Retiring Berkana
Jul. 29th, 2012 02:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wgseligmanI've been a rune-reader for a long time. In 1999, as a result of a contribution to the Goddess Brigid during an Imbolc ceremony, I started wearing a Wunjo necklace, which I'd made myself.
My interpretation of Wunjo is "joy, charm, contentment." I wore that amulet consistently for about 13 years, and had my share of joy.
A couple of months ago, I lost that Wunjo necklace at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sabrinamari's home during a party for mage_imbroglio. They looked for the necklace, but could not find it.
As it happened, I had another runic necklace: Berkana. Perhaps it was time to face the challenges for something new entering into my life. I started wearing the Berkana necklace as consistently as I had worn the Wunjo.
Within two months after I did so, I experienced a major health crisis that has continued for a few weeks. It's a complex story, and one that I'm not going to discuss in a public post. At this point, my conclusion is: I've learned some valuable things with Berkana, but it's definitely time for a new rune.
Last night, my Wiccan group Acorn Garden celebrated a low-key Lammas. A friend of one of my students joined us. She's Danish, and knows much more about the runes than I do. I told her that I wanted to switch to a healing rune, and suggested Uruz. She agreed, but also suggested an element of Eiwaz and Laguz as well. (She didn't use those names. I use the poorly-research Ralph Blum names for the runes and their interpretations, while she used the more historically-accurate names.)
As I was being driven home, I thought about how I'd combine those runes into a single healing sigil. I decided on a pattern. This morning, I looked up healing runes on the web, and found this page had a healing sigil that was identical to the one I designed on my own:
. They call it UI (pronounced "ee"), or "turning point."
I had some level of confirmation. Today I've dug out my rune-carving materials from the back of my closet and am trying to make runic amulets with that sigil. I've forgotten a lot, and I've made mistakes. I'm still confident that by the end of the day, I'll have a new necklace to wear.
My interpretation of Wunjo is "joy, charm, contentment." I wore that amulet consistently for about 13 years, and had my share of joy.
A couple of months ago, I lost that Wunjo necklace at
sabrinamari's home during a party for mage_imbroglio. They looked for the necklace, but could not find it. As it happened, I had another runic necklace: Berkana. Perhaps it was time to face the challenges for something new entering into my life. I started wearing the Berkana necklace as consistently as I had worn the Wunjo.
Within two months after I did so, I experienced a major health crisis that has continued for a few weeks. It's a complex story, and one that I'm not going to discuss in a public post. At this point, my conclusion is: I've learned some valuable things with Berkana, but it's definitely time for a new rune.
Last night, my Wiccan group Acorn Garden celebrated a low-key Lammas. A friend of one of my students joined us. She's Danish, and knows much more about the runes than I do. I told her that I wanted to switch to a healing rune, and suggested Uruz. She agreed, but also suggested an element of Eiwaz and Laguz as well. (She didn't use those names. I use the poorly-research Ralph Blum names for the runes and their interpretations, while she used the more historically-accurate names.)
As I was being driven home, I thought about how I'd combine those runes into a single healing sigil. I decided on a pattern. This morning, I looked up healing runes on the web, and found this page had a healing sigil that was identical to the one I designed on my own:
. They call it UI (pronounced "ee"), or "turning point."I had some level of confirmation. Today I've dug out my rune-carving materials from the back of my closet and am trying to make runic amulets with that sigil. I've forgotten a lot, and I've made mistakes. I'm still confident that by the end of the day, I'll have a new necklace to wear.
