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 301- Making Your Own Runes 3

Over the last two weekends, I've taken some time to practice carving wood to make my Rune staves.  I've figured out the basic process for making the space in which to carve the Runes.  The challenge is to keep the bark from peeling off.

When I began this process, I had no idea what I would use for the carving, but I found a nice set of tools especially for such delicate work.  I got mine at Home Depot, though I checked out some art supply stores too.  The set I bought was sturdier and felt more durable than the ones from the art stores.  I paid $40 Canadian for a six-piece set, but it will probably be cheaper in the US.  (I can't speak to the cost in other countries; sorry.)

After playing with all the tools in the set for a couple of hours, I came up with a three-tool process that works for me. First, I etch a rectangle on the wood with the skew bevel.  Next, I use the bent chisel.  This makes a nice flat surface on the wood by removing very thin layers.  As I shave the wood, it curls up toward the edge, so I use the straight edge to "chop" it off.  Once I begin making the actual Runes, I'll put up some pictures of the process.  For now, here is a picture of the three tools I'm using.

The top tool is the bent chisel.  I placed it sideways in the shot to accentuate the bend.  It may seem silly, but having the bend in the tool makes it easier to shave the wood.  The middle tool is the straight edge.  It's essentially the same as the bent chisel without the bend.  I tried this one to make the flat surface and it worked okay, but I found it harder to maneuver.  However, the straight edge worked great to remove the shavings created by the bent chisel.  At the bottom of the picture is the skew bevel.  Its blade is angled and the point worked well for marking the lines which form the space for the Rune.  A word of caution though.  If you're going to get cut, this is most likely when it will happen, so be careful.  Watch out for peeling bark too.

Over the next couple of weeks, I will refine this process and attempt to etch in some Runes.  When I'm comfortable enough with the carving process, I'll use the rain water I gathered earlier this spring to cleanse the tools before I before the tools touch the fruit-bearing wood.

If you have made your own Runes using wood or some other material, please feel free to share your experience with us.  Likewise, if you're considering making a set and have questions, ask away.  I'm happy to help as best as I can.

Runes 301 - Making Your Own Runes

Welcome to Runes 301!  In this series, I am going to share with you the process through which I travel to make my own set of Runes, based on my understanding of what Runes were during the Viking Age and before, and in the world of Norse Mythology.

I have started the process of making my own Runes with a ritual that I "created".  While there are some basic rules for making your own wooden Rune staves, the process also has many individualized steps too.  I decided that I wanted to cleanse the tools I'm going to use to make the Runes with "holy" water.  For me, that means rain.  Luckily in these modern times, we know when to expect rain.  Rain was forecast for us one day last week, so I got a metal bucket, washed it, faced west (northwest-ish) and made my request to Freyr the morning the rain was going to start.  Let me reiterate that this is my ritual.  It is not a requirement, but you are welcome to use it, modify it or create your own.

I chose Freyr to receive my request, because he is the Norse god of fertility.  There are goddesses (Sif, Freyja and Frigg, for example) and other gods (Njörd) associated with fertility and even Thor is associated with weather, storms and rain.  You can choose whichever god you prefer.  It doesn't have to be any of those listed.  It simply has to be a god you believe in.  For me, Freyr felt right.

I faced west/northwest holding the bucket.  This direction was purely of my own choosing, because I knew the storm was coming from that direction.  Holding the bucket out in front of me, I looked into the approaching clouds and said the following incantation, then set down the bucket to receive Freyr's nourishment.

"I believe in the power of Freyr to provide fertility to the planet, to nourish the Earth and all things that live here."

The catch is that you have to believe what you say.

By the end of the day, the bucket had just over a centimeter of water in it.  I put it in a glass jar, closed and saved it for the cleansing ritual, which I will do after I acquire the tools I'll use to cut and carve the wood and etch out the Runes.

The next ritual will be the cleansing of the tools, followed by cutting the wood within the next couple of weeks.  I hope you will stay tuned and, if you have gone through this process, that you will share your experience with us.