S. Kelley Harrell's Blog: Intentional Insights - Ancient Healing, Modern Shamanism, page 53

What It Is Wednesday — Dauntlessly Dealt (healliarmus) Reality

A dose of dauntlessly dealt reality from the What It Is Wednesday Blog Carnival...

In December of last year I made a health tally, of sorts. Those of you who know me well know that I've dealt with a significant health condition for a long time. Those of you who know me really well knew me for the many years that condition went undiagnosed and witnessed the toll that road, let alone the condition, has taken. There's an even smaller group, still, who know how that has transpired in the last 3 months, and it's not good.

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.

I live in one of the most medically savvy communities in the world, and no love. Doctors are aware of it and they all openly cringe when I tell them that I have it, and what's going on. Seriously--you've not seen the face of no options until you break such news to your GP and she puts her mehndi-painted hand on yours to tell you she's praying for you, or when you mention the word catheter to your Italian-suited neurosurgeon and his PA, then both visibly shudder and turn away--in unison.  It was like they choreographed it. Observing the pros' displays of discomfort with my condition and its symptoms has happened repeatedly over the last three months. It's alarming, to say the least.

Their reaction isn't for no reason. I can't tell you the grief I've had over the revelation of organ death, and the vastly rippling impact it's having and will continue to have on my personal and professional life, my plans, my dreams. It's affected my day job. It's complicated my ability to get health coverage, for life. I've parred down my practice hours, events, and commitments, again. It's taken a huge toll on my family. I have to plan outings very carefully and I can't even comprehend significant travel. It's depressing, if I dwell on it.

The most difficult part, emotionally and psychologically, has been that I already deal with enough physical issues. I manage a high level of pain every day and have for years, so this is just one more thing. One more really hard, life-altering, every-day-challenging, thing.

No, I'm not dying--not from this, not right now, anyway--though it will take every wellbeing practice I know and can learn to stay sane and viable, from here on.  People try to tell me to cheer up and look on the bright side--that I don't have cancer--and I get that. I really do. But again, it's said more to allay their discomfort of personalizing what I'm really dealing with, than it is to impart some long-honed coping strategy or support. That I didn't ask for.



Silence really is okay.

Make no mistake, though. There has been a death. Probably a few, once I get perspective on it all.

It's a tough one to explain to the kids. I have been seeing specialists constantly for months, which from their eight-year-old vantage point is quite hopeful. You go to the doctor; you get better. The first few weeks they regularly asked me if I was going to die. I assured them that I wasn't, though that I wouldn't get better, either. They don't understand. Why should they?  Every now and then I still see Maya waving her magick wand at me. When I ask what she's doing, she'll whisper, "Healliarmus," as if to say it aloud will ruin the sorcery. She's proud of having originated the spell. Tristan routinely checks in to ask if I'm still sick.

The upside to this is I have felt the most in my power that I have in my entire adulthood. There has been deep validation and healing, all the way back to a childhood sense of knowing something was wrong and having no explanation for any of it. There's been very little dissociation, though much critical revelation of what's sacred duty, and easing into a life of only What Must Be. In fact, I feel a great deal more at rest to just go with what feels right, and to adapt. There is no stay the same, anymore. It's full on til needs met, and pretty much nothing less.



What's nifty about devoting decades to learning mindfulness and holistic health techniques is that when you actually use them, they work. I am affirmed in the shamanic narrative, the healing story, that when you have walked the walk, people know it, and they are inspired to walk their own. When I say it works, I mean it; I don't mind explaining how I know that.

Despite the glossy cover of the New Age, it's never been my desire to pretend that shadow goes away just because you choose to walk a healing path, specifically when you commit to the role of shaman. Over the years I've had several people express to me that if I was a true shaman, I wouldn't be sick. Huh. Good luck with that.  I've never known a single "true shaman" who got a pass on adversity. In fact, the ones I know who walk it are carrying heavy shit. The difference is that because of their spirit relationships, they aren't sunk by the load. Shamanism is a path of direct revelation and relationship, even with shadow. Especially with shadow.

Modern shamanism has romanticized the wounded healer, such that it's perpetuated as you bring a trauma to the spirit world, heal it, you're done, with it, and you get to be a shaman. No more wound. The way it really works is, you bring the soul of that wound into your life, and you find a way to live together. Maybe it can move on, once and for all. Most likely, it can't, and you're lucky if there's only one. When you meet a shaman who understands that, you're looking at someone who really sees you.

In all honesty, a year ago I'd have played the victim card, hard. I would have anguished why me and gotten stuck in anger and grief. I can't clearly articulate why that hasn't happened, except that I'm not that person anymore and this is good. My vision is clear, and my ability to say no finely honed.

So, what's next? I'm not sure.  My options in North Carolina are slim, and I'm in the lottery now to see if I will get into the Mayo Clinic. There's no guarantee that I will, in which case I've got to originate a new plan. I've self-advocated in the medical arena for years, and that was nothing compared to what I'm up against, now. What's on the table for consideration is a pacemaker, which would be implanted into my spine and take over bladder function. That, though, comes with some distinct disadvantages, such as no future MRIs, migration (in EDS folk), and increased infection risk and body pain. For someone who deals with a high level of pain all the time, the potential benefits may not be worth the risk. It's definitely a choice of hells.

