Divination Offering: Ask the Ogham or the Runes

[jprussell]

Doing divination with the Runes was actually the first occult thing I learned to do, and since then I've also picked up the Ogham. I do a daily reading for myself with one or the other, and as needed for specific questions where I'm looking for guidance. But I've never done a reading for someone else, and I think it's time I give that a shot.

So! Do you have a question that some additional information might help? A decision you're contemplating? If so, let me know in the comments and I'll do my best to answer. Fair warning, as I said, this is my first shot at other folks' questions, so I can't guarantee how helpful or accurate I'll be! That being said, I wouldn't be offering this if I didn't think I could help.

In your comment, let me know your question, any details or context you think might be relevant that you're willing to share, and whether you'd like me to consult the Ogham or the Runes. For what it's worth, I tend to go to the Ogham for spiritual or magical questions and the Runes for life-direction or practical questions, but I've used both for all sorts of questions. If you have a simple "yes/no" question, I find that easier with the Runes.

With all that out of the way, fire away!
Thanks everyone, but this offer is now closed! Next time I'm offering readings, I'll post here again.

Comments

[open_space]

Thanks for doing this, Jeff!

My question for you is:

I've been battling for many years now with what should I do to live a more meaningful life and would like to see what the oracle of your choice has to say about it.

For one, I ended up trapped in a job I hate in a place that doesn't fulfill me and I frankly abhor.

What do I need to change or focus on to start moving in that direction?

What would be the outcome of me going back to México vs staying here in the US?

[jprussell]

I did my first round of divinations earlier today, but I will get to your questions either this evening or tomorrow.

Any preference for Runes versus Ogham?

[open_space]

Not in particular, the one you feel more proficient on. I know you are particularly interested in Heathenry.

[jprussell]

Alrighty, these "feel" more like Rune questions to me, so I'll go with them.

[open_space]

Many thanks! :-)

[jprussell]

Replying to the original question to avoid too much nesting.

A bit on my method, in case you're interested as a fellow practitioner. I opened a sacred space on my portable ritual altar (folding tray), made a drink offering to Woden and Frige, and prayed for their help and guidance. I then got all 24 of the Runes out, called upon the Wyrds (Norns) to help, and shook the staves vigorously while concentrating on the question before dropping them into a large-ish dice tray. Without looking, I drew them one each for each position in the spread - "Setting" (your overall context), "Work" (doing the action contemplated by the question), and "Outcome(s)" (what is most likely to come about if going through with the action contemplated). I then looked at the Runes in each spot of the spread and interpreted. If the Rune landed face-down, I consider it "Murky," which is roughly equivalent to a card being reversed in Tarot. In my system of interpretation, it means either that the qualities embodied by the Rune are manifesting in an unhelpful or harmful way, or that they are somehow blocked and not manifesting enough.

Asking 1 - What does open_space most need to focus on to move toward a more meaningful life?
Draw
Setting: Inguz (Murky) - "Ing (the God's name, most believe to be the same as Frey)"
Work: Kenaz (Murky) - "Torch"
Outcome(s): Gebo - "Gift"

My Take on It
I'm not sure if this reading is telling you all that much that you don't already know, but let me walk through it in case some part of that helps. This indicates that your general context is that you are somehow "bottled up" - either you are withdrawn into yourself and "holding still" when you should be either gathering strength or moving forward, or else "moving" in a way that doesn't actually accomplish what you're after. I'm getting a sense of "hiding" from something rather than either facing it or truly resting/recovering from it.

The work that this reading says you need to focus on is addressing a murky Kenaz. Kenaz, the torch, is the Rune of creative drive and passion - the urge to make something, but it is also the Rune of breaking things apart, as that is often a necessary step in the creative process. To have it murky in this position indicates that you are either feeling stifled creatively (which seems likely from your question and other discussions we've had) and/or that something is "breaking up" in a way you find harmful or unwanted - maybe relationships, maybe social positions or expectations, or maybe your view of yourself and where you fit in all this. Overall, given what I know about you and the challenges you're facing, the image that comes to mind is that of a welding torch - you've got the fuel and the spark, but it needs the right nozzle to be focused into something powerful (and a bit dangerous) that will let you get the real work done.

The good news in this so-far murky reading is that the Outcome is rather positive - Gebo, the gift, is an almost purely positive Rune when it comes up bright (face up). If you're familiar with the ancient Greek concept of Xenia, the sacred relationship between guest and host, which is re-affirmed by mutual gift-giving, that's the kind of energy Gebo indicates. So, if you are able to fix what's going on with Kenaz, this indicates that you will get and/or give a "gift", or else engage in some kind of positive exchange. This Rune can sometimes have sexual and/or magical overtones, as can Kenaz, so there might be an element of that there, but I'm seeing that more as one aspect of the wider vitality/life question than the specific focus of the reading.

A phrase that popped into my head as I was wrapping up this interpretation, that I can't "back up" otherwise: "Make something great, and then give it away to someone who's worth it." Do with that what you will.

Asking 2 - What does open_space most need to understand about moving back to Mexico?
Draw
Setting: Gebo - "Gift"
Work/Move: Laguz (Murky) - "Lake"
Outcome(s): Kenaz - "Torch"

My Take on It
Now, this is very interesting and very weird. Between readings, I took up all of the Runestaves and again shook them thoroughly before dropping and picking with my eyes closed, and two of the same Runes came up! This tells me that the Runes really want you to focus on Kenaz and Gebo in your life, at least in the part of it that these two questions touch. It's also suggestive how they have changed positions in the spread - the Outcome of asking 1 is the Setting for asking 2, and the thing to do the work on in asking 1 is the Outcome of asking 2.

