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Jeff Russell ([personal profile] jprussell) wrote2025-01-03 09:42 pm
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Divination Offering - Rune or Ogham Reading Through the End of the Year

This offering is now closed for new questions, but if you have something pressing before I offer another, reach out by DM here on dreamwidth or through my email (linked at my webstead: https://jpowellrussell.com). Those of you who have already asked and not yet gotten an answer, I'm on it and will have those shared in the next couple of days. Otherwise, see you next time!

It's been a while since I've done this, so I figured I'd offer to do a divination reading on whatever questions you think I might be able to help with from now (Sunday, December 22nd) through the end of the year. Just post your question here or send me a dreamwidth message or an email if it's private. Just one question per person, please, but follow-ups should be fine, unless I get way more folks asking than I expect.

A few things on how I tend to approach this, though we can make adjustments on a case-by-case basis, if needed:

1) The two divination systems I'm comfortable with are the Runes and the Ogham. If you have a preference, let me know, but generally speaking, I prefer the Ogham for more magical/spiritual/psychological questions (unless they're specifically Heathen), and the Runes for most practical stuff or anything directly involving the Germanic Gods and Their worship. Not that they can't both answer a full range of questions, I just tend to find them easier to interpret that way in those situations.

2) For most questions, I find some variation of a three card/stave spread in the shape of (roughly) "Past/Present/Future" or "Situation/Action/Outcome" to be most helpful. Sometimes specific questions might call for something a bit different, but when in doubt, that's what I'll go with.

3) As a slight addition to the above, when cards or Runestaves draw attention to themselves in ways I didn't intend (popping out of the deck while shuffling, two cards drawn when I meant to get one, one of the lots bouncing out of the tray I drop them in, that kind of thing), I tend to interpret that as "you need this extra information, pay attention."

4) I'll do my best to convey both the specific cards/staves I got in what positions, and what their "generic" meanings are (at least to me), but then also to synthesize everything into a whole picture. This last bit is largely intuitive, and often is more precise at the risk of being less accurate (example of what I mean: "it will rain tomorrow" is less precise than "it will rain between noon and 1:00 pm tomorrow," but if it rains at 5:00 pm, the former was more accurate because it was less precise), which is why I give the choppier/less synthesized pieces as well as how I think they fit together.

5) I'll be doing family stuff for the holidays, including a bit of travel, so please allow at least 24 hours for me to respond with an estimate on when I'll answer your question. I anticipate being able to do the reading for most within 24-48 hours of posting, but again, if way more folks take me up on this than I expect, that might change.

At any rate, ask away, and a blessed (late) Solstice, merry (early) Christmas, and happy (early) New Year!

Jeff

Re: Yes please and thank you!

(Anonymous) 2025-01-07 08:12 am (UTC)(link)
Jeff,
Thank you so so much for this! Indeed,it struck a chord, more than just one actually.

The fact that the rune of change is "murky" tracks with my current situation: I was on a fairly set and orderly course with my uni studies, having completed all my theoretical exams and being halfway through the required amount of hours for a placement.
However, back in November I had to go back to my hometown due to a minor health scare (which could still turn major down the line, if left untreated), as I couldn't get the proper medical attention in my place of study. And they have already told me I'm not allowed to complete my placement remotely (even though I could). So the "quarrelsome arrangement" bit might very well have to do with the way I feel treated by my university tutors - poorly, unwilling to offer reasonable adjustments to ppl with disabilities or chronic illness. So, lack of partnership, i.e. support in this case.
It could also have to do with my living arrangement when I'm there, which is far from safe and serene (housemates problems). Another reason that makes me wary of spending too much time there (at this point, I'd rather go back just to pack my stuff, disconnect the utilities and say my goodbyes, tbh). And another person has offered me to move in with them while I complete the placement, but I'm getting "off" vibes from them. Not that they have less than clear intentions, I know it's an offer made in good faith, but I've often witnessed them change their mind on important things from one day to the next and that rubs my autistic, orderly self, the wrong way :)

Furthermore: the curriculum switch I am considering is less than ideal, given my original motivations for enrolling in the MSc. It would be just a way to cut my losses and still come out of this mess with a title instead of dropping out when 3/4 of the job are done. So Ehwaz murky could be one of these things or all of them at once, I suppose.