I don't know what comes next. I'd love for there to be a clear avenue, a plan, with an outcome of measurable improvement. It could happen. It may not. I'm open to all possibilities.

Thank you for your thoughts, and to my Initiates, my Patreon folks, and my LJ community, for being so very receptive, holding space for me, and for listening. Thank you to my family for cheerleading and loving me through dark things. Thank you to Rob for putting up with so much, and always being exactly that one unnameable thing that I need, at any given time.

I'm in healliarmus reality. Tell me about yours.



If You Want to Be Real on your blog, visit the inaugural page  and follow the instructions there to share your reality with the world!

The post What It Is Wednesday — Dauntlessly Dealt (healliarmus) Reality appeared first on Soul Intent Arts - Ancient Healing, Modern Shamanism.

The Weekly Rune – Thurisaz

For the week of 30 July 2017
Lightning strikes and road trips.

Thurisaz is the half-month stave through 13 August. Raidho is the intuitive stave, and Mannaz indicates Nature's message to us. Read right to left is Thurisaz, Raidho, then Mannaz.

Receive the ad-free, full weekly runecast by subscribing through Patreon.  There, find more detail on how the current runes impact human life force over the next week, and how to best manage the curves and twists therein. With a paid subscription, also receive TWR on Sunday instead of Monday, for as little as $1 a week, or for more engagement with me, such as regular Soul Readings, Sabbat Runecasts, and personal runecasts, choose one of the higher subscription levels.

The half-month rune is set by the runic calendar, and governs for a tad over two weeks (a fortnight). The intuitive stave (meaning, I draw it blind) indicates the life force most available to us, which brings the focus of the half-month rune into sharper focus for the present week. It suggests how we can handle these energies. The planetary stave (also a blind draw) indicates the state and needs of the planet, and where noted, of Nature, well beyond the earthly sphere. If you're curious about how I do the cast every week, catch a couple of Instagram videos I do explaining the intention behind The Weekly Rune, and what makes it different from other ways of casting.

While Uruz took us deeply into matters of the unconscious, Thurisaz, the third stave of the first aett, puts us on alert to stand in what we learned there. We talked a bit last week about the influence the Giants have over the first aett, and the power of them as natural laws is never more evident than in Thurisaz.

Associated with Thor, and "thorn," this stave is often thought of as a force of Nature. When most of us think of Thor, we think of his hammer, the Mjölnir, which when struck, created a strike of lightning. That's all intensely profound and power, though what does it mean in everyday life?

Several runes in the Futhark are associated with change, as is Thurisaz. What makes Thurisaz stand out from the other change runes is its connection back to the Giants, to those unconscious urges. While they are not necessarily right in front of our faces, they are ever at the very edge of our consciousness.

Therein lies the protective aspects of this rune, as well. Things are usually unconscious for a reason. We couldn't process them at their inception, we didn't have the developmental faculties to create a formidable narrative around them, etc. They're big, in short. They're so big that we have to shelve them a bit, before we can be certain of healthily managing them into our waking awareness. Those among us who are shamanistically savvy recognize such symptoms as the hallmarks of soul loss.

This is not a "the hell you know" situation. In fact, having the clarity to greet shadows on our time, on our terms, gives us extraordinary power to do exactly that. The truth of Thurisaz is the shadows are coming. It may as well be on our terms.

It makes a huge difference, and at this time, the elements collude on our behalf to help us greet them, well.

 



 

Raidho, the rune of travels, portends a good journey in this creation of space. I love this rune, because it's all about words and storytelling. Indeed, how we tell our story means everything. I would even go so far as to say, our story means nothing until we not only understand but engineer how we tell it.

This stave demands that we come into that clarity, which has everything to do with being able to greet our shadows, with creating space for our inner storms. In fact, if it wasn't for those storms, most of us would never have need to travel. We wouldn't be motivated to become active in our own stories.

Mannaz as the voice of Nature tells us to spread out. Specifically, it urges us to open our minds and find new community to support our wild new territory. How very fitting this message is, in light of Raidho's encouragement to hone how we tell our stories! It feels like grand adventure time, and nothing spells adventure like diversity.

Ultimately, Nature knows when to change routes, when to take a pit stop, or to get on down the road. This week we are asked to come into our own wisdom regarding what we need on our journey, and to get out of its way once is arrives.

The runecast for this week spells "mrth." Indeed, let the laughter abound!

#beyourcommunity

#beyourplanet

Subscribe to the full runecast.

Learn more about the Reclaiming the Runes Intensive and preview course.

Originally published on Soul Intent Arts.

The post The Weekly Rune – Thurisaz appeared first on Soul Intent Arts - Ancient Healing, Modern Shamanism.

The Weekly Rune

For the week of 23 July 2017
Profitably flowing wild.

Uruz is the half-month stave through 29 July. Laguz is the intuitive stave, and Jera indicates Nature's message to us. Read right to left is Uruz, Laguz, then Jera.

