Your Rune For Today
Uruz
Uruz is the Rune of harmony, order and inner strength. Often it marks endings and beginnings of periods in our lives. Uruz also symbolizes your ability to tackle new challenges by confronting them with the powers that lie within you. Opportunities probably abound for you right now.
by: Donald Tyson
Runes are the manifest symbols through which rune magic is worked. They can be employed for all of the magical purposes that other magical systems serve, but they possess unique aspects that make them superior for certain uses.
Because they were forged over the centuries in the same creative fire that shaped the pagan gods of the Teutonic peoples, runes are indispensable in magical dealings that involve the northern hierarchy. They are a key that unlocks the powers of these gods, and they are a book that unfolds the secrets of their personalities. Before the rediscovery of runes, the Aesir, lords of Asgard – who number among their ranks Odin, Thor, Tiw, Heimdall, Baldar, Loki, Freyja and Hel – were difficult to integrate into modern ceremonial magic. An elemental wildness distinguishes them from the more civilized gods of Greece and Rome and the abstract, almost technical natures of the angels and spirits of Hebrew occultism. It would be absurd to invoke the Aesir with Hebrew numerology or Greek words. Yet before the rebirth of runes, the magus had little option.
Because runes form the magical language of the northern gods and express the forces upon which those gods are framed, manipulating the runes gives direct control over the actions- not just of the deities but also of the spirits and lesser entities of Norse mythology, which all arose out of the same primeval crucible of mythic archetypes. They are more than just arbitrary symbols chosen to represent occult forces by the Germanic shamans; each rune contains in its structure the same essence that is in the god, spirit, or magical potential to which it corresponds. It is the magical name of that god or natural power. Anyone seeking to contact and communicate with the northern hierarchy – whether for purposes of worship, divination, or active magic – must use the runes. It is possible to invoke the Aesir without runes, but this is akin to driving a nail with a rock when a hammer is sitting within easy reach. It makes no sense. More and more, those with Teutonic roots are seeking to know the gods of their ancestors. Runes are indispensable in building this bridge to the past.
Perhaps because they rested forgotten for so many centuries, the runes remain undiluted by modem skepticism and rationalization. Of all the symbolic tools of magic, they are the most powerful for causing material change in the world. Rune magic makes things happen – often violently, sometimes unpredictably. Most potent physically, rune magic is also most dangerous to the unwary. The elemental powers contained and defined by the runes are not conscious in the human sense, but they possess a type of animation and awareness not unlike the self-awareness of animals, plants, or embodied spirits – a watchful, quick, sometimes malicious awareness that might almost be called mad in its unexpectedness. But madness is a human concept, and the runes are true to themselves and terribly sane.
All types of occult work that seek material change – or transformations on the human level of emotions and urges that are linked to the body – can be fulfilled with rune magic. Rune magic also embraces the spiritual level of the human soul, and great works of the spirit are possible using the runes. The point that should be grasped here is that runes are weighted more toward the physical, tangible end of the scale than any other ancient magical system. It may be that in their beginnings all magical systems were mainly concerned with material change, but it is only the runes that have descended through time in their pristine, primitive state.
Another unique aspect of the runes has to do with their structure. Because they are simple letters that can be carried in the head and inscribed on any surface as easily as the alphabet, they are the most compact and accessible of magical systems. Bulky temple instruments are not needed in rune magic. They can be written anywhere on virtually anything in moments when an emergency arises. No one can ever take the runes away or destroy them; they live in the mind.
In their portability runes resemble the Hebrew letters, which are combined into magical names and words of power based upon the numerical values of the letters in the system of Jewish occultism known as the Kabbalah. At one time each letter of the Hebrew alphabet also had its elemental meaning, independent of its numerical value. But in modern times, the natural powers embodied in the Hebrew letters have largely been forgotten, displaced by the number values.
As is true of the Hebrew letters, the runes can be combined both occultly in numerical and symbolic groupings and phonetically to form words and sentences. The same runes can both embody a magical desire in their combination of elemental potentials and explicitly define that desire in words. These methods complement and support each other, and are frequently encountered together on rune artifacts made for magical purposes. For example, the sixth-century Lindholm amulet of Sweden bears the intelligible inscription of its magician maker: “I am an Herulian, I am called the Cunning One.” But it also bears a string of runes that cannot be translated, because they convey only an occult, not a literal, meaning.
by: Donald Tyson
The runes are a set of symbols that concisely embody the most potent magical system of the ancient world. Because rune magic was rarely described in written records, persecution by the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages succeeded in obliterating almost the entire tradition of rune use from the memories of the peoples of northern Europe, the indigenous home of the runes. Runes became the recreation of antiquarian scholars, known only as an obscure and obsolete alphabet preserved in crumbling parchment manuscripts and on leaning stone monuments erected by the vanished Vikings.
Runic characters are letters that can be used for writing. This is their exoteric function. But in pagan times they were used for much more. The undivided forest wilderness in which the wandering Germanic tribes hunted and made war upon each other was ruled by elemental forces – Water, Sun, storm, the seasons, trees, necessary beasts such as the bull and the horse, fire on the hearthstones, the cleared camp circle, the human virtues of cunning speech, courage, battle skill, the mysteries of birth, growth and deathóall of which combined together to determine the life of frail human beings.
