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!

Runes 202 - Bind Runes 1

Bind Runes are something I've been interested in for a while now and, over the past two weeks, I've had a number of people ask me about them.  To that end, I decided to make my first conscious effort in creating one.  I say conscious, because in February 2012, I was writing about Making Alterations and I drew two Runes together that reminded me of a symbol I drew almost manically on my pee-chees (notebooks) in high school.  That was my first bind Rune, but it was completely unconscious and I didn't recognize the symbol as being Runes until fairly recently.

For my first bind Rune, I wanted to accomplish two things.  I wanted it to be very meaningful to me and I wanted it to follow up on my first Rune ritual, which I did earlier this year.  To that end, there were three components I wanted to include in my bind Rune - financial success, my writing and speaking endeavors, and Jera, which is my guiding Rune, so much so that I named my company after it.

These are all simple traits to represent with Runes - Fehu for financial success, Ansuz for communication, and Jera, the Harvest Rune, for Jera.  The challenging part was going to be Jera, because of its unique shape.  I decided to begin with the first two Runes, since I saw very easily how they could fit together.

As I drew Fehu, I repeated the chant from my Rune ritual, "Water is my element; Fehu is my goal."  When I added Ansuz, I said, "May Odin and Heimdall give my words, both written and spoken, an engaging tone.  I ask Freyja to help me write easily and well."

Once those two Runes were drawn together, I could see how perfectly Jera would fit in.  In the image to the left, you can see Jera in purple and where its one missing part needed to be drawn into the bind.  This was a pleasant surprise.

I traced over the sections that were already there, then added the final part.  As I drew, I repeated, "Jera is my Rune, my guiding Rune, and I believe in the process to a bountiful harvest."

I have the drawing I made, but I couldn't get a clear picture of it, so I drew it on my computer to make it easier to see and share.  While the drawn bind Rune will hang on my wall, I will share the computerized rendition with you.  What do you think?

I love my bind Rune and what it represents for me, the idea of being successful in my writing and speaking career, because I remain true to and respect the process this experience requires.

Have you ever made a bind Rune?  I'd love to hear your experience.

Runes 201 - Individual Runes - Sowilo

Welcome to March!  This month, in the northern hemisphere, we really begin to see the return of the sun, reaching a balanced point around the world on March 20th - the equinox, when all of Earth receives twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of darkness.  This year, I hope to make the most of the sun's return and, with the approaching equinox, I inquired about Sowilo, the sun Rune.  How can we embrace the returning sun and make the most of the increased energy and light we receive?

Sowilo, the Rune of the sun offers good fortune if properly utilized.  I especially like the way that Sven Plowright explains it in his book, The Rune Primer, as "a sign to lift the spirit".  In essence, the sun gives us energy literally and figuratively.  How can we incorporate that energy into our lives as we move forward this year?

The three Runes that offer to guide us in this endeavor are Perthro, Tiwaz, and Fehu.  I find this group to be particularly interesting and fitting.

We begin with Perthro, a Rune whose meaning is social; it encompasses friendly games and competitions that take place in social venues. It requires social interactions and, on some level perhaps, a rite of passage.  Essentially, it provides us with an opportunity to engage; engage with others, engage in a process of initiation and acceptance.  Through Perthro, we realize the power of Sowilo energizes and inspires us to accomplish goals and move forward.

Thankfully, we have Tiwaz supporting those efforts.  This is one of my favorite Runes, Týr's Rune, Norse Mythology's sky god, the left-handed god.  In this draw, both aspects are important.  The relationship to the sky is an obvious one, but it is the latter that we must look at in more detail.  I have recounted the story of Týr and his sacrifice in past posts (Runes 201 - Individual Runes - Berkana, A Rune for Time), but what I would like to look at now is why he might have put his hand in Fenrir's mouth, why he would take that risk, knowing what the outcome would be.  I believe the bottom line is that the gain was greater than the loss.  What this Rune, in this instance, tells us is that part of embracing Sowilo involves taking risk to move forward, but not risk for the sake of risk, rather a calculated risk, where you comprehend the potential outcomes of the risk.  This means that, like Týr, we must understand our actions and a good way to do that is to have a plan.  Channel Sowilo's energy into your plan, which outlines how your rite of passage, through Perthro, will occur.

