Shay's Rune

As we come upon the Winter Solstice holiday, we take time to ponder how we feel about the light and the dark.  After all, Yule celebrates both the longest night of the year, AND the birth of the Sun God to the Mother Goddess. In many cultures, especially those to the North, beacons are lit on Yule night to chase away the confusion and soon to be obscurity of darkness and encourage the return of the Sun.  There is feasting and celebration. Gifts are exchanged in there hopes that bonds will be strengthened between friends and family. The bright, joyful colors of green, gold and red abound, and there is laughing and merriment. Many will stay up the whole night, sitting round bonfires that are lit to welcome back the sun with the dawn of the solstice day.  For me, DAGAZ expresses this perfectly. This is the dawn/day rune. It looks like an X with lines drawn in on the sides, or two sideways triangles facing in with tips touching, like a mirror image. In the Northern European/Scandinavi

So I'm going through a bunch of stuff on my phone when I find my Blogger app and realize I never updated anything for October here. How totally embarrassing and unlike me. If you've been checking in regularly, I apologize. That being said, Do you believe it's actually the middle of fall? Yup, pretty much smack dab in the middle between the Autumn equinox and Winter Solstice, which you do know to be the official  start of Winter, right? We just got done last weekend turning our clocks back and hour to end daylight savings time, and subsequently are dealing with the early darkness that sets in. To think that this was normal for thousands of years! Kind of gives a new meaning to "early to bed, early to rise", doesn't it? I mean, if you wanted to take full advantage of the daylight hours in the late fall and winter, that's exactly what one needed to do! This time of year has a tendency to put one in a reflective mood. Most of the trees have lost their lea

We are into the final weeks of summer........and can see it too. Some of the trees out by me are releasing leaves, and I've even seen a few small splashes of color on others. The seasons are definitely in transition mode. With the Fall equinox, we have a time of balance. It is the point where daylight and darkness are equal, but the darkness overtakes the daytime, and for the next six months, will "rule" the calendar. The earth is heading towards her rest, the soil cannot yield anything more that is productive. She must rest, replenish. What crops are still in the ground will be her final gifts to us when they are harvested in a month's time. Meanwhile, various trees and bushes put forth a blaze of color that takes our collective breath away, a poignant reminder that they will soon be bare and sleeping themselves. Surprisingly though, it is still a time of celebration, for the second harvest is gathered, early squashes, grapes, more corn, nuts, and apples. the ca

So things have been going great at Holistic Happenings Healing Center. I've been going in with appointments on the books right off. As I've been booking up pretty well, I would highly recommend calling ahead to ensure the appointment time of your choice. I'm there from 1 to 7pm on Tuesdays. I can't say "Thank You!" enough to those who have honored me with the opportunity to read for them. So what has this got to do with a harvest?  Well, being able to read at this location was the result of scattering and planting some seeds. The soil was tilled when I went to the Body, Mind, Spirit Expo at the Tinley Park Convention Center in June. The seed was planted when I spoke with Judy Gremer, the owner of Holistic Happenings at that expo.  Then the seeds started to gestate and germinate when I came in to give sample readings, which was my "interview". Finally the seeds thrust through the soil layer into the air and light when I started reading back in July

This is a correction to my previous post. ., I need to clarify that TranZFormation has NOT closed its doors and is closed ONLY on Mondays and Tuesdays. They have by no means "closed" as the previous post could have been interpreted. They ARE OPEN for business Wednesday thru Sunday. My sincere apologies to have caused any confusion....

So last month I let you all know that with the closing of Transformation I would not be available for readings until further notice. Well, today I am updating that information and letting you know that once again I am at your service with the counsel of the runes. As of Tuesday, July 7th, I will be reading at Holistic Happenings Wellness Center  in Tinley Park. The events page has their location and contact information already updated there. Remember that Body, Mind Spirit Expo I mentioned in the last post?  That is where I first encountered Judy, the owner of Holistic Happenings. A conversation lead to her finding out I was a rune reader without a place to read, and me finding out she was looking for a reader for her center. Coincidence? Uh.....no. the universe had a hand in this I'm sure. So after an interview and sample reading, I was asked to come on board.  An intro talk on June 29th saw a pleasant crowd, which was the confirmation, I was informed, that I was meant to

