divination tools Archives - Owl Medicine: Shamanic Healing

My most recent copy of The Book of Runes* by Ralph Blum

Standstill

I love when I start a post having no idea where it’s going (indeed, if it’s going anywhere), only to have something quite unexpected spontaneously appear. That’s what happened last night, when I had the image and name of a rune – Isa – ‘Standstill’ – practically show up and do a tap dance on my laptop.

I yearned to write something interesting last night, or at least descriptive of the weird feelings I was having, yet none of my ‘go-to’ divinatory tools appealed to me. I tried a couple of different types of decks and as I sat holding them in my hands, I kept getting a clear, “No.”

And so I sort of wrote around my feelings (which haven’t abated much, yet, I’m sad to report) until – boom! – a very specific rune demanded my mind’s attention.

Runes

I haven’t gone back into my journals today to get specifics, but it is quite possible that Karl and I picked Runes on our walks even before we began choosing Medicine Cards*. I remember buying our first set of Runes (included with The Book of Runes* by Ralph Blum) back at Sagittarius Books. We probably ended up owning half the inventory of that gem of inner transformation tucked away in an alley in New Hope. I can honestly say that bookstore was the lifeline that fed my soul and opened me up to the life I knew I wanted and needed to live. I miss it.

Actually, I’m sure our consistent use of Runes pre-dated our work with the Medicine Cards* because I now recall picking a Rune – Hagalaz – on the day I took a huge tumble, face-first, into a local creek. I wrote about that experience and what unfolded in our lives afterward, in my book, Owl Medicine*.

I guess I’m mentioning all of this because I am fascinated by how I plucked the name of the Rune that appeared in my mind’s eye last night out of thin air – or at least the wisps of memory. It’s been years since I worked with them.

Last Night’s Runic Appearance

While I felt quite certain that just the acknowledgment of the keyword associated with this Rune, Standstill, hit the nail on the head of what I felt I’m experiencing (rather ungracefully), I almost gasped when I once again read the explanation of Isa in The Book of Runes by Ralph Blum. And I have to share it with you:

Isa – Standstill/That Which Impedes/Ice

“The winter of the spiritual life is upon you. You may find yourself entangled in a situation to whose implications you are, in effect, blind. You may be powerless to do anything except submit, surrender, even sacrifice some long-cherished desire. Be patient, for this is the period of gestation that precedes a birth.

Positive accomplishment is unlikely now. There is a freeze on useful activity, all your plans are on hold. You may be experiencing an unaccustomed drain on your energy and wonder why: A chill wind is reaching you over the ice floes of old outmoded habits.

Trying to hold on can result in shallowness of feeling, a sense of being out of touch with life. Seek to discover what it is you are holding onto that keeps this condition in effect, and let go. Shed, release, cleanse away the old. That will bring on the thaw.

Usually Isa requires a sacrifice of the personal, the ‘I.’ And yet there is no reason for anxiety. Submit and be still, for what you are experiencing is not necessarily the result of your actions or habits, but of the conditions of the time against which you can do nothing. What has been full must empty; what has increased must decrease. This is the way of Heaven and Earth. To surrender is to display courage and wisdom.

At such a time, do not hope to rely on help or friendly support. In your isolation, exercise caution and do not stubbornly persist in attempting to work your will. Remain mindful that the seed of the new is present in the shell of the old, the seed of unrealized potential, the seed of the good. Trust your own process, and watch for signs of spring.”

My Take

Whoa. Nailed it. Lots and lots to contemplate.

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(T+49)

Blue Jay – Photo: L. Weikel

An Idea

Back when I was only a year into writing this blog (yes, well before beginning the 1111 devotion, which I began on 12 November 2018), I had an idea. I engaged in a form of “the 12 days of Christmas.” Only it was actually the “Nine Days of Solstice,” leading up to 12/21/2012.

In that exercise, I chose a card each day, a “Point of Reflection,” for myself and my readers to apply to our lives as we awaited the much-ballyhooed ‘end’ of the Mayan Calendar.