Our final Rune is an obvious result of embracing Sowilo through Perthro and Tiwaz.  If we allow the sun's energy to carry us forward and we channel that energy through a well-thought out plan, in the end, we reap the rewards.  Bear in mind, however, that Fehu, while representing wealth, does not necessarily mean money in the modern sense.  Fehu literally means cattle, which was a primary measure of wealth in Viking times.  Now, I am not suggesting you will end up with cattle, rather that wealth takes many forms.  Friendship, property, equipment, insight, and wisdom are all forms of wealth.  If money is your goal, make that clear as you begin your rite of passage, driven by Sowilo and supported by Tiwaz, both of which are forms of wealth in their own right.

Sowilo can provide us with energy to pursue and achieve our goals and, if we are smart about it, once we complete our rite of passage, our lives will be more enriched from it.

Runes 401 - Rune Rituals - Fehu

Today, inspired by the activities of a friend, I begin a new series - Rune Rituals.  This is something I never imagined myself doing, but this is also why the saying "never say never" exists.    Most importantly, I am entering into this ritual, because I believe it will help me with my goal and not out of any act of desperation.  I think that is the key to being successful.

Now, while my friend was showing gratitude for having received some unexpected money, I want to bring money to me this year through my writing.  So, my reason for using Fehu is different.

Although I've never done anything like this myself, I have seen rituals and read about them, so I had a sense of them.  My goal in undertaking this ritual is simple; I want to use Fehu to bring money to me for my writing.

Briefly, here's my reasoning for choosing this as my first ritual.  For those of you who don't know, I have written a novel, called The Son of Nine Sisters, and am working on the sequel.  Through my company, The Jera Institute, I offer professional writing and editing services and lead a variety of writing and communication workshops.  It is through these endeavors that I want to make enough money going forward, so that all I have to do is write.  Now, on with the ritual.

To begin, I made a circle out of money and added some other money inside the circle.  The bowl is full of coins from around the world, because I hope to sell my writing talents internationally.  The small pile of bills includes Canadian and American dollars, because I believe this is where I will derive the majority of my income this year.  My novel is in the circle to represent my writing.  As this is, in my mind, my greatest writing feat to date, it was the most appropriate item to include.  The final items in the circle are three Runes, all Fehu and all made of different material.  The ceramic Fehu is from my original set of Runes, the paper Fehu is from the set of temporary Runes I made last summer, and finally, the guiding Rune, is drawn in water (see image below) next to the small pile of money.

I have been drawn to water my entire life, learning and accepting that it is my primal element when I lived at the beach in southern California.  Dipping my finger into my holy water (in the jar just outside the circle, given by Freyr when I began making my own set of Runes), I drew Fehu inside the circle, while repeating, "Water is my element, Fehu is my goal."  I should note that the jar was inside the circle when I was tracing Fehu with it.  After repeating it nine times and tracing Fehu with fresh water each time, I held my open hands, palms down, over the circle.  With Frigg in my heart, (because she is the one who came when I decided to attempt this ritual), I chanted, "I am open to receiving money; money will come to me for my writing."  Again, I did this nine times.  Nine is an important number in Norse mythology, so I felt it important to use it for the chants in my ritual.

Once I completed the chant, I pulled the energy toward me, nine times from the circle and then nine times from above and beside me.  I ended by reaching my arms out in the shape of Algiz, hands open too, then pulling them into my chest, crossing them in front of me, bowing my head and saying, "I embrace this gift."

Keep in mind that, although I have been using the Runes for readings for several years, this is my first ritual.  Please let me know how and if you use the Runes in your rituals.  I will let you know how this one works for me.  Have a fruitful week!