More on Ehwaz: a conversation with Jalkr Templekeeper

In response to my earlier post on Ehwaz, here are some comments from Jalkr Templekeeper of Breiðablik Temple, a sacred space dedicated to Odin and other Northern Tradition gods. In that capacity Jalkr cares for old, abused, aggressive or otherwise discarded horses.  His words bear careful thought - and if you find them worthwhile, please do send along a donation.  As anyone who has ever kept an equine companion knows, maintenance and care of horses isn't cheap.

*****

On bits, with regard to control of a horse, a bit isn't the key thing. A horse's innate response to pressure, any pressure, is the key. So, something as simple as a noseband, or leg pressure, or even just energetic pressure will cause a horse to respond. A bit is a coarse instrument, in actuality. Directing or trying to control a spooked horse will intensify their need to escape; they are prey animals and keeping them still when they want to move doesn't work--trust me on this.

As for tamer/tamed/domination...uh, no, not really. It's a partnership, through and through. The horse's physical might and grace, the rider's desire to attain a specific goal. Very few horses tolerate an attempt to dominate them. They'll just blow right through that with their superior strength and either flee or lose respect for the one who tries to outwit them in this fashion.

Ehwaz is about trust, merging, complimentary beings moving as one. I wrote about it at the Temple blog, with respect to one special horse, Maple. The entry is two pages with images, but I think you'll get what I'm trying to say if you have a look. Force and domination only made this animal more unwilling. Listening and asking, respecting her, is what allowed us to be united. while we have intellect on our side, harshly or heavily applied you will either crush the spirit of the horse and render him unfit to give 100% or drive him away and make him wary of ever joining up with a human. It is a very delicate dance.

Ehwaz

As the Ice Age ended and the Agricultural Revolution commenced, hunters began mastering the arts of animal husbandry.  Sheep, goats and cattle were domesticated for their milk, meat and hides. But the relationship with horses grew especially close thanks to a quirk of equine anatomy - a gap between their front incisors and rear grinding teeth that allowed for placement of a bridle and bit. This meant that horses could be led, directed and even ridden.  Plough horses changed the face of farming, while charioteers and nomads on horseback raised and destroyed empires.

Ehwaz, the horse-rune, often speaks of movement. If Raido is the journey, Ehwaz is the means of transport. This can be as literal (a new vehicle, for example) or metaphorical (i.e. a job which requires extensive travel or even relocation). It can be called upon to move past blockages and to take you away from unpleasant situations or places. But it is a rune which must be directed and controlled, lest you find yourself riding a spooked horse. Ehwaz can provide you the means of escape, but it will be up to you to take the reins.

An equally important aspect of Ehwaz is domestication. Equestrians cannot overpower or outrun their steeds: they must maintain control through the right mixture of firmness and gentleness.  Where Mannaz speaks of partnership between equals, Ehwaz is about the relationship between the tamer and the tamed.  This rune can be used for domination works in the same manner as Hoodoo formulas like Bend Over Oil and Commanding Incense.  (But be careful, lest you find yourself trying to control a bucking bronco).  It can also be used to tame unruly aspects of your own psyche: those suffering from addiction or anger management issues take note.  Meditating on Ehwaz can help us understand the deep mysteries of dominance and submission, concepts often misunderstood in a culture which privileges - in theory if not in practice - "equality" and "freedom."

Odin rode through the Nine Worlds on Sleipner, his eight-legged steed. Ehwaz can also be called upon for spiritual journeying. Combined with Wunjo, Ehwaz can be a powerful tool for inducing ecstatic states: in conjunction with Chalc it can become a steed to carry you on your quest.  Much as horse and rider become one unit, Ehwaz can help you to achieve unity with the Divine. This may be as direct as possession (which is called "horsing" for a reason). It may also be a more subtle but no less profound surrender to the Will of the Gods: Ehwaz can help you to take up Their bit and bridle and allow Them to lead you where you need to go.

If you are overwhelmed and need to call in the cavalry, Ehwaz can be very helpful.  Conjoined with Uruz, it can become a rampaging herd which tramples everything in its path.  With Thurisaz it can strike with the devastating force of a knight's lance: with Ansuz it can send a message and establish communication behind enemy lines.  It can add speed and force to a bind rune, sending your spell galloping toward its goal.  It can also be used in glamour workings to make you appear like a "knight in shining armor" or an unstoppable armored charger.  Like the horse, Ehwaz can offer assistance in many different situations.

While it is important to consider the runes which appear in a reading in total rather than as isolated bits of data, it is especially important to do so with Ehwaz.  Ehwaz is about the joining of two entities into one. The runes which surround it will tell you who is riding the horse, the destination toward which they ride and the obstacles which stand in their way.  Ehwaz often marks an outside force or person coming into play: the surrounding runes will tell you whether the mysterious stranger brings good, ill or some combination thereof. 

An Unsolicited Testimonial

When you're trying to get your life back in order after a crisis - especially one which was largely self-inflicted - it's good to get some guidance.  My therapist has been helpful in providing alternate coping strategies and getting to the root of some of my nastier self-destructive tendencies.  But I really don't feel comfortable discussing my religious beliefs with someone who is likely to analyze them in the language of delusion and madness.  And so I called on my friend Galina Krasskova to cast the Runes and provide me some input on the spiritual ramifications of my descent into hell and how I might claw myself out.

Galina is without a doubt one of the most skilled diviners I've ever consulted.  I'd say the Runes come alive in her hands, but it's more accurate to say that she understands that they are alive, not just tools or symbols but sentient forces of nature.  She got to the heart of my problem quickly: she then provided useful advice on things I could do to rectify some of my imbalances and heal my injuries.  Her advice was on point, clear and precise: she told me what I was doing right and wasn't afraid to let me know where I was going wrong.

If you're looking for a Kinder Gentler Reader, you may wish to look elsewhere.  (You may also want to look for another divinatory tool: the Runes are not concerned with your comfort levels).  Galina's friends call her blunt and brutally honest: her enemies call her names that aren't fit for publication on a family-friendly blog.  But if you want the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth you will find her assistance to be invaluable.

Ior

Pre-Columbian Central Americans paid homage to Quetzacoatl, the great feathered snake who marked the boundary between earth and sky. Vedic Hindus speak of Vritra, the great drought-serpent who swallowed all the world's rivers until being slain by Indra (some say Sarasvati). Chinese mythology credits Nü Gua, a snake with the head of a woman, with creating mankind and the institution of marriage. Haitian Vodou pays homage to the great white serpent Damballah whose scales are the Milky Way, while Christian mythology blames the fall of man on the snake, "the most subtle of the beasts of the field." Be they present as friends or enemies, snakes are often found in creation mythologies. The many different roles they play can all be reflected in Ior, the Futhorc Serpent-Rune.

