with Frigg, I saw Tyr to her right, Heimdall under her and Freyr under him (left of Odin's shadowy shoulder).  Odin has never come clearly to me, but Freyr and Tyr are strong and Heimdall seems to be the one who is teaching me the Runes, just as he taught hi son, Jarl.

With the gods engaged, I acknowledged them and my intention, "In this circle lies my professional focus.  My goal is to earn a living using my innate skills.  I must keep my focus on that which lies in the circle.  Through this I also express my gratitude to the essence of the gods."

Then, I chanted on the Runes, repeating the chant nine times.  I added Jera for myself, but the chant could be complete with the first two lines and you can substitute for Ansuz the Rune you choose to represent your passion.  As I chanted, I held my hands open, face down, over the money circle and moved them around it as I spoke.

While my income and client list are growing, thanks to my first ritual, I am hopeful that going through this ritual will help me accomplish two more things.  First and obviously, I want to earn more of my income through writing and communication.  Second, I want this ritual to remind me to focus my efforts on writing and communication with fewer distractions and digressions.

What Rune would you choose to represent your passion so that you can earn a living at it?  Please share your comments and have a fruitful and satisfying week!