Walking with Runes

A great way to combine Runes with meditation is to go for a little walk with them. It is a unity between a common walking meditation and Rune work. This was my third one so far, and I thought it would be a good thing to share with others because I think that a lot of you might benefit from this type of work. It is easy, doesn’t require much, and is nature-inspired, so you can’t really do it inside your apartment. You will have to go outside. But trust me, you’ll love it.

I have a friend with whom I regularly go hiking. In all his lovely pagan wisdom, he came to an idea some time ago that we need to combine our walks with Runes. Now most of our walks have a Rune component to them, and it always opens a certain door into bridging the lower world to the higher one, Nature to the Sky. Our last hike lasted around 6 hours, including meditation, spell work, and eating. We were walking for a good 4 hours total and spent that time climbing up the forest path up some 1000 meters from the height our starting point was on. In total, we covered 13 kilometers and enjoyed the harmony between our spirit and that one of Nature itself. It was refreshing and calming at the same time.

“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.”

– John Muir

The Rune walk

To go on a Rune walk, you will need FIVE THINGS: a Rune set, a wooden stick, a path in Nature to walk on, a knife, and a good attitude. You don’t need to go hiking for hours like my friend and I do, but I do recommend it. You can also have a shorter walk depending on your health and fitness level. A wooden stick you need to find in Nature. It will be your walking cane on which you will put some of your weight on during every second step you make. Try to find one that is stable enough, high up to your shoulders, and that feels good and comfortable in your hand. When the walk is over, the stick can be returned to Nature, or you can take it home with you, whatever works best for you.

Relax, calm your mind, and draw one Rune from the set without looking at it. It should be drawn blindly. That Rune will be your companion during your walk, your guide, and your mentor. It will have something to say to you. Now take your knife and carve that Rune into your walking stick. Please be careful with the knife, of course. If you’re not that skillful with the knife, you can always draw the Rune on the stick, but I prefer carving it. The Rune should be carved somewhere up to the top of the stick so that you can clearly see it as you walk and every once in a while look at it. I like to have it just above the point where I’m holding the stick.

There will be times when certain ideas or things will come to your mind during the walk, or your attention will be drawn to something that it normally wouldn’t. That is the message the Rune is trying to tell you, so sharpen your senses and enjoy the process. Never once have I been on a Rune walk that something hidden didn’t reveal itself and made quite obvious. It always feels like a kick in the butt in a way, but that’s how Runes usually work. They don’t understand the meaning of the word subtle.

There is no need to push or force anything. You don’t need to struggle to think about something. It will come naturally to you, and there is even a possibility that you won’t realize it until the walk is over. Maybe you will come home, reminisce on what a good time you had, and then figure out in what way some part of it was connected to the Rune. For me, the realization always comes while I am still in the woods, and I spend some of my time before the very end thinking about it and feeling gratitude for the message I’ve received.

Connecting with Nature

As with any other time in Nature, connect with it. Enjoy what you see, hear, smell, touch, and taste. Hug a tree, smell a flower, touch the soil, and listen to the wind playing with the leaves and birds singing. Allow your spirit to expand into the wilderness and become one with it.

Enjoy some of the photographs I’ve taken. May they inspire you to go out and take your own.

Ivy love

A forest path

Dogtooth violet

Snow

A forest path

Snowdrops

Violets

A tiny forest portal

The Rune stick

Do you want to know more about Runes?

The Runes

Runes are not only letters. They represent so much more. In translation, the word rune means both a letter and a mystery. Every Rune is a pictographic symbol of some cosmic principle or force.

Continue reading

IMAGE CREDITS:
All photographs are taken by me. You have my permission to use them as long as there is proper credit provided with the link back to this site.

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Merry meet, and merry part, and merry meet again my dear pagan soul. Rejoice in life, and life will rejoice in you. May God and Goddess bless you in everything you do and spirit guides follow you wherever you go.

In love and light,
Towint