One common thread is the role of the serpent in creating boundaries. Both Quetzacoatl and Damballah keep the heavens and the earth separated: Jormungandr coils around Midgard, marking its borders and serving as a barrier which holds the world together and protects it from outside attack. Ior can be a powerful shielding rune, both on its own or combined in a bind-rune with other boundary-markers like Othila. It can be used to distinguish between that which is and is not yours: this can be very helpful for those who are codependent or who frequently take on responsibilities (and blame) for burdens they need not carry. Ior can also help you to determine the line between truth and falsehood or between valuable and useless: any distinction between one thing and another involves the creation of a boundary. Because they are tremendously flexible, snakes can mark these divisions with great precision.

But that same flexibility also allows the snake to transcend boundaries. Snakes can climb walls and squeeze themselves through tiny cracks: they can be found nesting in the highest branches and beneath the deepest roots.  Ior can be used to overcome barriers as well as create them. Where Thurisaz blows apart things that stand in your way, Ior lets you continue on your path in a more peaceful manner: it does not destroy obstacles so much as provide you with a way of avoiding them. This is often the best course of action for all concerned: combat generally requires a great expenditure of time and resources and snakes (like other cold-blooded animals) know that energy is best conserved whenever possible. Combined with Ansuz, Ior can help to establish lines of communication with a stubbornly hostile colleague: it can also be used as a delivery mechanism to allow other runes to get past defenses.

Ior can also be a deadly attack rune. The great pythons can constrict with devastating force: the venomous snakes can deliver a painful or fatal bite. Anyone who has seen a serpent strike at its meal knows how fast they can move when quick and decisive action is required. Combining Ior with Uruz or Isa can give you a bind-rune which will leave your opponents enmeshed in crushing coils: bound with Wunjo or Laguz, it can inject them with a lethal dose of poison. Yet once again Ior moves past boundaries and easy definition: not only can it harm but it can work powerful healing magic. Much as the snake sheds its skin, Ior can help you to slough off disease or chronic conditions. Combined with Dagaz, it can lead you to a spiritual rebirth: combined with Jera, it can lead you to the satisfactory conclusion of a long and arduous cycle.

Cweorth

According to Northern European legend, the worlds came into being when Muspelheim, the blazing land of the fire giants, struck Niflheim, the icy home of the frost giants. They will end at Ragnarok, when everything returns to the primal fire to be recreated again.  Fire marks both beginning and ending: it reminds us that everything new rises from the ashes of the old and that there can be no destruction without creation - and vice versa. This is the great mystery of Cweorth, the rune of the fire-twirl which sustains life and the funeral pyre which marks its passing.

Like any flame, Cweorth cannot operate without fuel. To effect its transmutations, it consumes that which is unnecessary, outmoded or superfluous. This can be a painful process:  what we desire and what we need can be very different. When Cweorth acts to change us, we may lose those things which we hold most dear: we may find our most cherished illusions about ourselves and our world stripped away.  Cweorth can manifest like Tarot Trump XVI (the Tower).  It is the lightning strike which knocks down the fortress built on sand, forcing us to rebuild on a more sturdy foundation.  For those of a more technical bent, Cweorth can function like a security audit on our networks.  It can point to gaping holes and potential exploits in your defenses, giving you a chance to repair them before it manifests as an attack on your system.

If Os functions as the higher octave of Ansuz, Cweorth can be called the higher octave of Kenaz.  Both runes act as agents of initiation and rebirth. But Cweorth is more harsh and impersonal. If Kenaz transforms the individual, Cweorth changes the group and the world. Kenaz is the light which allows us to survive the horrors wrought when Cweorth comes into play in the political sphere. Cweorth sparks the  war which will ultimately resolve the long-standing border dispute: Kenaz can provide us with the foresight and wisdom to bring it to the best possible conclusion. Kenaz can help us to manifest what should be: Cweorth is concerned only with that which must be.  Kenaz is the divine spark within us, while Cweorth is the flame which in the end will consume even the Gods.

Cweorth also partakes of the nature of another flame-rune, the need-fire of Naudhiz. Like Naudhiz, it can become the flame which drives us onward. But while Naudhiz is the urge to survive, Cweorth provides us the energy to go on when survival is no longer an option. The starving Jews who fought when all hope was gone in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising knew Cweorth all too well.  In the end we all return to ashes: Cweorth lets us choose the hero's death and the deeds which will blaze bright as a pyre after we are gone. In the end, our bodies and our lives are superfluous: Cweorth liberates us from their bondage and purifies our spirit that it might return to its rightful place. It leaves us in the end with nothing but our works and the monuments we leave behind. And if those too will one day be consumed, Cweorth reminds us that they are no less valuable for that. Cweorth forces us to grab the present and make the most of it:  that which is will become that which was and that which is no more.

Os

Astrologer Dane Rudhyar referred to the outer planets (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) as the "Higher Octaves" of Venus, Mercury and Mars, respectively.  In his words

The field of activity extending (symbolically at least) between the Sun and Saturn is the field of the conscious; it is energized by the Sun and structured at one level by Venus and at another by Saturn. The field of activity beyond Saturn's orbit represents all that is also beyond the strictly conscious activities of the individual, of the person defined by his or her ego structures and by the shape and the limits of his or her physical body. These two fields are essentially different in character.

This is a useful way to describe the relationship between the runes Ansuz and Os. Both of them are connected to communication: both can be called upon to establish a connection between the worlds of the Sacred and the Profane, and each can best be understood in light of the other. But Ansuz is more grounded in the mundane world and in the information exchanges which allow our society to function.  Os, by contrast, is intimately tied to the spiritual world. It offers access to the highest forms of inspiration. If Ansuz is a means by which we can communicate with the Gods, Os is a means by which They communicate with us.

Many people believe that the Gods spoke with men only in a long-ago Golden Age. As we have drifted away from our original perfection, They moved back to their divine realms and left us to our own devices. This idea appears in many cultures, from the Judeochristian Garden of Eden to the "Kali Yuga" cycle of Hinduism.  It explains the distinction between our flawed world and the perfection of divinity, and it also empowers a class of theologians to make sure scripture is interpreted in a way that best suits the needs of the ruling class.

Os puts the lie to that assertion: it reminds us that the Gods are intimately involved in our daily lives and in the workings of our world. Os simultaneously reaffirms and transcends the divide between the spiritual and material. It is the rune of omens, of prophetic dreams, of the lightning flash which turns its target into a Speaker for the Divine. Os transforms the artist into a skald, a channel for forces which can transform the world. In tandem with Ansuz, it becomes an engine which moves the world in accordance with the Will of the Gods, investing words and symbols with an irresistible force.

