Celebrating Steps

From the Victorian Fairy Tarot, the Four of Spring (Wands); from the Handl Rune Oracle, Thurisaz/Thorn:

You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

– Martin Luther King Jr.

Whether it's a rite of passage or progress achieved, the fairies are having a celebratory dance. The Four of Wands/Spring indicates a strong beginning towards a purpose or goal, marking the foundation with merriment. Such commemorations give us a chance to pause and appreciate the fruits our efforts so far and act as an encouragement to keep us going. It's like marking children's heights on the door frame so they can see how much they've grown. Thurisaz - a rune connected with giants and the pain of thorns - alerts us to the need to stand firm in the face of adversity and challenge. Remembering that we've met and overcome obstacles before can help us be resilient instead of stuck.

The world is dynamic and changing; therein lies its freshness. But our ideas about it tend to grow static and calcified, even our ideas about the most important things: who we are, how things are, why the world is the way it is. –Henry Shukman

Two Oars

From the Victorian Fairy Tarot, the Two of Summer (Cups); from the Haindl Rune Cards, Thurisaz:

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one. – C.S. Lewis

True partnerships, whether in romance, at work, or as friends, truly are a gift. We seem to speak each other's 'language,' understanding how the other thinks and does things. It generates a warm feeling of belonging and connection that can sustain us through stormy seas and add enjoyment to balmy days. Thurisaz refers to the thurses, a race of primeval giants who represented raw, unguided potential. They were considered an enemy of divine order, so it makes sense that this rune would also symbolize thorns. When one person in a relationship develops new interests that the other doesn't share, such change can feel like the partnership has become unmoored and in danger of ending. Yet sincere interest and encouragement can be the two oars that keep it moving through those transitions.

The Sharpness of Anger

This week I'll be using the Greenwood Tarot, created by Chesca Potter and published by Thorsons. The oracle I'll be using is the Rune Cards, created by Tony Linsell and Brian Partridge and published by Anglo-Saxon Books. Today's draws are the Five of Arrows (Swords) and Thorn (Thurisaz):

          An ibex leaps swiftly away from a hunter whose multiple arrows miss their mark. Potter gives this card the keyword 'frustration,' an emotion that can easily blur one's focus and result in impulsive rather than thought-out action. The Anglo-Saxon rune poem for Thurisaz reads:

Thorn is very sharp for all men.

Struggling with them is painful for any warrior.

They are severe to those who live among them.

Those passionate emotions that seem to surge over us like a wave can be a challenge. Often people say, "How do I deal with this anger?" as if it is something that can be eliminated from our lives. Buddhist teacher Judy Lief offers four steps as a way to relate to our anger instead:

• At first, we are desperate to do something with this anger, either to feed it or to suppress it. The practice is to stay with the physical experience of anger rather than the mental thoughts about the situation.
• Once we are able to be with anger with more openness and less judgment, the second step is to look at it more precisely. Examine as directly as you can. What are the roots of this anger? What is feeding it? Go level by level, deeper and deeper. 
• In the third step, we contemplate what it is about anger that is harmful and what might be of benefit. Normally we are too caught up in our personal struggles to connect with this wisdom, but anger is a messenger that something is wrong, that something needs to be addressed. We can listen to the message but drop the messenger.
• When we can practice these steps with ease, we may finally begin to be able to make use of anger as a tool or skillful means. 

Two Sides

From the Greenwood Tarot, the Knight of Stones (Pentacles); from the Rune Cards, Thurisaz:

          A wolf walks above a Pictish depiction of a wolf as the midsummer sun streams through a dolmen. Potter suggests the actual wolf is a protective, loyal friend who helps defend boundaries. The enduring light of the summer solstice seems a perfect analogy for this Knight who is willing to go the distance no matter what. In contrast, the Picts saw the wolf as a marauder who killed their livestock and threatened night travelers. The rune Thurisaz (often translated as 'thorn') also has two sides; it can be used to stab or tear, but it can also be used to protect what is beloved. The opposite intentions - to harm or to help - suggest a check of underlying motives is in order. It's easy to step into those brambles, but mighty hard to get back out again.

The Thorn is sorely sharp for any thane 

Hurtful to hold 

Uncommonly severe 

To every man who lies among them. 

Stings and Sweetness

This week I'll be using the Victorian Fairy Tarot, created by Lunaea Weatherstone with Gary A. Lippincott and published by Llewellyn. Paired with it will be the Haindl Rune Oracle, created by Hermann Haindl and published by U.S. Games. Today's cards are Fortitude (Strength) and Dorn (Thorn, Thurisaz):

          I've got a friend who's a beekeeper, and the one thing I've learned about bees from her is to stay calm around them (and don't wear black or brown because they may mistake you for a bear). Life is filled with honey-like sweetness as well as the stings of suffering; it's just a normal part of being a physical human being. If I can maintain a sense of equanimity no matter what comes, I'll enjoy the good times even more and weather the bad times without drama or self-pity. My contentment won't depend on the cycles of pleasure or displeasure that arrive, but the center of strength and peace of mind I maintain through all of it.
          Dorn (Thorn, Thurisaz) and has been translated as both "thorn" and "giant." It is a rune of power that can represent chaos and harm or protection. The rune's shape made me think of the body language of of a mom, hand on her hip with elbow jutting out, saying "I've had just about enough of this!" While I might have to deal with life's stings, I don't have to be a doormat or lose my common sense. I can use the power I have to erect and maintain boundaries instead of losing my cool.

There is a nobleness of mind that heals wounds beyond salves.

~ William Cartwright

To Guard or to Share

From the Tarot of Timeless Truth, the Sun; from the Rune Cards, "Thurisaz/Thorn:"

           The sun with the raven is a nod to the Haida myth of "Raven Steals the Sun." Ever the trickster, the bird discovers a man keeping the sun for himself and steals it so all beings may enjoy its light. This myth and the vitality, warmth and joy of the Sun remind me of a poem by Hafiz of Persia:

Even after all this time,

The sun never says to the earth,

'You owe me.'

Look what happens with

A love like that.

It lights the whole sky.

But right behind all that sunshiny happiness comes the rune Thurisaz or Thorn; the Anglo-Saxon poem reads:

The thorn is exceedingly sharp,

an evil thing for any knight to touch,

uncommonly severe on all who sit among them.

I've spent the last two days weeding and cutting brush, and the thorny brambles have been a challenge. But while I don't want them growing unbounded in my yard, I do realize they offer protection in other areas for wildlife. Thurisaz is a two-sided coin that can be used in a good way as a safeguard or in a selfish way to jealously guard what I want for myself. So the questions for today are: What do I need to keep safe, and what do I need to share?