Receive the ad-free, full weekly runecast by subscribing through Patreon.  There, find more detail on how the current runes impact human life force over the next week, and how to best manage the curves and twists therein. With a paid subscription, also receive TWR on Sunday instead of Monday, for as little as $1 a week, or for more engagement with me, such as regular Soul Readings, Sabbat Runecasts, and personal runecasts, choose one of the higher subscription levels.

The half-month rune is set by the runic calendar, and governs for a tad over two weeks (a fortnight). The intuitive stave (meaning, I draw it blind) indicates the life force most available to us, which brings the focus of the half-month rune into sharper focus for the present week. It suggests how we can handle these energies. The planetary stave (also a blind draw) indicates the state and needs of the planet, and where noted, of Nature, well beyond the earthly sphere. If you're curious about how I do the cast every week, catch a couple of Instagram videos I do explaining the intention behind The Weekly Rune, and what makes it different from other ways of casting.

Merely a few steps into our year-long initiation, we can take heart that a tide has turned. We're functioning under a different energy--a welcomed, improved one, if I do say so. That we get to enjoy it under the primal watch of Uruz makes it that much more potent. The second stave of the first aett, we can expect deep stirrings from the Giants--those out in the world, and from our own deep unconscious.



Our first week with Uruz has brought us in touch with sentimental, perhaps painful stirrings of what's really important. In some cases these are old wounds that need tending. In other cases they are longings that have gone unfulfilled, or are creating discord in some life area. Either way, they are rearing now because it's a good time to address them. This second week with Uruz and its complementing runes is very favorable for gently unearthing was these deeper motivations are, and addressing them in a way that brings healing, if not are requited. They may not be fully resolved in this timeframe, though information needed to bring them to that point will be timely.



Laguz is the stream willing to carry us toward that outcome. Meaning 'water," this stave is more about flow. We attach the contemporary associations of emotion and the feminine to Laguz, though that's a bit up for interpretation. What we can take to heart about it is everything we know about water. It has very tangible boundaries, which as long as we honor them, will make for smooth sailing. This week, we can count on the current helping to carry us along that flow toward conscious realization of what's holding us back. Don't swim against the stream, and it will be fine.

Jera, as the voice of Nature, reminds us this may be a good time to do some internal accounting. All about the bean counting, or "Hearth Accounting," this stave encourages us to do the grunt work of business management, in matters of life and household. In the context of this cast, it speaks to the need to let this time of culling unconscious motivators be more than heart-led. There's a time and place to let intuition lead, to let gut instincts take over. That time isn't now. In fact, let those primal voices speak, though don't give them credence over what's readily evident in day-to-day life.

We don't have to exchange reason for intuition, logic for instinct. Rather, we can let them coexist and base choices on all of the above. Such is the supreme accounting of Nature. It discredits nothing when calculating how to move on. Why should we?

#beyourcommunity

#beyourplanet

Subscribe to the full runecast.

Learn more about the Reclaiming the Runes Intensive and preview course.

Originally published on Soul Intent Arts.

The post The Weekly Rune appeared first on Soul Intent Arts - Ancient Healing, Modern Shamanism.

The Weekly Rune

For the week of 16 July 2017
Be willing to make a change.

Fehu is the half-month stave through 14 July, at which point Uruzz moves forward. Tiwaz is the intuitive stave, and Wunjo indicates Nature's message to us. Read right to left is Fehu above, Uruz below, Tiwaz, then Wunjo.

Receive the ad-free full weekly runecast by subscribing through Patreon.  There, find more detail on how the current runes impact human life force over the next week, and how to best manage the curves and twists therein. With a paid subscription, also receive TWR on Sunday instead of Monday, for as little as $1 a week, or for more engagement with me, such as regular Soul Readings, Sabbat Runecasts, and personal runecasts, choose one of the higher subscription levels.

The half-month rune is set by the runic calendar, and governs for a tad over two weeks. The intuitive stave (meaning, I draw it blind) indicates the life force most available to us, which brings the focus of the half-month rune into sharper focus for the present week. It suggests how we can handle these energies. The planetary stave (also a blind draw) indicates the state and needs of the planet, and where noted, of Nature, well beyond the earthly sphere. If you're curious about how I do the cast every week, catch a couple of Instagram videos I do explaining the intention behind The Weekly Rune, and what makes it different from other ways of casting.

Where Fehu began a new year-long initiation into the seasonal cycle, and sets up our potential for it to bode well, Uruz follows with a reminder of our roots. The first aett is based in deep stirrings from the Giants, from our deep unconscious, and Uruz is an intense reminder of that fact.



Meaning "auroch," it calls to mind Audhumla, the 'sacred cow' creative aspect that thought Herself into being. The start of the start, in other words, was Audhumla, and that is the strength of Uruz. We've been given the resources to begin this journey in Fehu, draw on the well of the deep unconscious, the deep stirrings of Creation, to use them well.

She represents primal yearnings, which have to recognize for what they are. That feat may be easier than it seems. The reason drives are unconscious is because on some level we've pushed them there, or refused to let them rise. We've made a choice for them to remain unshaped rumblings.