But Os also cautions us that the Gods are not always benevolent nor is their Will always merciful. If Os is a higher octave of Ansuz, it is also deeply connected to the Need-Rune Naudhiz. Os is not concerned with what we might like or what might be best for our personal interest: it tells us instead of that which Must Be. Like the outer planets of astrology, there is something vast and impersonal about Os.  As Humphrey Bogart said in Casablanca, "the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world." To Os we are but brushstrokes used to create the Big Picture. It will take exquisite care in placing us, but will erase us without hesitation should that prove necessary.

When Os appears in a reading it means that the spiritual world has taken notice of the situation. How that  interest will play out depends on the surrounding runes and the querent's actions, but for better or worse it will play out.  What seems of little importance to us may be of great value to the Gods: what seems priceless to us may be a mere trifle to them. When Os is in play we will do best to listen and to learn.

Kenaz

Depending on which rune-verse you study, you may come up with some very divergent ideas about this rune. The most popular interpretation today is inspired by the Old English verse, which describes Kenaz as a "torch," a fire which burns "clear and bright" and which brings illumination to those within the hall.  But Norwegian and Icelandic verses describe this rune as a "sore" and connect it with death.  One reading seems to bring enlightenment: another disease and ruin.  As is often the case, there are great mysteries hidden within this paradox - and great power for those who can reconcile the seeming opposites.

It is no coincidence that initiation rituals frequently involve a ceremonial death and rebirth. The transformation from outsider to dedicant involves deep change within the individual's interior and exterior life.  Initiation does not just provide access to the Mysteries: it grants membership in a social group and entails new rights and responsibilities. The person who leaves the initiatory chamber may be very different than the person who went in. This change can be disorienting and traumatic: in putting aside childish things you put aside a way of life which had its joys as well as its miseries.  Kenaz reminds us that wisdom comes with a price and that every fire must be fed.

The fire of Kenaz is not one that can easily be snuffed out. If you try to contain it, it will break free and burn its way through you like an ulcer eating its way through your skin.  Those who have experienced "shaman sickness" - the mental and physical upheaval that can take place when the Gods reinvent Their chosen clergy to better suit Their purposes - know all too well how painful the process of enlightenment can be.  The sores with which Norwegian and Icelandic poets identified Kenaz also served to mark their bearers as a people set apart - not as cool, dangerous magicians but as diseased lepers shunned by decent folk. Wisdom does not always bring profit to the wise: those who think otherwise are encouraged to read H.G. Wells' classic short story, "The Country of the Blind."

But if it is channeled Kenaz can become the fire of inspiration. Kenaz is connected with smithing, the transformation of raw ore into weapons, armor and artwork. It can also be the flame which purifies, cauterizing wounds and burning away impurities. Like the Christian legend of the Holy Spirit descending as fire, Kenaz can enflame you with new ardor and zeal. If you are suffering from ennui or feel that you have "lost the spark" in your job or your relationship, Kenaz can rekindle those old flames and remind you why you once felt so passionate.  It is not the blinding mystical inspiration of Wunjo: Kenaz is a much more practical rune.  It provides a way out of the darkness or an elegant solution to a problem: it concerns itself less with the ways of the Gods and more with the ways of our world.

Yet despite this (another paradox!) Kenaz is intimately connected to the Divine. It is the creative fire which Prometheus stole from heaven and brought to the mortals: it is the place where Spirit and Matter meet, like the meeting of Fire and Ice which created the Nine Worlds of Norse legend.  It makes the mundane holy and the sacred useful.  Kenaz is the spark of divinity which burns within each of us, that light which reminds us of where we have come from and where we are going, the flame which is fueled by our bodies and our lives.  It is the fire which strips away the dross from us and makes us something greater: it is the light which illuminates the truth and sanctifies that which is profane. 

Teiwaz

Our culture has an innate distrust of "one-true-wayisms." We would like to believe that one creed is just as good as another and that everyone is entitled to believe whatever they like so long as they don't force their ideas on anyone else. Postmodernist philosophers have suggested that objective truth is merely a tool used by the dominant classes to maintain their privileged position. This worldview is challenged by Teiwaz, the Tyr-Rune. Teiwaz proclaims not only that objective truth exists, but that there are some truths which are worth fighting, dying and even killing over.  But if it has little patience for relativism, neither is it a rune of simplistic moralizing. Like truth, Teiwaz is often hard, complex, and even paradoxical.

Tyr, the God who gives this rune its name, became most famous for his role in trapping Fenrir, the great wolf who threatened to devour the Nine Worlds.  Before he would consent to being bound by the magical rope, Fenrir demanded that one of the Gods place his sword-hand in his mouth as proof that no treachery was involved. Tyr agreed to do so: the wolf was tied and, in its efforts to escape, bit off Tyr's right hand. In breaking troth with the Great Wolf, Tyr preserved the universe from destruction. He proved himself willing to sacrifice not only his life but his honor for the greater good.  When Teiwaz comes up in a reading, it may require this kind of sacrifice from the querent - not romantic martyrdom but squalid shame and degradation for that which Must Be Done. Teiwaz reminds us that honor is about living righteously, not about acclaim from the crowd.

But though Teiwaz can demand difficult choices, it can also provide stability. Teiwaz points toward the facts which underpin our world. Gravity sends the earth spinning around the sun, whether or not we choose to accept it.  2 + 2 = 4. Those who say it equals 5 are not expressing a different but equally valid way of looking at things: they are simply wrong.  And like mathematics and physics, there is an underlying truth to the ways of righteousness. Those ways may be as complicated as calculus or quantum mechanics: they may lead us not to the bright new future of Broadway musicals but to the terrible conclusions of Greek tragedy. But they are still there, and may still be followed by those who choose the right over the convenient.

Needless to say, Teiwaz can be a terribly dangerous rune. To claim the truth and take responsibility for protecting it is a mighty obligation.  Wielding Teiwaz requires tremendous humility and compassion: you must know well the difference between righteousness and self-righteousness and you must be prepared to mourn for that you must destroy.  If you are not worthy to take up Teiwaz it will turn on you. It will find all your weaknesses and failings and use them against you: in the process it will either teach you a hard lesson or it will destroy you.

When angered, Teiwaz can attack with a fury that would give Thurisaz pause. It combines that rune's pinpoint rage with the massive irresistible power that Isa brings to a problem: its strike carries the weight of the inevitable.  Those who are willing to follow Teiwaz wherever it might lead them can use that might toward a final victory. They may not survive the battle, but if their cause is worthy they can know that it will ultimately triumph, no matter the cost.

