Runic Lore Ansuz

Ansuz by GARAnsuz by GAR

The words came first silently
as if vibrated from within
Gradually though they increased in volume
“Listen to the flow of your will
and live to your purest instinct”
Looking around I saw nothing
Not quite true
I saw two birds flying overhead
Crows I thought or perhaps ravens

No, not flying in this dreamlike haze
But perched on the shoulders of a man
He was grey-bearded with a
blindly-twinkling eye
“Who?” I stammered
“Am I?” asked the man with a laugh
“Better to ask that of yourself
I am merely a traveller
while you have lost your way.

One bird cawed and I grew lost
In undistinguished memories
of life spent living the
despairing dreams of others
rather than discovering my own.
The other raven sounded
And I saw a road ahead
A difficult path where
I lost all that mattered little
Yet found my deepest self

The caw sounded again
And then stopped
The man and birds were gone
Did I awake with newfound clarity
with new purpose and meaning
or was it all some foolish fantasy
The answer came
with the falling of one black feather
and the release of inner chains.

Art: Ansuz (Rune Alchemy Oracle deck) by GAR

Tarot Post – Death

 

XIII-Death (♏︎)

 

Death (F)Death by G A Rosenberg

 

Caterpillar dies
His burial shroud builds up
Transformation now!

 

Rotting in the decay of stagnation
my old self putrefies
I await the awakening
as new energy infuses my being
Tho in the moment not
in the next risen
in new form, I accept
what is to come
rather than be swept away
by life’s flow.

 

I crawled for so long
feeling earth and bark beneath
my body
Gravity kept me slow
then one day I heard your call
stepped through your door
and died..
Ecstatic darkness
points of light
and then a new awakening
Emerged, I could fly
and such beauty have I
the wind against my wings
bringing me closer to the light.
Today I heard your call again
and I prepare to enter
What will become of me now?

 

In the Rider-Waite tarot deck, Death is shown riding a white horse. In its wake are the destroyed remains of a king and in its path is a praying clergyman, a young maiden with her body supplicating itself to the rider while her head is averted and a young child offering death a flower. All of these are indicative of the various ways and stages in which we react to major life-altering changes. The king, by power and position thinks he can command Death to stop only to get trampled. The Priest believes that prayer can avert the need to change and he is next to get trampled. The maiden offers herself to Death but only half-heartedly. She won’t survive so well either. It is the child who accepts whatever comes with an open heart that will survive.
Death is the transformation to a new stage through the putrification of the old. We all go through these transformations. Our jobs become obsolete. Our relationships end. Our viewpoints and our lifestyles evolve as we grow. We have spiritual experiences that transform us. We fall in love. How we accept these changes goes a long way towards determining how far we can grow as people and as the spiritual beings we are. The more we resist change, the harder the changes tend to be when they come and the more we stagnate. It is only be being open to the flow of these changes that we can be open to the flow of life and spirit itself.
 

Astrological Correspondent-Scorpio (♏︎)-The Scorpio energy is one of intensity. It is passionate and lustful and yearns for knowledge. It is a secretive force and has a strong attraction towards the transformative. As such it has an attraction towards the mystical and may be drawn towards they mysteries of sex and death especially. While the scorpion with its regenerative powers and sting is well known as a Scorpio symbol, the snake and the eagle also are used to represent this energy. The snake representing both the sexual energy and the knowledge of life and death and the eagle which represents the spiritual life beyond transitory form. Scorpio is known for both its ability to see things through and its ability to see through things, penetrating them to their core.

 

Runic Correspondent-Ansuz(‘Woden’ ‘Breath’)ansuz-100x100Ansuz is a rune of shattering transformation that brings clarity. It represents the breath of life that runs through us from birth to death. Breath deals with how we communicate and what we keep inside. Ansuz also can influence how we hear the voice of the universe and how we can transform in a flash when we become attuned to it. Other runes associated with the Death trump are Berkano and Daggaz

 

Path on the Tree of Life-Path 24-Nun-Nun means fish. The waters that the fish swim in are the dark waters of the unconscious. Nun is the path of transformation of consciousness. It connects the sephiroth of Tiphareth (“Beauty”) and Netzach (“Victory”). It is referred to as the Apparitive Consciousness and it is said to provide form and appearance for all beings according to their stature. This ties in with many thoughts on reincarnation and rebirth.

 

When Death turns up in a reading, it usually indicates a major transformatory change in the querent’s life or circumstances. Usually one that demarcates a new chapter in their lives. These changes may include a peak experience, a divorce or break-up, the death of a loved one or even a near-death experience itself. What is important is how the querent deals with the experience. Do they fight kicking and screaming to hold onto life as they have known it or do they accept the changes and move on? Usually when the Death card shows up it is a change that the querent cannot alter so coming to terms with it is necessary. The card can also indicate a fear of dying on the part of the querent. Carlos Castaneda’s teacher Don Juan, among many others have suggested that we keep in mind that we all will die someday and to use our Death as an advisor and indeed it is just one more stage. Seldom tho does the card refer to the querent’s own Death tho it can often refer to the ending of a stage of their life. It can refer to a need for the querent to release the life they have lived to now in order to embrace the life they have.

