Sowilo ~ Satisfaction of the Sun

Sowilo is the last rune of the second aett of the Elder Futhark.  This is the rune of the light and glory of the sun.  Interpretations claim that Sowilo is the rune that illuminates what is needed, within, and without.  I find this energy to be a perfect Rune for success in life's endeavors, for making what is possible, possible.  For lighting the way, for uncovering hidden darkness in our lives.  I galdr this for people when they're feeling a lack of self-confidence and it always produces a good outcome.  What are your possibilities?  Sowilo might just help you find that out.

Here are some English nouns and other words that have the S sound in Sowilo:

success, son, sun, sacred, simple, sales, salary, salt, satisfaction, save, savings, safe, safety, sorrow, sinister, sick, sanity, struck, song, salvation, sing, salutation.

Winter Solstice Ritual ~ Bless the Woodland Creatures

Solstice is a time of giving.  What better way to thank Mother Nature for her bounty this year than to feed winter birds, deer, raccoons, squirrels, and all of mother nature's other children who are cold and whose food source is scarce.

Some suggestions of foods that the woodland creatures would like are: corn on the cob, nuts, celery stuffed with peanut butter, apples, seeds, peanuts without the salt, pine cones dipped in peanut butter and then dipped in birdseed, carrots, cheese, bread, and birdseed are some that come to mind.  Add a big bowl of water (hopefully hot water that will temper in the cold weather).

On December 21st write a Yule blessing/greeting poem and gather your goodies.  Pick a good place in your yard or local woods to lay down your gifts.  Some can be hung from tree branches.   You can create a circle, call in the quarters, and then read your poem or simplify the ritual weather permitting.  The poem doesn't have to be elaborate, just make it a nice Yule blessing/greeting.  Go your way and the animals will come when you're gone and enjoy the food.

To those of you who think, leave the wildlife alone!  Remember, you are the wildlife, one of Earth's many beings.

This is a very spiritual exercise and ritual in keeping with the season.  May you all have a blessed and peaceful Yuletide full of joy.

Algiz - Armor of the Aesir

Algiz, the Rune of protection.  All kinds of protection.  This is a Rune you want to galdr over a child before they run out to play.  We all want and need protection in life.  We may want to galdr this Rune for financial reasons to make sure we always have a home to live in and food on the table.

This is said to be the Z Rune.  For whatever reason, consensus in modern Runic lore says that this Rune makes the Z sound.

Let's look at some modern English words that begin with the Z Rune:

zeel, zoom, zonk, zany, zipper, zest, zinc, zoo, zebra, zealot ..... I'm not getting too much of a feeling of protection in these words.  What do you think ?

Maybe this Rune doesn't have the Z sound.  More study on this Rune will be required.  Possibly a thesaurus would help and I am going to look now.

Back.

If this rune has the 'A' sound, I'm finding words under "Protection":  armor, ammunition, aegis (which means a breast plate), attack, offence, apron, affront, air. (google more of these A Rune words to find the energy of Algiz.

The True Meaning of Yule

Some people think that the Yuletide Season is all about getting and giving gifts, spending money, decorating, and sending cards, blah, blah, blah.

Every year after Thanksgiving (in the USA) but in any christianized nation, we face the end of the year with both joy and trepidation. Our thoughts are, 'Can I make it through another holiday season with its shopping and chores and into the New Year with that lay ahead ?'   But this type of thinking is a metaphor for something larger.

We spend the year on projects, paying bills, raising children.  Farmers plant vegtables and raise livestock.  We toil and sweat and worry about outcomes and current conditions.  We form bonds with new people and lose some others.  We make decisions that will either make us, break us, or become neutral.  Through our experiences we grow hopefully stronger, wiser, older and often a bit bruised along the way.  

Yule is a time to be reborn, to reflect, to say to ourselves you did it -- you made it !   We acknowledge the experiences of others and the bonds we have formed throughout the year.  We look to both the past, present, and future for guidance.  We become a year older.

So love of life, love of others, love of rebirth and celebration are all in order at Yule.  It's a time of reflection and stock taking.  It's a time to acknowledge those who took this last journey around the sun with us, and a time to embrace new beginnings that lie ahead.

At Yule we come full circle.  This is why we have the symbol of the wreath on our doors this time of year.  It's a pagan symbol that represents the wheel of the year.  Now it is done and we decorate it in honor of the occasion.  The ancient Norseman would light a wreath on fire and roll it down a hill as part of the Yule celebration as a way of sending the old year away to make way for the new one.
Notice 'wreath' has the R Rune sound, which means to 'journey.'  As in a journey through a year.