Isa

Thousands of years after their deaths, perfectly preserved wooly mammoth corpses can be found in the permafrost of the Siberian tundra.  Antarctic ice cores have provided insight into the earth's climate over the last 740,000 years.  Cold can be a great destroyer:  the "Little Ice Age" of 1250-1850 CE killed millions through famine and disease. But it is also a great preserver, protecting those it embraces from decay. Both these qualities, and more, can be found in the Ice-Rune, Isa.

While it is frequently identified with stasis, Isa is far from inert. Glaciers move slowly but they can wear down mountains and carry boulders and trees as if they were pebbles and twigs. Isa does not have to move quickly: it is inexorable as an oncoming ice age. It knows that sooner or later our fires must die and our green lands must succumb to the frost. 

Isa's sense of time and place is very different than our own: there is something Lovecraftian about its enormity and its immense age. Where we measure in days and moments, Isa contemplates aeons. If things are moving too quickly for our liking, Isa can provide us with a respite. It can cool heated tempers and help bring calm to potentially explosive situations. It can also provide us with a broader perspective: that which seems important at this moment may be of little consequence in the context of geologic eras. Isa can provide a sharp, cold focus which will serve you well in combat (metaphorical or actual). It can help you to be in the moment without being of the moment, to rise above the petty distractions and concentrate on that which is eternal.


Like water, ice takes the shape of its container: Isa's flexibility allows it to work well in many different bindrunes. Combined with a faster-moving rune like Uruz or Hagalaz, Isa can become a devouring avalanche. Formed into a bindrune with Othila, it can become an impenetrable defense which protects you and yours from your enemies. (Consider how the brutal Russian winters repelled the forces of Napoleon and Hitler or how the snowy passes of the Hindu Kush have helped make Afghanistan the "Graveyard of Empires"). Combined with a healing rune like Berkana Isa can help still fevers and slow the progress of infections or cancers: bound with Ear it can sap the target's vitality and bring on the chill of the grave.

Isa is often used to block an opponent's way. Yet it can also be used to remove obstacles .Ice expands as it freeze: it can seep between cracks and shatter granite. Combined with Laguz and Thurisaz, Isa can become an irresistible force that  will send the thickest walls tumbling down. The Water-Rune makes its way into the smallest chinks and crevices: the Ice-rune then expands and the Thorn breaks down the barrier. Isa can also be used to distract your pursuers and make their path slippery, or combined with Sowilo to turn illumination into snow-blindness.

And Isa's ability to preserve can be used to cement the gains achieved with other runes whose effect can be more fleeting. Combined with Ansuz, it might ensure that your words were remembered long after they were spoken. But this should be done with caution: that which is frozen often loses its vitality even though it does not decay. Isa can stave off corruption but it cannot give life to that which is dead. Although it may seem a timeless rune of eternal winter, Isa is tied to the cycle of the seasons. While the frost must have its season, so too must the thaw.

Raido

Newton's First Law of Motion states that no object at rest will begin moving unless some outside force acts upon it. Raido is that outside force. It is the rune which upends stasis. It is the impetus which drives the deer in search of fertile fields and sends the wanderer off in search of excitement and adventure. Raido is the restlessness that ensures our lives and our society will not stagnate: it is the burning curiosity which sends us off in search of new horizons and discoveries. 

While Jera is cyclical and travels over a fixed path, Raido is linear and free-ranging. Travelers may arrive at their goal by many paths. Their experiences on the road and upon arrival are unpredictable - and indeed, that unpredictability is part of the point! Raido wants to be surprised and challenged: it grows restless in safe and predictable surroundings and heads off in search of excitement. 

Raido has been called the "journey-rune" and that is certainly one of its most important aspects.  When it appears in a layout it often means the querent will be traveling soon.  The nature of this trip and the final destination may be gleaned from the surrounding runes. It can signify a time to charge forward or a time to retreat: whatever form it may take, you can be sure that some kind of motion will be required as standing still is not an option when Raido is ascendant.  Most often some kind of literal travel and movement will be involved: Raido is rarely content to confine its manifestations to the metaphorical realm. 

Raido can be called upon when you have fallen into a rut and need a change in your life. But as with any of the runes, caution is advised before calling on it.  Raido may give you a new adventure, but it may also give you a deeper understanding of the Chinese curse about "interesting times." Risk and danger are as integral to Raido as movement.  Before Raido has finished working itself through your situation, you are likely to find yourself yearning for the security and comfort you left behind. After all, homesickness is as much a part of the traveler's life as wanderlust.

If you are facing opposition from enemies or unwanted attention from persistent suitors, Raido can be used like Hoodoo's famous Hot Foot Powder. It can make a target uncomfortable in your presence and give them the urge to get far away from you. Combined with Thurisaz in a bind-rune, it can make your enemy unable to settle down or commit to anything: at its worst it can lead to a terrifying akathisia that may result in death or insanity.  Conversely, it can be reversed and combined with Isa to block an enemy's movement and hinder any efforts at escape.

But Raido also has many more benevolent uses.  As part of a bind-rune it can provide intense kinetic power to a spell.  It can be called upon to bless a trip or voyage and ensure that the roads are smooth and that the journey is a profitable one.  Combined with Chalc, it can send you on a spiritual quest that will be rich with both danger and reward.  (This may be a good choice if you are going to be going on a pilgrimage or vision quest: it is not something to be undertaken lightly, but it will repay amply those who are brave enough to seek the Chapel Perilous).  Chalc can provide the Grail vision: Raido can help ensure that the details of the trip go smoothly.  While Raido enjoys adventure, like any seasoned traveler it knows the value of packing appropriately and getting one's documents in order.  It may be an easily bored rune, but it is not a scattered or impractical one.

Uruz

Before the Worlds began there was Audhumbla, the great cow who licked the salt from the primal ice and freed/formed Búri, father of the Gods. The myth of the primal ox appears in other cultures: Zoroastrians have a Great Bull whose blood waters the barren earth and brings it to life, while the Rig Veda says of the cow, "She is like the mother of the cosmic Forces, the daughter of the cosmic Matter, the sister of cosmic Energy, the centre of the ambrosia." That great and ancient mystery is at the heart of Uruz, the Rune of the Wild Ox.

Uruz does not represent the domesticated cattle (they would be covered under Fehu), but the Auroch, the great wild ox who once roamed throughout Europe. This massive beast stood over 6.5 feet (2 meters) at the shoulder and weighed over 1,000 kilos (2,200 pounds): it was known for its razor-sharp horns, great speed, and foul temper. The aurochs were the progenitors of modern-day domesticated cattle: hunted to extinction in the early 17th century, in their heyday they ranged from India throughout Europe and northern Africa.

