Journeying with the Runes

Writing this blog has been a blessing to me, as have my study group, my old coven, and the Pagan community in general. Participating in discussions forces me to think about and verbalize the practices that I use subconsciously or innately in my life.

What I have overwhelmingly realized is that I don't need to add much of anything to my practice. My life is magical, and has been throughout. It's simply a matter of realizing it on a conscious level, bringing various things under conscious control, and delving more deeply into the well, so to speak.

One thing I have realized is that I get various types of messages. Sometimes it's in the form of a vision; my spirit names have come to me in this way. In both cases, I went into a spontaneous trance and received the name as a vision. Other times, there is a subtle knowing, like when driving, I will often know the next move of a nearby driver, or know that I need to go one way or the other on a familiar route. I also have occasional important dreams that give me some necessary information.

At other times, I go out on spiritual journeys. Occasionally, I have done this on purpose, but most often, it has again happened spontaneously. Early in my Pagan career, I practiced straight astral projection. That’s not what I’m doing now. This is definitely in the realm of the shaman, what I would call journeywork. Is it still my astral body? Christopher Penczak writes that shamanic journeying is “more than astral”, that it is whole-being, soul or psychic projection. Honestly, I don’t know. An interesting question, to be sure, but not a vital one for practitioners.

What happens for me is that I go to my inner temple – a special place within. I honor each element there, then perform whatever work is needed that day. When it’s time for a journey, I shapeshift. Usually, I change into a hawk and take flight. I fly first over the trees that surround my inner temple, then to the nearby river. The river takes me where I need to go.

My current project is to systematize my journeywork. I was blessed to meet a local eclectic oracular group who have been heavily influenced by seidr, the norse shamanism and magical work. The workshop in which I participated included direct experience. We went on a trance journey through the world tree and looked into the well of Mimir for answers. We later went into trance and answered questions ourselves. This was surprisingly easy and powerful for me. At first, it was very hard to speak what I was experiencing/seeing/feeling. My jaws felt frozen and my tongue wooden. After some timeless time, I spoke, and it began easier the more that I did it.

Afterwards, I was set afire with incorporating the runes into my journeywork. I have been a woman obsessed, researching and reading, dreaming and creating my own ways. This is the next logical step in my journey with the runes.

At this point, I don’t yet know if my journeying will lead to oracular work. Maybe. Maybe not, though. One can also work magic in the other realms, do healing work, explore, battle and many other things. So far, most of my travels have been in the middle realm – here on Earth. In the future, who knows?

It seems that it’s time for another vision quest. It’s been a while. I know that I have some unfinished business with a certain hilltop grove.

As I get older, I see that spiritual life…maybe all of life, is about re-discovering truths that we know deep in the center of our beings. It's not really about learning, or getting new truths or insights. No, instead, it is becoming aware of our multitude of talents, traits, characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. Learning is essential to this process, but often, the things that resonate most deeply with me when I learn something new…this is a thing that I remember. It may be a faint, far-off echo within my being, like a memory of a dream…but when examined, the call grows stronger, louder and clearer…like the tolling of a pure bell. A bell that rings with truth.