Mental and Emotional Healing

A month ago, I asked the Runes for a Healing Rune.  They showed me Fehu.  That was for a physical healing.  After reading that post, a friend of mine asked what the Runes would suggest for a mental or emotional healing.  I know a lot of people that could use a healing like that, so I asked the Runes what guidance they have to offer to help us heal mentally and emotionally.

I should mention that I made a point to ask that they not give us Jera in this instance.  We know that healing is a process.  What I want to share with you is how to approach that healing process.  The answer is simple, but, I find that, hearing it from a completely non-biased, neutral source carries a lot of weight.  Granted, the Runes that are revealed are subject to my interpretation, but, if you disagree with my assessments, please feel free to leave a comment with your perspective.

I found this group of Runes to be quite appropriate for this question - Algiz, Berkana, Perthro.

Aligz, as the Rune of self-defense and protection, is a good Rune to begin this journey.  After all, if we are going to endeavor to heal from mental or emotional pain, we want to know that we are doing it in a safe and protected way.  When we are in what we perceive to be a weakened mental or emotional state, what we attempt to regain is our inner strength, that which we have lost sight of.  However, there is also a warning that comes with this situation - Make sure that you are not protecting or defending your perceived weakened state.  It is easy to use our mental or emotional state to justify lack of action or committing an unfavorable action.  We need to make sure we are protecting and defending our true self, our empowered self, not our weakened self, for it is the empowered self we seek to revive.

Well, we know that's easier said than done, so we should be aware of the challenge we face as we attempt this healing.  That is where Berkana comes in.  The Rune of birth, fertility, and creativity offers us a different perspective, our first chance to empower ourselves.  What if we decide that today is the first day of our consistent healing?  I say consistent, because we are going to make every effort to move forward a little each day.  There will be fall backs, but we commit to the trend toward growing empowerment.  This Rune tells us that we are ready; the ground is fertile; the time is right.  Think of this as a beginning, if that helps.

But, what is the best action we can take down this path, while ensuring a safe, protected process?  For that answer, we look to Perthro, the Rune of friendly competition, social outlets.  In other words, the best place to begin this part of the healing, now that we have decided we are ready, is with friends and family, loved ones.  Surrounding ourselves with the people who love us, getting out and being social, those are the things that will help us begin to feel better.  Before I go on, let me stress that, this in no way should replace professional counseling or therapy.  If you are struggling, you should seek professional guidance.  What I offer here is just one small part of  the healing process that we can do on our own.  Sometimes, making the decision to see someone is easier when  friends and family support us in that pursuit.  Our mental and emotional healing should be us empowering ourselves to be strong and having loved ones behind us as we do it serves only to help us on that path.

Have a safe and happy week.

A Healing Rune

I had an interesting experience with the Runes this evening.  As you know, my last two readings have been done with the temporary Runes I made out of paper.  Tonight, I went back to my old Runes to ask them to show me a Rune of healing, because I have had some health issues the past couple of weeks.  My old Runes gave me Fehu, which made me wonder what the heck the Rune of money, wealth, and cattle had to do with healing.  So, I thought maybe my old Runes had stopped working for me, because the message wasn't immediately obvious.

I grabbed my temporary paper Runes, asked for a blessing from Odin and Heimdall, and asked those Runes if Fehu was really the answer.  I knew I wouldn't get a yes or no from the Runes, but I think they came as close as they could get.  I drew Dagaz, the Rune of clarity, day, and light.  For me, this meant that I had been shown the right path and that it should be clear, the reasoning easy to discern.

Still I had to think about it, but trusting that Fehu is my healing Rune, I drew three Runes to determine how I was supposed to address Fehu to achieve my healing.  Once the Runes began to show themselves, I understood exactly why Fehu was my healing Rune.  The three Runes I got were Algiz, Tiwaz and Raido.

Algiz is the Rune of self-defense and protection.  This provides a reasonable overview of the situation, for when we aren't not well, we must take care of ourselves if we expect to heal.  It also calls into play the fact that, when we are physically ill, it may not be a purely physical illness, rather the illness may be a result of mental or emotional stress.

In times when we are weakened, whether physically, mentally or emotionally, our challenge is to remain strong, which is why Tiwaz, Týr's Rune, the warrior Rune is the challenge in the circumstance.  Tiwaz reminds us that, even when our state is fragile or, perhaps, especially when it is, we must find our courage and overcome the source that is causing us our pain.

 The final Rune is Raido.  I knew this Rune was coming.  Raido represents a journey, a physical move.  This brings me full circle to Fehu.  I live in a place where I struggle (for reasons I won't go into) to find work.  The angst over this multi-year struggle has weighed on me mentally and emotionally for quite a while now and, I believe, is culminating in physical distress.  I am ready to go, but my circumstances are such that I will be here for a year or two more, before my family and I can leave.  I am hopeful that Raido is the Runes telling me it will come and, through Tiwaz, telling me I must be strong a little while longer.

The final tie back to Fehu is this.  Because this place is my home for the next couple of years, I must find some work to tide me over until we can move to the next place.  Having that income that my family needs will reduce my stress and help the physical pain to dissipate.  Finding regular or consistent work won't be easy, but Týr is my warrior god and I find comfort in his support.