Now, this reading is also somewhat the inverse of the first one. At first glance, it seems fairly positive and like it's exactly the answer to the first asking - this move would be within a context of some kind of beneficial exchange - maybe bringing things back to your community in Mexico that you picked up in the States, maybe being able to better introduce things from Mexico to the folks you've met up north. And the outcome of this would be precisely the Kenaz energy that it seems you need to find - you'd likely find the drive to start creating and making stuff. It's the "Work", though, which comes up as Laguz (murky) that gives me pause, especially as this is a questions specifically about taking a course of action.

Laguz, though it literally means "Lake," is better understood as "the Deep" - it touches on the archetype of vast, primordial waters. "Lake" in proto-Germanic was the word for any large body of water, including the sea. As such, everything Jung might draw your attention to in symbolism of deep, dark waters might be appropriate here, and it coming up murky suggests the downsides or blockage of those archetypal energies. Specifically, the word that seems most relevant here is fear. Laguz can have a meaning of "challenges" or "tests", and drawing it murky suggests an avoidance of such tests and the psychological or spiritual growth they might bring.

So, my takeaway from this is that moving back to Mexico, at least at the time/in the way you're thinking about it now, would be "the easy way forward" - it would indeed give you what you're looking for, but perhaps not what you most need. I might recommend thinking about or meditating on what it is you would be leaving/avoiding/sidestepping by moving back to Mexico in the way you're contemplating, and what lessons or tests might be there.

Okay, those were a bit longer since I know a bit more about you and your situation, but do please let me know what seems on/off about the reading and any follow-up questions you have.

[open_space]

Thanks so much for this!

I really liked the reading you gave me. It felt good. And also, I like the "rune feeling" of it. Somehow I feel the Heathen side of it warm and wise. I don't recall exactly how much I told you about my situation last time but either way, I feel that you tapped into the situation really well.

I have a few questions if that is okay, particularly about the first question. I definitely do feel like I am "bottled up" and holding still. I feel stagnant and that I am not moving much. These past weeks I've felt like I've trickled but it is still not a lot of movement. Just like the feeling of depression, like things are stagnant. For me this comes from the fact that my life right now doesn't motivate me a thing and walking it feels "wrong", like I am wasting my time and I don't want to do it. What I am faced with is, what should I do about this feeling. Might it be that I am not in the right place and that is what makes me feel like that or is it that I need to outgrow something are things that I ask myself. I know something is off, and I know that something needs to change but I am stuck with knowing if it is me that needs to change and suck it up with the situation or I need to change the situation into something that is more congenial with me.

when you should be either gathering strength or moving forward, or else "moving" in a way that doesn't actually accomplish what you're after. I'm getting a sense of "hiding" from something rather than either facing it or truly resting/recovering from it.

It is the moving in a way that doesn't actually accomplish what I am after what I find challenging in the extreme. It feels like I am wasting time of doing something with my life that I actually like or enjoy. "or else moving in a way that doesn't actually accomplish what you are after". Is something like that what you mean with the quoted bit?

I want to revisit this more closely later again as I think there is much in here but, even though this was more a brain dump than actual questions I hope it is useful for the conversation.

Moving to Mexico in the way that I am thinking right now, or back when I asked, definitely feels like the easy way forward... What I think I am avoiding is well, just facing life by myself and going back to my parents home, even if it is helpful, shouldn't be from a mindset of getting back in time but with a sense of responsibility. I think that is what the runes are trying to tell me. Here I feel scared, definitely --very-- and the test and lessons that I need to learn I can do them here or there so perhaps that is some of that.

[jprussell]

Thank you, I'm glad you liked it!

1. On what to do about being "bottled up": well, without drawing further runes (which I can look to as a follow up, if you like), what comes to mind is taking some definitive action, preferably with a tangible outcome, that is for you. It sounds like right now you are alternating between being busy with crap you don't care about or "doing nothing" and feeling depressed. For example, maybe carve out half an hour, or even just 10 minutes, daily to enjoy some art, or work on a personal project. If you're not already, maybe you could pursue your daily magical work as part of a larger program - for example, instead of "just" doing the LBRP+MP, Meditation, and Divination daily, maybe follow the course of instruction in CGD. I have found that even when I'm struggling with motivation or feeling like I'm accomplishing anything, it helps that my daily habit I've stuck pretty doggedly to is toward a worthwhile goal (finishing DMH and the Dolmen Arch).

Oh, and the other super common piece of advice here, one that I've found pretty helpful as well, is don't focus on making yourself happy/feeling meaning - focus on helping someone else/others in a way consistent with your values. Not "be a doormat" or "only care about others," but rather, maybe look for some ways you can use your skills, expertise, or even just resources to help others get more of what you think they ought to have. Teach, volunteer, donate, invite friends to do something you'd both enjoy, surprise someone with a gift, whatever it might be.

2. On "moving in a way that doesn't actually accomplish what you're after": Yes, exactly. Have you ever put off tackling a real problem at work by answering emails, or organizing your files, or updating some software? That's the kind of "movement, but not toward your ends" that I mean. Of course, in a wider sense, if you are in a job that you feel is meaningless, or that doesn't align with your higher goals, you might feel that way even about the "real" work of the job.

3. On going back to Mexico: Fair enough! There's a lot of scary stuff in life in general, and especially right now. I think here, Gebo coming up twice might also be speaking to the mystery and fear of sacrifice - you give up or share something now, with no guarantee you'll get something back for it, but with the faith that it's worth the effort. Whatever is scary in your situation, I think you have something valuable to share.