A Rune for 2019

For the past few years, I've chosen a Rune to guide me through the year.  I've approached it as an individual Rune (Thurisaz) and I have performed some rituals (Sowilo and Ansuz) to make my determinations.  This year was different.  It didn't fee like a ritual so much as a whittling down of choices.

Unlike 2018, where my Rune for the year came to me clearly at least a month early, 2019 has been incredibly indecisive.  At least six Runes presented themselves as potential candidates, and each one has a reasonable case, starting with some of the Runes that I burned into my wand at the end of December.  Sowilo and Ansuz have already been Runes for the year, so I removed them from consideration.

That left Tiwaz, Eihwaz, Ingwaz, and Kenaz from the wand.  Beyond that, Berkana has been presenting itself far more often than usual as has Algiz.  What it came down to was what each Rune represents versus what I know about and will need in the coming year.

Tiwaz, Tyr's Rune, has always been a good Rune for me, representing three important aspects of Tyr - sky god, warrior god, and sacrifice.  They are often interconnected in any given circumstance.  The sky god has a bird's eye view to create strategy for the warrior who will persevere, but sacrifices will be made along the way.

Eihwaz, the Rune of the yew tree, is a Rune I use for specific moments.  It reminds me of my inner strength and helps me to overcome challenges.

Ingwaz, Freyr's Rune, surprised me as an option and was the first one that I ruled out.  This is a fertility Rune.  While I believe some things that are in play are moving forward, I would not say that the time is ripe for much at this point, though I could see Ingwaz coming into play in the next year or two.

Algiz came in third.  The Rune of self-defense and protection offers an important reminder that I extend from the idea of having to defend yourself to the idea of taking care of yourself.  Self care is a good idea, but not always easy to accomplish.  Plus, it means different things to different people.

The last two were almost impossible to choose between.  At one point, I began doodling potential bindrunes, joining Kenaz and Berkana.  It just didn't feel quite right though.  In the end, I had to choose one.

Berkana fits very well into where things are in my life at the moment, representing beginnings and the birch tree.  I believe this year will be a year of beginnings for me on many fronts, and I have a strong affinity for birch trees; in my mind, they are inextricably linked to Heimdall, the watchman of the gods.

Kenaz, the torch Rune wins out though, because it constitutes the way in which I must approach all of the beginnings that are coming my way in 2019.  Kenaz, the torch, is human made fire, which embodies human ingenuity and creativity.  Mine has never really been a traditional path, though it's had glimmers of it.  It has required out of the box thinking, making something out of seemingly discreet parts, and getting up every time I get knocked down.  In short, I've had to get creative a lot in my life.

Choosing a Rune for the year can be a very useful tool.  Whether you go through a ritual to choose one or it simply comes to you naturally, it can serve as a great reminder that helps you accomplish a lot of things or stay focused on a single overarching issue over the next twelve months.  I draw Runes every morning and having my Rune for the year come up is especially powerful.  Plus, when it doesn't come up, it encourages the question: How does

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 - A Rune for 2017

Last year, I chose my first Rune for the year - Thurisaz.  For reasons I won't go into here, this Rune turned out to be a wonderful choice and it got me through some very tough and unexpected challenges.  This also prompted me to make choosing a Rune for the year an annual occurrence.

My purpose for choosing an annual Rune is to use its unique and inherent meaning and power as a guide for the next twelve months.  Although I say I choose the Rune, it feels much more like the Rune chooses me.  However, it is my intention and ritual that helps to identify the appropriate Rune.  Whereas last year, I chose my annual Rune under the guise of an individual Rune, and did a three-Rune draw to help me understand how to use Thurisaz's energy, this year, I want to share more of the process or ritual of discovering which Rune will be my annual Rune for 2017.

The ritual is simple, but takes time and a quiet space.  It started off moving rather quickly, but slowed as I went and ended up taking me almost an hour to complete.

If you can do this ritual outside, I would recommend that.  It's too cold outside where I live right now to do that, so I sat in my room on my bed with my Runes spread out in front of me.  Some Runes were easy to remove from consideration, starting with Jera - my guiding Rune always - and Thurisaz because it was my Rune for 2016.  I set aside nine other Runes relatively quickly.  I had no scientific or other reason for removing these Runes other than intuition.  As I ran my hand over the spread of Runes, it was just a sense that caused me to remove these Runes from the process.

There was a second set that I removed because they felt more personal to me.  That is to say that I believe they will serve a more personal and singular issue purpose rather than guiding my overall year.  Allowing my hand to hover over each one several times for as long as a minute, I whittled down my choices even further, removing six more Runes.

