Winter Solstice Runes 2

On Sunday we celebrate the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.  Last year, I also wrote about this solstice by asking the Runes what they wanted to share with us about it.  This year, my question was more specific. I wondered how did we arrive here?  What was the path we followed over the last year and how have we realized it?

I think the response - Jera, Tiwaz, Dagaz - builds on last year's post, which presented Berkana, Laguz, and Othala.  What the Runes told us last year was that we were poised at the beginning of something and that we had to be creative and not be afraid to try new paths and realize that, while those paths may include personal gains, that we should look beyond ourselves in the process and recognize that the things that we do affect and are affected by others as well.  The three Runes this year are offering us guidance in looking back over the past year. 

Jera was the perfect first Rune, because it is the Rune of the year and represents, more so than any other, the idea of process and cycles.  It calls on us in this time of silent reflection during the winter solstice to look back over the year and realize how we arrived here.  Did we follow the wisdom the Runes shared with us last year?  Were we creative in choosing the steps we took that formed the path we look back on now?  Were we conscious of the ways in which our steps (choices) affected others?  As I look back over the year, I can say that, for me, these are some of the most important questions I can ask and I realize that not only was the Rune's guidance last year exactly what I needed, but that in a completely unconscious way, I followed that advice and had wonderful though not always easy outcomes.

The second Rune for this time of silent reflection is Tiwaz.  Now, I confess that I have an affinity to these two Runes (Jera and Tiwaz) more than I do to any others, but their positioning here still holds true.  Tiwaz is the warrior Rune, a Rune that represents strength and sacrifice.  We don't always think about both sides of that coin.  When we are exhibiting strength and making tough decisions or just standing up for ourselves, sometimes we don't acknowledge that sacrifices are being made along the way, especially if they are not our sacrifices, but sacrifices of those who support us.  This comes from Othala last year and the fact that whatever choices we made during this year were supported by others around us.  Rather than think only about the strength that you showed this year in making hard choices, think about who supported you in making those choices.  What strength did they show?  How did they support you?  Did it involve a sacrifice on their part?

Just as Jera was the perfect first Rune, Dagaz is the perfect third one, because it almost presents us with another beginning - the day - but it also reminds us to look back over the past year and find those bright spots that helped us get through the rough ones.  It shows us where we were strong, but it also calls to mind its own set of guiding questions.  What made those bright spots bright?  How did they come about?  What did you have to do to achieve those bright spots?  Think of your creativity.  Who helped you achieve those moments?  How did you on your own and with help from others build on those bright spots to make them more enduring?

Interestingly, these three Runes also set the tone for the coming year.  Jera says remember that there is a process for everything that happens during the year.  Tiwaz reminds us of the strength we carry through that process and that there will, at some point, be a sacrifice required.  Dagaz supports these ideas with a focus on the light, which I take to mean the positive.  By focusing on the positive, when we face a challenge, it will be far easier to over come.

With that practical, but important guidance from the Runes, I will wish you all well in the coming year and Happy Yule!  Gleðileg Jól!

Runes 201 - Individual Runes - Berkana 2

Nearly two years ago, I looked at Berkana as I was starting a new business adventure with a friend. Although that adventure has run its course, last week, I started another new adventure and Berkana came to mind once again.  In fact, when Berkana reveals itself to us, we tend to be drawn to ideas of beginnings, birth, and even creative unleashings.

What we tend to forget, because we frame things as every ending is a beginning, is that every beginning also means that something else has come to an end.  I like to think that something coming to an end is a good thing, but it isn't always or, even if it is, it isn't necessarily easy.  So, what I wanted to know is how we can experience the release of what is ending as we move forward into our beginning.  So, I asked the Runes, "Using Berkana to symbolize our beginning, how do we acknowledge what has ended?"

Wunjo, Nauthiz, and Raido came as the Runes' reply.

"Be happy," the Runes say.  Okay, it's not as simple as be happy, but it sets the tone.  More specifically, it means don't regret what happened, what has come to pass.  It may not have been great, but we can take or make something positive from every experience.  We can learn and grow and, in many ways, those experiences that are hard help us to grow the most.  They help us to find strength and courage.  And, even when good things end, we are grateful to have had those moments.  Take the good and move that forward.

Nauthiz came second and focuses on needs, wants, and what is necessary.  I find this Rune to be quite important, because it calls for awareness without actually warning us to be careful.  Instead, it seems to tell us to be smart, to use our wits and be wise in the way we approach things.  It does not say move slowly, rather move smartly.  How does this help us recall what has ended?  It adds to what Wunjo said.  Where Wunjo tells us not to regret things, Nauthiz says take the aspects of the past that we need and bring them forward, but be smart about what we choose.  Acknowledge what has ended, but don't let it weigh us down; we don't need that.

The final Rune is Raido; Raido is the journey.  This is the Rune that tells us that we are not alone on our journey and reminds us to live life.  Basically, Raido in this position, reinforces the need to move forward.  We cannot escape what has ended, because it was part of the journey that got us to where we are now, to that first next step to where we are going.  Coupled with Wunjo, its message is enjoy the ride and, coupled with Nauthiz, it says that even though we are enjoying the ride, we still need to be aware of the path.  Look back and see where you've come from.  Acknowledge the road behind you and build your next moment on the foundation that lies in your wake.  It is stronger than you think.

