During a session this evening, these two Runes were chosen....

I read from The Healing Runes and The Book of Runes. Here is what was read in session tonight.

Berkana from The Book of Runes

Growth
Rebirth
A Birch Tree

Another of the Cycle Runes, Berkana denotes a form of fertility that fosters growth both symbolically and actually. The growth may occur in affairs of the world, family matters, one's relationship to one's Self or to the Divine.

A Rune that leads to blossoming and ripening, Berkana is concerned with the flow of beings into their new forms. Its action is gentle, penetrating, and pervasive.

What is called for here is going into things deeply, with care and awareness. First disperse resistance, then accomplish the work. For this to happen, your will must be clear and controlled, your motives correct. Any dark corners should be cleansed; this must be carried out diligently and sometimes with expert help. Modesty, patience, fairness and generosity are called for here. Once resistance is dispersed and rectification carried out and seen to hold firm, then, through steadfastness and right attitude, the blossoming can occur.

Reversed: Events or, more likely, aspects of character interfere with the growth of new life. You may feel dismay at failing to take right action. But rather that dismay, what is called for is diligence. Examine what has occurred, your role in it, your needs, the needs of others. Are you placing our wants before the needs of others? Strip away until you can identify the obstacles to growth in this situation. Then, penetrating gently, imitate the wind.

You may be required to fertilize the ground again, but through correct preparation, growth is assured.


The Healing Runes...says this about that.

Prayer

You to whom all hearts are open, all secrets known, hear our prayers.

The proper prelude to all things is prayer, for it is through prayer that we practice the Presence of God in our lives.
Whatever your concern may be, place it in the hands of the Divine through prayer. For prayer nourishes with love the good desires of the heart; it quiets the troubled spirit and summons to our cause the highest good for all concerned. Each time our actions are blessed by prayer, we invite the Divine to share in or dedication and give us joy.

With nothing in our hands to which we cling, with listening minds and lifted hearts, we pray.

The Rune of Prayer is always a timely reminder. Pray when you feel uncertain, fearful or alone. Pray for the well-being of those you love. Pray for your leaders, your country and for the survival of Mother Earth.

We ask that prayer be second nature to us now, deeper than a habit, the very heartbriar of our lives.

Receiving this Rune, we pray for healing. For the healing of childhood wounds and the addictions they engendered. We ask for the healing of our bodies, our minds and our hearts. For the righting of injustices, and the mending of damaged lives.

From deep within our hearts, we pray for the permanent cessation of violence and an end to all abuse. We pray for love and light to come and seal the door where evil dwells.

Above all, we pray, for the precious care of our souls.

With our every prayer, let us ceaselessly and tirelessly pray for the lives of our children.

Among the sweetest of all are prayers of gratitude and thanksgiving. From all cultures, all peoples, all directions, we come bringing our prayers of homage and devotion.

We pray, and our prayers turn to praise upon our lips.

No matter what is happening in your life, this Rune is saying, take time to offer up your prayers. And know this, as surely as you know anything: Even when you are not speaking to God in prayer, God hears. Your every breath is a prayer.

Practice the Presence of God in all ways, both in your coming in and your going out.


Next Rune...Dagaz

Breakthrough
Transformation
Day

Here is the final Rune belonging to the Cycle of Initiation. Drawing Dagaz marks a major shift or breakthrough in the precess of self-change, a complete transformation in attitude--a 180-degree turn. For some, the transition is so radical that they no longer continue to live the ordinary life in the ordinary way.

Because the timing is right, the outcome is assured although not, from the present vantage point, predictable. In each life there comes at least one moment which, if recognized and seized, transforms the course of that life forever. Rely, therefore, on radical trust, even though the moment may call for you to leap, empty-handed into the void. With this Rune your Warrior Nature reveals itself.

A major period of achievement and prosperity is often introduced by this Rune. The darkness is behind you; daylight has come. However, as always, you are reminded not to collapse yourself into the future or to behave recklessly in your new situation. A lot of hard work can be involved in a time of transformation. Undertake to do it joyfully.



And from The Healing Runes,

Hope

Hope is a light that never fails, a flame burning in the darkest night, an elusive feeling that urges you on when, against all reason, you refuse to give up. Hope is among the most abiding of God's gifts.

It has been said that in each life, there comes at least one moment which, if recognized and seized, transforms the course of that life forever. Have there been special moments when hope came to you? What brought hope into your life? Was it your desire for a quiet, grounded, more centered existence? Was it your yearning for a better future in a peaceful world? Or was it a broken heart? Whatever the reason, once it returns, hope restores our optimism that tomorrow can mark a new beginning.

What would bring you hope this day? Perhaps something as simple as caring words from a loving friend, or taking that first step, or another day of sobriety. Whatever form of inspiration will nourish your spirit, hold it with care in loving hands.

If you are concerned about your health, remember that through the eyes of hope, even illness can be seen as a gift, an opportunity to acquire the wisdom born of adversity. Embrace this opportunity, and bind it with your faith. With hope we learn to keep on living our lives courageously and diligently.

If this Rune comes to you as you are entering a new relationship, be mindful to let the lessons you have learned from the past serve you in what is to come. And if your life is moving in a new direction, let yourself feel the hope that accompanies all new beginnings.

Hope is a companion on our journey, one that whispers in our ear: It is going to be better.....The darkness is behind you....The daylight has come.

Rather than collapse yourself into thoughts of the future, stay in the present, for considerable hard work is involved in a time of healing and transformation.

Beyond the suffering and oppression that burden our humanity, we lay claim to our inheritance of hope.

For so many, throughout the world, hope is all that remains. Even those who have left everything behind to make a difficult and arduous journey in search of freedom carry with them their hope of a better life.

We have all known periods of hopelessness and despair. It is only when we begin to realize that we can no long continue living in the old way, and come to believe in something greater than ourselves, that hopelessness turns into hope.

Hope is God's love at work in our lives.