Greetings my friends. There is an update regarding my reading schedule at Tranzformation for the summer......the shop has changed it's operation hours to Wednesday thru Sunday, which means they are closed on Mondays AND Tuesdays. So for the time being, I will (as of this writing) not be available there during the week, BUT, will definitely be there for the Psychic Fairs in July and August. There is no Psychic Fair for June. I have been told that another day is possibly in the works, so be assured I will update as soon as I am advised myself. In the meantime, I'd like to let you all know about this really cool event this weekend in Tinley Park. Body, Mind Spirit Expo Tinley Park Expo Center  Harlem Ave @ I-80 Saturday, June 6th from 10a-7p Sunday,   June 7th  from 11a-5pm $12.00 entry good for whole weekend! Tranzformation's own Vince Pistici, author of "The Genius of the Tarot" will be there reading and then giving a lecture on Tarot on Sa

It's hard to believe we're two-thirds of the way through Spring and Summer is only another month or so away. Where has the time gone? When I looked at my last blog date, I was like, dang, they must think I fell off Midgard into space or something. This late Spring season has been busy and one of growth for me. So what's been going on? Well, let's see......my husband and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary, we had a number of family birthdays, oh and I was asked and honored to make jewelry for a wedding. I was to create pieces for 4 bridesmaids and 2 flower girls initially which consisted of crystal bracelets and earrings for the bridesmaids, and pearl bracelet, necklace and earring sets for the flower girls. But then the mother of the groom contacted me to create a 3 piece set set for her, and finally, the bride herself requested earrings and a bracelet. As I was able to attend this wedding as well, I had the opportunity to see what I made in use, and that was

So Spring has officially started, Easter has come and gone, and it looks like warmer weather is finally here to stay. Note I said "warmer", but not "warm", I know better......Mother Nature may still have a trick or two up her sleeve. Hail! And a joyous, happy Spring to you all! Spring is a time for new beginnings, hope, fresh starts. We talk of Spring cleaning and clearing out old brush and leaves, or of planting seeds, or hopes or goals. We also start new projects, whether they be home improvement, self improvement or otherwise. For me, this is a time of new beginnings as well. Last year I was invited to join a Heathen group on Facebook in the UK.....Odin's Hearth of the Blue Raven Kindred. While not the youngest age-wise, I was by far young as a Heathen compared with many of my sisters and brothers. I have learned much, still am learning much, and been privileged to share as well. A month ago or so, our Hearth Guardian announced a next phase in the devel

Doesn't it just seem like winter has dragged on?  Well, kind of....maybe....I mean, let's think about this. Last year we got whipped with the polar vortex, which kept most of us inside for what seemed like weeks on end with bitter, below zero temperatures and wind chills you used to hear about only for Russia, Arctic regions, or the Antarctic. People living or working in those regions were no doubt chuckling (okay, laughing hysterically) at our complaints and whining, and to themselves were thinking, "and you thought all these years we were exaggerating....suck it up and deal with it!" Well, we did, only to have a p.v. junior this year. True, not as severe, and nowhere as long lasting as last year's, but THEN, various parts of the country got hit with snow.......and a lot of it. We in the Chicagoland area got a taste of it as well, and having had to deal with ONLY about 20 or so inches, have a measure of sympathy, if not empathy, for those in the other areas th

We're an month past Yule, and we are noticeably aware of the longer days and warmer temperatures. The returning light makes us feel better. While we enjoy it, and wait for  Spring, and the earth to wake up so we can plant those seeds of ideas, dreams and hopes, we plan. Mind you, we are in a Mercury retrograde until February 11th, so, since, if you've been thinking about the plans you started after you read the last blog post, this would be a good time to refine them, refresh them, renew them. Do not though, act upon them, until after the retrograde ends. Since it has influence over communication and travel, even the best laid plans are apt to go astray. What does this have to do with relating to the runes you may ask? Ansuz-reversed comes to mind. This rune looks like and upside down "F", with the staves pointing up instead of out. Ansuz is the "breath" rune, and is associated with creativity, knowledge, communication and messages. When it is inverted,

Hail! And Happy New Year too! So, it's been a busy start to the new year, hence the delay in getting this out. Thanks for your patience. For me and my husband, our ringing in of the new year was actually really nice. For the first time in our nearly 20 years of marriage, we actually went out and stayed overnight to ring in 2015. To ensure we didn't have to worry about people on the road for what gets referred to as "amateur night", we were back in our hotel room late enough to have had fun, but definitely early enough to be safely off the road. As the year closed, I couldn't help thinking about the rune Jera, which represents harvests and cycles, as a symbol for ending 2014. As I reflected on all the comings and goings of the last year,...having the honor being rune reader for Treibh na Tintean, and finally following my bliss of reading in a shop (Transformation), of having to let go of my old car, but getting a new one, then the loss of some good friends. Ind