Tag Archives: runes

Spiritual Development, Witchcraft

Witchy Questions: Do you use tarot, palmistry, or 
any other kind of divination?

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This post was inspired by Question #6 on this list.

This is probably going to be a bit of a short answer, seeing as I already did an entire podcast episode about divination last summer. Personally, I think divination is absolutely essential to witchcraft or any other spiritual practice. Divination is what allows a dialogue between yourself and whatever you believe in — gods, guiding spirits, your higher self, you unconscious mind, or something else — and makes your spiritual and magical practice interactive. It’s a way to gain insight into what it is you want to accomplish and possibly how to best go about it. Personally, I am accustomed to using both runes — though I don’t divine with them nearly as often as I incorporate them into my magical workings — and tarot. And of course, I would also considering meditation and other practices I use to communicate directly with my goddess to be a type of divination.

Magic/Magick, Paganism, Personal Development, Podcast, Psychic Stuff, Religion, Spiritual Development, Tarot, Witchcraft

Pagan Podcast: Divination for Self Empowerment

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It’s the end of July and that means it’s time for episode to of my podcast, The Bed and The Blade. In this episode, I talk about divination as a tool for self-empowerment. I include advice on how to start exploring the world of divination and discuss some of the tools available. I tried to find a great balance between information, suggestions, strong opinions, and the acknowledgement that other points of views exist and are legitimate. As always, you can listen here or check it out through any of the distributors listed below. I’ve also included links to the tools I mentioned and other resources you might find useful in this post.

Listen Now

https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=10667189

Tools Mentioned in the Podcast

Note: I have received no compensation for mentioning or linking to any of the above tools. Nor do I receive any sort of compensation if you purchase any of them.

Helpful Resources

Note: I have received no compensation for linking to or promoting any of the above resources. Nor do I receive any sort of compensation if you purchase any of them.

Legal

The music used to introduce and conclude this podcast is from “Outdated Time” by Esther Garcia. It was provided by Jamendo and licensed to me for use with this podcast.

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Spiritual Development

Rune of The Day: Ing

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As I have mentioned previously, I have studied runes and use then for both divination and magic. In an attempt to build up a regular spiritual practice and get back to basics, I”m starting to draw a rune each morning and meditating on how it applies to my life and current circumstances throughout the day.  I’ve also decided to start occasionally blogging about the rune I pick for a given day.  Today’s post is the first such post.

Rune:  Ing, Inguz, or Ingwaz Image of the most common stave for the rune Ing.

One word meaning: The God Ing.

Information: Ing was another name for Freyr, the Vanic god of leadership and fertility. Freyr was married to the giant woman Gerd, who is often associated with the earth. In order to win her hand in marriage, he had to offer up and hand over his own sword. In some areas of Northern Europe, statues of Freyr were driven around the countryside in carts and hailed as the king and husband of the land who would bring prosperity to it.

The rune is strongly associated with the fertility and sexuality aspect of Ing, to the point where some of suggested that one stave (a diamond) commonly used to represent it is reminiscent and representative of a male gonad.

Interpretation and Other Thoughts

Ing calls us to consider our creative side, especially for those endeavors that are just beginning or are even still in the planning side. We would do well to consider what projects are at hand or just coming up that would benefit from our attention, energies, and efforts to help them gestate and develop so that they can eventually blossom into full fruition.

In group situations, Ing may call for us to act as peacemakers and attempt to calm and resolve conflicts, especially if it is our own “sword” that needs to be put away. The possibility of gentle leadership and mentoring might also be suggested, as Ing is generous and prefers to share in both the work towards prosperity and its benefits.

(Image taken from Raven Runes.  Note:  A link of this sort is not an endorsement.)

Memories

Memories: Taking up the Runes

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A bindrune for good fortune.
A bindrune for good fortune.

Back in 1998, my first boyfriend, Zech, stayed a few days.  We were driving somewhere and I mentioned in passing that I was thinking about learning to read tarot.  “Why don’t you learn runes instead,” he suggested.  “They’re a lot easier.”  As a result, I went to the bookstore and bought a set of runes with a well known but not very good (at least from a more traditional point of view) book.  I read through the book in a day and started doing readings for myself and friends.  I was amazed at how well I took to them.  Little did I know the key role they’d play in the journey I was about to undertake.

A couple months later, Zech and I broke up and I lost at least one friend in the aftermath.  As a result, my life was thrown into a sense of chaos.  Around Halloween, I decided to do a massive rune reading for myself, one that involved twelve runes.   That reading led me to search new spiritual paths, which brought me to the Pagan paths.

A couple years later, I started reading other books on runes, as i was still fascinating by them.  I began to read sources that were more traditional, which was difficult.  In time, I devoured books by Thorsson, Diana Paxson, Nigel Pennick, Freya Aswynn, Jan Fries, and a few other authors whose names escape me.  In fact, it was my love of runes and the lore surrounding them that caused a trusted mentor to suggest that I should look into following the Norse gods.  That’s how I ended up a devotee of Freyja.

I don’t use runes as much is my personal practice these days, though I still have a grand love for them.  Also, it led me to teach a rune class — and developing a follow-up mini-class — on runes for my local Pagan store.  I’ve also since learned tarot which I like as well.  I’m not sure I agree with Zech that runes are actually easier.  But they still have a special place in my heart and I probably have a bit of a preference for them.