2018 Merry Wishes

Before the year ends, I want to send you merry wishes for the new year.  I chose Fehu to represent these wishes, because of the perspective it holds.

Fehu is the cow Rune. In times long past, cows represented wealth.  Today, we have a great tendency to interchange the idea of wealth with money without making an important distinction.  They are not the same thing.  Money is money.  It is designed to be a tool used for the exchange of goods and services. Money is also a form of wealth, but wealth is not purely money.  Wealth can be a whole variety of things as evidenced by Fehu, the cow.

Each one of us defines what wealth is to us.  It can be a roof over our head, a vehicle...a whole myriad of objects; but it can also be a friend, a pet or our family.  Perhaps it's a job or a skill, a hobby or a walk in the woods or on the beach.  It can be our health or something as simple as a smile.

However you define wealth, Fehu serves as a reminder of that wealth in our lives.  Take some time, before 2017 melts away, to sit with Fehu to ponder the wealth in your life and to recognize and appreciate what you have.  Let that carry you into the new year, not only providing a foundation for you you, but let it guide you peacefully to the wealth you still seek.

And, thank you for being a part of the wealth in my life.  I am grateful for everyone who reads my blog and engages with the Runes.  Happy 2018!

Runes 202 - Bind Runes - Life's pursuits

I began a line of questioning with the Runes today that I intended to relate to job searches, changing careers, and the like.  However, as I contemplated and interpreted the meaning of the three Runes I received - Kenaz, Laguz, and Fehu - I realized that I was limiting them to a single parameter in life, when they applied easily to many pursuits.

Not only could I not confine these Runes, but I wanted to strengthen them by binding them together.  The final product may not look pretty, but it is a powerful reminder of a positive mindset as we endeavor into life's pursuits.

 

Although it's not the prettiest or most balanced bind Rune I've made, I love it just for the open visual.  This Rune looks like it is open to so many possibilities.  Beyond the visual, the Runes that are bound here are very uplifting.

I drew Kenaz first and its simplicity is revealed in this position.  Commonly referred to as the Rune of the light or torch, Kenaz represents human made fire, made using human creativity and knowledge.  This indicates to me that we should pursue those things that come naturally to us or that we have worked hard to learn and master.  That is where we will find satisfaction.  Even if it is not possible to undertake these things to earn a living, they must remain an active part of our lives, for they feed our joy.

Laguz was next.  Though I often say, "go with the flow" when this Rune appears, it is not simply a matter of kicking back and letting things happen to us.  We must still be active, preferably proactive in life's pursuits.  While we should try not to let things stress us out, we must also realize that life does not flow directly from A to B.  In other words, it's not going to be easy, but if we follow Kenaz (doing the things that come naturally or that we have worked hard to master), it will be worth it.  The thing to remember is that, like the depths of the sea, life is full of mysteries and, like the river making its way across the floodplain to the sea, life is also full of twists and turns, calm waters and rapids.  If we sit back and do nothing, those aspect's of life are going to kick our asses.  We have to navigate these parameters consciously.

I laughed a bit when I saw the final Rune - Fehu.  It seems to be counter to the implication of the first two Runes.  Where they suggest guiding our lives toward joy and contentment, Fehu is the cattle Rune' money; suggesting that money is the happiness we seek.  However, two points stand out against this idea.  First, whereas cattle used to be a form of 'money', in broader terms, it represents wealth and today wealth cannot be measured in terms of financial prowess alone.  The second point ties directly into that idea, because the Rune poems claim that those who have money should dole it out in abundance, essentially share the wealth, and that money is the source of a lot of arguments with loved ones.  In essence, don't put all your eggs in one basket - don't make financial wealth you're only goal.  Good health, good friends, a loving family, work that you enjoy or that allows you to do the things you enjoy, these are all aspects of wealth.  So, Fehu is not counter to Kenaz or Laguz; rather it reinforces them by making you consider the types of rewards you want to achieve through Kenaz and Laguz.

Separately, these three Runes offer important guidance in the pursuit of life.  Together, they unite our natural talents and acquired knowledge with our abilities to proactively navigate the twists, turns, and mysteries of life, and realize that money is only a single goal within and along that path; we will be far richer in the end, if we pursue good health, loving relationships, and activities we enjoy as we pursue financial security.

Runes 201 - Individual Runes - Laguz

This week, I choose to honor Laguz, the Rune of water.  The saying, "Go with the flow," has been crossing my mind a lot lately, so I decided it was time to investigate why.  My question is how can we work with Laguz to go with the flow?  For me, in particular this week, this represents many potential shifts coming my way both personally and professionally.  I hope this relates to something in your life as well.

