Runes 403 - Rune Interpretations - Commitments Toward Goals

"I don't have time for anything."  "There isn't enough time in my day to do everything that needs to get done."  "What I would give to be able to do that or to have the time to do that."  Do any of these sound familiar?

I know they do to me, but my greater frustration is that I know I do have time.  Many of my friends have made the same proclamations and, listening to what they said, I realized that goals or deadlines tend to be attached to things they want to do, but "simply don't have time for".

So, I asked the Runes what would happen if I made a commitment to something without affixing a larger goal or deadline to it?  Here is what they showed me.

Ehwaz, Dagaz, and Nauthiz

I found Ehwaz in the first position served as an important reminder, especially with regard to two of its attributes.  The horse Rune represents loyalty and a mode of transportation.  What this suggests to me is that, if we really want to accomplish something, we will.  It's an abstract take on loyalty in the sense that when there is something that we really want to accomplish, we stick to it; we are loyal to the idea, not the idea of completing or acquiring it.  Let me give you a quick example that opened my eyes recently.  I want to finish my second novel.  (The Son of Nine Sisters was my first.) I am loyal to the idea of completing it, but I am not loyal to the process.  So, I decided to commit to spending six hours a week writing.  If I write 1,000 words an hours (about 2 pages), I will complete the draft of my second novel within a year, probably less.  This is where the mode of transportation piece of Ehwaz comes in, because, although I did the rough math, the "goal" is not to finish the novel in a year.  Instead, I am committing to the journey, transporting myself along this timeline of six hours a week. This changes my commitment from a goal (outcome) to a process.

The next question seems to me to be where I am going to find the time to write if, as the quotes above claim, I don't have time to do this.  Dagaz is the perfect Rune to address this question.  The day Rune has presented itself to me in a few posts on similar topics (achieving goals, time, and unfinished projects), so it is entirely appropriate that it shows up today.  This Rune in this position reinforces the belief that we can accomplish things we commit to.  It is positive and uplifting; hopeful.  This Rune says, "You can do it."  If we are loyal to something, maybe the best way to approach it is by breaking it down into smaller pieces.  Rather than insisting that we are going to write our second novel by the end of the year, what if we just say that we are going to write six hours a week? Here again, we are changing the focus of our commitment.  Now, how do we find the time to do it?

I find that, when I am unable to meet a deadline or I don't successfully complete a goal that I've set for myself by the time I say it will be done, I feel awful and I get frustrated and angry... and I don't like to feel that way, none of us do.  It isn't helpful.  I think that is why Nauthiz came third, because none of us need the stress that we place on ourselves by trying to force unrealistic goals into our already busy lives.  It is interesting that Nauthiz appears in many of my posts that deal with similar situations (calm and relaxed, pace yourself, unfinished projects, and priorities) and now it is here and telling us two things in this final position.  First, it takes on need in terms of reminding us to let go of stressful approaches to commitments.  That is very sage advice and frames itself in terms of things we do not need, like stress.  Second, it tells us to consider our priorities.  What are the commitments we need to make and what is the best approach to making them?  For me, writing is a very important part of who I am, a definite commitment that I want to make.  However, I need to be realistic about the position I give writing in my life.  Here is my realization.  I was making a goal of writing at night, after my kids were in bed, but that was not working for me.  I was exhausted by then and I have never been a night person.  I am a morning person.  It is far easier for me to get up at 5:30 in the morning and write for two hours than it is for me to stay up until 11pm doing it.  That is what I need in order to fulfill my commitment to writing.  By taking a step back and asking myself how I can accomplish this goal without adding more stress to my life, I incorporated something I need into my life and made a commitment to it in terms of a manageable process.

Runes 101 - Runes in History - Tacitus

Runes cast on a white cloth

When I am asked how I can justify Rune casting for divination as an historical part of honoring or worshiping Norse Gods, my simple answer is that I don't.

The reason I don't is twofold.  First, I don't feel the need to justify the ways that I connect with my goddesses and gods to anyone.  Second, I never claimed that this was an ancient approach, though there tends to be this automatic assumption that I believe it to be so.

I am not a purist nor do I try to be.  Moreover, I struggle with the idea that I have to be one, because I disagree with the notion that a strict adherence to how I express my connection to the Norse goddesses and gods exists. More specifically, I disagree with the idea that, if I am doing something that isn't accepted as being from ancient times, I am wrong.  With regard to the Runes, what works for me is a simple acknowledgement that what I am doing is most assuredly not the exact way it was done in the past, rather that what I do is done from a position of respect.

Comments by Tacitus in his book Germania foster the situation.  It is the only known historical reference about casting by Germanic people and there are numerous translations of his description of it.  Still, however one translates Tacitus' writing, there is no mention of Runes, only of "cutting marks" into twigs cut from a fruit-bearing tree.  We don't know what the marks were or how they were interpreted.