Take time this week to come into relationship with aspects of self that are grumbly. What sets them off? Specific people, places, dynamics? What eases them?  At the end of it, deep down tiny voices tug with big strings, and have to be listened to if we are to grow. They ultimately signify a need isn't being met, and that's the crux of Uruz: What do we need to Be? How do we make that happen?

Tiwaz is going to ensure this exploration is very dramatic. In the place of the rune that expresses how we can best roll with Uruz, Tiwaz tells us to not put all our eggs in one basket. Specifically, the basket they're currently in isn't going to cross the finish line (I'm a sucker for mixed metaphor). The goods news is, however, the basket we've been thinking about putting them, the one we can't bear to wipe the slate clean of and start over--that's the winner. And in truth, it's coming to peace with that wiping of the slate that's most significant.



Wunjo softens that realization and changing of the guard. Most people want Wunjo in their runecast. It speaks of all things hitting on all cylinders, a time of all elements aligned in our favor. Something to keep in mind about Wunjo is we're part of that synergy. It didn't just befall us or get handed to us as a reward. Most likely, we've worked our asses off, or in this case our aurochs.

The memo Nature has here is that we recognize when a job is done. Don't overwork. Don't muddy the results by continuing to prod them. Let done be done. Celebrate if desired. Keep in mind, though, that while Nature observes its need to regroup before pressing on, it doesn't analyze itself. It doesn't judge. In that lack is the real truth of Wunjo: blissful realization of one's place in All Things, and allowing the parts of that synergy that can bless to do absolutely that.

#beyourcommunity

#beyourplanet

Subscribe to the full runecast.

Learn more about the Reclaiming the Runes Intensive and preview course.

Originally published on Soul Intent Arts.

The post The Weekly Rune appeared first on Soul Intent Arts - Ancient Healing, Modern Shamanism.

Life Betwixt – There is No Center

Why center has changed, what that lack looks like in daily life, and how to adapt well without it.


For the last two years, my clients, students, and Initiates have said one thing repeatedly, "No matter what I do, I can't find center."

Welcome to the club.

I've talked a lot in the Betwixt Series about a general sense that the ball dropped in 2008, at which point even the most well-grounded folks, solid on their path suddenly found themselves upended in the middle of nowhere.  I'm talking pros with mad skills, in the habit of using them every day to stay in direct relationship to bear their medicine to community, then suddenly it all stopped working.

I'm one of those people, and when that happened, part of my re-commitment to my community was to tell the truth about that fact: It's not just you. Yes, something bigger is happening. No, you can't find center, and here's why.

At the time, I told them what my guides told me. "Yes, you can find center, though it keeps moving." And it did. I could use my faithful rituals and ally work to get back to center... for about five minutes. It was completely findable, but it didn't last. This was a harsh reality after the privilege of years of the same tricks working.

About a year ago, it got even more difficult. I could find center, though it didn't feel the same. Finding it brought no solace, peace, balance, clarity, or whatever I sought in the moment. In fact, all it brought was the awareness that I was looking for something that no longer satisfied my needs, which left me questioning if my needs were what I thought they were, or if I was acting on memory--however sacred. I wondered how in the world I would ever meet needs if also what I expected to be on the other end of satiation couldn't be identified, or wasn't even identifiable.

The new phrase from my guides was, "Yes, you can still find center, and it is still moving. It's also now invisible."

Well spotted. I could still sense need. I could sense the process that used to work to fill needs. I could connect with the state I called center--that for so long had brought peace to need--yet repeatedly, it all fell apart.

About the time I pieced this together, I got a unique message from the Watchers, which I shared in February of last year.  I was told the Land Elders were leaving from various positions about the globe, that Spirit Guides were vacant or completely unavailable (because they are managing their own upgrades), and that Nature would experience a cataclysmic revival beyond anything in human memory, leaving Earth radically changed.  From the mouths of the Watchers, I was told the Earth would experience soul loss, that this shift would be soon, and that we would be tended by them, during and after.

Then of course the Watchers left, too.

Seriously. They did.



After that point, I stopped trying to find center, and focused on the mayhem of daily life.  I threw support to the Earth soul frequently, all the while honoring the manifestation that loss took in the form of humbling death, hardship, and shadow for us all.

Last week, for the first time in all of these years, the tone of the message changed. It was very short: "You have turned a corner. Feel Life."

I knew it wasn't talking about me personally, but the life force coming into the planet, now. It indicated a change of trajectory for us all. Since 2008, and most focused around Winter Solstice of 2012, we've all been told how the planetary life force is shifting, how we're moving into a state of more united consciousness (or returning to one?). However, the New Age gave projections of it looking more cohesive, shiny, and dare I say, a bit fluffy around the edges. Anyone who's ever mapped deep change knows the transition between what isn't working to what workable state can replace it knows that transition is a bitch.

Enter the last few years, and specifically, the last year.

"So, we've turned the corner; I can find center now?" you ask.

Here's the thing. The caveat of the latest soul memo is that there is no center.

I know. It flies in the face of everything the New Age or Gwenyth Paltrow has ever taught us about awareness.