 Laguz has the position of prominence in the accompanying image, since it is the Rune I seek to work with this week.  Just briefly, this Rune represents water and the mysteries associated with it.  In some ways, it is the unknown depths of the water that I am focusing on here.  This also represents the subconscious.  Perhaps we must summon our subconscious to successfully "go with the flow".

When I received Ansuz first, I was unclear about its relationship to Laguz in this situation.  This Rune represents the gods, more specifically perhaps, Odin.  It is also the Rune of communication.  I was confused by this draw, because, while I appreciate Odin, I have never felt an affinity towards him.  I decided I needed to draw another rune to provide me with guidance on how to interpret Ansuz.  I got Eihwaz, the Yew tree Rune.  The yew tree represents protection in the sense of toughness, standing one's ground.  This helped me to realize that, for me to go with the flow of Laguz, all I need to do is use my one of greatest strengths, relating to communication - the power of speech and articulation.  These attribute flow most freely from me.  What is your best communication tool?  Remember, it should come effortlessly to you and align with letting things flow.  It can be art work, a compliment, a gesture; communication happens in many ways, some obvious and others quite subtle.

I was pleased to see Fehu in second position, especially after my Rune ritual of two weeks ago using this Rune.  (On a side note, I believe the ritual worked well and I plan to do more ritual posts and also repeat the Fehu ritual personally.)  While we refer to Fehu as the money Rune, it doesn't have to mean only money; it can mean wealth more broadly.  Whatever form of wealth we are seeking flows to us more easily when we are using our most positive characteristics.  That is why I reach for speaking and articulation as my communication strengths.  These are the tools I use to communicate most effectively.  Using that aspect of myself will bring wealth to me easier than if I try to paint a picture or run a computer simulation, because those are not my strengths.

Finally, we have Gebo, the gift Rune.  This is more the idea of giving a gift than receiving one; it's giving without expectation of reciprocity.  Maybe we should think of it as karma Rune.  Giving  gifts will attract its own rewards and give its own benefits.  The question is, what are we giving?  We are giving our greatest tool, the best mode of communication we have.  Simply put, when we want to communicate (or participate) with the world and we utilize our greatest strengths in a giving way to do it, not only do these gifts flow out of us, but they will flow back to us in the form of the greatest strengths of others.

Try to let things flow this week and let me know how it goes.

Set Goals; Don't Make Resolutions

It's the second full week of 2013; how are your resolutions coming?  I decided long ago that I wasn't going to make any new years resolutions, because I rarely followed through on them.  However, I found that if I changed the idea from a resolution to a goal, I fared much better.  It is to that end that I asked the Runes how we can be successful in accomplishing our goals for 2013.

For the draw, and in practice for my soon-to-be new set of Runes, I tried a different approach.  Instead of reaching into the bag and pulling out the Runes, I held them all in my hands above (but not directly over) my head and began dropping them not one at a time, but let them fall as my hands moved back and forth.  Going forward, this is the likely method I will use, because I did this once, then tried a different approach that didn't work, then tried dropping them again and got the same three Runes as I did the first time.  I took the first three that fell face up.  They were Fehu, Jera, and Raido.

 

Fehu was an interesting first Rune, because its core meaning is cattle or money.  However, given the line of questioning, I take this to represent something that will make you wealthier, not necessarily in the financial sense.  For example, I have writing goals this year and one of the main reasons I write is because it makes me happy and, happiness is a form of wealth in our lives.  I believe that this is what Fehu in the first position is telling us.  If we expect to be successful in accomplishing our goals, we must set goals around things that will bring some form of wealth into our lives.

 

My favorite Rune, Jera, was next.  The Rune of the harvest and process is the best reminder that the goals are not going to happen over night.  Success comes from applying ourselves every day and committing to bringing the goals to fruition.  It means dealing with set backs and staying focused so that we can move forward.  Create a plan with some manageable steps will help too.  For example, don't just say you're going to get a new job, set metrics like how many resumes you're going to send out a week, how many cold calls you're going to make, and how many sources you have for finding work.  Whatever your goal is, realize that there is a process related to it, have patience, and work with the process.

Finally, Raido, the Rune of travel and journey.  This journey can occur in any state - physical, mental, emotional or spiritual.  What is represents primarily is the idea that you must keep things moving forward and, in this way, it supports Jera's focus on process.  You cannot make progress toward your goal if you don't move forward.  Simply put, Raido takes you from where you are to where you want to be.

What are some goals you've set for 2013?  How will you accomplish them?

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.

Temporary Runes

Once again, I am away from my usual computer on a posting day.  I will add the images when I return, but for now, I ask the question, "Did you forget something?"  This question is quite relevant this week, as I am also away from my Runes.  In all honesty, I forgot them.  So, my question to the Runes this week is - what do I do when I need something that I don't have?