Uruz represents the deep roots of our psyche. The animal drives and "primitive" urges hard-wired into our brain are the base on which our "civilized" ego and superego rest. We cannot understand our humanity without engaging with our animal selves: we cannot be tamed until we address that which is wild within us.  For those who spend a great deal of time "up in their heads" or who suffer from dissociative disorders, Uruz can be a powerful grounding and centering rune. By meditating on Uruz, you can come home to your body and recognize your place in the material world.

Uruz is not a rune which communicates in words or even in elaborate images. You understand Uruz in your gut, not in your mind. You can experience it by stripping away all the illusions and all the pretty lies you tell yourself. It is the force which drives all animal life, the basic responses to hunger and danger. When you get to the core of your being, when you realize what you will do to survive and to protect your herd -  that is when you are in touch with Uruz.  This is a rune which must be felt rather than explained.

Some have called Uruz a rune of initiation. For me, this initiation would be like the initiation of the Abramelin ritual or the Greater Arcana card The Chariot. Coming to an understanding with one's animal self is an important part of magical or mystical development. Many modern spiritual practices seek to tame or kill the inner beast: as Anton LaVey wisely said, this animal needs to be exercised rather than exorcised.  Learning when you can let Uruz run free and when you must call on a more controlled and controllable rune will teach you when you can rely on passion and that which underpins passion and when you must call on forethought and forebrain functions.

This is a powerful rune for both offensive and defensive magic.  Uruz can charge with an unstoppable fury and gore the stoutest opponents. It can also form a near-unbreakable circle around you like a ring of wild bulls protecting their calves.  Uruz can also help you to establish a kinship between man and beast: instead of Disneyfied anthropomorphism, it can help you to find common ground between yourself and your animal companion.  It is not a sentimental rune - sentimentalism is a vice which animals can ill afford - but neither is it savage or bloodthirsty.  Uruz accepts the world as it is and responds appropriately to food or threat without dithering or moralizing. By calling on it you can learn to do the same.

Berkana

Thanks to their tiny airborne seeds, birch trees can advance into abandoned fields and reclaim clearings.   After the glaciers retreated at the end of the last Ice Age, the birches were among the first trees to return to the barren landscape. When a fire clears a forest, the birches will restore themselves from cloned "root suckers" which spring up around the charred trunk.

This fecundity is reflected in the Birch-Rune, Berkana. The organic power of Berkana is as implacable as the forces of death and entropy. Berkana reminds us that life can be found beneath Antarctic ice, in the pitch blackness of deep-sea hydrothermal vents, and on the salt-choked soils of high Andean plateaus. There are few environments so harsh as to be sterile: Berkana will manifest and adapt in almost any condition. It will raise up its children despite any obstacles which may stand in its way and find a way for them to not only survive but thrive.

Berkana can also be a rune of communication. The name "birch" comes from the Sanskrit bhurj (paper), since its bark has long been used for writing paper. Birch wood is also an excellent carrier of sound and is used in making drums and speaker cabinets. If you want to convey a message, Berkana can ensure that it is received favorably and that it spreads to a wider audience.   (For added effect, combine it in a bindrune with Ansuz and Chalc).  Berkana is not just about organic life. Many postmodern theorists have postulated that memes take on a form of life, and the Neoplatonists long before them spoke of Ideals and Forms as sentient beings. By tapping into that power we can help bring our ideas to fruition in the form best suited for their environment.

Birch is also an important healing plant. Derivatives from the betulin contained in its bark have powerful anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and anti-parasitic properties: they have also shown promise in treating cancer and HIV. Native Americans wrapped wet birch bark around broken limbs: when it dried it became stiff and served as a very effective cast. In Siberia and Russia birch was used to alleviate the pain of arthritis: other herbalists have found its oil effective for treating psoriasis and eczema. Birch leaves contain diuretics which can help in passing kidney stones or clearing bladder infections. Berkana can push us towards life and health and give us the strength to recover from wounds and diseases. It is one of the most powerful healing-runes, and can be used to treat many medical conditions. (As always, rune-work is an adjunct to professional medical treatment, not a substitute for it!)

As it can heal physical ills, Berkana can also treat unpleasant spiritual conditions. In the Finnish sauna and the Russian banya bathers strike themselves with birch twigs to induce sweating and cleanse their bodies and skin. Berkana can help you to "sweat out" negativity which has become attached to you and purify you of psychic toxins. It can also encourage optimum conditions for growth and development. If you face difficult situations at work or at home, Berkana can work to pacify the angry and bring an air of peace and serenity to your area.  If necessary, it can even do this in a firm way: birch switches were the weapon of choice for those applying the rod of correction to a wayward child. Berkana is not a violent rune, but do not mistake its gentleness for weakness. Like any loving mother it can be stern and, if circumstances require, implacable in its anger.

Perthro

Divination attempts to find order through chaos. It works on the idea that the patterns formed by yarrow stalks, cards, or other tools reflect the shapes within which past, present and future take form. By seeing the forms which randomness takes on a small scale, we can get some idea of its manifestations in the larger world.  This can allow us to take advantage of opportunities we would otherwise miss, and avoid or minimize catastrophes which might have caught us unawares.

It is easy for diviners (and their clients!) to start believing that they are seeing not that which Might Be but that which Must Be.  The idea of implacable, inescapable Destiny can be a comforting one: it frees us from taking responsibility for our own actions.  To counter this misconception, one can meditate upon one of the most difficult yet most important of the Runes - Perthro, the Dice-Cup and Rune of Possibilities.

Gar, the final rune in the Futhorc (the 33 Anglo-Saxon runes) represents a foregone event which is yet to be revealed.  Perthro symbolizes a future which has not yet been created: it is not a hidden inevitability but rather a multitude of possibilities, any of which might manifest.  It is like the Magic 8 Ball's "Ask Again Later" - perhaps then the answer will be available as a number of variables are defined by forces within and outside your control.  The runes which appear around Perthro can give you some clue as to what other factors may come into play and some things you might do to make things work out in your favor. But wherever Perthro appears there will always be some uncertainty: you are asking about Wyrd which has not yet been woven.

What is unknown and unmanifest is also a tabula rasa. Perthro reflects the dizzying freedom of Existentialist philosophy: instead of Being, we are faced with Becoming.  It reminds us that we are not just passengers on our life's journey: we also help to create our future. There are things which we cannot avoid and issues which we must address, but we also have a great deal of leeway in the way we handle our situation. And yet along with our freedom Perthro reminds us of our limitations. We are not fated to follow some script, but neither are we shielded from the vagaries of fortune. In the theology of pre-Christian northern Europe, even the Gods had to throw the dice and take their chances with fate. 