My understanding of having turned this corner is that the dust hasn't settled from the previous trajectory, and that air of unsettled business gives off a false sense of still being in BIG transition. In reality, we're done with that era. We're now at 1-2 degrees of this new energy, though while technically not in the old space, we still feel the impact of its power, combined with the fact that it just won't stop kicking. The take-away is, it will, and we've known this ever since the Age of Aquarius won back its cred as the era of community.

The new life force is here, as new gods, new guides, new you, or a new whatever you need to let go of your old stuff and find what's better suited. What's available to us energetically has upgraded. The systems, the institutions, the state of being, the people--all of it has to choose to flow with the new juice. And of course, no one has to choose to do so. However, what doesn't flow with the new way will get plowed over, including isms, economies, governments, and really well-meaning people who just refuse to feel differently. Just because the new way bears greater potential for community doesn't mean it will be kind for those who can't get with the program. Refusal is conflict, whether it comes in the form of outright resistance, or simply trying to force old grounding rituals.

We come by it honestly. We were sold a mortgage on center = permanent. Life might come along and dislodge us from it, but it would remain where we left it, and be retrievable despite storm. It would always look and feel the same.

The thing is, we grow and we change. So, too, must our most sacred of temples, our coping skills.

Any holy space we imbue with such importance as to pull us back from the brink over and over can't help but create dependency, which leaves us unwilling to stay sharp. It leaves us unmotivated to hone our own ability to look for, let alone make use of new balance. And of course the greatest tool there has ever been is the one we're being told to feel now, and it's not new.

Feel is the operative word. When I first was told about the coming change in February 2016, I thought it indicated a single event that included raised consciousness, deep planetary loss and soul healing, and recovery. I realize now it will span time, with part of it recently completed, and other changes to come. The life force transition has happened now, so that we can be ready for the rest of it. The hint is that we won't handle (maybe even survive) what's coming well if we don't update. We won't update if we don't feel, yet feeling doesn't feel so great, right now. We've had months of statuses telling us the world's gone nuts, alongside a lifetime surplus of collective crap to feel our way through, a backlog, if you will, of unprocessed dead that needs to move on. It only moves on if we feel it, then let it go. Then, we update. Then we become actually capable of dealing with now. We become able to live our sacred duties.

"What does updating look like?"

Good question. It looks like asking daily, if not more frequently, how the current Life flow feels. By that I mean, sense the flow of life force that is forward and sustaining, for the planet and beyond. Take a few moments off the top of every day to feel how things are moving collectively. Go with the sense of that, then feel your personal flow. Ask yourself: Do I flow with collective Life? If so, support it. Make every action during the day one that fosters staying in that stream. If it doesn't, examine what needs to change, and do it. Making these changes are what thwart conflict with the times that are upon us. These changes are our survival--mine and yours--in a new world.

That is, of course, the hard part. Chances are you're reading this post because you have a fairly open mind. You've got good skills. However, none of us are in flow with Life 24/7. Mundane life happens. It will continue to happen and challenge us at the pace of multiple crises, and we need to be able to find the thread through it.

The thread is realizing your deepest coping skills may no longer work. Your most holy of inner temples may no longer be there, and instead of trying to force it or leap to a new saviour, step out of the habit of ritual. Embrace adaptability as an ally. Call it in.

Adaptability is the new ritual.

Center was never a destination. Rather, it's a process, dynamic and ever in flux. We aren't destinations, either, and we've just taken a new exit.

The post Life Betwixt – There is No Center appeared first on Soul Intent Arts - Ancient Healing, Modern Shamanism.

The Weekly Rune – Fehu

For the week of 9 July 2017
Wealth guards the family.

Fehu is the half-month stave through 14 July. Algiz is the intuitive stave, and Othala indicates Nature's message to us. Read right to left is Fehu, Algiz, then Othala.

Receive the ad-free full weekly runecast by subscribing through Patreon.  There, find more detail on how the current runes impact human life force over the next week, and how to best manage the curves and twists therein. With a paid subscription, also receive TWR on Sunday instead of Monday, for as little as $1 a week, or for more engagement with me, such as regular Soul Readings, Sabbat Runecasts, and personal runecasts, choose one of the higher subscription levels.

The half-month rune is set by the runic calendar, and governs for a tad over two weeks. The intuitive stave (meaning, I draw it blind) indicates the life force most available to us, which brings the focus of the half-month rune into sharper focus for the present week. It suggests how we can handle these energies. The planetary stave (also a blind draw) indicates the state and needs of the planet, and where noted, of Nature, well beyond the earthly sphere.

Fehu, “wealth,” is a welcome stave in everyone's cast. Lucky for us that this time of year is reserved for focus on just that--and we all have the opportunity to benefit. It begins a new year-long initiation into the seasonal cycle, and carries the potential to set us up well for it.

Therein lies the rub of Fehu. Its mere appearance can indicate a prosperous time, though it more carries the connotation that now's the time to be focused on tending what we have. In other words, it brings work, which we've learned by now, all the runes do. At this time, Fehu is asking us to get savvy with our stuff. Clarify what actions need to be taken to secure it, invest it, and become more educated about how to do all of the aforementioned. What we do with what we have right now determines not just what we can do with it throughout the year, but possible how we make out at year's end.



