In Harmony And Balance ~ Spring Equinox Runecasting

Yesterday was the Spring Equinox so I drew some runes to set the course for the coming months. I’m less about celebrating Sabbats and more about observing Esbat rituals and responding to the passage of the seasons, so the equinoxes and the solstices resonate the most for me. It’s a time for casting balanced intention and Kenaz, Thurisaz, Ehwaz, and Othala should provide the necessary influence to do just that. There’s a numerology of five or change which makes sense given that the signs of growth are everywhere with Fire, Water, and Earth influencing.

Kenaz begins the runecasting as the sixth rune of the Elder Futhark, illuminating our path until the Autumn Equinox in September (my personal favorite). As the rune of openings, Kenaz reveals truth, particularly when things aren’t what they seem. It increases intuition, purifies, and brings spiritual enlightenment. Kenaz offers healing to those in need and kindles love and passion.

Moljnir, the Hammer of Thor, is represented by Thurisaz, the third rune of the Elder Futhark. Its energy is catalytic, protecting and defending us from out of control circumstances. Its power also suggests that we keep our own in check to avoid impulsive action. Thurisaz breaks through resistance in all forms to create new beginnings and positive change.

More change is influenced and strengthened by Ehwaz, the nineteenth rune. It represents astral travel and the Merkaba of the soul along with Sleipner, Odin’s 8-legged steed. Ehwaz represents partnership as well as safe travel, assisting us in moving around obstacles and drawing in harmony to any situation. Resembling Laguz both forward and reversed, Ehwaz binds people together in reciprocity creating balanced partnerships and, like Raidho, emphasizes mutual reliance.

Depending upon the runecaster, Othala either appears at the end of the Elder Futhark or just before the end, some placing Dagaz at the end. I’ve vacillated and now I’m back to placing Othala as the twenty-fourth rune. A rune of sacred space, Othala represents our Akash or our greater unified presence. A rune of Elemental Earth, it signifies the power of all runes wisely balancing order with chaos. Some chaos is fine as long as it catalyzes change that’s productive. The top half of the rune is Inguz, or the seed of our creation, while the bottom half is Gebo, the rune of balanced energy exchange. We begin in Fehu and end in Othala but along the way we learn that our greatest power is found in unity and harmony with others.

Much can happen over the course of a year’s time. Winter is past and Spring has now begun, even here on the High Desert where things take a little more time. I’ve begun moving plants out into the greenhouse, although most are still inside. I spent yesterday working in my medicinal herb garden and transplanted strawberries from there to some raised beds in the hoop house. Its top tore apart during a windstorm so we put netting over it so that we could have a living roof. Green beans and gourds grew overtop last year, however, this year I’ll only grow beans.

We’re adding more soil and compost to the hugel beds in the dome greenhouse. We do that each year as the under layer rots down. Hugelkulture is interesting. It’s great for any arrid environment because it utilizes wood debris as its base which retains water making it a great option in our dry, volcanic area. By year three, the beds are developed enough that they begin providing their own fertilizer, assuming you continue to build them over the years. And that’s where we are now, in year three, so the beds should really do well this year. We’ve been able to use flood irrigation to fill the hugel bed that surrounds the inside and outside of the dome. Of course, we don’t flood it so that there is any standing water like my neighbors did last year when they didn’t take their irrigation water and flooded my garden with 2 1/2 feet of water. Instead, we direct just enough to flow under the hugel beds so that the wood debris gets a good soaking. We use less water from the hose that way and the beds still stay hydrated.

I grow my Roma tomatoes in the dome. However, I didn’t get any after three-quarters of them were submerged under my neighbor’s irrigation water they couldn’t be bothered to take. They were beautiful, three of them were over two feet tall when I transplanted them in the dome, having grown them from the prior year’s seed. But the shock from the water was such that no matter what I did to support them throughout the summer, it wasn’t enough. The shock to the root system was just too much. No pasta sauce or salsa. None. And no apology either. From yuppies, who’ve never grown up.

But I do view the runecasting as a signal that this season will be different from last year. The drama of losing our community well now over, and with fingers crossed that we won’t be breathing a steady amount of toxic smoke from the entire West Coast burning down, we might just begin the growing season in a normal fashion. In other words, watching for killing frost temperatures and frantically buying out all the frost covers in town. Because that’s a never ending experience around here. We’ve been known to have snow, ice, hail, garden-killing frost, and triple digits all in the same twenty-four hour period. So gardening on the High Desert isn’t for the faint of heart. I don’t even cry anymore when screaming obscenities is far more satisfying.

Love, passion, and harmony appear to be the strongest themes which will be a nice change. Who am I kidding? I just want some freakin’ tomatoes to can without my neighbors screwing things up and destroying them. Big Mama Romas. They’re as big as my husband’s fist. All meat and oh, so fabulous. So we’ll see how much harmony we experience. But after last year’s nonsense, I’m in no mood for any further crap.

Ending with Othala gives me hope. I’m more of a team player than an isolationist and any time I can work together with others to bring about something better gives me such happiness. But even if this is simply about harmony within, I’m ready for that as well what with the orange guy still in the Oval.

Blessings!