Shay's Rune

Summer is in full swing now, and the weather shows it. Hot, occasionally sticky, maybe a microburst dropping down some much needed rain to cool things off. I'm going to talk about two runes for this writing, because they are inexorably intertwined for harvest. First, the rune Sowilo represents the sun wheel, and the sun at its strongest, which is summer. Although now with Litha behind us and the sun making its journey back South, which means the daylight is gradually decreasing, we still enjoy sunset well past 8pm. Sowilo is vitality, for when we feel healthy, we feel we can overcome anything, be successful at everything. It is the sun's light that kisses the crops and helps them grow full and abundant during the Spring and Summer, and has now brought them to fruition and ripeness, so it is now time to reap them. Now we turn to Jera, the harvest rune. The time of first harvest celebrates the blessings of the sun's life giving light to the crops we need to sustain u

So the warmer temperatures and growing light are definitely more noticeable now, and I have dared to pull out a pair or two of capris (I am not even THINKING of regular shorts yet) to wear on the occasional warm days that sneak in between the cold weather. The robins have come back en-mass, but I think the poor things are confused at best with the fluctuations in temperature and conditions. Nevertheless, we approach a time of new beginnings, a time to clear out the old and stale, a time to throw open the windows and take a huge deep breath of "Ahhhhhh", and bask in the warmth of the sunny days. We look to Berkana, the rune of growth and nurturing. Right now the focus needs to be on the seeds that we planted previously, like the tulip bulbs that were planted in autumn. During the winter, those bulbs have not been idle, they have been gestating, transforming, and growing, but now they are inching their way up to the surface, the crocuses and daffodils coming first, represen

I am really asking myself that question. There are still too many cloudy, or partially cloudy days to sometimes tell, but on the days where the sky is clear.....ah yes, I can definitely see and experience sunset after 5pm, and I relish in it. But the fact too that I'm seeing some trees and bushes with little "budlets" on them, even though I know full and well it's too early for them, fills me with the hope that Spring is truly on its way and the sunlight is gaining ground. In all honesty, we're only half way thru the winter......and, admittedly, it has been a mild one, so I have been out and about locally, even during the dark time. That being said,  I am really enjoying the longer days. That ol sun just  looks and feels soon nice! Imbolc is a Celtic feast referring to "ewe's milk", for this is a time when most livestock such as sheep and goats start lactating again in preparation for spring births. The time of milk means that dairy foods like but