Algiz suggests we bring this relationship not just deeper, but closer, as it represents guardianship of the home front. Originating as "elk" or "sedge," both indigenous, protective nature allies, it suggests that we seat so deeply and completely with our home front that we become it. We're charged to stand in our power in the Innangarðr (known territory), and actively engage the Nature allies and spirits of our home, so that we're not doing it all alone. in fact, we're not supposed to do it alone, and this stave reminds of us of that fact.



Othala is where this cast gets really interesting. The quintessential home stave, it directs our focus to the ancestors, literally with matters of estate, but also of soul. Where Fehu is the assets that must be tended, Othala is what can be passed down, inherited.

If healing and clearing hasn't been done, do it now for the ancestors to be an active part of the spiritual council. Need help with that--let me know. Call in the ancestor best fit to guide on the issues currently at hand. Ask how they dealt with it, and how their wisdom can be applied now. Do the healing work on self to carry it out.

Legacies die out because no one tended them. This week make use of the available resources not only to secure current assets and legacy, but to create both.

#beyourcommunity

#beyourplanet

Subscribe to the full runecast.

Learn more about the Reclaiming the Runes Intensive and preview course.

Originally published on Soul Intent Arts.

The post The Weekly Rune – Fehu appeared first on Soul Intent Arts - Ancient Healing, Modern Shamanism.

The Weekly Rune

For the week of 2 July 2017
Wealth, stillness, and depth.

Fehu is the half-month stave through 14 July. Isa is the intuitive stave, and Mannaz indicates Nature's message to us. Read right to left is Fehu, Isa, then Mannaz.

I'd like to take a moment to thank my new Patrons and Matrons! I'm thrilled to have support for TWR, and also companionship in sustaining the runes. Receive the ad-free full weekly runecast by subscribing through Patreon.  There, find more detail on how the current runes impact human life force over the next week, and how to best manage the curves and twists therein. With a paid subscription, also receive TWR on Sunday instead of Monday, for as little as $1 a week, or for more engagement with me, such as regular Soul Readings, Sabbat Runecasts, and personal runecasts, choose one of the higher subscription levels.

The half-month rune is set by the runic calendar, and governs for a tad over two weeks. The intuitive stave (meaning, I draw it blind) indicates the life force most available to us, which brings the focus of the half-month rune into sharper focus for the present week. It suggests how we can handle these energies. The planetary stave (also a blind draw) indicates the state and needs of the planet, and where noted, of Nature, well beyond the earthly sphere.

Fehu, “wealth,” is one of the runes everyone wants in their cast. How fortunate year-long initiation through the Elder Futhark. This initiation wrapped on the, “So what?” note of Dagaz, leaving perhaps a bit jaded about digging right back into the next cycle.

However, we have no choice.



In all, Fehu represents a time of good support, though the time of Fehu emphasizes what we do with what we have. Wealth in this sense isn’t just about our stuff, but how we tend our stuff to sustain us. We must know how to take care of what we have. If there are skills lacking in any life direction that would supplant that undertaking, learn them now. 

Isa, as how we can best take advantage of this time, says we shouldn’t rush through it. In fact, bypassing this part of the cycle will only result in struggle and conflict. Now is the idea phase. Savor it. Glean what wisdom and insight is available, and begin applying them to how to integrate motion, when that timing is right.

Mannaz, as Nature’s memo to us hints that we will be best off doing this part of our intro initiation in company, specifically in the company of a new collective. This stave generally shows up when we need new ideas, and we don’t often get that zhoosh by frequenting known territory.  It’s time to step out, even if it feels tenuous. Initiation yields a point that the communal self is born, because the personal initiation is complete. The wisdom has been delivered. There is no wound, no lingering justification for resistance of anything. There comes a natural point to engage community, and that time is now.

With Fehu and these complementary runes, bear in mind that what we focus on at this time will to some degree be with us through this year. It will color how we fare under this new initiation. Take advantage of its bounty to fully clarify resources and how to tend them, as well as how to bring them forward to grow what’s important in life. Any skills needed to learn how to sustain what's wanted, learn them now. Wealth, now, sets us up for the rest of this year.

#beyourcommunity

#beyourplanet

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Learn more about the Reclaiming the Runes Intensive and preview course.

Originally published on Soul Intent Arts.

The post The Weekly Rune appeared first on Soul Intent Arts - Ancient Healing, Modern Shamanism.

The Weekly Rune

For the week of 25 June 2017
Self-guided divinity and change

Dagaz is the half-month stave through 29 June. Sowilu is the intuitive stave, and Eihwaz indicates Nature's message to us. Read right to left is Dagaz, Sowilu, then Eihwaz.

Receive the ad-free full weekly runecast by subscribing through Patreon.  There, find more detail on how the current runes impact human life force over the next week, and how to best manage the curves and twists therein. With a paid subscription, also receive TWR on Sunday instead of Monday, for as little as $1 a week, or for more engagement with me, such as regular Soul Readings, Sabbat Runecasts, and personal runecasts, choose one of the higher subscription levels.

