Hello Roses, and happy Autumn’s end!

We’ve maybe two weeks yet to go until Autumn’s official end, but as they say… “‘tis the season!” This magical time of year (like any other) comes with its own unique beauties and charms as well as its own special downsides and pitfalls, and each of us experience this season differently. Whether you’re busy decking the halls with boughs of yaupon holly and or hiding from social obligations in a dark corner of your castle, I’d like to offer you a little something to help you through this holiday season, and I think the runes have just the sort of magical medicine that December calls for.

The following are all elder futhark runes, and the information and suggested practices I’ve included come from a combination of study, practice, and personal gnosis. When working with runes, as with any magic, I always recommend keeping a journal to record your thoughts, gnoses, and experiences! These written records will help you into the future as you deepen your relationship and practice with runes.

Jera: the Turning of the Wheel

Jera, literally “year,” is a wonderful rune for end-of-year magic and meditation. Jera is the rune of cyclical time, and reminds us that what goes around comes around, what we send out returns to us, and what goes up must come down. Jera’s cyclical symmetry encourages hopeful thoughts and attitudes towards the passage of time, as Winter is not only the end of one year, but the beginning of the next. Winter Solstice (often celebrated as Yule or Christmas) takes place on the shortest day and the longest night, but it is also the time at which the nights will begin to grow shorter and the days will begin to grow longer. Winter Solstice is the heart of the year’s darkness, through which we must pass to walk again in the light.

If you, like me, are someone who often has a hard time dealing with shorter daylight hours and earlier nightfall, especially if you are further from the equator, you may find some Solstice-season solace in working with and meditating upon Jera. This rune can also be helpful for anyone who is experiencing regret for past choices or dissatisfaction with the status quo. If you’re feeling down about 2019 or your 20s or what-have-you, call upon Jera in your practice. Write it down, feel into its essence, carry it in your pocket, or wear it around your neck, and be reminded that the darkness and the light are two sides of the same coin, the abundant harvest and the barren field two sides of the same cycle, and the only constant is change. If the stew is sticking to the bottom of the pot, give your cauldron a good stir.

Dagaz: the Time Between

What exists in the space between darkness and light? At the moment between decrease and increase, increase and decrease, rise and fall? What lies on the threshold but not on either side? Dagaz is the dawn, the dusk, and the door. It is a liminal rune of that which exists at the place where two things meet, and yet is not either of those two things. Winter Solstice is the day that is neither Autumn (death) nor Winter (rebirth), just as Summer Solstice is the day that is neither Spring (fertility) nor Summer (productivity and pleasure). The Solstices are the days between the rise and fall of the daylight cycle, and they are liminal times. The transition into the New Year is a similarly liminal time—one is reminded that January is named for Janus, the two-faced Roman god of thresholds and transitions. In Celtic tradition, sundown on Samhain Eve (October 31st) marks the end of the year and the new year is not said to begin again until Samhain morning (November 1st). To the Celts, this meant that the night between that sunset and sunrise was not part of any year, and whatever mischief one made on that night “didn’t really count,” so to speak.

In any case, this is an in-between time, and the magical thing about these times is that in the in-between places and the in-between times, things are not so set in stone, not so materially fixed and unchangeable. Liminal times are good times to slip into liminal spaces—in other words, hedge witchery is afoot! With the help of Dagaz (if you so desire), step with one foot into another world, keeping one foot grounded in this one, and see where you can go and what you can learn! What can you become in the space between worlds, in the space between moments? What can you glean from the next world over?

As December is a time for reflecting on the year’s events and accomplishments and formulating goals and plans for the coming year, this is a good time to consider who you want to become in the coming year. Take some time to journal your reflections on the past year, the progress you have made, the obstacles you have encountered, and how you have responded to them. Without judgment, decide what behaviors and habits you choose to leave in the past, and what behaviors and habits you choose to manifest in yourself in the coming year. Then, at the time that feels the most in-between to you (bedtime on the solstice, 11:59pm on New Year’s Eve, Samhain Eve, your birthday—whatever feels right for you), sit with Dagaz in physical form (you could hold a runestone, write it on a sheet of paper near you, or even draw it temporarily on your forehead) and visualize the rune as a glowing gate or door. As you step through the door, envision the fiery glow of the Dagaz-door burning, washing, or otherwise stripping away all that you do not wish to carry with you into the future, and shedding it’s healing and nourishing light on everything you wish to embody and become. As you step through the door, feel yourself stepping into a new body, a new you—the same but different, somehow magically changed, and notice how it feels to be this new person, this new you. What motivates and inspires you? Why is this version of you important? Take some time to journal your thoughts and experience, and turn back to what you wrote if you ever find yourself having trouble living into the spirit of the new you and slipping into old patterns.

Sowilo: the Light of Day

Sowilo is the rune of the sun, sunlight, and success. Autumn, which lasts until Winter Solstice in mid-to-late December, is the season of death, darkness, and decomposition, but once the wheel turns at Winter Solstice, the daylight begins to return and the Sun again begins its rise to power. I recommend care in working with this rune, as (in my experience) it also has a bit of lightning in its nature and thus an aspect of suddenness and extremity to it. The sun is the fuel of all life on earth, but it’s also a giant ball of fire that will invariably exterminate anything that gets too close to it. The sun warms and nourishes us with its golden rays, but it also subjects us to UV radiation and burns us red and raw if we overdose on its healing light. The sun ripens fruit, melts ice, blinds drivers, and outshines the stars.

In spite of all the dangers of fire, humans love to worship it and play with it, and we almost invariably get burned when we do—but there is something about its dangerous beauty that fascinates and enthralls us. As in all things, here temperance is key. Sowilo can be an extremely helpful rune for those suffering from underexposure to daylight due to shrinking daylight hours or odd work schedules. However, if you choose to wear a Sowilo rune or mark it upon your body, I recommend you focus your intention clearly as you put it on, and perhaps temper it with another rune such as Berkana (to indicate the intention of health and nourishment), Algiz/Elhaz (to protect from undesirable consequences or side effects), and/or Ehwaz (to harmonize the various forces at play into a single harmonic whole).

Wunjo: the Joy of Good Company

In times of darkness, so often it is easier to see the light in others than it is to see the light in ourselves. Dark times call for good company, and Wunjo is that which brings us together. It is the transcendent values and the (literal or metaphorical) tribal flag that we have in common, under which we gather together in celebration, in gratitude, in love, in community. It is also the joy of celebration itself, and is often referred to as simply “the joy rune.”

However you do or don’t celebrate the holidays, make sure to spend some time with the people who are most important to you this holiday season. Everyone is a little cold in their houses every now and then this time of year, and it is the warmth of friends and family that keep our hearts from freezing over in the darkness and in the cold. And when you do gather together, wear or invoke Wunjo to remind yourself of what brings you together and what star you all follow. As you seek to find more of what brings us together (and focus less on what divides us from each other), the world becomes more healthy and whole, and you become a warmer, more wonderful part of it. Of course, that’s not even the best part—at least, I think the best part is how one candle lights another candle lights another candle lights eleven more candles… but now we’re getting into Kenaz territory.

And you know what? Kenaz is a great rune for this time of year, too. As the torch we carry that lights our known world, the inner flame that we can spread and share, and the creative fire within us, Kenaz lights the way as we walk our chosen path, and reveals the next step with every step we take. As they say, it is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness. May your path be well-lit through these dark times, may your torch light others’ torches, and may your body, heart, and soul stay warm throughout the coldest nights.

Out of the Darkness and Into the Light,