Perthro can also come up in situations where you need to let go and take a chance.  It symbolizes a real chance for both gain and loss: you will not know which will occur until you have placed your bet.  But it is important that you accept that risk. If you have been playing it safe, Perthro encourages you to go beyond your comfort zones. The forces of chaos and uncertainty keep the universe from falling into stagnation: the same fate will befall you if you do not give them their proper place. 

Galina Krasskova has compared Perthro to Mimir's Well: for a draught of the waters contained therein, Odin sacrificed an eye. Those who will drink from Perthro must sacrifice possibilities in exchange for actuality.  In choosing to follow a path, they choose to turn away from another.  Each Will Be ends a multitude of Might Have Beens. Wisdom comes in understanding that loss, and in making the best of what you have chosen in the face of that which you have not.

Inguz

Also Frey, the regent of the gods, took his abode not far from Upsala, where he exchanged for a ghastly and infamous sin-offering the old custom of prayer by sacrifice, which had been used by so many ages and generations. For he paid to the gods abominable offerings, by beginning to slaughter human victims. - Gesta Danorum 3

Today Freyr is considered by many to be one of the Norse pantheon's most gentle and benevolent gods. But a close look at the surviving lore and folk-customs suggests that once upon a time the golden lord of Vanaheim was honored with human sacrifice. The old folk songs about John Barleycorn cut down so that the grain would grow may hearken back to a time when the fields were fed with the blood of a sanctified victim.

Before we scream about the barbarism of this practice we may wish to consider it within its cultural context. For our ancestors, the fertility of the land was all-important: a failed crop could mean slow death for an entire village. They offered up life so that life would continue: by giving of their best, they hoped to ensure that Frey would give of his best. The lessons contained within that holy sacrifice can help us to understand His rune, Inguz.


We should remember that the food we eat died so that we might live. We may avoid shedding blood and eating flesh but we cannot avoid consuming life.  The crops on our farms partake of the same vital force which quickens our being - and if you don't believe they have spirits and even sentience, you may want to speak to your local shaman.  The sacrifice of John Barleycorn and the Sacred King is re-enacted with every meal you eat. Rather than treating it as a nasty relic of our primitive past, you may do better to see it as a holy mystery.  Inguz fattens the animals so they may be slaughtered and brings the crops to fruition that they may be mowed down.

Inguz is shaped like the vulva through which we make our appearance into this world.  Yet it is worth remembering that the day we are born is the day we begin dying. To become embodied is to become mortal: the flowers which blossom in spring must wither with the coming of the frost.  But where Ear speaks of death as a grim finality, to Inguz it is just another doorway. The seed buried beneath the frost will send out new life after the ground has thawed.  Every end gives rise to a new beginning: every birth is really a rebirth.  Meditating upon Inguz can help you focus upon that which you wish to pass down to your descendants and the reasons for which you took on flesh and sinew.  (And for those seeking to conceive, Inguz can help put you in touch with a spirit seeking birth and give you the means to carry your pregnancy to fruition).

Since He is also Lord of Alfheim, Frey's rune can help us in contacting the Alfar and their kindred.  In many ways the Eternal Ones, who know neither age nor sickness, are the purest expression of the force of Inguz. The Elves can bless those they favor with prosperity and fertility and curse those who displease them by withdrawing those gifts.  By contemplating the mystery of life and its continuation which is contained within Inguz, we can avoid falling into the trap of sentimentalizing them: we can know that their world contains beauty and terror, both of which are equally necessary and equally holy.

Ansuz

The Gospel of John begins with "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The Egyptians believed that Ptah dreamed creation in his heart, then spoke it into being. The Hopi believed that Tawa and Spider Woman brought the world into existence by singing their Creation Song. We embody our thoughts when we mold them into words and symbols: our speech, our singing, our communication is a reflection of the Great Shaping which brought order out of chaos and form out of formlessness.

Ansuz governs speech and communications: it holds the key to the relations between the worlds of the Sacred and Profane, and to the forces which enabled us to shape civilization and to transmit our knowledge to our community and our heirs. Ansuz is the rune which allows us to put our wisdom to use: we cannot learn without listening and we cannot teach without speaking. And in its highest form, Ansuz is also the Rune which contains the secret of all the other Runes.

When he hung on Yggdrasil for nine days and nine nights, Odin gained knowledge of the primal forces which shaped the universe.  He also gained a way by which he could create bodies for them and speak with them directly. These bodies were the symbols which we call the Runes: by drawing them and reddening them with blood, we give form to the force. Much as Vodouisants will "tie a paket," a bundle of herbs and sacred objects which contains a spirit, the rune contains a living and sentient force which can allow us both to read the world and to make changes within it.  By his sacrifice Odin established communication between us and the formless forces of the Runes. Our use of language is a reflection in the lower realms of that holy sacrifice.

Ansuz reminds us that our words are sacred: they give life to our ideas and allow us to change the world.  Words can bring down empires and defeat armies: those who doubt this need only consider Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" and "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speeches. But words can also work powerful evil. The politician who deflects honest criticism with convincing lies; the priest raising an Easter pogrom against his congregation's Jewish neighbors; the smooth-talking pimp corrupting an innocent - all these draw upon the power of Ansuz.  Ansuz gives us the power to communicate and persuade: it also gives us the responsibility to choose our speech wisely.

Much as Odin spoke with the Runes, Ansuz allows us to speak with - and for - the Gods.  If Wunjo is the rune of the Mystic, Ansuz is the rune of the Prophet.  It allows us to act as the vessel by which the Divine speaks to mortals. (This is no easy path to follow: history shows that many a seer came to an unpleasant end and many hard prophecies were rejected in favor of soothing lies until they could no longer be ignored). Writers and artists can call on Ansuz for access to the Sacred Wisdom and the truths which elevate work from merely competent into divinely inspired.

On a more mundane level, Ansuz can help us to establish a connection with those we wish to persuade.  It can be called upon to alleviate misunderstandings and to find a diplomatic way to convey difficult information.  Those who work on computers may find it a useful ally in making sure bits and bytes are transmitted clearly: it can help you to find and fix the flaws in your network. And if you are being targeted by slander or gossip, Ansuz can help to ensure that both truth and lies are revealed. 

Hagalaz

For people living in the agrarian communities of pre-Christian Europe, hail in spring could mean a long and hungry winter ahead.  They knew their lives were in the fickle hands of fortune. The tender shoots which rose in their fields could be beaten down by a sudden storm and there was nothing they could do save hope for the best and set down stores in anticipation of the worst.