The half-month rune is set by the runic calendar, and governs for a tad over two weeks. The intuitive stave (meaning, I draw it blind) indicates the life force most available to us, which brings the focus of the half-month rune into sharper focus for the present week. It suggests how we can handle these energies. The planetary stave (also a blind draw) indicates the state and needs of the planet, and where noted, of Nature, well beyond the earthly sphere.

For a few weeks, we've talked a bit about the funky ordering of the runic calendar and why,  with the emphasis being Summer Solstice as the end and beginning of a "year." Most sources on Old Norse culture and the variety of runic calendars that abounded point to Summer Solstice as more of the beginning of the year with the emphasis on light, what this time of year meant to basic every life, how it impacted the entire year, and gratitude in knowing it would be fleeting.

We've also discussed the traditional meaning of Dagaz, and its influence on the affairs of micro accounting. What often gets short shrift in the nuance of this stave is its sense of having arrived at some climactic conclusion, which usually culminates in the acquisition of long-sought wisdom. Have a plan for the quiet that comes at the end of this great journey. Leave neither time to sit idle, nor overly busy avoidance. Sit with personal accomplishments and trials.

To help with this process is Sowilu. Meaning, "sun," which would seem to go part and parcel with Summer Solstice, this stave speaks to the force behind the sun, behind All Things. In that light, it represents the divine which shines through the sun onto us, so that we may shine on others. It very much has a pay-it-forward feel, that we are all part of divinity, It isn't something happening to us. In that interconnection, once we become aware of it, we are called to act on it. It isn't our place to remain passive in that knowledge.

Eihwaz brings a point of fineness to this need. As the voice of Nature, this rune implies a corner that must be turned. Life has routed us such that we can't go back; we can only go forward. The riddle of its existence is further complicated by noting that the stave can't be reversed. We can't go another route. All of Nature bears this wisdom. Given the current circumstances, forward is the way, whatever forward may be at that time.

We must go where we are to go, and so despite the closure to the time of light, we aren't going forward in darkness. We learned what we learned, and that must be our guiding focus. Stand in it. Tend it. Follow it. Engage it. At this time, it is our greatest clue to what comes next.

#beyourcommunity

#beyourplanet

Subscribe to the full runecast.

Learn more about the Reclaiming the Runes Intensive and preview course.

Originally published on Soul Intent Arts.

The post The Weekly Rune appeared first on Soul Intent Arts - Ancient Healing, Modern Shamanism.

The Weekly Rune

For the week of 18 June 2017
External boundaries, internal allies.

Dagaz is the half-month stave through 29 June. Algiz reversed is the intuitive stave, and Ehwaz indicates Nature's message to us. Read right to left is Dagaz, Algiz reversed, then Ehwaz.

Don't forget Summer Solstice is upon, and the Solstice Runecast will soon be out! You can receive it  by subscribing through Patreon.  Through that subscription you can access the full runecast, which provides more details on how the current runes impact human life force over the next week, and how to best manage the curves and twists therein. With a subscription, you also receive TWR on Sunday instead of Monday, for as little as $1 a week, or if you want more engagement with me, such as regular Soul Readings, Sabbat Runecasts, and personal runecasts delivered to your Inbox, you can choose one of the higher subscription levels.

Summer Solstice falls on Wednesday 21 June at 12:24 am EST. The Sabbat Runecast specifies the runes on the horizon for the half-month and hour of the sabbat, and gives insight into how to make the best use of the energy available to us at that time. Find details on Patreon.

The half-month rune is set by the runic calendar, and governs for a tad over two weeks. The intuitive stave (meaning, I draw it blind) indicates the life force most available to us, which brings the focus of the half-month rune into sharper focus for the present week. It suggests how we can handle these energies. The planetary stave (also a blind draw) indicates the state and needs of the planet.

To catch anyone up who may have missed it, previously I discussed how we're at the spoke of the wheel (of the year) that diverges from the traditional Elder Futhark ordering. The commonly accepted order is Ingwaz -> Dagaz - > Othala. However, with the runic calendar, the order becomes Ingwaz -> Othala -> Dagaz. There are several good arguments in general, for re-ordering the Futhark. Specifically regarding the runic calendar that I follow, the determination to follow this widely accepted alt-order was based on ancient observations of solar cycles that posited Summer Solstice as the end and beginning of a "year."

Meaning "day," Dagaz brings to mind affairs of micro accounting. With this stave we are challenged to clarify what brings meaning to our day. What does, we keep. We encourage more of it. What doesn't, we ditch and move on down the road.

What's the significance of Dagaz marking Summer Solstice? This day of "Heart Accounting" is extra long. On this longest day of the year, we get bonus time to cull meaning and plot how we want to spend our days. Take time this week to honor the truth of the personal shadow. Let it in. Ask it what it needs, and give it. Tell it what's needed. Create a way to move on together in a way that benefits both.

Traditionally Algiz means elk or sedge, which whether we're talking about the animal or the grass, we're in the realm of indigenous creatures in protective stance. Given that this rune calls for caution, the emphasis isn't so much on the fear aspects as the safety ones. Maybe home has changed and we haven't updated. Maybe home isn't home anymore. Maybe we're too defensive. Maybe there's been static in spaces often frequented leaving us feeling threatened or  just off.