Be well this Yule Season.  Toil and growth on planet earth is a hard job so may you find peace and strength during this season of rebirth.

Perthro ~ A Powerful Plan

Perthro, according to many interpretations, is the cup of destiny.  What we do with our destiny is both fixed and mutable (can be changed).  The law of the Norns as well as the power of cause and effect all come to mind.  The P Rune is the Rune of The Web of Wyrd working on us in the past, present, and future.  We are born with set genetics but our lives unfold either this way or that, depending on the decisions we make.

Some interpret this as a cup to throw the dice in a gambler's game.  But every decision we make in life is a gamble and subject to an outcome.  And the cup, being called a lot cup, could very well be our lot in life with the gamble of decisions being the dice.  Some people interpret this Rune as the cup of mystery because the unfolding of our lives (or business/job, relationships, or any endeavor) is a mystery.  A woman on Facebook wrote in a comment that this is the Rune that makes a blank Rune in divination obsolete as it is like a blank piece of paper that our decisions write on.  Each of our lives comes is our lot.  It's our personal likes/dislikes, initiatives, and decisions that create within that lot.

Here are some nouns and mostly verbs now as I go alone (energy and action words seem to fit very well) in the English language, that may help us to pick up on the energy of Perthro.

pleasure, pain, plan, play, procrastinate, pessimism, party, pursue, puberty, procreate, possible, prorate, patronise, polymer, powerful, program, paradigm, pool, pooling, plethora.  (search google for more nouns and verbs beginning with the P Rune sound).

Perthro seems to represent our lives and what we do with them is partially up to us.

Eihwaz - Earth and Eternity

Eihwaz is the Rune of the World Tree.   Some say it's an Ash tree, others say it's a Yew.  But as we know trees are both metaphors and actualities for the meaning of as above so below.   It's both a protective Rune and a rune of balance.   Feet on the earth, head in the clouds, having help from the divine, and the union of the arcane and the mundane all come to mind with this Rune.  Also the rune of astral travel and a rune to bring along for protection on lucid dreaming and astral travel.  Eihwaz/Eiwaz is used to enter the astral plane of the world tree but it is also used as a shield once in there.  Always hold onto this rune for protection while in a trance state.

Yew tree with berries, an important wood to the ancient Norse peoples.

Eihwaz has the E sound as in 'eh'.  Let's look at some English nouns and other similar words, to see if we can find the Eihwaz energy.

eternity, everlasting, entwine, entertain, enrich, enlarge, engulf, ever, esoteric, erotic, Erulian, economy, ecstasy, ego, effort, ecstasy. (google more words beginning with the E sound to find the energy of Eihwaz).

Read more on phonics and the Elder Futhark.

Jera - Rune of the Yielding Year

Jera is traditionally thought of as the rune of the year and a good harvest.  This encompasses every part of the year from seeding, to growing, to harvesting.  Rune authorities also state that this is the Rune of cause and effect.  You reap what you sow.

Norse wheel of the year.

As before, let's examine some English nouns.  The J Rune has the J sound in English but the Y sound in other Northern European languages.  So we'll examine both sounds, the J sound as in the word jump and then the Y sound as in the word yellow.

First with the Y sound:

yacht, yachtel, yachtsman, yachtsmen, yank, yard, yardage, yardstick, yarn, yawl, yawn, yeah, year, yearbook, yearning, yeast, yell, yelling, yellow, yelp, yen, yesteryear, yield, yearling, yielding, yodel, yoke, yokel, yolk, yore, young, youngster, youth, Yule, yam. (Google for more Y words that carry the energy of Jera, the J Rune)

Now with the J sound:

jab, jacket, jade, jag, jail, jalopy, jam, janitor, jar, jargon, java, jaw, jawbone, jay, jazz, jazzmen, jealousy, jedec, jeep, jejunum, jelly, jeopardy, jerk, jersey, jest, jet, jewel, jeweler, jewelry, jiffy, jig, jinx, jitterbug, jog, job, jelly, jester, jug

Conclusion:

I think, from looking at the above, that the Y sound of the J rune fits the closet energy to the traditional interpretation of Jera.  Do you agree ?   The set of the J sound also has an energy but not the traditional one.

The energy I do see from the Y sound, consist of very natural things, the earth, wildlife, the land, with a bit of increase added as in growth.  How things can, overtime, grow they increase.  Getting back to the traditional interpretation, this Rune represents raising young ones, crops, and livestock in a year.  The energy of increase and growth.