Standstill

Need a Walk – ND #53

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Brutus has the right idea – Photo: L. Weikel

Need a Walk

Oooh baby, I need a walk. I got caught up in an appointment that required me to be inside all afternoon. When I emerged from my sojourn into other realms, the sun had set.

I stood at the kitchen door, staring at the western sky, the storm door caked with frost and ice crystals from repeated openings to accommodate our four-leggeds. I yearned to walk, but there was zero enthusiasm for it from Karl or the pups. I could sense the temperature had plunged, and I didn’t want to become chilled to the bone.

But the colors left in the sun’s wake were tantalizing. If anything can get me out of the house it’s a sunset with an exploding palette. For once, though, I yielded to the plaintive glances of Pacha and Brutus. (I tend to make them ‘walk off’ their reticence – and had to do so almost the entire past week.)

Too freaking cold to walk – Photo: L. Weikel

Tonight

There’s always the chance that I might decide to take a walk – even if a short one – on my own. This is especially true if the sky is tantalizingly clear or there are meteor showers or other phenomena occurring through the night. But Karl just said, “I won’t stand in your way; do what you need to do. But I promise you – it is cold.”

In the end, hunger won out.

Something tells me I made a wise choice. Perhaps this screenshot of The Weather Channel I took only minutes ago? Yeah, that’s persuasive. If it feels like -5 degrees, I have no interest in proving how I can power through it.

It’s funny, now that I think about it. Was it more of an Act of Power to say no to that part of myself that demands I walk every day? Or should I have made myself do it? Yet again, my spontaneous ‘sighting’ of the Rune Isa earlier in the week and integration of its message of Standstill echoes in my thoughts.

I can revel in the snow and take that yearned-for walk tomorrow. Tonight I needed to be quiet, power down, and allow my batteries to recharge. (And – p.s. – judging from this screenshot, below, I should’ve gone to bed a bit earlier. This is what can happen when you fall asleep at your keyboard! YIKES!)

Oops. Shouldn’t fall asleep with your hands on the keyboard. Photo: L. Weikel

(T+53)

I Love the Anticipation – ND #52

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
Last Night’s Sunset – Photo: L. Weikel

I Love the Anticipation

I’m sure I’ve written about it before, but I love the anticipation of a major snowstorm. There’s a slightly different feel to the prospect of getting ‘snowed in’ since the pandemic began, but the magic persists in my heart. Standing outside in the darkness of the night with only the faint hissing sound of snowflakes as they race each other to the earth, I feel connected to everything.

Can you tell? I just came inside from taking the pups out before bed. Pacha wanted to scamper about and play in the falling snow while Brutus couldn’t do his business fast enough before heading back inside.

I’m sure he’ll play with Pacha tomorrow. (She makes it irresistible.) Just like cavorting on frozen puddles. It took me a couple of times showing them how I slide on the puddles, but eventually Pacha realized just how much fun that could be. And yet again, Brutus ‘likes’ it, but mostly seems to only join in because Pacha eggs him on.

Moments before Brutie’s legs slipped out from under him – Photo: L. Weikel

Blizzard Up the Coast

Here I am, waxing rhapsodic over the prospect of a ‘major snowstorm,’ (“Kenan”) when along the coast (literally) they’re facing the arrival of a full-on blizzard. Yes, it’s true: I would relish that experience. I know I should probably be more ‘adult’ and pragmatically consider the ramifications of such a weather event. But I think I have an idealized notion of experiencing a blizzard from reading the Little House on the Prairie* books.

The idea of snuggling up all warm and toasty in front of a fire, reading books, making stew, and reveling in the muffled silence of the outside world is compelling. It also neatly dovetails with the rest of the messages I’ve been receiving this week, especially the one brought by the Rune Isa (Standstill). Truth be told, I’m still working on integrating that message.

Not Even That Much

Sadly, though, it seems we’re not even going to get that much snow in the grand scheme of things. Maybe 6” or so? Ugh, I just checked the Weather Channel again and it’s down to a predicted 3” – 5”. How disappointing. Hardly the 24” – 30” they’re calling for Boston to receive.

Maybe I’ll post this and go back outside all by myself. We’ve kept the Christmas lights up for just such an occasion. Well, brightening the dark nights no matter what – but also making the snow look like stained glass during storms like this.

I’m realizing how many little things about this time of year bring me joy.

I definitely feel a need to listen to the snow. No human voices. Just Nature.

Lights in the snow – tonight – Photo: L. Weikel

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(T+52)

Standstill – ND #49

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 3 Comments
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)

Disconnected – ND #48

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Isa – the rune signifying “Standstill”

Disconnected

I’m having the hardest time coming up with anything worthwhile to write about tonight. Nothing feels ‘right.’ I’m trying to pinpoint my feelings and I must reluctantly admit they’re more elusive than usual. Disconnected. Maybe that’s what I’m feeling? Perhaps. It’s not the usual type of ‘disconnected,’ though – you know, when you wish you could reach out and talk to someone but no one fits the bill? Or when all your trusted closest people are unavailable to talk or text…or hug.

The disconnection I’m feeling right now is more of an existential one, I guess. Like, what really matters? While it feels really selfish to do so, sometimes it feels right to just pull in my ‘feelers’ and focus on Karl, the cats, and the pups. Even my kids – they’re not kids anymore. They have their own lives, their own daily rhythms and responsibilities. They know I’m here if they need me.

Wait and See

I can confidently state that I don’t feel like commenting on anything going on in the outside world, such as the saber-rattling at Ukraine’s border. It feels like we all just need to wait and see.

That seems to be a strategy most of us would be wise to employ at the moment. When you think about all the crises we’re facing in the world, ultimately, we just need to wait and see. I’m not advocating complacence. But I am suggesting that, right now, at least in this moment, action may not be the best option. I’m reminded of the rune for Standstill: a single vertical line.

It makes me laugh to think how annoyed I used to get whenever I would pull the Standstill rune. Maybe that’s a tip-off that I really am embracing being a crone: I’m not only embracing Standstill – I’m advocating it.

Isa – The Rune of Standstill

I contemplated choosing a card for us as a collective and not a single deck or oracle felt ‘right’ to me. And yet look at that – a message came through anyway. I haven’t picked a rune in a very long time (it’s literally been years). And yet one jumped out of my fingertips as I sat here ruminating and demanded to be heard.

Isa – Standstill. Yes. That feels like the message I’m receiving and, perhaps, am being encouraged to convey. Perhaps my sense of disconnection is to be embraced (for now).

(T+48)