Does that make sense?

Huske

Re: Divination

[personal profile] jeffinwa 2025-01-07 07:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Happy New Year Kyle,
So sorry to read about your being so violated during your move in. May your future there be full of light and harmony and may you find a way to use this experience to your benefit.

Regarding the divination! wow. Rather clear and solid. Much to think on and digest.

Murky, Murky, Murky! This entire will thing began in a state of murkiness. After ~30 years of mostly positive marriage (she Capricorn me Aries so some head-butting), being married in our church and using I Ching for divination (I took to it like a fish to water while in high school) she "met a guy" and went off the deep end. I checked I Ching and it was very clear that proceeding with him was not the thing to do. For the first time in our lives together she turned her back on this council and things were never the
same. I can't really say much about him other than "very spoiled brat", intelligent but without any direction. Very well off parents but with little time for parenting. For the next 15 years or so they tried to make a go of it, but lack of maturity on both sides canceled each attempt. She did at least get his parents to give him a free apartment and an allowance to keep him off the streets (she was using our money to help him) and they settled on hours long phone conversations which invariably ended in anger and tears. I'd promised that she would always have a place to live if I had one. Never regretted that. She was an artist (think Erika) tumultuous passions and extravagant emotional outbursts. I helped to contain some of that.
This house in WA (her mom died (from cancer) here, Teresa took care of her to the end, her dad's girlfriend died here and her dad died here). Not very lucky for the family. She worked very hard to make this place her own, she always wanted a house of her own. She did try to convince me that her friend should move up here but I had to say no; too difficult to be around. After 5 years or so she was diagnosed with cancer, non operable and no way would she do chemo. We decided to make wills. She wanted her friend to be executer (lawyer advised not to as friend lived in CA) and I wanted her niece who lives in WA as executer. Considering what she was going through I relented. Maybe a weak moment. She loved her nieces but was quite jealous of them for having parents who loved them and supported them. Teresa's relationship with her parents, especially with her dad (also an Aries) was always a battle of wills and conflict even though she wanted his love and approval. He was an old fashioned man's man and giving up anything to a mere female was not in his playbook.
I don't know if any of this helps to clarify anything but your reading brings up many points of congruent thoughts. Justice, linked with the idea of a will (right order, law, and outcomes long in coming) is af course relevant, "your feeling/being out of alignment with 'higher order' is leading you to try to compensate with these changes" (prayer for understanding "right action" needed here). For the most part this reading seems to be, as you say, "at least useful, even if unwelcome". Thanks for delivering what was probably a difficult reading.
If anything from my historical diatribe above brings up any insights feel free to send them along. I'll keep rereading and trying to connect dots.
vitranc: (Default)

Re: Times before

[personal profile] vitranc 2025-01-07 07:55 pm (UTC)(link)
I interpret this as the difference between the two oracles, and the difference between the frames. So the three runes and the three fees do not translate directly. The deception element in Luis (reversed) is, I think, contained in your interpretation of the Perthro Rune. Still the end product is astonishingly similar and helpful.

1. Thank you. From your interpretation I got the feeling that the complexities of Wyrd might hold the key for me.

2. Thank you for the speedy reply. I really appreciate it and will comment below.
vitranc: (Default)

Re: Times before

[personal profile] vitranc 2025-01-07 08:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmm, yes I could see this. It is a scary prospect, but the warning is a good sign, since it opens up the possibility for me to set up support and to be mindful. Keeping the staves in mind on a bad reading day has helped me in the past.

I sincerely thank you Jeff! This will be put to good use.

Best regards and may your new year hold good fortune.
And may you be successful in keeping your oath.
V

Re: Keeping faith

(Anonymous) 2025-01-13 02:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Jeff,

Thank you! I wanted to think this through carefully, seeing what insights I could draw, hence the delay in my reply.

The setting feels like an accurate "most of the above"; I think the central thing I note is that someone else "using communication skills to diminish me" is a very big part of my life. I want to keep an open mind to "misapplying Odin's gifts" as something I am doing as well--there are some places where I should consider how I'm using the insight/synthesis portion of those gifts well.

The "Responsibilities and Promises" feels fitting; it doesn't give a direction, but entanglement between my "who I am" - Ego - and "how I interact and have interacted with my responsibilities" is a very big part of my self-image and I think this points toward that being a weakness.

