For the Week of 28 January 2024

Getting Midgard Right

Algiz is the half-month rune through 12 February. The intuitive rune is Mannaz reversed. The earthly spirit of place anchoring the runes this week is Barred Owl, in the direction of Within (mink skull), with element Ether (rainbow ribbon), in the season of Spring (tree button). From right to left are Algiz (ceramic tile), then Mannaz reversed. 

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Algiz means a couple of different things, given the rune poems. It can mean an  elk or a sedge grass (also called elk sedge), both of which are territorial, protective, and omens of optimistic offense. Algiz is a deeply animistic rune, in that it directly points to our relationship with our ecosystem, and not just that we acknowledge that we’re in one, but that we’re actually involved with it. We tend it. We’re in reciprocity with it. We observe no separation. The suggestion here is that we are so integrated into our ecosystem that we are family with it, thus carry it with us everywhere we go. That’s the protection and reminder of who we are that Algiz brings.

We have to ground the initiation of Eihwaz, through the risk of Perthro, into the ecosystem relationships of Algiz.

 Curious then that the best way to work with Algiz is through Mannaz reversed, which tends to indicate muzziness in our social interactions. Mannaz is a coming out rune, in that it occurs in the Futhark progression that we are presenting a new aspect of Self to the world or a new way of being, and we’re in search of support for it. Reversed, it doesn’t mean the support isn’t there, so much as it may be harder to locate. Our insecurity may not allow us to accept sincere support. It can leave us with the feeling that we’re outside, not included in Flow specifically because of this new facet of Self. 

 Sit with the places where this may be true. Consider that it feels true but isn’t actually. Consider that people that have been entrusted with this new Self aren’t trustworthy, or that there’s confusion in the interaction that makes them seem untrustworthy. 

 When I put those questions alongside the protective ecosystem of Algiz, the memo I get is protect our Midgard. Despite the socialness of Mannaz, our best supports are those closer to home–literally ecosystem, which can still include human persons. Given that, Algiz is asking us to ‘get our Midgard right,’ as in, do the roll call, assess needs and ask for what’s needed, give what’s asked, bring those relationships into as pristine a balance as possible. Actions for this week aren’t big, they aren’t reaching into utangardr. Rather, they are smaller, local, and deeply centered on tending ecosystem relationships.

Holding space for us to do that this week is Barred Owl. This ally this week sees behind masks, those of our culture, and of being human. They’re a take-no-shit ally that moves easily between living and spirit worlds, and for that reason can’t be deceived. As someone who has walked closely with Barred Owl for my entire adulthood, that skill seems cool as long as isn’t pointed at Self. It also means that with Barred Owl comes the challenge to realize the deceptions of settler culture and still stay rooted in soul calling. Owl, in general lives and walks beyond illusion, though it also brings protection. The bars on its chest indicate sacred space. Keep that in mind while vying for space to birth relationship with ecosystem this week. The earthly Ally helping us to do that is fierce, not just in defending it, but also in making sure we stay in our best lane in how we birth it. Its appearance means validation of feelings, that we’re heading in the right direction, doing the right thing.

Within is the realm of Níðhöggr. It literally is both the underground caverns of inner Midgard and the secret tunnels within us. It represents our torso, nervous system, gut instinct. It speaks directly to our animism, our personal relationship with being on the planet, and our capability of allowing Body to be both the boundary for and determiner of our experience here. Within reinforces that we take initiative, we set the parameters–again, do agency. It informs us that there are parameters to be set, as well as we have to take action on them–as in, if we don’t Ansuz, other forces will plug in random parameters that may or may not be beneficial or represent our truth. And our spirit helpers can’t do it for us. It was never their job to do so, but apparently now more than ever, they aren’t in a palace to intervene.

Within is the direction of the center of who we are–our center of personal cosmology, stretching out into All Things. It is soul in form. It is animisming in interdependence and belonging. It is our direct personal relationship to being here, now, embodied. It reiterates our accountability to formed being, the reminder that we have foot in both worlds that meet at the heart. Despite that the heart and passion can easily dictate how we move among, we are challenged to remember to move with our whole Selves, with our whole Within. 

It both exalts what is wonderful about being in form, while fully honors that we are also Other. It fosters us to remember that we do not and cannot forego honoring all of who we are. We literally do not have to choose.

Ether (the rainbow ribbon) is a primordial state of everything and nothing, all at once. At base, I think of it as the presence of all the elements in balance; thus, it’s a state of infinite connectedness, interdependence, and belonging as the basis of all life. The presence of Ether in this cast reminds me of all earthly helping spirits visiting the cast last week. This element brings a tremendous amount of support for transmuting our relationship to place–literally. The elements are the agents we invoke in ritual to evoke change in the world.

Spring, which presents new growth, creativity is also the seasonal point that human-persons can more safely venture beyond their own thresholds–utangardr–return to the forest. The space that Spring holds is one of opportunity to verge outward and explore new territory. And it is this season that brings the most optimistic aspects of this runecast. We can see the place we’re in as the foundations for growth that will come, which allows us to glimpse the world we are building. 

Half-month Rune Prompts

• What are you bringing from your experience with Perthro?

• How does that situate with the advice or protection and rebuilding Midgard relationships?

Galdr

The way that I use galdr is through chanting. I find repetition of the base phonetic helps me feel the rune. Remember that the Elder Futhark isn’t a language. It was originally an alphabet, incorporated into mythical origin. It functions phonetically, both in spelling and pronunciation. Given that, galdr isn’t terribly different from the overall pronunciation, and the emphasis is on the intention of the chant, not so much the pronunciation.

My personal emphasis in galdr is on the vowels initially and I incorporate the consonants later. For instance, with Ansuz, I focus on ‘ahw-oo,’ before incorporating the middle ‘n,’ such as ‘ahwnsoo.’ There is no right or wrong with galdr (although I guess there could be a flat-out wrong?), though often the final consonants aren’t pronounced, as in ‘ahwsoo.’ Practice galdring different ways, and go with the way that you feel in your body.

• Algiz – Elhaz or Eolh, Awl, Awlyee, Ail, Ailhaw, Ailha, Elha, Elhwa

• Mannaz – Mah, Mahn, Mahna

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S. Kelley Harrell, M. Div.

Kelley Harrell is an animist, author, deathwalker, and death doula held by Tuscarora, Woccon, and Sissipihaw land. For the last 30 years, through Soul Intent Arts she’s helped others ethically build thriving spiritual paths. Her work is Nature-based, and centers soul tending through the Elder Futhark runes, animism, ancestral tending, and deathwork. She hosts the podcast, What in the Wyrd, and also writes The Weekly Rune as a celebration of the Elder Futhark in season. Work with her in the Runes for Change community or in her intensive soul tending training, The Spirited Path.  Full bio.

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