Today we are a bit more insulated from starvation, but not from the vicissitudes of fate. Our projects can go awry despite our best efforts thanks to a sudden turn of ill luck.  Hagalaz, the Hail-Rune, reminds us that all we do can be ripped asunder by a change in the weather. It reminds us to plan ahead, but also reminds us that there are disasters which are past all our planning. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said "into each life a little rain must fall." Hagalaz goes Longfellow one better: it reminds us that sometimes the rain will actually be fist-sized lumps of ice flung from the sky at high speeds. It is not a comforting rune: many runeworkers consider it the worst one of all when it comes up in a reading.

But Hagalaz nevertheless plays an important role in the functioning - indeed, in the creation - of the universe. When the fire of Muspelheim met the ice of Niflheim in the great abyss of Ginnungagap, the hail and storms of eitr (frozen poison) which arose gave birth to Ymir, the primal frost giant who would sire the entire race of jotuns (giants): later Ymir's bones and blood would be used to form the world of men.  Hagalaz may be one of the most baneful of the runes, but it is also one of the holiest.

Hagalaz teaches us humility: it reminds us of our mortality and our limitations. While we cannot avoid the storm, we can make preparations for the hard times to come.  And if we must be conquered by forces beyond our control, we can at least face defeat with honor, courage and dignity. As Hávamál 75-76 reminds us:

Cattle die and kinsmen die,
thyself too soon must die,
but one thing never, I ween, will die, --
fair fame of one who has earned.

Cattle die and kinsmen die,
thyself too soon must die,
but one thing never, I ween, will die, --
the doom on each one dead.

Used in magic, Hagalaz can cast a terrible curse on opponents, crushing their plans and destroying all their work and all they hold dear. It can also be used to destroy any magic sent against you: its icy hail can quench the fires which might burn you and transform the poison sent against you.  Many runesters use Hagalaz as a gateway to Helheim, land of the dead -- another realm associated with implacable change and destruction.  Others use it for journeys to Niflheim, realm of the Frost Giants. 

Today many who have faced tragedy or crisis are encouraged to "get over it," "forget about it" and "quit holding onto the past." (Of course, most would happily let go of their pain if only they could!)  While it is a destructive rune, Hagalaz can also be useful in healing those wounds it has caused. It can force us to face our loss, then give us the purifying grief which the Greeks called catharsis. It allows us to cast our poison into the void and let it bring forth new life.

Wunjo

In France the orgasm is la petit mort, the Little Death. Indian Yogis spend decades in search of samadhi, the experience of the self dissolving into union with something else. Much as we may crow about our uniqueness and individuality, it seems that our greatest moments of happiness come when we forget ourselves. Wunjo is that blissful moment of forgetting, that instant when we escape the boundaries of our life, our body and our situation and surrender to joy.

One of Wunjo's highest and holiest manifestations is the mystic's ecstatic union with the Divine.  If you are willing to ascend to the heights and offer up all you have as a dowry, you may be found worthy of this mystical marriage. If Chalc is the Holy Grail, Wunjo is the draught contained therein, the wine which heals us so that we are fit to stand before the Gods. Those who have drank of it claim that it brings a bliss beyond any temporal treasures.

But even those who are not ready for a visit to the Castle Perilous can experience Wunjo. In fact, it's difficult to escape pleasure. Poverty, sickness, misfortune: none of these can stop you from finding moments of happiness amidst the gloom. The beauty of a sunrise, the enjoyment of a witty conversation, the pleasure of a good meal or a favorite radio program -- all these are Wunjo shining its light in the darkness.  Modern philosophers have spoken at length of existential angst and dread. They might do well to consider our equally strong tendency toward existential joy. Wunjo reminds us that feasting can be as sacred as asceticism and silk as holy as sackcloth.

Wunjo takes us outside ourselves. The joy we feel in the arms of a lover or the company of friends, the breathless wonder we experience before a magnificent waterfall or a glorious sunset, the happiness a chosen activity brings us - all those point to our relationship with our society and our world. Wunjo reminds us that we do not exist in isolation or a vacuum.It teaches us that we must look outside ourselves to find joy and that we must make ourselves ready to welcome it in.

Another clue to Wunjo's nature comes in its form: it is very similar to Thurisaz. At first glance it would seem that this happy rune shares little in common with the harsh and unforgiving Thorn. But both Wunjo and Thuirsaz represent an irresistible penetrating power that breaks down boundaries. Wunjo burns through all the dross that separates the soul from the Divine. The uplifting feeling of transcendence we experience in the presence of beauty is the recognition that we are in the presence of the Gods, the presence before which all else is absent. When Wunjo is in play there is no room for anything else: past and future melt away into the eternal Here and Now. Do not let its pleasures fool you: Wunjo is a demanding and unforgiving rune.

Those who have let themselves get caught up in pleasure have learned this lesson all too well. Earthly pleasures can devour the Self as surely as divine ones. But where the experience of the Gods can heal the barren land, intoxication and gluttony can only wound the king. Wunjo can provide us with a light that keeps us going when all hope seems futile: it can also become a will-o'-wisp that leads us astray. The slave to pleasure may wear golden fetters, but they are fetters nonetheless. As with all the runes, Wunjo is neither inherently good nor evil. It is the bringer of happiness, and it is up to us to determine whether that happiness leads us to wisdom or folly.

Dagaz

As Rhett Butler walked out of her life, Scarlett O'Hara said "Tara! Home. I'll go home. And I'll think of some way to get him back. After all... tomorrow is another day." Dagaz is the rune of that day. It is the fresh start, the new beginning, the dawn which marks the first day of the rest of your life.

Daybreak has always carried connotations of joy and renewal. (Grieg caught this beautifully in the "Daybreak" movement of his Peer Gynt: so too did Sibelius with his tone poem "Night Ride and Sunrise" and Wagner with his "Siegfried Idyll").  Dagaz is a joyful rune, one which is full of hope and promise. It is the sun which rises after a pitched battle, letting you know that you have made it through the worst of things and lived to fight another day. While it marks the close of a cycle, it is not the final ending of Ear or the eternal return of Jera.  Dagaz leaves you with that which you have already gained, then adds still more to your riches.

The Northern view of the world placed a great emphasis on wyrd,  the fate which you weave for yourself from the situation into which you were born and the hand you were dealt. Dagaz does not free us from our wyrd.  The dawn does not erase the debts we incurred the night before.  While we must still bear the consequences of our mistakes, we need not repeat them.  If you are struggling with addictions or compulsive behavior, Dagaz can help you find the strength to face them and overcome them. It can give you the clarity to recognize your failings and provide you with a way out of the thickets in which you have entangled yourself.  You may have failed a thousand times before: Dagaz tells you that you need not fail again.