The German god Donar, called by the Norsemen Thor, can be traced back to the Sun. Woden, or Odin, was originally the fury of the storm. Ing , the deity who gives England its name, sprang from the fertility of the Earth. All the major Teutonic gods are based upon a limited number of natural potencies. Although they were later refined and made more human in poetry and art, in earliest days they were different masks of the ever-changing face of Nature.
The Germanic tribes embodied these same elemental forces in simple symbols that were used for works of magic and divination by the shamans, who served the combined function of magician-physician-priest. By making symbols to represent the most important powers of the world, these powers could be manipulated for conscious human purposes. The symbols formed the magical link between men and the blind gods of Nature and allowed the shamans to control the destiny of their tribes.
Runes are the descendants of these shamanic power symbols, whose origin extends deep into the past before the beginnings of writing. Each rune is both a letter and a vessel of natural potency. There is a rune for water and a rune for earth, a rune for hail and a rune for ice, a rune for horse and a rune for man. There are also runes that name some of the Teutonic gods. Ing has his own rune, as does Woden (Os) and Tiw (Tyr). These runes represent both the gods and the natural potencies upon which the gods are based. For example, the rune for Tiw is both the god Tiw and the human virtues of honor and courage.
1. An ye harm none, do as ye will.
2. If you know the Rede is being broken, you must work strongly against it.
3. Watch, listen, and withhold judgment; in debate let your silences be long, your thoughts clear, and your words carefully chosen.
4. Never boast, or threaten, or speak evil of anyone.
5. Be truthful always, save when speaking would lead to a great harm.
6. Keep clean your body, your clothes, and your house.
7. Should you take a task upon yourself, work hard and well to accomplish it properly and in good time. Always do the best you can.
8. Do not haggle over the price of your ritual tools.
9. Witches know that there no absolute truths.
10. Witches understand that the Universe consists of perfect balance; therefore, everything has an opposite.
11. Witches realise that for every action there is a reaction. (The Law of Three)
12. Witches know that we are all one; we are all connected.
13. Never lie to yourself, for this is the ultimate act of deceit.
14. Witches understand that the ultimate act of spirituality is the act of positive creation through love.
15. Witches realise that the energy created through worship and rituals manifests as a circular stream of positive energy.
16. Witches should never close their minds to knowledge.
17. Never practice a magickal system that you don’t fully understand.
18. Do not set a price on your magickal work.
19. A Witch uses the magickal circle as a physical and non-physical representation of a temple on the earth plane.
20. Witches use the energies around them to assist in raising power.
21. Witches use common sense and do not share their mysteries with fools.
22. A Witch who knowingly breaks the Law (Ordains) will not be permitted to incarnate on Earth again.
THE WICCAN WAY
Recognizing that there is more than one path to spiritual enlightenment and that
Wicca is but one of many, and that Wicca holds within itself the belief that there is more than one type of step set to the spiral dance, find here listed common denominators of the Craft.
That there is above all the Goddess in her three-fold aspect and many are her names. With all her names we call her Maiden, Mother and Crone.
That there is the God, consort and son, giver of strength and most willing of sacrifice.
That and it harm none, do what ye will shall be the law.
That each of her children are bound by the three-fold law and that whatever we create, be it joy or sorrow, laughter or pain, is brought back to us three-fold.
That as she is the mother of all living things and we are all her children, we seek to live in harmony not only with each other, but with the planet earth that is our womb and home.
That life upon the earth is not a burden to be born, but a joy to be learned and shared with others.
That death is not an ending of existence, but a step in the on-going process of life.
That there is no sacrifice of blood, for She is the mother of all living things, and from her all things proceed and unto her all things must return.
That each and every one of the children who follows this path has no need of another between themselves and the Goddess but may find Her within themselves.
That there shall not by intent be a desecration of another’s symbols of beliefs, for we are all seeking harmony within the One.
That each person’s faith is private unto themselves and that another’s belief is not to be set out and made public.
That the Wiccan way is not to seek converts, but that the way be made open to those who for reasons of their own seek and find the Craft.
And as it is willed, so mote it be
Reincarnation is a basic tenet of Witchcraft. Those of us fortunate enough to belong to the Craft believe that successive lives are enjoyed under the same zodiac sign. But unlike other ideologies Witchcraft imposes no demands for increasing excellence – only that each life be lived to its fullest capabilities.
Most of us, despite centuries of indoctrination by the mechanized society, still have ties to the earth…some innate Witchcraft potential that can be developed.
Read the following questions and see how you react to them:
1. Have you always been intrigued by the occult?
2. Do you prefer night to day?
3. Does a storm stir in you an inexplicable sense of excitement?
4. Are you a sensualist?
5. Have you always felt different from most of those around you, set apart?
6. Do you instinctively respond to animals?
7. Are you comfortable alone?
8. Are you relatively indifferent to material possessions?
9. Have you had fleeting glimpses of former lives?
Should you find you can answer most of these questions in the affirmativeyour with potential is probably high and should be encouraged.