Before I could address this question, I had to make a temporary set of Runes to use.  I divided a piece of paper into 24 even rectangles, then asked for a blessing from the gods (Odin, Heimdall, Freyr) so that I could write the Runes on the paper and they would be imbued with temporary power to offer guidance.  Once the blessing was sorted, I drew the Runes onto the paper rectangles.  Once they were done, I asked the gods for their guidance with the process, since I was working with temporary Runes.

My temporary Runes.  (Photo added 8/13/2012)

Fehu, Hagalaz and Isa offered the guidance to this question.  This was a difficult draw to interpret, but after some thought, I realized that, through the process of making my temporary Runes, I had accomplished my goal.

Fehu is the Rune of wealth.  From a strictly historical perspective, this referred to cattle or money.  However, we must think of wealth as having many potential definitions in today's world.  In this instance, I believe it means a wealth of resources.  For example, my problem was that I didn't have my Runes with me, but the solution lay within many possible choices.  I could have waited until I got back to my office, but that would have delayed my post, so I opted not to choose that path.  I have a very good friend that has a set of Runes.  I could have called her and asked her to draw the Runes for me.  Although I may try this one at some point in the future, I decided I wanted to fend for myself so to speak and not ask for her help.  In thinking of wealth as available resources, I thought of the simplest way to acquire a set of Runes without buying new ones, which was another option.  Thus, I made my temporary set out of a sheet of paper.  That is the perfect overview of this situation.

As is common, Hagalaz challenged me in this draw.  The Rune of hail, of destructive and creative force, is a good challenge.  How can we take a seemingly bad situation and turn it into a good one?  We get creative.  Not having my Runes was a challenge and could have thrown off my weekly posts, but, by being creative, I overcame the challenge that was threatening my plans.

The first two Runes took me a while to reason out, but as soon as I looked at Isa, I knew I had taken the right action.  The Rune of Ice encourages us to exercise caution, for while ice is beautiful, it can cause us to lose our footing quite easily.  This Rune is sometimes referred to as the Rune of standstill (which I used early on in my posts), but I realize that is an oversimplification.  The Runes do not tell us to stand still, but they do offer good warnings of caution.  When I decided to make my temporary Runes, I was very cautious.  Not only did I ask the gods for a blessing on the Runes, but requested their support throughout the process of answering the question as well.  The result is that the answer to my question is the process I went through to be able to answer the question in the first place.

I used the wealth of resources around me to create a  simple, yet effective set of temporary Runes.  I faced the challenge of not having my Runes by being creative and I was cautious while I was making the Runes, even asking the gods for additional guidance.  Most importantly, I did the first reading for myself.  Still, I hope this reading can help you too.

Which Road?

Next week, it will be time for me to return to the workforce.  I have completed my MSc. and written my novel.  While I work on the sequel, I also have to work.  So, I asked the Runes what the best way to approach this situation is.  Which road will be the most effective, most productive?  I know many people have been in similar boats, where they are at a crossroads and must decide which way to go or have lost or left one job and must find another.  For anyone on the job hunt, whatever your circumstance is, I think this will offer some positive insight into this challenging endeavor.

However, as I am on vacation, I don't have access to my Rune images, so I'll add them to this post when I get home.  For now,  here are the Runes I drew and what they represent.  The Runes were Kenaz, Fehu, and Mannaz.

The Rune of the Torch, Kenaz, serves as the overview for this question.  While some interpret this Rune as a child's sore or illness, I tend to follow the Old English Rune Poem interpretation of the light from a flame or lamp.  The idea of a light represents multiple things, including the light at the end of the tunnel, enlightenment through knowledge or experience, and focused creativity.  In this case, all of these are viable options.  This is a time when we must be enlightened and focused, so that we may see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I laughed when I saw Fehu as the challenge this week.  Fehu, the Rune of money and wealth.  That is the goal, after all, to acquire money and wealth.  I don't think there is anymore to say on this front.  Our challenge is to find a satisfactory position that will pay us an acceptable wage for the work we do.

Our required action is depicted by Mannaz, the Rune of the self, humanity, and even culture.  We are not perfect; that is what makes us human.  Still, if we know ourselves, our skills, and our aspirations, and we remain true to those aspects of ourselves, we will find what we are looking for and it will, if all goes well, be rewarding for everyone involved.  We will do work that we enjoy; those we work for and with will appreciate the work we do, and in some way, it will positively affect the greater good.

Maybe I'm a dreamer in suggesting this.  There are those who would say, simply, "Suck it up and get a job."  There may come a time when that is a requirement, but, before then, I think every effort should be put into following the road that will lead you to happiness and not just a paycheck.