What is especially interesting about Tacitus' explanation is that it has to be secondhand, because he doesn't appear to have traveled to Germania himself.  This might help explain the lack of detail in the casting description.

The idea that the marks might be some form of Runes is also brought into question by the fact that Tacitus lived from 56CE (CE = common era) to about 117CE, while the earliest runic inscriptions date to around 250CE.  That is not to say that the marks absolutely were not Runes, but it does reduce the likelihood significantly.  Then, there is the question of which Futhark was used or should be used.  Elder?  Younger?  Anglo-Saxon?  I don't think there is a right or wrong choice.

What do I take from Tacitus?  I take facts.  Some portion of Germanic people placed a high importance on divination.  To divine whatever answers they sought, they cut sticks from fruit-bearing trees and carved marks into them.  They threw the sticks onto a white cloth.  Someone of authority would invoke the gods, pick up three of the sticks, and interpret them.  If the interpretation was disagreeable, they wouldn't ask about it anymore that day.  If it was agreeable, they still required a sign of some sort to confirm it.

I incorporate many of these facts into my own practice and I am grateful that Tacitus gave us some insight into the ancient process.  However, I also recognize that the interpretations I make of the Runes I cast are based on the Rune Poems (composed in the 8th or 9th century) and that no other evidence for using Runes for divination can be found prior to the 1970s.  It would be wrong for me to say that my practice is based solely on historical ritual.  However, it would also be wrong to say it is an entirely new age thing.  Tacitus provides pieces, the Rune poems provide pieces, and information since the 1970s also provides pieces.

What's most important is that I do not take what I do lightly and I don't expect anyone else to use the Runes the exact same way that I do.

Runes 202 - Bind Runes - Powering Through

We all want to focus on our dreams and passions, figure out and pursue those things that we identify as our priorities, and we want a smooth path to accomplishing them.  A smooth path or a smooth part in our paths can be hard to find at times.  Sometimes, we are staring at a huge pile of poo that we just have to power through, even though we have no interest in doing so and our heart is not in it.  This is different from letting go of things beyond our control.  This has to be done.

This necessity of powering through has been an occasional theme in my life and in the lives of many of my friends.  As with the other bind Runes I've linked to (above), I felt that this situation deserved more than just Rune wisdom; I wanted to take that wisdom and give it the extra strength of a bind Rune.  I asked the Runes for insight into powering through when no other valid option exists and they gave me Jera, Uruz, and Laguz.

Jera, Uruz, and Laguz placed
together to form a bind Rune.

Jera is always a good Rune for me.  In this instant, it tells me that, even though powering through is not a method I would choose to do on a regular basis, it is necessary and that it is part of something bigger.  This moment of powering through is not all there is to what I am doing and Jera provides an important reminder of that.  I placed Jera first and centered in the bind Rune, because of this and because this is what will carry me through this part of my process.

Uruz, the Rune of the aurochs, came next.  At first, I thought this somehow represented physical strength, like I must be strong to power through what I am facing.  But, Uruz means more than just the physical strength of the aurochs ox.  The aurochs represents not something that is wild, rather an animal that is free from the influences of society (not domesticated).  As part of society, what this means to me is having a critical eye towards my situation or going into it with open eyes.  In essence, Uruz is saying, "Take heart.  You are conscious of the fact that powering through is not who you really are and you see this moment for what it is, just an unpleasant moment that will pass."  With this perspective, I can approach the situation with mental and emotional strength, something I need to help me power through.  Uruz provides me this strength, so I placed it at the bottom of the bind Rune, to support it.

Laguz, as the third Rune, accomplishes two things for me.  First, it is yet another reminder that powering through is part of something bigger.  This is represented in the depths of the sea and everything that determines waves, currents, marine life, and flow.  Just as a storm at sea is sometimes part of the sea's process, so too powering through is part of mine.  Second, is the comforting part of this Rune, which recommends relaxing and rolling with what is happening.  Since I have decided that powering through is the best option at this point in time, I might as well make the most of it.  Therefore, I placed it front and center in the bind Rune to reinforce the mental and emotional strength allotted by Uruz and as a way of managing the moment identified by Jera and bringing me to the next phase from a place of positive flow.

These explanations give me the completed bind Rune, a bind Rune that says I have made the conscious choice to power through my current situation; that it is just an uncomfortable moment in something bigger in my life; and that recognizing this allows me to power through from a position of mental and emotional strength, so that I don't come out the other side drained, depressed or unsure of what is next.  Given this consciousness, it also affords me the opportunity to embrace and learn from the process.

I hope that, if you ever find yourself in a "power through" situation, this bind Rune will hep you.