Runes 201 - Individual Runes - Wunjo

What is the secret to happiness?  Because so many people are overwhelmed by today's fast-paced life, I thought I would pause and ask this question.  I hear people claiming regularly that they are miserable or unhappy or frustrated.  Life seems to be beating them down instead of lifting them up.  This is hard for me to witness, because the world is full of simply amazing things from sunrises and storms to smiles and stars.  It would be great if we would all take time to focus our energy on the beauty in this world instead of the negativity.  So, I ask the Runes this week how to bring happiness into our lives, how to work with Wunjo, the Rune of joy.

This draw provided some truly fascinating answers, starting with Berkana, the Rune of the three Bs in a sense - birth, beginnings, and beauty.  What a wonderful overview and the perfect place to begin our quest for happiness, with birth.  Berkana is also related to the birch tree, which, in turn, is associated with fertility.  In essence, the ground is fertile for our pursuit of joy.  Moreover, we are starting this quest at the beginning, with a birth or rebirth of ourselves and our focus and commitment.  Our first step from here is to notice and appreciate the beauty that is all around us in unlimited form.

I had hoped Hagalaz would not be our challenge, as it has been revealing itself often lately.  However, the Rune of Hail and disruption is our challenge.  It makes sense that, to find our joy, we must overcome whatever it is that is disrupting us and preventing us from having joy right now.  Whatever is making us feel frustrated, unhappy, and miserable is our Hagalaz.  Thankfully, we know that, just as the hail melts and turns into nourishing water, the things we allow to make our lives unhappy will melt away too and, through our experience with them, we will be stronger and, perhaps, appreciate more the things that bring us joy.

As I was posing today's question, I couldn't help but think that Sowilo had to be one of the Runes.  How could it not?  It is the Rune of the sun, good fortune, and wholeness.  When we are happy, our lives seem brighter, good things come to us, and with joy in our hearts, we begin to feel whole and strong.  So, of course, Sowilo is the action required to have happiness fill our lives.  We must allow ourselves to focus on and experience wholeness and the brilliance of the sun, and accept good fortune.

I hope you will take some time to find joy this week.  I will be cutting my Rune staves, which is my commitment to joy, for working with the Runes, especially making my own set, fills me with satisfaction and, yes, joy.

The Road Less Traveled

While there is nothing wrong with the road that most people travel in their careers, it is not a road that suits me.  I'm not sure it ever has.  Now that I am attempting to exit permanently the well-traveled road, I find myself confronted with a variety of challenges.  Many of my friends and family struggle with understanding my need to "derail my career" to accommodate my hobbies.  While I argue that what I am doing is correcting the situation and pursuing what should be my career while letting go of stop-gap jobs, I wanted to double-check with the Runes and make sure I am supposed to get on the road less traveled.  The Runes had some very interesting guidance for me.

Gebo, the Rune of gifts and appreciation, also conjures up the term 'partnership' in new age interpretations.  Traditionally, the gift relates to the idea of giving without expecting anything in return, generosity being its own reward.  In this regard, Gebo gives a good overview of the situation, because it reminds me that it is important to be generous.  If new age meanings affixed to this Rune are true, I must examine what 'partnership' means, for I do not believe it has a traditional meaning in this instance - one with another person.  For me, the partnership is with my craft - writing.  When you have the correct partner, everything flows as it should and happiness grows; that is the gift you receive, but it enables you to give your gift freely too.  I offer my writing for others to enjoy in many ways and, by writing, I feel happy and complete.

Therefore, I can understand why Wunjo, the Rune of Joy, is the challenge in this situation.  Doing what makes you happy and brings you joy, is challenging enough without being surrounded by "nay-sayers".  In fact, I wouldn't necessarily call them "nay-sayers", rather simply people who don't view the world from a perspective similar to mine, people who follow the straight and narrow.  When people don't understand what you want to do or when they can't see how you intend to get from point A to point B, they become critical.  That is why Wunjo is the challenge, because being happy in this circumstance is really not very easy.  What is easy is to feel defeated, to make any barriers bigger than they need to be, to make barriers at all.  The challenge is to be happy and know that, if the path works for you, you can't worry about what others think.  Have faith that you know which path is best for you in the long run.

I simply love Berkana, the Rune of beauty, birth and beginnings.  What more do I need to say?  The meanings say it all.  What is more beautiful than being able to follow your chosen path successfully?  What feels better than the first step on that path, than initiating/beginning your chosen future?  The action required here is to realize that the road less traveled or, more specifically, crossing over to it, offers just what I believe it will.  It puts me on the path to the future I want, the future that I see as providing happiness, security and feeds the things I have always wanted to pursue.  I have to be confident in my choice to step fully, squarely onto the less-traveled road and walk proudly and happily forward.