The Outcome is of course to be determined - but "You won't get what you want, but it will be for the good" sounds helpful.

Overall, my take-away is "keep trying, but re-think how your self-image makes you vulnerable to manipulation by words."

This reminds me of one of my favorite bits of poetry about the Norse Gods (Lewis)

...The weary gods,
Scarred with old wounds; the one-eyed Odin, Tyr who has lost a hand,
Will limp to their stations for the last defense. Make it your hope
To be counted worthy on that day to stand beside them.

Thank you!
SamChevre

Re: Job search

[personal profile] mysteries_abound 2025-01-13 09:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Hi Jeff--

Thank you so much for doing this. Apologies for taking so long to get back to you. I am just recovering from the worst two weeks of acute bronchitis that I have ever had, EVER. Didn't have the bandwidth to absorb this information well and to comment on it.

That said-- now that I've had time to ruminate on this a bit, I will tell you that my first response was "I KNEW you were going to say that". [You might be a Runes idiot savant or something!]. I was not in any way surprised by the reading. I am definitely conflicted about returning to my career. It is lucrative, but supports the pharmaceutical industry, which is quite tedious. It's something I wanted to do for only 3 years however, as a last hurrah, so that I can get my mortgage paid off as expediently as possible.

So I'm wondering if you have any thoughts, based on what you know about runes and divination, about whether I could make this work but getting my will as undivided as possible. Gird my loins so to speak, suck it up and just get on with it, knowing that when the 3 years is over I can move on to other things that would be more interesting. I really do not want to be getting involved with another endeavour just now, because the financial goal is critical and will likely take too long with another route which would probably be less financially viable.

With respect to the generosity piece, I'm wondering if this is more about literal generosity in terms of giving money away or is it more about being more grateful for what I already have (and in the context of the LA fires I'm EXCEPTIONALLY grateful for what I have!!).

Thanks for letting me know about the cow/fee word etymology. I come from a very 'wordy' family-- we love knowing these things, so that was an interesting piece of trivia.

Finally, I read your essay about Texas recently, even though I know you wrote it awhile ago. I have a soft spot in my heart for Texas. I lived in Dallas a few decades ago and finished my undergrad at UT-Dallas; I'm a longhorn-- though I saw a picture of a longhorn recently; those poor creatures-- how dreadful for them to carry those ginormous horns!! egads and gadzooks!

Thank you again for your kind generosity!
MJ

Re: Q

(Anonymous) 2025-01-27 02:23 am (UTC)(link)
Jeff,

This turned out to be pretty accurate. The fundraising floundered (investors went silent on me), and left me feeling hopeless. I'm not even able to pitch because of the energetic issues with my nervous system. And the cold, lack of romance, and other routine issues were making me a bit miserable. I'm leaving NYC to go relax on a beach half way across the world for a month to speed up the kundalini and neuro-muscular recovery, then go meet family nearby for a couple of weeks and then maybe come back for spring and try again. Hopefully better luck then.

Great reading! Thank you again.

(Anonymous) 2025-01-27 08:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Dear Jeff, sorry for the late answer.

Thanks a million for what you did here. Your reading is incredibly on point! I've come to acknowledge that my mental state was due in its majority to going back to work after the holidays. I work with young addicts and have yet to find my place and presence in front of them. It makes me question who I am at this stage of my life, not to mention all the trauma coming back from when I was their age. So far for the "shadow work" part. This got better in the last weeks, as I realised that I need not be so afraid of them. I'm planning to do a clowning workshop, described by a friend as "a mix of embodiment and shadow workl"

I also made an effort recently to try and say what I would need from management to make the difficult parts of my work more bearable. This would involve oractical changes that they're not yet willing to make. It cost me a sleepless night after the meeting, but I did stand up for myself. I hope this is good for the Tinne part. It will certainly take patience as well.

At the time of asking, I was seeing the same pattern in my relationship situation - not being in the kind of relationship I would like to have, and feeling abandoned by friends lately. This has improved since, and new impulses have come to effect.

I wanted to ask if you assign any special meaning to Straif being reverted? In JMGs books, it just seems to be "more suffering, more unnecessary", than if the card was upright. What do you think?

Sending lots of blessings your way for this!

Anna

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