As I was sitting here a few minutes ago pondering what I might write about this evening, I found my eyes scanning the bookshelves surrounding me, causing me to appreciate the embarrassment of riches I’ve accumulated over the years. Ever since I invested in my first set of Medicine Cards*, I found that I have a predilection for divination tools – which gave me an idea.

Divination

Yeah…as I glance about the walls in my living and dining room I’m realizing just how much I enjoy exploring the various means we have at our disposal which help us tap into our own inner knowing or, perhaps, the guidance provided to us by unseen allies or forces.

Dictionary.com defines ‘divination’ as follows:

the practice of attempting to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge by occult or supernatural means;
augury; prophecy;
perception by intuition; instinctive foresight.

To be clear, when I access a divinatory tool, I am not ‘attempting to foretell future events.’ The reason I say that is because I don’t think ‘the future’ is something static or fixed to which we’re inexorably bound to ‘arrive.’ Since we have free will, we can change ‘the future’ at any moment. Thus, there are an infinite number of futures to which we can travel.

Usually, though, when making a decision, we are faced with only a limited number of options at any given time. We could call the paths that each of these decisions would set us upon ‘strands’ of destiny. And each strand we choose at any given moment weaves together to form the fabric of our reality.

My perspective on divinatory tools, as I’ve undoubtedly expressed in various other posts, is that our souls know, at the deepest levels of our being, the lessons we’ve chosen to learn in this lifetime. We’ve set a course for ourselves before we were born. Tools that help us tap into our own inner knowing can help us make choices that can are in greatest alignment with our chosen destinies.

The Times We’re Experiencing Now

Because of my lifelong interest in acquiring tools that would help me develop my intuition and also access the inner knowledge I hid from myself at birth, I have access to a vast array of such items. From oracles such as runes, the I Ching, and oracle card decks to the almost limitless number of tarot decks that exist, I have a sweet collection. This work – this dedication to discerning our inner wisdom and accessing the guidance that is available to us is part of my livelihood – but even more importantly, it is part of who I am.

Right now, I think it’s indisputable that humanity has entered a whole new phase of existence. Indeed, we are at a confluence of many different paths, a crossroads of epic proportions.

Not only are we each being asked, individually, to stop our relentless running in what we sadly but accurately call the ‘rat race,’ but we’re also being asked, collectively, to decide – to choose – the path, the strand, that best serves humanity’s destiny or evolution.

We Could Use Some Guidance

We’re all in this together. We’re each facing situations that probably none of us expected (consciously, at least) we’d ever encounter. Each of us has our own unique constellation of factors influencing us, not least being the life lessons we set out for ourselves long ago. But again, we’re all, also, in this together, and each of our decisions impacts everyone else, even if we don’t realize it or see those impacts on a daily basis.

I have access to all these cool tools. Some will appeal to one person while others will appeal to someone else. Many of the decks I have do not resonate with me on such a level that I use them often. That doesn’t mean they don’t have value or might appeal and speak to someone else quite powerfully. And it doesn’t mean that one or another of them might not be absolutely perfect for the particular day – or moment – it’s used.

My Idea

My idea, which you probably all saw coming a mile away, is to periodically choose a card or a rune or throw an I Ching ‘for us.’ The intention I will set is to ask for a message or guidance for us, both individually and collectively, and then report it here. Depending upon the day or what’s going on for me, or for us, I will offer my perspective. But I’ll also encourage and ask you to contemplate what the particular oracle might be specifically telling you.

How could whatever I choose apply to you and your unique life?

Do you notice that you resonate with one particular oracle more than another?

Maybe allow yourself to think about what I’ve chosen for the day or days that it applies (which is until I choose another). You know, maybe write about it in a journal that you’re starting precisely because of these times we’re experiencing – so you can remember how you felt, what you experienced, and how you’ve been changed by these extraordinary times.

And if you discover a tool that particularly appeals to you, then you can buy it for yourself and work with it more extensively. I’ll provide links where I can (and full disclosure, if they’re to Amazon, I am an affiliate, so I might earn a couple pennies if you purchase through a link from this blog).

That’s my idea. We’ll see how it goes.