Category Archives: gar

G is for Runes

In the Anglo Saxon Futhorc there are two G runes. One is pretty well known, as it is part of the re-created Elder Futhark, whereas the other one, whose inclusion as part of the Northumbrian extension, is a bit of am mystery of it’s presence.
Gebo
The first one, appearing in the First aettir is Gebo or Gyfu. The gift. Part of my understanding behind this rune is the idea of exchange that creates connections. By exchanging gifts, you become friends, family, lovers, business partners, Governments and people that are governed. Connections are made. Contracts are agreed to. To be human, is to participate in the exchange of creating a social unit, a social unit which can be varied, diverse and complex, as you try to understand the exchange that you have with everyone, who all have different exchanges with each other. When the exchange fails to happen, when the gifts are not shared, is when that connection falls apart, and the social order separates. Sometimes this leads to divorce, or ending of friendships. Other times it creates wars between nations, or revolutions between people and their government. Thinking that you are independent, self made, or not reliant on other people is a mistake, because we all, in fact, rely on others all the time, and in this day and age, sometimes that exchange is so assumed or expected that it has become invisible, and thus forgotten and disrespected. Respect the exchange. Share your gifts. Only be sharing will betterment of yourself and others come about.

Gar

The second G rune, that of Gar, which means Spear. The spear was the oldest and most widely used weapon among Northern peoples. Lacking widespread availability of iron, swords were rare and usually reserved for the wealthy, and typically made of other metals. When Iron and steel swords became available, it was usually through trade with other cultures. But spears were easier to have and produce. Only the spearhead needed to be metal, and depending upon the length of the staff, it could be a weapon for close combat, or useful and dealing with distant foes or even keeping foes as a distance.
Yet, at the same time, the spear could be a metaphor for many other things. It could be a symbol of the world tree, a pillar around which all of creation is upheld and revolves. It could also be the spear that marks the turning point of the heavens, now days identified with the star Polaris. The axis of the sky and creation, which everything either revolves around, or is turned by. The point of the spear is the center of all creation, the source and end, the beginning and ending. All potential and all realization exist there, and can be found. But it is also a blank slate, a tabula rasa. Nothing is written, but could be. There is only possibility and potential that can be formed and realized. So what will you do? Where will you go? What shapes and forms will you give release to and how will it change and affect you? Now you can create anew, just be sure of what you are creating.

December 16, 2010 – Gar


Gar

There is no letter for Gar

There is no poem for Gar. It is a Northumbrian rune.

Gar, the spear, the axis of the world, is the rune of possibility, and also emptiness. If it were a yes or no question, it’s like the runes answered with a very coy and half-grinned maybe. It lines up with the rune for this week, which is also Gar, showing that a mystery, and yet a great immanence is with us today. The door is open, the well is clear, standing at the center, with all of creation rayed out around you, and all that needs to be done is to take action.

December 12 – 18, 2010 – Gar


Gar

There is no letter equivalent for Gar

There is no rune poem for Gar. It is a Northumbrian rune.

Gar to me is the door this week, the open, or opening portal. Whether to step through and see what is on the other side, or to wait, and allow entrance on the other side is the question. Action or rest, coming or going, arrival and departure, these are the juxtapositions surrounding this cosmic door that lies at the center, the fulcrum and axis for everything around it.

November 17, 2010 – Gar


Gar

Gar has no letter equivalent.

There is no rune poem for Gar. It is a Northumbrian rune.

Gar is the rune mystical unknown, but also of that mystical convergence and meeting place. It is a portal, or door, into the other realms. It opens the way allowing things to pass through to their destination in both directions. While the name of Gar means spear, and so might be a cognate of the Spear of Odhinn, Gungnir, that spear is also the axis mundi, the world center, often described as the World Tree Yggdrasil, whose name means the steed of Ygg, another name of the Allfather.
In essence it points to an open way, an open road, where nothing is set, and every action is a new opportunity. Where it will all lead is in question, because things can change, and what seems fortunate can turn unfortunate, and vice versa.

September 26, 2010 – Gar

Gar

Gar does not have a letter value.

There is no Anglo-Saxon poem for Gar. It is a Northumbrian Rune.

In retrospect, Gar was a rune of possibility, and thus of nothing. No structure, no demands, no expectations, where anything can truly happen. Just being open, and flexible, and so new patterns are created.

july 13, 2010 – Gar

Gar

There is no letter equivalent for Gar

There is no rune poem for Gar, it is a Northumbrian rune.

Gar as a symbol of the axis mundi, but also of the all, the center and the circumference. Yes, it could be a symbol of Odhinn, but in the sense of him being the Cosmic One, Jormunr, All-father, the one that gave the breath of life, ond. Yet, it is ond that is not yet shaped, not yet apparent, not yet accessible, unlike other runes that reach out to the activating potential. It is the ond of emptiness, of the allness that exists beyond everything, even beyond concepts, that my words fail to express.

June 13 – June 19, 2010 – Gar

Gar

There is no letter equivalent for Gar

There is no rune poem for Gar. It is a Northumbrian Rune.

My sense about the rune of this week is that I need to take a break for this week from doing my regular rune posts. Let things clear out, and come back next week. Of course, with my class beginning this Wednesday, June 16 at Points of Light, well that might also be a good time to just relax and let myself focus on being thoroughly prepared.

May 17, 2010 – Gar


Gar

There is no letter equivalent for Gar

There is no rune poem for Gar. It is a Northumbrian Rune.

Gar, the tabula rasa, is the rune for Monday. After a very long but pleasant weekend, where I was all but unable to do except for the most basic of my daily spiritual disciplines, I am back. I haven’t fully stepped back into disciplines, and I think the message of Gar today is that it is okay. Let yourself be free, and clear, and sometimes after a period of rest and relaxation is when the work already done gets the chance to take effect. It can also be that moment of inspiration that comes, after hard work has been done, a part of the creative process. By opening up, allow oneself to relax, clear the mind and just be, the glimmer of light, the still small voice, that which you have been searching for, suddenly gains the opportunity to be heard and seen

May 9 – May 15, 2010 – Gar


Gar

There is no letter equivalent for Gar

There is no rune poem for Gar. It is a Northumbrian Rune.
The Spear rune, a symbol of Yggdrasil, and the Pole Star, the cosmic center and axis, is the rune for this week. There is nothing but potential and possibility that can be had, and actions and events are free from Wyrd and Orlog, in the sense that they will either be ending a chain of events, or creating new ones. How they turn out are yet to be seen, and perhaps are not being shown as that information is not available or needed.