S. Kelley Harrell's Blog: Intentional Insights - Ancient Healing, Modern Shamanism, page 110

Weekly Rune – Dagaz

Dagaz - Day - What a great Rune to cast just after the Autumnal Equinox, the second harvest sabbat!  Representing the close of a full day’s work, this metaphor for celebrating the culmination of a cycle and regrouping to begin another is very appropriate.

What, specifically about the second harvest observation is significant to closing a cycle? After all, it isn’t the initial harvest, Lammas, bearer of the first fruits of our labor.  It’s not Samhain, the final harvest sabbat, where we take stock of the year. It’s not the beginning of the cycle, or the end. It isn’t the reward or loss. In fact, what makes this sabbat special is somewhere between. At this equinox, the sun and Earth directly align with the equator, the closest we ever get to perfect balance between night and day, light and darkness. Therein speaks the metaphor.

Mabon (a relatively new name for the sabbat) was, and for many still is, the true Thanksgiving. It is the point at which we realize whether our hard work is going to pay off–if we sowed enough, if we put enough hours in, and consequently, if we will reap enough to get us through winter.  At this time, we honor where we truly stand with regard to our progress, our expenditures, and what’s left to be completed.

On this sabbat, Dagaz is about reflection, not on the beginning or end, but the process between. The span of a day is the harvest cycle compressed. While we can finally rest at sun down and reflect on the day, the sun will rise again.  Another day is coming. Comfort and reflection are short-lived. They are the building blocks of the work still to come, in which the somber truth of the Equinox lies: the hard part about Mabon is we have just as much work to accomplish in a day, with less sunlight to do it, and possibly less enthusiasm and hope.

I sometimes call Dagaz the ‘so what?’ Rune, because that’s its simplest, yet most profound teaching. Certainly a huge task has been completed, and celebrations are in order. So what? Don’t get too emotionally involved in things. Keep the ego in check, and do our best, because in the end, there is no end. Only a chance to do it all, better.

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Contact Kelley for a personalized Rune Reading.

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Discussing Digital Shamanic Community on “Why Shamanism Now”

 If you missed it Tuesday, myself and Christina Pratt discussed “The Tribe of the Modern Mystic, and how we explore the concept and application of shamanic community in the digital age on her show Why Shamanism Now. You can also download the show on iTunes.

I’d love to hear your reaction to the show, as well as your thoughts on digital community. What has been your experience? Do you participate in online sacred space? For someone who hasn’t, how would you explain it to them?

As  always, I welcome your questions and insights, and heartily encourage subscribing to Christina’s show. Every episode is educational, insightful, and a wonderful expansion of our understanding of modern shamanism.

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Celebrate the Small Things – Gratitude

My weekly gratitude post, in the Celebrate the Small Things [ongoing] Blog Hop.

I’m grateful that my health is slowly improving.

I’m very pleased to have spent time with Christina Pratt, on her Internet radio show Why Shamanism Now.

I’m happy to celebrate family holidays this week.

I’m happy for clarity on what I need to maintain and what I need to let go.

What are you grateful for this week? How will you show thanks?

This post is part of VikLit‘s blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. Participate by following the link and adding your name to the Linky list, then post your gratitude every Friday.  Easiest blog hop ever!

Click here to hop on… the hop, and thanks for coming with me on this journey of self-empowerment.

Photo credit: Shermeee / Foter.com / CC BY

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Wordless Wednesday

The Ecstasy of St. Teresa of Avila, by Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, 1652, in the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome, Italy. Photo by LawrenceOP

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Create Intentional Insights’ New Direction

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Weekly Rune – Hagalaz

Hagalaz – Hail – Change is coming. Whether it’s the one we’ve wanted, or the one we need, is likely in the eye of the beholder.

The affirmation driving Hagalaz is that we’ve finished what we were working on. As the first Rune of the second aett, with Hagalaz we can rest peacefully in knowing that a cycle has completed, and it ended well. The wisdom we take forward from that is critical, though more so is the knowledge that we can experience joy–Wunjo–the final Rune of the first aett.

Allow me to clarify. Sometimes when we see Hagalaz come up in a cast, tension sets in. Considered a between-states Rune, the condition of hail rarely sets up good feelings. That Nature can turn on a dime and the best we can do is react, is what it is. Most of the time that sort of transition is not subtle. After all, the hardest thing about joy is sustaining the memory of it through hard times–unexpected hard times, in particular.

The presence of this Rune at this time isn’t to undo what we’ve created for ourselves. It isn’t to throw us back into the tailspin of wondering if the Universe is against us. In fact, it’s proof that it isn’t. The force of Hagalaz is in moving with the flow, greeting change instead of fighting it. When we can realize that hail eventually has to melt, adversity eventually gives way to collusion, we master the abrupt life force of Hagalaz. Holding that awareness while embodying some shred of joy is icing (pun).

Go into this week open to what comes. It maybe  a needed change, or it may muck up the works on all fronts. Ultimately, Hagalaz isn’t about the change, itself, at all, but how well we deal with it.

– Contact Kelley for a personalized Rune Reading.

