For the week of 16 February 2020

Persons, relationships, blessing

Sowilu (Sowilo) is the half-month stave through 27 February. Gebo is the intuitive rune, and Berkana indicates Blessing’s message to us. Read right to left is Sowilu, Gebo, then Berkana.

I truly believe that #theweeklyrune includes the keys to making better choices based on keen insight into the present, to help each of us be more active in creating a better life for us all. That realization process includes learning to tend what can’t just be fixed, and using every tool at our disposal. The runes are such a tool, and in the Old Norse tradition, this process is wyrdweaving at it deepest potential. The runes provide one way we can create ourselves as fit elders, so that upon our good death, we can be well Ancestors.

This is the free version of The Weekly Rune.  Get the full benefit of the  ad-free, detailed version every Sunday, by joining my private runes community at Patreon.

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I will be doing a presentation on Deathwalking as Sacred Activism for the Shift Network’s *FREE* Ancestral Healing Summit. It starts today, the 17th, and is several days of many different perspectives on Ancestor engagement. They have a good, inclusive line up with some necessary perspectives represented.

You can register for the whole deal by clicking the button below.

Thanks for all you do, and msg me if you have any questions!

What’s a half-month rune?

“Half-month” is an astronomical concept in which each month is divided into two parts: days 1-15, then 16-month’s end. In terms of the runic calendar, each half-month rune is one of the 24 runes of the Elder Futhark, and governs for a tad over two weeks (14 and 1/4 days, or a fortnight).

Learn More

The Weekly Rune is a three-rune cast. Those runes are the half-month, the intuitive rune, and the overview. The half-month is a set rune, which for the most part follows the traditional ordering of the Elder Futhark. The intuitive stave (meaning, I draw it blind) indicates the life force most available to us, to the focus of the half-month rune into sharper focus. It suggests how we can best handle the half-month energies. The final rune (also drawn blind) provides a high overview of the current time, and speaks from different voices. These voices have been Nature, Earth, Creation, though are sometimes others. I note who’s speaking each week, as it is revealed.

 

New to The Weekly Rune?

  • Catch a couple of my IGTV videos, which explain the intention and process behind the runecast, and what makes it different from other ways of casting.
  • Listen to my What in the Wyrd podcast, which is available across all popular podcast platforms, including Google Play and  iTunes.
  • A few people have asked the reason that I switch between different rune sets for TWR. The short answer is: because. The more nuanced answer is, I ask which sets wants to speak each week. I don’t assume the same elements are in play according to the timing of the runes; I also don’t assume the same elements of my runes are appropriate to speak each week. I did a podcast on this subject, so there’s more info there. (See above)
  • Also, for deep work on coming into relationship with the runes in season, check out my book, Runic Book of Days.

The Runecast

Sowilu is a significant seasonal passage in the north. Sure, the progression through each rune is significant. I single Sowilu out because it’s seasonal spot actually still aligns with how much of North American experiences this time of year. One of the biggest challenges in Nature-based spiritual paths is that the way we experience season isn’t the way our Ancestors did, it’s likely not even where our Ancestors were located, and the retrofitted models we’ve accepted as most applicable to our contemporary rhythms also don’t really fit. We’re left with a hyper-focused sense of where we stand, and for right now, Sowilu is where the north is standing. For reals.

Learn more about this seasonal progression, and how to draw its insights into the personal spiritual path in Runic Book of Days.

What does it mean?

Sowilu is considered the rune of Divinity. It’s the force behind All Things (or of All Things) encapsulated in our reliance on the sun, making the connection that within that warmth we bear responsiblities to shine on others. It’s the pay-it-forward rune. As such, it generally indicates a very bright and uplifting outlook. Combined with Gebo and Berkana, it’s the happy family of runecasts.

Of course there’s subtext to these liaisons, and that whisper is along the lines of being really aware of ourselves, making use of our influence, so that we can value the bonds it brings, which are what keep the whole thing moving. But how? What are the personal sacrifices that are required, and what makes them worth it?   Read more…

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For more insight into the runes, tending your unquiet dead and Ancestors, and cultivating  a strong spiritual path

join my community Runes for Change.

For suggestions on how to weather the season gracefully, subscribe to my private runes community on Patreon.

#beyourcommunity

Originally published on Soul Intent Arts.

S. Kelley Harrell, M. Div.

I’m an animist, author, deathwalker and death doula. For the last 25+ years, through Soul Intent Arts I’ve helped others to ethically build thriving spiritual paths as fit, embodied elders, who upon death become wise, capable Ancestors. My work is Nature-based, and focuses soul tending through the Elder Futhark runes, animism, ancestral healing, and deathwork. I’m author of Runic Book of Days, and I host the podcast, What in the Wyrd. I also write The Weekly Rune as a celebration of the Elder Futhark in season. Full bio.

#beyourcommunity ~ #youareecosystem

elder well, die well, ancestor well

@kelleysoularts

Elder Well

To bear your unique gift to the world.

Die Well

To leave the planet better than you found it.

Ancestor Well

So that your descendants never elder alone.

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