A Rune Casting for Uncertain Times
One time, when I was about 10-years-old, I was furious about some situations in my life, of which I had zero control. The rage I felt made my hands shake, and I couldn’t form coherent sentences, only cry bitterly and clench my tiny fists as I stared at the floor in misery. My father knelt beside me with empathy that I now understand very well and asked, “do you feel like you just can’t take it anymore?”
“Yea Dad, I’m so mad. I can’t even find words!” I sputtered through tears.
“It’s ok,” I understand. Let’s go for a walk.”
We got in his old car with no heat and drove to the edge of town and got out near some sprawling, empty, frozen cornfields that were sparkling with winter frost. We walked in silence for a long time in the quiet winter night, the dark blue sky dotted with frosty stars and ice crunching under my feet when I walked over puddles that seemed like glass sheets draped over the brown dirt road. Dad walked in front of me, wearing the old flannel shirt that he’d had since before I was born (and that he still wears), quietly exhaling clouds of steam that would float and fade into the dark sky in tiny grey wisps.
“Sometimes when the world seems like it’s a horrible place and you can’t deal with it anymore, it helps to just walk.” He seemed to talk to no one in particular when he started musing like this.
I walked after him, not really thinking about anything anymore, I focused on putting one foot in front of the other as my breathing steadied and my anger dissolved. My tears had dried, my eyelashes were cold, and I could feel the ends of my nostrils had frozen snot crusted on them. Somehow I felt at peace with the situation. The situation hadn’t changed, and never would. But I was dealing with it by doing something I had power over, and this was putting one foot in front of the other. Walking. Moving.
I honestly don’t remember what I said to him in response to his musings, if I said anything at all. But for some reason that moment stuck with me, and ever since then when I feel overwhelmed, I walk. The point is that movement heals, flow in any direction and things will change, whether we like it or not we can’t freeze time. The future is coming, whether you are ready or not.
And now, more than ever, the future seems uncertain, and I assume now that many of you would have a tough time just walking it out.
As we approach six weeks of quarantine in France with more than a few of my friends having lamented to me “I can’t deal with this much longer,” I think about the whole world feeling this collective apprehension. Everyone is glued to their news feeds, to Facebook, to Twitter (pick your poison) and wondering when (and more recently “if”) things will return to normal. Naturally, just as I do at times in my own life when I question the path to take or the choice to make, I thought it would be a good idea to consult the oracle and cast the runes.
So, with this current period of humanity questioning itself on my mind I did a typical 3 rune spread.
The first rune, addressing the situation, was Ehwas, which indicates that we are in a time of movement, transition, and change. The current situation is evolving every day to the point of leaving many with a feeling of whiplash. This feeling of insecurity in the present and future can lead us to spiral into hopelessness. At the same time, it might be interesting to ask ourselves how we can be so bold as to think that each moment that passes won’t change the future, as we have no control over the unravelling of time. If you think of any being in the natural world it’s inclination is to move as time progresses. Whether it is a young spring flower ever-reaching towards the sun or an ancient dead tree whose trunk is rotting on the forest floor, each moment that passes, there is a change.
Ehwas serves to remind us that there is change, there is a time of transition, no matter what we do, we cannot stop time, and we cannot stop change. Thus it is normal that we feel this change, physically and mentally, that we recognise it’s a force in our lives. This change impacts our lives, some in good ways, some in horrifying ways. And whether we like it or not, we can do nothing to stop the change altogether. We must evolve and adapt.
The second rune is Wunjo, which is an interesting way for the runes to respond to the question of challenge at this time. I thought of this as a time when we have a torch, it’s lit and we must find the path, but the path is hidden. We must discover our way through this shifting darkness. As the darkness moves, shadows form around what we once thought was the path to normalcy and we are left spinning around in the darkness as the darkness envelopes us, a thousand voices whispering different omens of death, loneliness, fear, new rules, new challenges, loss and anger… but we have a torch and as long as we breath we have some fire. It is our strength to lift the torch and find the path, to find our way. No one will do this for you. Wunjo reminds us that this light is here, and it will lead you to knowledge, acceptance and the future. But you have to seize this and use it. You must seize the challenge handed to you in your own two hands and reshape your future.
The third and final rune, Othila reversed, serves to warn us of our actions. As world leaders continue to talk about “opening the economy” and “getting back to work” we are also thinking about when we can go out into the social world again. We wonder when we can meet with our friends and start living our social, yet somehow, very disconnected lives again.
At the same time, this crisis has served as a reminder for many people that their old way of living isn’t very fulfilling. Some have begun to make some significant changes they’ve been planning for awhile, journaling, learning a new trade online, taking more time for silent reflection. Others have chosen to remove toxic things and people from their life and engage in their life experience in a different way entirely. That’s great, but let’s remember that old habits die hard. Othila reversed warns of danger if we don’t consider our actions in the future and simply slip back into our old ways, reckless behaviour, or carelessness. Othila suggests we think long and hard during this time of confinement, deciding what path we will take and accepting that it is not always easy or comfortable, but it might be necessary. The changes that you choose to make are your own business, but whatever they are, make sure you stick with it because if you backslide into old ways, you’ll discover that there will only be misery.
It’s your choice how you use the light offered to you in this darkness. And it is also your choice if you will maintain the course on the new path that has been offered to you or if you will sink back into the old ways. It’s your choice if you will embrace this movement and keep moving or if you will sit in stagnancy and anger. It’s ok to feel angry, sad or powerless, but you are not powerless over everything. The power to find the light is yours and the strength is within you. You might need help from friends or family, you might need to dig deep and refuse to be defeated by this, but it will be worth it in the end.