There is no church to join, no tribute to pay and no hierarchy to employ.
You, and you alone, must concentrate on the development of your own other-consciousness. Go to nature and observe. Attune your inner-mechanism to the quiet pace of the seasons and the procession of the constellations across the sky. Go alone, or with that person closest to you. Watch the moon rise, walk in the forests. Feel the earth, drink the water, breathe the air…then light the sacred candles and begin the life you were meant to live.
(* The Witches’ Almanac Spring 1995 – Spring 1996 pg. 94)
1. Magic is what happens when you open yourself to the Divine. All real magic is
a manifestation of the Divine – it is how you co-create reality with deity.
2. The Divine is within you and is everywhere present in the natural world. And
everything is interconnected by this sacred energy.
3. Wicca is not about information — it’s about transformation, so practice,
practice, practice — and do it as much as possible in Nature! Witchcraft
enables you to commune with divinity and to manifest your destiny, your desires
and your highest and sacred self.
4. The real ethics of how Witches live and practice magic are simple: Witches
live in a sacred manner because we live in a sacred world. We therefore treat
all of life with reverence and respect.
5. Because all magic flows from our connection to the Sacred, our lives and our
magic, must be guided by the sacred nature of the energy with which we work.
6. The energy Witches work with is not neutral — it is divine love.
7. Magic often works in unexpected way because it is not a mechanical process,
and the Universe is not a machine. You are living and making magic within a
divine, organic, living reality.
8. Witches don’t command and control — they commune and co-create.
9. The real secret of successful spellcasting, as with all of magic, is your
connection to the Divine power that dwells within you, and surrounds you. And
spells do work so be careful what you ask for!
10. Nature makes the Divine tangible. By working, living, and practicing your
magic in harmony with Nature, you are in harmony with the Divine.
11. The ultimate teacher is the God/Goddess inside you and in the world of
Nature all around you.
Author unknown
I ran across this on one of the sites I usually visit. I had to steal it, lol! Seriously, this is the first time I have seen such an in-depth quiz for individuals finishing up their year and a day. I know we have some new ones among us, it would be an excellent idea for you to print this out. Then when your year and a day is up, take the quiz.
1. What is Wicca?
2. What is Magick?
3. Define the Wiccan Rede and the Law of Threefold Return?
4. What are the two aspects of Deity in Wicca?
5. Name five tools used in ritual and their purpose.
6. Name the elements and their corresponding directions.
7. Name two symbolic items you might put at an altar station for
each direction.
8. Describe how you would set up an altar in your home.
9. What is the difference between an Esbat and a Sabbat?
10. Name the eight seasonal festivals and give brief descriptions.
(Include dates)
11. Why is Samhain so important?
12. Describe two Rites of Passage. (your choice)
13. What is never allowed in Circle?
14. What is a magickal name and why would you want one?
15. What is smudging?
16. What is “skyclad?”
17. Define Widdershins and Deosil.
18. How do you consecrate a tool?
19. What are the basic tools you need to conduct a ritual?
20. What is the difference between a pentacle and a pentagram?
21. Draw the appropriate symbol for each of these items:
a. Pentagram
b. The Goddess
c. The God
d. Altar
23. What are the three aspects of the Goddess?
24. What are the three aspects of the God?
25. Name one Goddess or God from any pantheon and what She/He
represents.
26. You are doing a candle working to help you with the stress at
your job. When you dress the candle, which direction do you apply the
oil and why?
27. What is a Book of Shadows?
28. What is the difference between an Athame and a Bolline?
29. If you want something to decrease or go away, during which phase
of the moon would you work?
30. Name two good color combinations for the Goddess and God candles.
31. What color candle would you use for the following workings:
a. Develop psychic abilities
b. Emotional healing
c. Purify and protect your home
d. Bless your pet
e. Help you study
f. Bring success and good luck
32. True or False:
a. Gardnerian Wicca is worshipping in a garden.
b. “Skyclad” means you wear blue
c. You must be Wiccan to be a witch.
d. You would invoke the Quarters to protect sacred space.
e. The Croning Rite is performed when a woman reaches menopause.
f. Wiccaning commits a child to being a Wiccan.
g. A rune is an ancient temple.
h. Meat should never be used as an offering.
i. Lughnasadh is the second harvest.
33. What is the primary task of a Dedicant?
34. What is the primary task of an Initiate?
35. What is the Summerland?
36. Name a Law of Magick and explain it briefly.
37. Give a Law of Wicca.
38. Give a rule of Circle conduct.
39. Name a Wiccan tradition and describe it briefly.
40. What does Wicca mean to you in your life?
Wicca acknowledges the cycles of nature, the lunar phases and the seasons to celebrate their spirituality and to worship the Divine. It is a belief system that allows the Witch to work with, not in supplication to Deities with the intent of living in harmony and achieving balance with all things.
The Witchcraft Chronicles 
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