However it manifests, pay attention to that prickly friction, and let it inform as deeply as possible. The more discerned about its source, the more prepared we can be to cope with, if not resolve it.

Ehwaz as Nature's missive to us is where things get interesting. If Algiz reversed is telling us to inspect how we're protecting ourselves, Ehwaz says start that inspection within. Either the source isn't external, or the solution to how to soothe it is fully internal.

The stave of deep shamanic soul travel, Ehwaz points to looking at things at their soul source. In an animistic view, that means to engage the soul of the current dynamics, which are the confrontation of shadow and concerns around protection. The keyword here is engage.

This is the end of a cycle. While this longest days is emphasized as the beginning of the year in Old Norse culture, honor it as feels fit. What needs closure, bring it. What needs blessing, give it. Say the prayers that empower self and honor us all.

Thank you for what you bring to the planet. Keep bringing it, and if you need a cheerleader, I'm here!

#beyourcommunity

#beyourplanet

Subscribe to the full runecast.

Learn more about the Reclaiming the Runes Intensive and preview course.

Originally published on Soul Intent Arts.

The post The Weekly Rune appeared first on Soul Intent Arts - Ancient Healing, Modern Shamanism.

The Weekly Rune

For the week of 11 June 2017
Transitions, tough messages, and the saviour in the mirror.

Othala is the half-month stave through 14 June, at which point Dagaz steps in. Raidho reversed is the intuitive stave, and Eihwaz indicates Nature's message to us. Read right to left is Othala above, Dagaz below, Raidho reversed, then Eihwaz.

Thanks for helping celebrate The Weekly Rune's fifth birthday! I deeply appreciate everyone comments and notes honoring its growth! Remember, you can enjoy  the full runecast a day before it's posted on Intentional Insights by subscribing to it on Patreon.  The full runecast provides more details on how the current runes impact human life force over the next week, and how to best manage the curves and twists therein. With a subscription, you also receive it on Sunday instead of Monday! You can subscribe to the full cast for as little as $1 a week, or if you want more engagement with me, such as regular Soul Readings and personal runecasts delivered to your Inbox, you can choose one of the higher subscription levels.

The half-month rune is set by the runic calendar, and governs for a tad over two weeks. The intuitive stave (meaning, I draw it blind) indicates the life force most available to us, which brings the focus of the half-month rune into sharper focus for the present week. It suggests how we can handle these energies. The planetary stave (also a blind draw) indicates the state and needs of the planet.

As I noted previously, we've approached the spoke of the wheel (of the year) that diverges from the traditional Elder Futhark ordering. The commonly accepted order is Ingwaz -> Dagaz - > Othala. However, with the runic calendar, the order becomes Ingwaz -> Othala -> Dagaz. There are several good arguments in general, for re-ordering the Futhark. Specifically regarding the runic calendar that I follow, the determination to follow this widely accepted alt-order was based on ancient observations of solar cycles that posited Summer Solstice as the end and beginning of a "year."

Keep in mind that this year, Summer Solstice falls on Wednesday 21 June at 12:24 am EST. If you're interested in receiving the sabbat runecast, check out the options to do so on Patreon. This cast specifies the runes on the horizon for the half-month and hour of the sabbat, and gives insight into how to make the best use of the energy available to us at that time.

Othala has prepared us for honoring this year at Solstice. By encouraging us to round out any needed healing and extend that wellbeing through the ancestral lines, we have been brought full-circle to close this year with Dagaz. If help is needed with this part of this year's initiation, let's talk about it. Leaving it unchecked will only exacerbate any distress.

Meaning "day," this stave brings to mind a sort of micro accounting. With this stave we are challenged to clarify what brings meaning to our day. What does, we keep. We encourage more of it. What doesn't, we ditch and move on down the road.

Raidho reversed suggests we need to pay very close attention to how we tell our stories, right now.  My instinct is to say that this caution pertains mostly to not shaping the story to what we want it to be, but to truly honor it as it was--warts and all. Ultimately it doesn't matter what the story really was. Rather, it's how it affected us. That's what we carry, forever, so make sure it's accurate to who we are and where we're going. If it isn't, it may be time for a come-to-Odin moment, or whatever force sets us straight. Again, if there's any hesitation around this, let's talk.

Expect introspection this week, of the moving and evolving variety.

Nature suggests we walk right to this end-of-year change, with Eihwaz. There can be no lulls in momentum at this time. Stay the course, and trust instinct, intuition to turn the corner as effectively as possible. With this stave there is no saviour, or at least not one that isn't already in the mirror.

Thank you for what you bring to the planet. Keep bringing it, and if you need a cheerleader, let me know!

#beyourcommunity

#beyourplanet

Subscribe to the full runecast.

Learn more about the Reclaiming the Runes Intensive and preview course.

Originally published on Soul Intent Arts.

The post The Weekly Rune appeared first on Soul Intent Arts - Ancient Healing, Modern Shamanism.