Dancing Down the Moon

Runic Wednesdays - Storytelling

In an effort to get back into the swing of regular posting, I have decided that Wednesdays shall now be dedicated to posts about the Runes of the Elder Futhark.  I'll do a Rune of the Week, discussing the symbolic meanings as well as my own way of interpreting them in a casting.  This may interest no one, but it does me, and anything that gets me fired up about writing again is more than welcome to stay and play.

To start things off, I thought I'd share a short piece I wrote several years ago with the intent of using it in a book about my approach to the Runes.  I may still, but I'm trying not to force myself to think strictly in terms of books these days, and it seems a shame for this story to gather dust in a lonely My Documents folder. 

Therefore, I give you,

Odin's Tale, based on the Runatal section of the Havamal, the mythological account of the origin of the Runes.

The Storyteller's Spread

Last Tarot post of the week, I swear.

It should tell you the sort of person I am that, two weeks into learning the Tarot, I'm designing spreads and compiling my own book of card meanings.  I am incapable of getting into something without wrapping myself up in it, getting all snuggly, and making it my own.

As I mentioned in my last post, the Llewellyn Tarot comes with two extra cards, each one depicting a spread unique to the deck.  One in particular sounded exciting to me:  the Red Dragon spread, whose purpose is to assist the querent in overcoming an obstacle.

Review: The Llewellyn Tarot

A caveat:  this is the first genuine Tarot deck I've worked with in any depth, so my opinions are not based on years of experience comparing and contrasting the merits and pitfalls of various decks.  These are just my initial impressions after reading with the Llewellyn Tarot nearly every day for two weeks.

The Llewellyn Tarot is named after, you guessed it, the grand patriarch of Llewellyn Worldwide, Llwellyn George.  A Welsh immigrant, he came to America and started a small press that still exists over a century later.  To commemorate the founding of that press, Llewellyn commissioned this deck, which combines traditional Tarot symbolism with Welsh mythology.

The deck and its accompanying book were both created by Anna-Marie Ferguson, who also created Legend: the Arthurian Tarot.  It comes packaged beautifully in an outer box with the book and a gorgeous gold beaded bag.  I think the bag may be my favorite thing about the deck, which shouldn't be taken as a slight against the deck, but a testimony to how much I love pretty bags.

To All the Cards I've Loved Before...

I'm not feeling especially deep this week.  Today's topic:  Divinatory toys.

I recently acquired a new oracle, and it has got me thinking about the various decks and tools I've had over the years and why I loved them (or why they stayed in the box). 

It's pretty well-established among people of my ilk that a deck of Tarot cards doesn't just tell you the unchangeable future--far from it.  My opinion has always been that divination functions as a contact lens for your Third Eye, allowing you to see and understand messages from the Sacred that you might otherwise have ignored/denied.  Tarot, Runes, and other such toys facilitate communication between yourself and Deity as well as yourself and yourself.  No future is set in stone unless you chisel it yourself through inaction. 

Review - The Faeries' Oracle by Brian Froud/Jessica Macbeth

One of the most important parts of my practice is divination, both for myself and for others. When I read for other people, typically I cast Runes; however, a couple of years ago the Runes simply stopped speaking to me when I tried to cast for myself, so I had to find some other oracle to work with. I’m told this happens a lot—certain oracles will only speak in certain situations, or for certain purposes.

The Runes as a Spiritual Oracle, part Two

Part two of an introductory essay on the Elder Futhark.

The Runes as a Spiritual Oracle, part One

First of a two-part introduction to working with the Runes of the Elder Futhark. 

(This essay is from the last version of Dancing Down the Moon)