At this point, in terms of numbers, I had removed two aetts.  With the remaining eight Runes, I held each one in my hands (resting in my left, covered by my right), closed my eyes and reflected on the Rune's meaning and the sensation I felt from the energy in my hand.  Through this part of the ritual, I discarded five more Runes.

That left me with three, each of which are pretty different from each other - Nauthiz (need, necessity), Eihwaz (yew tree, inner strength), and Sowilo (sun, feminine energy).  I honestly had no idea which one was "the one".  And the ritual became less consistent with regard to deliberating.  I laid them out in a line and moved them around, changing order, and position, trying to determine what story they were telling me.

I grabbed Nauthiz and held it tight in my left hand; squeezing it.  I looked at it in my hand for several minutes, occasionally closing it, and sometimes closing my eyes too.  Nauthiz was not it.  It was not giving off a strong energy, though it did remind me that my annual Rune needs to address a larger need that I have.

Next, I held Eihwaz.  I thought this was going to be the Rune, because I remembered how it helped me avoid a panic attack just over two years ago.  It's ability to keep me calm in the face of a major challenge was stunning.  As I held it in my right hand and wrapped my index finger around its perimeter, I realized Eihwaz is a special Rune for me, but that it already had its very specific place and role for me.

That left Sowilo.  Interlocking my fingers around it as it pressed between my palms, I knew I had arrived at what I need for the coming year.  Sowilo is not a Rune that comes up for me very often, which makes this even more meaningful; it's almost as if it was waiting for this moment in time to reveal its magic to me.  It is especially telling that it comes on the heels of Thurisaz.  Where Thurisaz seems to represent masculine qualities, especially linkages to Thor, Sowilo puts forth feminine energy.  It seems that, at least in part, Sowilo offsets the year of Thurisaz and balances out the two years with a different kind of power.  It is that feminine strength that I will carry forward this year, with qualities of caring, thoughtfulness, and kindness.

Runes 201 - Individual Runes - Thurisaz

Thurisaz is an incredibly powerful Rune whose meaning is cast in the light of foreboding and negative energy.  However, power is neither positive nor negative.  It is a force and how one manages it determines whether it is positive or negative.  We just need to be careful not to let this great power overwhelm us.

Although Jera is my guiding Rune, to begin 2016, I chose Thurisaz as my Rune for this year.  At first, I thought it was because I wanted to "unleash my power" and be the strong and outspoken woman I was when I was younger.  And I thought I could manage it.  After a bit of a rough start and a bit of reflection, I realized that I needed the power in this Rune to reinvigorate myself, because I had let the daily drudge drag me down.  I did not need to unleash my power, rather simply find it again and embrace it.  So my questions for the Runes around Thurisaz were: How can I use the powerful energy of this Rune to get myself back up on my feet and become more of who I used to be?  How can the power of Thurisaz help me to find my energy and passion?

The three Runes I received in answer to these questions were: Tiwaz, Othala, and Kenaz.  This struck me as following the Norns and here's why.

Tiwaz is the warrior Rune, linked to Tyr.  In this position, Tiwaz is given to me by Urd, the Norn who tells of the past.  This is who I used to be and I say that adding a bit of clarification relative to the present.  Although this is who I was in the past and who I want to be in the future, this is a reminder that Tiwaz still resides within me.  I still show glimmers of Tiwaz everyday, but its prominence has given way to the daily drudge.  This is my reminder to get it back.  Thank you, Urd, for showing me this.

The Rune from Verdandi is Othala, a Rune strongly linked to family (heritage and the homestead).  This is a wonderful Rune, for although I know I am doing this for my family, it is important to get this prompt.  Moreover, for me, this Rune also represents the garden we have (or will have) in our yard.  In that way, Othala provides an additional layer to the idea of doing things for family.  Not only do I want to nurture my relationship with my family (mentally, emotionally, and spiritually), but I want to nurture my family's health (physically).  The garden is an important symbol of that, of overall well-being.  Thank you, Verdandi for showing me the full picture.

Skuld, in her wisdom, shows me my personal yearning.  Although what I am doing is for my family, I must also do what will make me happy as an individual.  By presenting Kenaz, she brings me full circle to the reason that I chose Thurisaz for 2016.  Kenaz, though its meaning is less clear than most Runes, is light, human-made fire.  This represents, for me, human innovation and creativity.  This is what I need to bring back into my life - my creativity.  I need to reconnect with the things that drive my passion.  This is why I need Thurisaz!  I am grateful Skuld, for your insight.

Thurisaz is the powerful force that, used with care and caution, will revive my inner warrior (Tiwaz) by reigniting my creativity and passion (Kenaz), thus helping me to do the same for my family (Othala).