 

 

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Weekly Rune – Tiwaz

Tiwaz – Tyr/Thor/Tuisto- Dual feelings herald the arrival of Tiwaz. Initially comes the doom of defeat, as the realization that the current way isn’t working sits heavily. Then comes the promise of release through sacrifice. Yet with that sacrifice comes assured desired outcomes.

In the case of Tiwaz, we’ve been working hard at something for a long time–usually our heart’s desire.  We’ve laid everything on the line, and with tears and a world of frustration, are forced to admit that our best effort isn’t working. For that reason when we draw this Rune, our thoughts must turn to the fact that we know what needs to be given up, we just don’t want to do it.

That hesitation is two-fold. First, it isn’t called sacrifice for no reason. Generally the things we know we must give up are the ones we most want to keep. That’s what makes the election so hard. No external source is pushing us, no other force can make the call. We know what has to be done, and the commitment to do it is what’s required.

Second, the deeper tension this Rune calls out isn’t that we’re at a gut-wrenching turning point in a life-altering engagement, or the fact that we know we can get there another way. It’s in not wanting to let go of the fact that the original plan didn’t work.   We know what it will take to get the deed done, but we can’t stop grieving that we won’t get there the way we thought we would long enough to just change direction.

Consider where ego is in the way of fulfilling life dreams. So often we become rote in the process that we can’t see how it prevents us from reaching our destination.  Deep down we all know when we’ve lost. We know when an outlet is no longer viable. We also know the traps we put between ourselves and an otherwise perfectly clear path.

The bright thing I can offer about Tiwaz is that it means that Plan B succeeds. Whatever it is, whatever the sacrifice, victory comes.

Just turn the other corner and go there.

– Contact Kelley for a personalized Rune Reading.

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Celebrate the Small Things – Gratitude

My weekly gratitude post, in the Celebrate the Small Things [ongoing] Blog Hop.

I’m grateful for medical caregivers who think out-of-the-box.

I’m glad to hear the voice of my body as it goes through very difficult changes.

I’m looking forward to an interview with Christina Pratt in a couple of weeks.

I’m happy to have a wonderful family and friends.

I’m fortunate to have a home, a job, and the life that I do.

What are you grateful for this week? How will you show thanks?

This post is part of VikLit‘s blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. Participate by following the link and adding your name to the Linky list, then post your gratitude every Friday.  Easiest blog hop ever!

Click here to hop on… the hop, and thanks for coming with me on this journey of self-empowerment.

Photo credit: Shermeee / Foter.com / CC BY

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Weekly Rune – Othala

Othala - property - Take a second and consider how you got exactly where you’re standing at this moment. What did you go through this morning to be presentable, nourished, and capable of holding the space you currently occupy? Now think back to a year ago, five years ago, and what choices you made then that led to this moment. When you’ve sat with that for a moment, consider what choices your parents, their parents, and that of those who came before them, which you brought you to precisely where you are.

What about this moment is working on your behalf? Name it. List it outright in detail, and see the support around you and within you for what it is. Then think about the things that aren’t working, and how you can draw on what sustains the good in your life to make choices that align you better with meeting your needs.

Such introspection with regard to foundation and legacy fall under the domain of Othala. Where Fehu focuses on wealth that we can possess and must tend, Othala is about what of ourselves we inherit, grow, and pass on.  It encourages us to honor our wisdom, its sources, and with whom we share it.

In that light, take some time today to gift someone an uplifting insight that you’ve learned. It may be as simple as a smile, as thorough as a solution, or as gentle as witnessing. This week, share yourself. There’s a reason everything has added up to the current moment, and it’s to pass it on. It’s to honor your own wisdom, and begin creating yourself as an elder of your tradition.

– Contact Kelley for a personalized Rune Reading.

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Weekly Rune – Laguz

Laguz - Water - Growing up, my mother used to say, “Water always seeks its own level,” meaning, no matter what distance or depth, turbulence or change, water always takes up the amount of space it needs. No matter what the circumstances, water will always flow to its lowest point, then distribute itself to maintain a balanced surface. Symbolically speaking, its inherent ability to adapt is its gift to us.  In that light, Laguz isn’t just about water, but flow.

Anytime this Rune comes up in a reading, there is an emphasis on honoring the natural pace of things. Sometimes it can be hard to do that, as we tend to keep ourselves artificially busy with work, entertainment, distraction, etc.  Many of us aren’t in touch with our natural rhythms at all, and some of us who are may not want to go where life is leading us.

Consider the source of hesitation, the places in life where flow is held back. What feelings pool in those shadows? What fears dam awareness from breaking through? The message in Laguz is that it will come through; however, when we don’t go with the flow, a torrent will carry us away. A message that often underlies the Runes is that we can create change for ourselves, on our own terms, or the Universe will make it for us.

Take some time to stand in Nature this week, barefoot if possible, and regardless of the weather. Going with the natural flow means finding the places within that feel comfortable expressing the rhythm sensed without. That rhythm is always “right.” It may feel odd and awkward at first, particularly if it’s been a while since such intimate contact with the elements. One thing is certain–Nature knows right direction, and the element pointing it out right now is water. Connect with trust in that wisdom, and let go. Follow.

– Contact Kelley for a personalized Rune Reading.

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