Runes 201 - Individual Runes - Ansuz

Ansuz, like Ehwaz, signifies many important aspects of life.  Ansuz is considered the mouth Rune (mouth of a river), the mouth Rune (the origin of language and, by extension, communication), and the god Rune.  What makes this especially interesting is that each Rune poem (Old Norwegian, Old English, and Old Icelandic) depicts a different meaning.  In looking at the complex Rune, I want to address each of these features.

Let's begin with Ansuz as the mouth of a river as explained in the Old Norwegian Rune poem.  I like beginning here, because the mouth of a river can mean the beginning, middle or end of a journey, depending on the direction you are heading; it can mean arriving in a new land or returning home.  It symbolizes an adventure, embarking on or completing something new or representing something familiar.  For the Vikings, for example, the seas were roads; it is how they traveled between lands and explored their world.  I mentioned this last week in terms of creative exploration and Laguz.  However, here it can go beyond exploring to settling and managing.  By starting with this aspect, we can determine which path we are on - a new path or strengthening a familiar one - and build from there.

With our chosen path in mind, we can look at Ansuz as it relates to language and communication.  Back in April, I undertook a Rune Ritual around Ansuz's communication feature.  I chose Ansuz for this reason, because I want to make a living off of my writing, a major form of communication.  Moreover, I have used Ansuz to help couples remember that communication is vital to any relationship.  These uses show a beginning (my career) and something familiar (relationships) demonstrating the importance of how we use communication in our lives and how our word choice, the tone of our voice, our gestures, and facial expressions impact them.  Ansuz tells us to be aware or increase our awareness of the way we communicate.  In support of this idea, the Old English Rune poem focuses on this interpretation of Ansuz and puts special emphasis on how wisdom gives warriors comfort (in the sense of happiness) and confidence.  The important thing to remember here is that wisdom is gained not because communication is a one way street, rather includes interpreting and understanding the messages being communicated to us.

On an even more personal level, Ansuz links us to our deity.  In this regard, the Old Icelandic Rune poem points specifically to Odin as the the head of Asgard and the one in charge of Valhalla.  It is fitting that Odin is represented here, because he is the god of poetry and wisdom.  These characteristics of Odin are just as important, if not more so, than Odin as god of war, because they not only imply our own spirituality in communicating with our deity, but they also in highlight, once again, the importance of communication in all its forms.  What is equally important to recognize is that Odin, the chief Norse god is tied directly to communication, implying or reinforcing the importance of the latter throughout the world and and the role it plays in the journeys we take and paths we follow in life.

Winter Solstice Runes

Saturday night was the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere.  For me, it represents the end of Earth’s annual cycle.  It felt right to ask the Runes what knowledge they would like to share with us about it.  What was most interesting to me was that, while there was an acknowledgement of looking back over the past year, it was veiled in a look forward and planning for the new cycle or year.

The three Runes I drew were Berkana, Laguz, and Othala.

Although we are reaching the end of the annual cycle, Berkana is a about birth and beginnings, reminding us that every ending is also a beginning.  Berkana is the birch Rune, representing a tree that sprouts through coppicing and Berkana’s Rune poem notes that the tree grows despite not flowering.  It is this aspect that reflects on the past year and provides a good reminder for the next one.  We notice when flowers bloom, whether they are individual flowers or on trees or bushes.  Many flowers become food and those that don’t still provide bees with nectar to make honey, which we also use for food.  These are obvious cycles that culminate by bearing fruit literally and serve as a figurative symbol for the way we recognize a completed project.  We complete cycles with something tangible, something clearly visible – our figurative fruit.  However, Berkana tells us that not every cycle has an obvious ending.  Sometimes, it happens over time, without a huge climax.  It is important to recognize and acknowledge these completed cycles along with those that end with a concrete benchmark.  As I look back over my year, I don’t readily see a lot of flowers or fruit.  However, I do see a lot of growth, some subtle and some more obvious.

Laguz supports this idea from Berkana, that not every accomplishment is entirely obvious.  Laguz is the water Rune, but like Berkana, it has more depth than the surface may suggest.  As I have often said, Laguz makes me think of the saying, “Go with the flow.”  While that is still part of the insight offered here – that we must not dwell on the negative, rather accept it, learn the lessons from that experience, and move on – Laguz also represents the mysteries of the seas and stands as a symbol of creative exploration.  I say this from an ancient Norse perspective.  That is to say that although a stormy sea could be detrimental to Norse ships, water was also how they traveled the world.  They traversed rivers and oceans like roads leading to new places and opportunities.  In a similar way, we can explore our world and not be afraid to step off a concrete road to try one that, like the seas, is a little less predictable.  We cannot be afraid try new things or delve deeper into things we are already doing on some level.  This is how we grow and where we find our next beginning.

Our final Rune – Othala – takes us to a level beyond ourselves.  Thinking about endings and beginnings, we can be drawn immediately to the personal aspects of that.  Finishing college, for example, is an ending of one part of our life, but it also marks the beginning or our professional career.  Along with starting a new relationship or leaving one place to live in another, these experiences all possess an individual perspective.  Although Othala can, to some degree, represent the personal in the sense of a legacy, Othala is more about the greater good, the homestead and inheritance.  It represents a larger scale, perhaps even at the community level or higher.  It’s about more than building your own career, though the individual definitely supports your ability to build a homestead.  Othala requires us to think beyond ourselves.   

So, as we complete cycles and begin new ones, these three Runes represent at least two very important things to consider in looking over the past year and aspire to as we move forward.   First, even when our beginnings are or seem self-focused, they reach into the larger community that surrounds and supports us.  Second, we should not be afraid to attempt completely new creative beginnings. What fruit are you hoping the new annual cycle will bear?