{"id":19818,"date":"2019-01-01T01:10:52","date_gmt":"2019-01-01T06:10:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=20062"},"modified":"2018-12-31T11:13:09","modified_gmt":"2018-12-31T16:13:09","slug":"the-road-to-runes-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2019\/01\/01\/the-road-to-runes-8\/","title":{"rendered":"The Road to Runes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Road to Runes: Isa, Waiting for the Thaw<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Isa\nmeans \u2018ice\u2019 and is associated with stillness, stagnation and\nimmobility. It is the third rune in the second aett of the Elder\nFuthark, also known as Hagal\u2019s aett.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\nI was pondering a frustrating work problem and decided to see what\nthe runes had to say. My situation was that I wanted to make a\nchange, but there was the possibility of a certain opportunity if I\nstayed where I was for the time being. It\u2019s that age-old question\nimmortalised by The Clash: should I stay, or should I go?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stillness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\ndrew the rune Isa, which literally means \u2018Ice\u2019. Isa is associated\nwith stillness and stasis. Ice seems to render flowing and fluid\nwater suddenly still and motionless. It stops things in their tracks,\nyet it is beautiful and alluring. This makes it all the more\ndangerous, as while we pause, transfixed by cold beauty, we are not\nmoving forward and completing our journey. Of course, sometimes a\nmoment of stillness can be refreshing and rejuvenating. But when we\nstay still for too long, we become stiff, useless, and even forget\nwhy we were moving forward in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nrune indicates that I am stuck. The work situation that I was worried\nabout shows no signs of resolving itself anytime soon, and I am left\nwith the same dilemma; to forcefully break out of the situation or\nallow things to take their course, no matter how slow and frustrating\nthis may be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gestation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although\nthe frustration of being stuck is my primary reaction to Isa, Isa can\nmean so much more than this. Just as the earth rests in winter before\nnew growth in spring, so do we sometimes need to let ourselves rest\nand be still before our lives get back on track. Isa can indicate a\nperiod of gestation; a time to let things grow and progress\nnaturally. It could actually be the worst time to change or force\nchange, as now is the time for rest and letting things take their\ncourse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isa\nrepresents Niflheim, the cold and misty world of the dead. It is a\nplace we fear to be; frozen and unmoving, with no chance of life.\nThis is like real-world stagnation. We yearn to be ever moving\nforward, achieving and progressing. Isa makes us realise that\nsometimes, events which are outside our control can prevent us from\nmoving forward, and that we have to accept that and not let that\nstagnation prevent us from being the best we can be. Continue to live\nour lives, as well as we can, and trust that when the ice thaws, the\nwater will flow again. Our river will move inexorably towards the\nsea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nrune seems to tell me I just need to wait, for now. However, I should\nkeep working at my problem, checking in, being cautious and aware of\nnew information and changes. I should not let my ego take over but\nremain calm and avoid giving in to frustration. If I follow my own\nprocess and stay true to myself, eventually the ice will thaw, the\nproblem will become clearer and the solution may even become visible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAs\nan afterthought, I drew another rune, which was Dagaz, the rune of\nbreakthroughs. This gave me more hope, and I\u2019ll discuss this\nfurther in next month\u2019s article. Don\u2019t forget, you can tweet me\n@Mabherick if you want me to focus on a particular rune for this\ncolumn. Until next time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About\nthe Author:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mabh\nSavage<\/strong> is\na Pagan author, poet and musician, as well as a freelance journalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\nis the author of <\/em>A\nModern Celt: Seeking the Ancestors<\/strong><\/em><\/a>\nand <\/em>Pagan\nPortals \u2013 Celtic Witchcraft: Modern Witchcraft Meets Celtic Ways<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Modern Celt: Seeking the Ancestors on Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pagan Portals – Celtic Witchcraft: Modern Witchcraft Meets Celtic Ways on Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Road to Runes: Isa, Waiting for the Thaw Isa means \u2018ice\u2019 and is associated with stillness, stagnation and immobility. It is the third rune in the second aett of the Elder Futhark, also known as Hagal\u2019s aett. Today I was pondering a frustrating work problem and decided to see what the runes had to say. My situation was that I wanted to make a change, but there was the possibility of a certain opportunity if I stayed where I was for the time being. It\u2019s that age-old question immortalised by The Clash: should I stay, or should I go? Stillness I drew the rune Isa, which literally means \u2018Ice\u2019. Isa is associated with stillness and stasis. Ice seems to render flowing and fluid water suddenly still and motionless. It stops things in their tracks, yet it is beautiful and alluring. This makes it all the more dangerous, as while we pause, transfixed by cold beauty, we are not moving forward and completing our journey. Of course, sometimes a moment of stillness can be refreshing and rejuvenating. But when we stay still for too long, we become stiff, useless, and even forget why we were moving forward in the first place. This rune indicates that I am stuck. The work situation that I was worried about shows no signs of resolving itself anytime soon, and I am left with the same dilemma; to forcefully break out of the situation or allow things to take their course, no matter how slow and frustrating this may be. Gestation Although the frustration of being stuck is my primary reaction to Isa, Isa can mean so much more than this. Just as the earth rests in winter before new growth in spring, so do we sometimes need to let ourselves rest and be still before our lives get back on track. Isa can indicate a period of gestation; a time to let things grow and progress naturally. It could actually be the worst time to change or force change, as now is the time for rest and letting things take their course. Isa represents Niflheim, the cold and misty world of the dead. It is a place we fear to be; frozen and unmoving, with no chance of life. This is like real-world stagnation. We yearn to be ever moving forward, achieving and progressing. Isa makes us realise that sometimes, events which are outside our control can prevent us from moving forward, and that we have to accept that and not let that stagnation prevent us from being the best we can be. Continue to live our lives, as well as we can, and trust that when the ice thaws, the water will flow again. Our river will move inexorably towards the sea. The rune seems to tell me I just need to wait, for now. However, I should keep working at my problem, checking in, being cautious and aware of new information and changes. I should not let my ego take over but remain calm and avoid giving in to frustration. If I follow my own process and stay true to myself, eventually the ice will thaw, the problem will become clearer and the solution may even become visible. As an afterthought, I drew another rune, which was Dagaz, the rune of breakthroughs. This gave me more hope, and I\u2019ll discuss this further in next month\u2019s article. Don\u2019t forget, you can tweet me @Mabherick if you want me to focus on a particular rune for this column. Until next time! *** About the Author: Mabh Savage is a Pagan author, poet and musician, as well as a freelance journalist. She is the author of A Modern Celt: Seeking the Ancestors and Pagan Portals \u2013 Celtic Witchcraft: Modern Witchcraft Meets Celtic Ways. A Modern Celt: Seeking the Ancestors on Amazon Pagan Portals – Celtic Witchcraft: Modern Witchcraft Meets Celtic Ways on Amazon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":206,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/206"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19818\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}