 

Death reversed can often show a dramatic resistance to change. The querent may have grown complacent and lazy in their life holding back on living fully in order to stay safe and comfortable. It may also represent the querent refusing to acknowledge changes that have already happen and move on. It is almost as if they are haunting their past rather than living their present. It thus indicates the necessity for change. The reversed Death card can also represent a feeling of loss and grief. In this instance again it is the mourning for the way things were.

 

Tarot Post – Magician

 

I – The Magician (Mercury ☿)

 

G`The Magician by G A Rosenberg

 

He wills to create

The magician lifts his wand

Energy flows through

 

Receiving the fire
and letting it flow through
using all the tools at hand
to create
on screen and off
according to my will
Soon something will exist
that wasn’t before
except in imagination
Letting manifestation happen
the more i open to it
the more if flows through
not so much a part of me
as coloured by my being
and by the power
that inspires.
–G A Rosenberg

 

The Fool falls and lands. Where before the Fool was whole with the potential to become everything, now polarization has happened. The Magician is male to the Priestess’ female and active to the Priestess’ passivity. One way of looking at the Major Arcana is the quest to reunify these two into a realized World / Universe at the end.
The Magician utilizes his will and channels spiritual energy into accomplishment. He uses all four elemental tools (The Wand, The Chalice, The Sword and The Disk) to aid in this.
Another way of saying this is that through his will uses the power of his spirt (wand, fire, spirit) his emotions (cup) and intellect and knowledge (Sword, remember that the Magician’s astrological attribute is Mercury which is connected to the mind) and his sexuality (pentacle) to effect changes in his environment.
Regarding the last, given that we manifest in the physical it could be said that the Magician’s most powerful tool is his staff (between his legs). This is also true of the Priestess also but until the Magician opens the way with his staff, it remains secret, then she becomes the Empress as her Nature becomes manifest.
For those who may be inclined to take the above statement too literally, remember that we each contain all the archetypes within us. Which means that we all have our own Magician, Priestess and Empress and all the others as well.
The Magician also represents the trickster archetype and teaches usually by tricking the student into learning what he or she needs to know. (Consider Merlin, Carlos Castaneda’s Don Juan or Socrates in the Peaceful Warrior Books by Dan Millman.) In tricking others, tho it is quite possible that he will surprise himself with a lesson or two as well. One of his lessons is learning to discern whether his results are objective and tangible as opposed to subjective. Another is to use his powers in a way that is true to his authentic self as opposed to wasting his energies on whim.

 

Astrological Attribution: Mercury(☿) – Mercury’s energy is all about fast transmission and communication. It also relates to intellect and logic. In Greek mythology Mercury was the messenger of the gods, always in motion. Thus those who have a strong Mercury are likely to move swiftly from thing to thing to thing, going in, doing what they can and then move on to the next thing. Mercury also is related to the sensory impressions and the moment to moment intake of information.
 

Runic Correspondences – Mannaz(‘Mankind’)
mannaz-100x100
Mannaz is the rune of thought and intellect. It has to do with using our energy for self-actualization through study and personal commitment. It encourages personal responsibility and that towards the rest of humankind and how we interact with the world.
Other Runes that have been connected with the Magician are Pa and Ansuz.

 

Path on the Tree of Life: Path 12 – Beth (‘House’) which links Kether (Crown) to Binah (Understanding) – If Path 11 involves manifestation than Path 12 involves the transmission of knowledge underlying manifestation. It is referred to as the intelligence of transparency.

 

When the Magician turns up in a reading it can mean that a time of great creativity and communication is at hand. We feel energized and can accomplish anything and that the things and people we need to help us will show up. Indeed quite often they will be caught up in our enthusiasm and be swept along. It is a time of inspiration and manifestation where we are able to impose our will on the world around us. The Magician tends to utilize and channel all in this process so when the reading refers to a relationship, it may be one where manipulation is present. A question that may come up when the Magician shows up in a reading is, “Who’s agenda is being followed? Who does the Magician represent in this situation?”
The Magician can also refer to a situation where we need greater focus and concentration. </h4?
 

When the Magician comes out reversed in a reading, it often means that we are blocked in some way. It is possible that we either don’t believe in what we are doing or that we don’t feel like we deserve the outcome that we are trying to manifest. The other cards in the reading may give an idea on what is blocking us. It may mean that we are repressing something that we need to take into account. This blockage may come from external sources as well. It may also mean that we are misusing our energies and imposing our will on others irrespective of what they may wish.