If you have been struggling through a spiritual or material crisis, Dagaz can come as the light at the end of the tunnel.  The gloom is about to disperse: the dark night of the soul is giving way. This will typically happen quickly: the change will be less abrupt and shattering than Sowilo's lightning-strike but faster than the gradual developments of Jera. Used in healing magic, Dagaz can provide the strength to finally shake a lingering infection.  It can be an excellent rune for those seeking a new job: it can put you in touch with the employer who will notice your resume when hundreds have ignored it. And if you've been grappling for an answer to a thorny problem or struggling with a creative project, Dagaz can provide you with that moment of illumination when everything falls into place.

But these new beginnings may not be entirely pleasant. Like Sowilo, another rune connected with the sun, Dagaz is a bringer of light. That which was hidden in darkness may stand exposed in the cold light of day.  If you are not ready for the dawn, Dagaz can mark the "morning after" hangover.  For all its promise, Dagaz is implacable. Daybreak comes whether we plan for it or not. We cannot turn back time or stop the sun on its course. If we don't wake up and smell the coffee, we may be caught napping by those who were better prepared. In a reading Dagaz can function as an alarm clock, warning you that the Day of Reckoning is coming and you had best be ready.

Ear

Today we keep our distance from death.  We buy our meat in cleanly wrapped packages in antiseptic supermarkets planted a safe distance from our slaughterhouses. Our ill draw their last breaths in hospices or hospitals: their corpses are then embalmed and painted before being put on display in special "funeral homes" where we exclaim "it's as if he were only sleeping!"

We do our best to scrub away the scent of decay, to rid ourselves of any reminders of our mortality. But despite all our efforts, death remains inevitable. No matter how much we try to cover up the rot, it keeps eating us away. We can order our lives all we like, but sooner or later everything falls back into entropy.

Ear, the Grave-Rune, reminds us of our mortality. It is the doom which comes to us all, the darkness which falls at the end of each day. Ear is not the cyclical transience of Jera: this is not the winter which will soon give way to spring but the end which is past all appeal. The snow may melt above the graves and new flowers may bloom around the monuments, but the corpses remain exactly where they were lain.

Ear often functions in a reading much as the Death card functions in Tarot. It marks something which passes and which will not return. That ex-lover is not coming back: that layoff is really a termination: that missed opportunity is gone forever.  It is time now to take stock in what remains and move on. There is no debating with Ear, only accepting your losses. The grave does not give up that which it has claimed.

Ear can also point to areas of corruption and decay. That which Ear points to is a weak spot, a place where the decadence has set in. It is a sign of that which has passed its prime, an outmoded idea which is holding you back from advancement. Ear shows that which is rotten and gives you a chance to cast it out before the mold spreads throughout your stores. Trying to keep that which has been marked by Ear is like refusing to amputate a gangrenous appendage. You may lose something or you may lose everything but there will be loss.

This is not a fast-moving rune: it is lingering decline rather than sudden death. Ear gives you a chance to put your affairs in order and prepare the legacy you wish to pass on to those who remain. It is in no hurry, but neither will it be put off. Ear is a memento mori, a reminder that you are mortal. Every hour you spend above the ground brings you closer to the time when you will be placed beneath it. Here and now is your hour of triumph and tragedy: in the end there is only what was, not what might have been.

Ear can also be used as a powerful attack-rune: it can give opponents a kind of spiritual leprosy, rotting them away from the inside - and from the outside as well. But the Grave-Rune can also be used to heal. Like maggots eating dead tissue from a wound, it can strip away that which is no longer necessary and free us from the past. Unsurprisingly, it is also a powerful rune for Necromantic work: Ear can help us to contact the souls of those it has reduced to their deeds and their bones.

By now you may be thinking that Ear is a thoroughly nasty and unpleasant rune. But while it encompasses a number of hard truths, it is by no means malevolent. Like all the other runes, it is what it is. Decay breaks down that which has outlived its usefulness.  It returns us to the elements from whence we came and allows them to be recast in new and different molds. And while our joys will one day crumble to dust, so too will our sorrows.  It is the great stasis which allows for change, the end without which there can be no beginning.

Sowilo

During the Scandinavian winter the sun appears only rarely, shedding wan rays over the fields of ice and snow. As its arc rises higher in the sky, the world reawakens and the burdens of winter give way to the promise of spring and the long warm white nights of summer. It is not surprising that Sunna, the sun was important to people who spent a good part of the year in twilight and another part in endless dawn.

Sowilo's warmth can drive away the chill of apathy or the fog of confusion. The ghosts and shadows of the past are chased off by the bright glow of its eternal here-and-now. It is a rune of what is and what will be rather than what has been, the force which through the green fuse drives the flower, the dawning that destroys the darkness and awakens us from sleep. 

This is a powerful healing rune which can be used to shake off infections and to rebuild one's strength after a long illness.  If you are weary and feel you can go no further, Sowilo can give you a "second wind" which will allow you to soldier on. It can also be used to strengthen the will and give courage and charisma: channeled through you, its force can make you burn bright as the sun.

Sowilo brings the blinding flash of mystical attainment: it is the knowledge which dazzles your senses and burns itself into your soul. But its fire is the Apollonian inspiration of poetry, science and strategy, not the Dionysian fury of madness and intoxication.  This is not the madness of Odin on the Wild Hunt or his Berserkers charging madly into battle. Rather, it is the "Aha!" which allows you to grasp the answer to a difficult problem.

Sowilo is often used as a victory-rune (and was co-opted in that capacity by the Third Reich's Schutzstaffel for their SS badge). In the Hávámal Odin says

An eleventh I know: if haply I lead
my old comrades out to war,
I sing 'neath the shields, and they fare forth mightily
safe into battle,
safe out of battle,
and safe return from the strife.

But Sowilo's victory is one gained through superior tactics and insight, not through brute strength or blind fury. There is a great elegance to this rune. Much as the sun rises and sets by a tight schedule and hews on its course along a well-mapped arc, Sowilo is a rune which combines power and precision. It is the sword-strike of the skilled warrior, the orderly advance of the well-trained legion.  If you are working on a project which requires that sort of discipline, you will do well to channel this rune's power and learn its lessons.

Sowilo is generally considered one of the most positive of the runes when it comes up in a reading. But, as always, this depends on the surrounding runes. Sowilo can illuminate the truth and show you the way out of the darkness.  But it can also bring to light things you might rather stay hidden. Like the other runes, Sowilo is neither benevolent nor cruel. The sun can expose your failings as well as your triumphs. It shows how far you have come and how far you still have to go: it may even reveal that you have lost your way entirely. You may profit from the knowledge it brings or scurry back into the shadows: what you do with its wisdom is entirely up to you.