The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum

One of the things Ehwaz has brought up is getting me on my horse and taking charge of my life. This brings to mind Raido, but instead of sitting inside my cozy hall taking it easy, I’m actually on the hard and difficult road confronting my neediness on one hand, and seeking fulfillment on the other.

For Ehwaz I acquired some horse hair that I braided into a necklace. Below are the pictures. I wear it all the time.  

Love the necklace! I've always wanted a horse hair necklace or bracelet, but just haven't found the horse yet whose hair I wanted to keep, I guess.

Also, just a reminder as SIG leader that it's best practice to go ahead and make separate posts for separate replies (i.e. one quote per post). Thanks!

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Blessings Friendly_Viking,


For clarities sake this is how I break down the different Runic Streams/Branches/Schools of Thought:

Traditional (Eddas and Sagas)
Revivalist (Plowright)
Icelandic Grimoires (Huld, Sorcerer’s Screed, Rún, Galdrabok, et cetera)
Germanic (List, Kummer, Marby, Shou, Spiesberger, et cetera)
Thorsson (Early works that mix Germanic and Revivalist Schools)
Christian/Kabbalistic (Bureus and Osborn/Longland)
New Age (Blum, Meadows, Tyson, Cooper, Willis, Peschel, et cetera)
Left-Hand Path (Thorsson’s ALU text is the only one I know of)
Pathworkings/Cultivation (What I'm seeking to solidify)

Be Blessed,
Suba

 
Nice way to classify the different schools of thought on the Runes. There are many ways to look at and approach the runes, and each person will have their own experiences. I like looking at all of the different "flavors" and then add my own UPG to come up with an even deeper understanding of each rune or combination of runes.
Ralph Blum even states in his "Book of Runes" (I am paraphrasing) that those are his own interpretations and that each person may have different views.

For clarities sake this is how I break down the different Runic Streams/Branches/Schools of Thought:

I'm curious where you'd file Paxton.

Take in mind the Runic Streams as I understand them, are not cut in stone. It’s just a convenient way for me to grasp a bigger picture of the different Runic perspectives and schools of thought. Having said that, what do you think about my Paxson filing: do you agree?  

I'm inclined to agree - I asked because I feel her work covers a wide field of classification. What I like about her is that she offers a complete, fairly consistent magical system that's based on the runes; I guess you could also argue that she's a fork unto herself in that sense.

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While there have been many beautiful and powerful experiences and gifts from Ingwaz, one of the more powerful was that experience of finding this note from someone I had long disconnected with (13 years). As I stood there looking at the note, all I could think of was how powerful this Runic experience has been.

 
I can tell how powerful this experience was by your description, wow! It can be such a punch in the gut coming across something like that, knowing it was in your space this entire time. If it happens to me again I will likely think of what you wrote here.

My plan for this thread is to share weekly insights, experiences, and/or beliefs arising from my Runic Journey.

 
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I thought Uruz would come easy, I mean, I am a Taurus, that’s bound to count for something.

It didn’t.

One of the general associations with Uruz is strength, which, in some ways I am definitely strong. For instance, going through this Runic process even though it’s turned out to be way more intense and difficult than I planned. On the other hand, when it comes to pain and discomfort I pretty much do whatever I can to avoid it. That’s not a bad thing, mind you, but when it comes to courage and strength, it’s not the best thing either.

So how does Uruz help me with this?

Not the way I wanted it to. I wanted to invite Uruz into my life, and poof, I would be strong and courageous. That’s not how it works.

In fact, what Uruz has shown me so far is where I am weak, areas that need shoring up, things that need to be confronted, et cetera. Needless to say, I've got plenty to work with.

One area I'm confronting myself on is my fear of pain. I mean, come on, who the hell wants to step on a nail if they don’t have to? In the same way, I would never choose to hunt, much less, confront an Aurochs, but if it came down to protecting my kin, I would fight it to the death.

But beyond extreme circumstances like that, I would hike a good way around it so as to never come in conflict with it. The only problem with that in life is, if we’re always going out of our way to avoid discomfort and pain, we’ll miss out on a lot of things in life: love for instance.

So how am I confronting my dislike of pain, I am slowly, ever so slowly, piercing myself with the thorn to draw blood. Before I would quickly jab my skin, now I push it in and feel three layers of skin break before blood flows.

If I’m to be truthful, it’s really sucked. The first time I did it, I pierced every finger just to prove to myself that I wasn’t afraid. I was.

Today though,
as I pierced myself again,
I was less afraid.
My body did not tighten like before.
I didn’t grind my teeth
and I didn’t resist or pull away.

It hurt,
but I wasn’t afraid.

It hurt,
but I wasn’t afraid.

I find myself rather enjoying your updates, Suba. I'm curious if / how seidhr influences your project? Or any other historical sources of inspiration for how you're approaching this?

My plan for this thread is to share weekly insights, experiences, and/or beliefs arising from my Runic Journey.

When I first opened to Jera it was a blundering experience. I acquired a wheat stalk to represent and channel Jera, as one of its associations is about the harvest, only, when I colored the Rune and offered my blood nothing happened.

I knew all the traditional and not so traditional meanings and associations, which usually helps me connect with the Rune, but this time, nothing. It wasn’t until I was preparing to move into Eihwaz that something clicked: time.
 
One experience I’ve been having with Jera is fluctuations in time. I’ve been off my game since I’ve open to Jera.

So I researched my power object: wheat was not a regular grain of the north. There is evidence of it being grown in Sweden, but beyond that, barley and rye were the grains of the north. So I got barley, planted some, and activated the rest with my blood.

That’s when I felt Jera’s energy flow.

Be it psychological or sub-energetic levels of being, the experience was beyond words.

Now I find myself playing with my perception and experience of time. Those “forever moments” like waiting for the bell to ring, a person to come, or a thing to happen, are all examples of time slowing down. Having a great time, hanging with friends, being engrossed within a novel or movie are all examples of time speeding up.

Two things I’ve observed from these experiences is that time seems to slow down the more focused I am, and appears to speed up when I’m fully engaged and joyful.

Another fascinating experience I’m having is time’s mutability. I’ve accomplish more in five minutes than in twenty merely by having the thought that I have plenty of time. The way I experience time is directly connected to my perception of it.

It’s pretty cool.  

Which brings me to an interesting lesson I’ve learned: the more present I am in the moment the less time has control over my life. I’m not claiming immortality or any other such power, it’s just a fact that when I’m fully present with what I’m doing, time no longer seems to be a controlling factor in my life.

In the past I’ve struggled with time: there’s just not enough of it, it goes by too quickly, how can I fit everything in, when is it due, I have to work, I need to sleep, I can’t wait, and so on. These thoughts no longer infect my mind.

In fact, for the last few months I’ve been less forward thinking and less caught/identified with my past than ever before in my life. Jera has intensified that experience a thousand fold, for now I’m consciously aware of the process.  

While I still plan and look forward to things, I no longer suffer because something is in the future or in the past. I’m completely invested in the present moment, and that’s where I want to be.